Mangekyo (First Update)

Seriously wounded and missing an eye, Uchiha Fugaku lay on Xu Yue’s back, feeling the pain in his eye socket and the frail body carrying him.

Half-conscious, he could not help but sigh.

He should not have ignored Yue’s advice. They had gone too deep. This sort of mission really was better suited for Minato Namikaze.

The pain from his injuries made him pass out again in his haze.

Before losing consciousness, though, he thought that it was fortunate he had brought Yue along. Yue might still have lacked experience in some areas, but he truly was a companion worthy of entrusting one’s back to.

He had not abandoned him at the critical moment. Only in times of danger could one see a person’s true nature.

It reminded Fugaku of the close friend who had died saving him. It was that friend’s death that had awakened these eyes of his.

Now, being able to escape alive at the cost of one eye could be considered karma coming full circle…

As Xu Yue carried Uchiha Fugaku back toward camp, he was fairly satisfied with how this plan had gone. It had largely achieved its objectives.

The little mishaps along the way had all been dealt with through improvisation.

Most importantly, Kakuzu had not turned on him at the crucial moment.

It seemed that he understood as well. Even if he exposed Xu Yue in the end, Xu Yue could crush three of his hearts by activating the control seals, then use Sage Art: Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence to settle all the remaining problems.

It was just that Uchiha Fugaku would end up carved onto the Memorial Stone.

Anyway, Sasuke seemed to have already been conceived, and Itachi was already five or six years old. If it came down to it, a "sacrifice" was just a "sacrifice." Even if Sasuke had not quite been conceived yet, Xu Yue could help make up for it. It would not make much difference. They all had black hair…

Of course, the best outcome was for Kakuzu to follow the plan and obediently do his job.

This way, he could even earn the friendship of the Uchiha Clan’s patriarch.

His favorability had risen to 25/25.

"Saving his life" had directly added fifteen points.

After Xu Yue told Kakuzu what to watch out for when fighting Uchiha Fugaku, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, the old monster fully put his advantage in experience to use.

Not to mention that Uchiha Fugaku had just been dragged down by Xu Yue and suffered enormous depletion at the hands of three elite jonin.

Even without that depletion, he probably would not have been a match for Kakuzu, who had learned his intelligence in advance.

Through the battle, Xu Yue also discovered that Fugaku’s Mangekyo abilities were Tsukuyomi and Kagutsuchi. Xu Yue had warned Kakuzu about Tsukuyomi beforehand, so the veteran knew not to meet his gaze.

Kagutsuchi, on the other hand, was rather interesting. Without Amaterasu’s flames, it could only control ordinary fire. Though it was still quite practical, its threat level was undoubtedly greatly reduced.

However, Fugaku’s Kagutsuchi could control not only his own flames, but also his enemy’s.

Fortunately, Tsukuyomi was in his right eye. Otherwise, Xu Yue figured he might have given up on it.

As for Susanoo, perhaps because Fugaku had only awakened his Mangekyo recently, or perhaps because he had expended too much, he had not used it. That saved Xu Yue quite a bit of trouble.

Worried that the Mangekyo and its owner might have some kind of connection, Xu Yue directly completed the replacement after Fugaku fell unconscious.

Xu Yue felt no psychological burden whatsoever about taking Fugaku’s eye. Their previous relationship had always been maintained by the space itself. Leaving the man alive was merely a habit born from Xu Yue’s masked persona.

Still, having taken his payment, Xu Yue would help him avert disaster. Since he had taken on the karma of his eye, he would look after Uchiha Sasuke a little in the future…

With the space’s certification, this eye would become Xu Yue’s alone! It would no longer have the slightest connection to Fugaku! Even its Mangekyo pattern had become completely synchronized with his left eye!

He once again handed over the last S-Rank Plot he had on him.

Susanoo was unlocked as well!

However, according to the prompt, he could currently only use its initial form and first form. He did not know whether later forms depended on his own Chakra and overall strength, or whether he needed to advance toward the Eternal Mangekyo.

Mangekyo Sharingan (Tsukuyomi): Upon making eye contact, it can drag the target's mind into an Illusion Technique space created by the user. The entire space is controlled by the user. Each use consumes mental power and reduces eyesight.

