Chapter 291: Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan

"Uchiha Fugaku, heed my command!"

Sasuke Uchiha's vision changed, and he found himself in the middle of a chaotic night in Konoha, with the Nine-Tails rampaging.

Uchiha Fugaku was preparing to lead the Uchiha clan to assist in the battle.

It would be best to help subdue that tailed beast!

Achieving such a feat would bring great merit and grant the Uchiha clan more influence in Konoha.

However, halfway there, Fugaku was stopped by a grim voice.

"Uchiha Fugaku, heed my command: lead the Konoha Police Force and protect the civilians by escorting them to the shelters."

A one-eyed man stepped in front of Fugaku.

Sasuke immediately recognized him—it was none other than Danzo Shimura, the Uchiha clan's other main enemy.

This man was said to specifically target the Uchiha, following the ideology of the Second Hokage by constantly keeping them under suspicion.

"Understood."

Fugaku glanced at the Nine-Tails, then at Danzo, and ultimately accepted the order.

He led the Uchiha clan around the village, rescuing refugees from the Nine-Tails' attack.

However, they had no involvement in handling the crisis itself.

Suddenly, the scene shifted.

Sasuke saw Fugaku standing in the Hokage's office.

"This disaster in Konoha, the Nine-Tails' attack, was caused by someone possessing the Sharingan," Danzo immediately accused, pointing the finger directly at Fugaku.

It was as if Danzo had cornered Fugaku into a hopeless situation.

"All members of the Uchiha clan are accounted for. That night, not a single one of us left the Uchiha compound," Fugaku responded, his rage barely contained. "What proof do you have to claim that this was done by our clan? Why not say it was an outsider instead?"

"Calm down, Fugaku! This rumor has already spread across all of Konoha!" Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed. "Even if your clan didn't cause this, people are still blaming you."

"To quell these suspicions, how about this: the Uchiha should temporarily relocate away from the center of Konoha, out of the public eye. Once things settle down and your reputation is restored, you can move back."

Fugaku's anger simmered, but he had no choice but to leave the Hokage building.

From that point on, the Uchiha clan was moved to the outskirts of Konoha, essentially removed from the village's core.

Watching these events unfold, Sasuke felt a deep frustration. He wanted nothing more than to take matters into his own hands and strike down the two men responsible.

This was nothing but a setup to frame the Uchiha.

At this moment, Sasuke finally understood why members of the Uchiha clan spoke with such contempt about Fugaku.

A clan leader so weak and submissive—Sasuke could now barely stand him either.

He longed to take over, to lead the Uchiha in open rebellion.

Then, more images of the Uchiha clan surfaced.

Sasuke spotted familiar faces—Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Raijin.

Raijin stood with the radicals.

He believed that it was all or nothing—either the Uchiha clan would be destroyed, or Konoha would fall.

His plan was mutual destruction.

As for Itachi...

Sasuke watched as Itachi transformed from a kind boy into a cold, distant man.

Itachi, once aligned with the Uchiha's interests, began to side with Konoha's perspective.

He even opposed the Uchiha clan when they gained power.

Sasuke's indifference shifted to disgust.

The vision slowly faded.

Sasuke stood over Fugaku, who lay on the ground, incapacitated.

Though he had witnessed Fugaku's time as clan leader, in reality, only a moment had passed.

Fugaku was still alive.

"At first, I hated you. But now, I can’t even muster the strength to hate you anymore," Sasuke said with contempt. "You're not worthy of my hatred because you're nothing but a coward."

Sasuke had once admired Fugaku for his cold, stoic demeanor. Even Sasuke himself never dared to disobey him.

But now he realized—Fugaku was all show, weak at his core.

His coldness was reserved for his clan, while his cowardice was directed at Konoha's Hokage.

Such a person had no right to lead the Uchiha.

Such a person had no right to guide the Uchiha into the future.

"The Uchiha's revenge—I’ll take care of it myself. You can die now."

A surge of chakra welled up within Sasuke, flowing toward his eyes.

In an instant, his eyes transformed, forming a distinct line.

The Mangekyo Sharingan!

Fugaku's pupils shrank in shock.

A slight smile appeared on his face.

At least his death wouldn't be in vain.

"Take care of your mother," Fugaku whispered weakly with his last breath.

His head tilted to the side, and he left this world for good.

"Of course," Sasuke replied coldly, fully aware of the power now coursing through him.

His disappointment and rage toward Fugaku and Itachi had triggered the awakening of his eyes.

The Uchiha's constant retreating had almost led to their extinction.

That was the true reason behind his awakening.

Fugaku's weakness was too much to bear.

"Has the fight finally ended?"

---

At that moment, a white head emerged from the ground.

Sasuke was lost in his emotions and didn’t expect White Zetsu to suddenly appear.

“What are you doing here? Did Kakashi order you to kill me after I awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?”

Sasuke smirked mockingly when he saw White Zetsu, as if he had already seen through Uchiha Raijin’s plan.

White Zetsu was momentarily stunned.

“No, we’re here to retrieve Uchiha Fugaku. His body and his Sharingan can’t be left here.”

“Oh, so you’ve awakened the Mangekyo, Sasuke. You might be the earliest to awaken it in the Uchiha clan, aside from Lady Izumi.”

White Zetsu looked at Uchiha Sasuke in surprise, amazed that he had awakened the Sharingan so early.

“How do I compare to Uchiha Raijin?”

Sasuke’s smirk widened, and his excitement was barely contained.

Uchiha Izumi was currently one of the strongest in the Uchiha clan, second only to Raijin. Even the newly awakened members couldn’t compare to her Mangekyo Sharingan.

Few people in the Uchiha clan knew just how powerful Izumi was, but everyone talked about her strength. Hearing this, Sasuke could hardly contain his excitement.

