Mangekyō Sharingan Acquired

"Heavenly"

With things having reached this point, Itachi could no longer afford to hold back. The Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye spun wildly as he prepared to unleash Amaterasu, the inextinguishable flames, on Li Chuan.

However, Li Chuan vanished from before his eyes the very next second.

Then, before he could react at all, a small flying sword hovered in front of the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye.

"Uchiha Itachi, you should know very well that if I had wanted to kill you, you would already be dead from that last move. So don’t use the ninjutsu in your right eye again."

Li Chuan appeared behind Itachi and smiled as he patted his shoulder.

Itachi’s pupils contracted. He coughed twice and responded:

"I lost."

"Good. I’m not someone who likes forcing others.

So, I’ll give you two choices now:

First, agree to my previous conditions. That way, it’s good for you, good for me, good for everyone.

Second, I kill you right now and take both your eyes."

Li Chuan recalled the small flying sword and walked in front of Itachi.

Itachi’s mouth twitched. In the end, he reached up, plucked out his left eye in one motion, and handed it to Li Chuan.

"I choose the first option!"

He definitely could not win in a fight. Although he still had one of Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan and could use Kotoamatsukami to alter someone’s will, he would not use Kotoamatsukami unless Li Chuan truly intended to kill him.

Because he had prepared it for his younger brother, Sasuke.

"Smart choice. Then I won’t go back on my word either."

Li Chuan snapped his fingers, took the left eye from Itachi’s hand, then pulled out a vial and injected it directly into Itachi’s body.

After being injected with the Extremis virus, Itachi immediately let out a loud roar. Then, under the virus’s restorative power, a new eye rapidly grew within his previously empty left eye socket.

At the same time, blazing flames erupted from his body.

"My body and my eye!"

Itachi clenched both fists. Feeling his current body and the newly grown eye, an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

He truly had not expected everything Li Chuan had said to be true.

The body that had become extremely weakened from overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan and suffering excessive mental anguish had completely recovered at this moment. He could also clearly sense the powerful strength contained within it.

And these instinctive flames that he could summon and dismiss freely, while not a Kekkei Genkai, were indeed very similar to one.

"What a pity. The eye that grew back isn’t a Mangekyō Sharingan!"

After putting away the left eye, Li Chuan carefully examined the newly grown eye in Itachi’s left socket and revealed a somewhat regretful expression.

The newly grown eye was clearly no longer a Mangekyō Sharingan, but an ordinary eye.

"It simply hasn’t awakened yet. If I spend a few years on it, it should be able to become a Mangekyō Sharingan again."

Hearing Li Chuan’s sigh, Itachi responded in a relaxed tone.

At this point, more than half of Itachi’s hostility toward Li Chuan had vanished. He understood that if Li Chuan truly were an enemy, then with the terrifying strength he had displayed just now,

he could have simply killed Itachi and taken his Sharingan, rather than making a deal and even healing his body while increasing his strength.

Although he temporarily had only one Mangekyō Sharingan left, his body had been restored and strengthened, and he had gained a new ability. All things considered, his strength had not truly dropped by much.

The key was that he could sense that his left eye was still that same eye; it had merely returned to the state it had been in before it awakened.

Later, he only needed to use the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye, which shared the same origin, to guide it through awakening: one tomoe, two tomoe, three tomoe, and then the Mangekyō Sharingan. It was merely a matter of time.

By then, his overall strength would instead increase somewhat.

"That really is good news!"

Hearing Itachi’s words, Li Chuan’s eyes immediately lit up.

He had originally been worrying over how to stimulate Sasuke into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan again, because he needed Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan to combine it into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Now, it seemed he might not need to. Once Itachi’s left eye became a Mangekyō Sharingan again in a few years, he could directly combine it with the one he had now to form the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The condition for obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was transplanting the Mangekyō Sharingan of a relative. The closer the blood relation, the higher the success rate.

What bloodline could possibly be closer than one’s own?

Of course, there was no telling whether this method would work. After all, nothing like it had ever happened before.

But if it truly did not work by then, he could find a way to stimulate Sasuke. In any case, if Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, one of his eyes would definitely be enough to form the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Is everything you said before true?"

Itachi withdrew the flames around his body and looked at Li Chuan with a serious expression.

Li Chuan immediately knew what Itachi wanted to ask and answered with a smile:

"Of course. Isn’t there a member named Zetsu in the Akatsuki Organization? Ask him for intelligence on Konoha, and I’m sure you’ll learn that everything I said is true.

The Third is old. The only people who can take over as Hokage are Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Three Ninja. Unfortunately, Jiraiya does not want to become Hokage, and Tsunade will not even return to the village now.

Oh, and there’s Danzo too. But do you think Sasuke could still live normally in Konoha if Danzo became Hokage?

Without a doubt, given my strength, my identity, and my contributions to Konoha, becoming the Fifth Hokage is only a matter of time."

At this point, Li Chuan paused before continuing:

"So, work with me. The Third’s generation has always fought over power and done many disgraceful things. If this continues, Konoha will be finished sooner or later.

Once I become Hokage, I’ll reveal the truth about what happened back then, let you reunite with Sasuke, rebuild the Uchiha Clan, then eradicate disasters like Danzo and Root and restore Konoha to the light!"

Was Konoha what Itachi cared about most?

No. What Itachi cared about most was his younger brother, Sasuke. Konoha came second, and by Konoha, he meant the entire village of Konoha, not merely the Third.

Therefore, Li Chuan’s chances of recruiting Itachi now were actually quite high.

Sure enough, upon hearing Li Chuan’s words, a clearly tempted expression appeared on Itachi’s face.

Did he not want to return to Konoha, reunite with Sasuke, clear up the misunderstanding, and live happily together?

It was simply that he could not. Konoha’s higher-ups would absolutely never permit it. If Sasuke was to live safely in Konoha, he had to remain as he was now.

Thus, everything Li Chuan described truly tempted him.

"I won’t report what happened today to the Third. As long as it does not endanger Konoha or Sasuke, I’m willing to cooperate with you."

After some thought, Itachi gave his answer.

Li Chuan nodded. He had never intended to harm Konoha or Sasuke.

"No problem. Then continue infiltrating Akatsuki for now. You can send any intelligence to any Chuan Ji shop in town."