Xu Yue was quite satisfied with obtaining Tsukuyomi. Unlike Kamui’s physical destruction, Tsukuyomi destroyed the enemy’s mind. Moreover, Kamui consumed Chakra while Tsukuyomi consumed mental power, so he would not suffer from excessive depletion in a single area.

At last, his Mangekyo Sharingan had become a complete pair. Its perception and enhancement of Illusion Techniques had both improved tremendously—at least four times the boost of a single Mangekyo!

Even ordinary Illusion Techniques had become highly viable.

Sure enough, the Sharingan needed a pair to unleash its greatest power.

Come to think of it, it was somewhat similar to the combination of Itachi’s Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.

As for Kakuzu, Xu Yue also unsealed one of his heart seals as payment. Both sides were trustworthy, which would make their next collaboration more pleasant.

It had to be said that, having grown accustomed to the bounty hunter lifestyle, Kakuzu might have been one of the most reliable among all the villains when it came to keeping his word.

And even if he turned around and started spreading nonsense, Xu Yue was not worried in the slightest. The space had taken payment and handled the transaction—the eye was now his. There was not a shred of evidence.

Even the Mangekyo patterns were different. Was he joking?

Did he need to worry about an enemy spreading divisive slander?

News that Uchiha Fugaku had been seriously injured and blinded in one eye was undoubtedly explosive amid the fierce fighting on the front lines.

Even Jiraiya, who was so busy he was practically losing his hair, personally came to visit Uchiha Fugaku and told him to focus on recovering.

He was not only one of the strongest fighters on the front lines, but also the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan!

After suffering this setback,

Uchiha Fugaku, now left with only one eye, had completely emerged from his inflated mindset. The Mangekyo was powerful, but it was not invincible. The eye he had lost would forever remind him of that!

Xu Yue, whose Force Sense had been enhanced again through practicing Sage Mode, was rather surprised when he sensed Fugaku’s restrained aura.

Perhaps after this battle, despite losing an eye, this man’s combat power would rise rather than fall.

Setting aside the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan’s innate talent was certainly not weak either…

During the period when Uchiha Fugaku was recovering, he also taught Xu Yue some secret techniques and skills of the Uchiha Clan.

For example, Xu Yue’s throwing techniques, which already had a solid foundation, as well as some Fire Style techniques and practical secret techniques of the Uchiha Clan.

Bit by bit, they cost Xu Yue several C-Rank Plots and one B-Rank Plot, while also using up all twenty-five favorability points. They filled in quite a few of Xu Yue’s smaller techniques, so he would not have to resort to big moves at every turn.

Fugaku clearly intended to nurture Xu Yue as a future pillar of the clan.

Through this incident, Uchiha Fugaku had fully acknowledged that Xu Yue would never abandon a companion. He was someone who could be completely trusted.

Combined with the favors Fugaku had granted him in the past and his current efforts to win him over, once Itachi grew up, Xu Yue could become a good helper to him.

Together with Shisui, they could create a good environment for Itachi!

As a high-level combatant, Xu Yue could not spend too much time on the front lines continuously extracting benefits from Fugaku.

"Although using Kakuzu was much faster than I originally estimated, I do not have much time to waste. Hmm, I wonder if there is still a chance to try something with Minato."

There was still no news from the battlefield that encountering the Yellow Flash and abandoning a mission would not count as mission failure.

It seemed that Minato Namikaze had not yet clashed head-on with the AB Combo, but it should be soon…

As for whether the extent of his displayed strength would arouse suspicions or associations, Xu Yue was not worried at all. Geniuses were meant to break common sense. There was nothing strange about undergoing a transformation into a true powerhouse after one failure!

Besides, Uchiha Kagami had died before his eyes. Given his masked persona, awakening the Mangekyo because the other man had "died for him" seemed perfectly natural…

I could get online but could not open webpages. It only got better after I ran an antivirus scan~

First update, to repay everyone for your support. An extra chapter for reaching 2,400 average subscriptions! There will still be two more guaranteed updates today~