Catching up to Izumi was the first step—next would be surpassing Uchiha Raijin.

“Lord Raijin, huh? I wouldn’t know. Lord Raijin rarely talks about these things.”

“We White Zetsu have no intel on that. Anyway, I need to take care of the body now.”

Only then did White Zetsu remember his task and hurriedly started collecting Uchiha Fugaku’s body.

“Wait. I want to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. I’ll take one of his eyes,” Sasuke coldly said, blocking White Zetsu.

“You can talk to Lord Kakashi about it afterward. He said that when you’ve exhausted your Mangekyo Sharingan’s power, that would be the best time to fuse the Eternal Mangekyo.”

“Of course, with the Hashirama cells now implanted in you, you won’t experience complete exhaustion of your eye power. You’ll be able to recover after a few days of rest.”

“Once you’ve mastered your Mangekyo Sharingan techniques, go see Lord Kakashi. He’ll handle the surgery for you.”

Kakashi had laid out the plan clearly, so White Zetsu explained quickly, sensing that if he didn’t, Sasuke’s blade might be pointed at him.

This guy’s personality had definitely gotten stranger after awakening the Mangekyo.

“Kakashi, huh? I’ll go see him later,” Sasuke murmured, sheathing his sword.

He had no reason to distrust Dressrosa.

Dressrosa definitely wanted him to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Maybe Uchiha Raijin had kept him around just to take that power from him.

But!

This also gave Sasuke a way to seek revenge against Raijin.

As long as he obtained that power, he would be the next leader of the Uchiha clan.

“Where are you going next? Want to help us capture the tailed beasts?”

White Zetsu split into several clones, dragging Fugaku’s body underground.

Sasuke felt nothing as he watched this scene.

After all, he had killed Uchiha Fugaku with his own hands.

“No. Now that I’ve gained new power, I want to test my strength,” Sasuke said slowly, covering his face and revealing his Mangekyo Sharingan.

He felt exhilarated, eager to test his newfound power.

“Good luck, then,” White Zetsu shrugged and disappeared underground in a flash.

His only job was to keep an eye on Sasuke and make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

As for Sasuke’s actual plans, that was none of White Zetsu’s concern.

Ever since they broke away from Uchiha Obito, life had been much better for the White Zetsu.

No longer were they forced to work like slaves under Obito’s command.

Sasuke watched White Zetsu leave, then slowly walked out of the cave.

He sat atop a large skeleton, gazing up at the sky.

From Uchiha Fugaku’s memories, there was a lot of valuable information.

Though he hadn’t seen everything, Sasuke had gained a rough understanding of Konoha.

The darkness hidden within Konoha—if he hadn’t seen it for himself, Sasuke wouldn’t have believed it.

He had been too naive, thinking too simplistically about Uchiha Raijin’s plans.

“What’s on your mind?”

A figure leaped down and landed beside Sasuke.

Ace adjusted his hat, his expression unreadable.

He felt conflicted. He had seen Sasuke’s father enter the cave but only Sasuke had emerged.

That had to be painful, Ace thought, wondering how Sasuke felt after losing a family member.

“At last, I understand the truth about the Uchiha. I realize now that I was just a fool, blindly driven by hatred.”

“I had been targeting the wrong people all along. The ones to blame weren’t Uchiha Fugaku or Uchiha Raijin, but that damn village of Konoha.”

“Konoha is the real culprit. The village founded by the Uchiha and Senju clans nearly wiped out the Uchiha.”

“Konoha’s darkness runs deep, and I, Uchiha Sasuke, will seek justice for my clan.”

Sasuke’s Sharingan spun, transforming into the shape of the Mangekyo.

Blood dripped from his eyes, creating a terrifying sight.

Ace, shocked by the scene, didn’t know what to think.

But then again, Ace realized he wasn’t feeling what he thought he would.

It dawned on him that Sasuke still had a mother.

The love Sasuke didn’t receive from his father had been more than made up for by his mother. And let’s not forget, Hawkeye was his stepfather and treated him well.

All in all, Sasuke’s family situation wasn’t as bad as Ace had assumed.

That left Ace wondering—what exactly was he so conflicted about?

“So, what’s your next move?” Ace asked, deciding to move past his own confusion.

“Konoha is planning to team up with the Mist Village to attack the Cloud Village. Konoha’s power is weakening.”

“The key members of Konoha’s forces won’t pass up this opportunity—they’ll definitely be there.”

“So I plan to join the battle and take my revenge on Konoha.”

“I’ll free the souls of the Uchiha clan members who died at Konoha’s hands!”

Sasuke clenched his fist, feeling stronger and more confident than ever.

Without the Mangekyo, he might have hesitated.

But now that he had the Mangekyo Sharingan, along with a spare eye, Sasuke wanted to unleash his full power.

He would show the entire ninja world that Uchiha Sasuke was back.

Back, and with the honor of the Uchiha clan restored.

“Uh, wait, you mean we’re going to face three ninja villages, countless ninjas, and powerful warriors?”

“Just you and me?”

Ace stared at Sasuke, stunned. He couldn’t understand where Sasuke’s confidence was coming from.

Sure, ninjas might be physically weaker than he was.

Ace could easily take on ten or twenty at once.

But this?

They were about to face an entire army.

This was no ten or twenty ninjas.

Could they really take on so many opponents?

“My power is more than enough! I don’t need your help.”

“With this strength, I’m no longer weak,” Sasuke laughed confidently.

With the Mangekyo Sharingan, what was the problem with facing three ninja villages alone?

There was no problem at all.

After all, Uchiha Madara had once faced all five ninja villages.

Why couldn’t Sasuke?

(End of chapter)