Opening the Mangekyō Sharingan

"Sakai!?"

Pakura used the Body Flicker Technique and arrived beside Yasunori Sakai. The poison on the senbon had already taken effect. Yasunori Sakai began coughing up blood, his face turning black.

"Cough, cough, what potent poison… That ninja really was decisive."

As he spoke, this body was already nearing its limit. For a guaranteed kill, Root used extremely precious poisons, ones that basically no one besides Tsunade could cure. And even Tsunade would not be able to gather the antidote in a short time.

At Loulan Base, Android 18 turned her head toward Hyuga Mirai beside her. "Sir, Yasunori Sakai’s body can last another seventy-three seconds. After that, it will lose all vital signs and die."

"Can it be extended?"

"Activating the rescue protocol can extend it to one hundred and ninety-two seconds. Completely removing the poison is impossible."

"That’s enough. Extend it." Through Yasunori Sakai’s perspective, Hyuga Mirai could clearly see the battle there. It would take two minutes to kill everyone from Root, leaving one minute for final words. That was just right.

Under Android 18’s control, the Nanoparticles rooted within Yasunori Sakai’s body swiftly delayed the poison’s onset. Otherwise, one minute would be gone after only a few sentences. It truly would not be enough.

On the battlefield in the Land of Fire, Pakura’s fears instantly came true when she saw Yasunori Sakai’s condition. Seeing him on the brink of death, the fury in her heart seemed to condense into something tangible.

"Yasunori-kun!?"

After the Uchiha Clan noticed Yasunori Sakai’s condition, the Three-Tomoe in their eyes spun at high speed. Uchiha Tekka in particular had practically regarded Yasunori Sakai as a mentor who guided his life. Whenever they spoke, he felt incomparably relaxed and at ease.

Moreover, Yasunori Sakai trusted the Uchiha Clan. To avoid delaying the appointment, he had barely met up with the Kazekage’s forces. If he had joined the Kazekage a little later, this would not have happened.

Or, if they had been more vigilant, Yasunori-kun would not have suffered this misfortune.

It’s all these bastards’ fault—the Konoha Higher-ups’ lapdogs!

Uchiha Tekka was consumed by rage. The Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, faintly showing signs of connecting into a pattern.

"Kill!"

Uchiha Tekka used the Body Flicker Technique and charged forward, heading straight for the Root ninja who had used Wood Release.

Pakura’s Anbu squad also attacked the Root ninja. With the support of seven Suna-nin Anbu and the Uchiha Clan members fighting desperately after seeing the person they had invited injured by Root, the battle intensified.

The Root ninja Danzo had sent were fairly strong, but their opponents were six bloodthirsty Uchiha and seven Suna-nin Anbu. They did not even last two minutes before being killed one after another.

Even the Root ninja with Wood Release did not hold out for long. The enraged Uchiha Tekka directly roasted him into a charred corpse with the Dragon Flame Song Technique.

Uchiha Yashiro captured one man alive. After examining his tongue, his expression turned icy as he snapped the captive’s neck.

"It’s Root. Danzo’s lapdogs."

The other Uchiha clansmen were furious upon hearing this, wishing they could immediately return to Konoha and tear Danzo to pieces.

Since when had the Uchiha Clan become incapable of guaranteeing the safety of even the guests they invited!? What a disgrace!

"Sakai, hang in there. I’ll take you to a Medical-nin."

In her desperation, Pakura took out a Healing Tag and stuck it onto Yasunori Sakai’s body. But although green light shone from the Healing Tag, the spread of poison within him did not slow at all.

One of the Anbu nearby had once been a Puppet Master. After examining the poison Yasunori Sakai had been afflicted with, he gently shook his head at Pakura.

This poison was too powerful. In this environment, he could not determine its formula at all. And even if he could, there was no antidote.

"Forget it… Pakura, I know my condition."

His face somewhat blackened, Yasunori Sakai painfully pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to Pakura.

"This is… the agreement with the Uchiha. The Federation only needs to follow this. Tekka-kun… is my friend. This time was an accident. Don’t blame… them."

The six Uchiha who had drawn close could not help lowering their heads in guilt upon hearing Yasunori Sakai’s words. Strictly speaking, they bore considerable responsibility as well. They had been discovered without noticing, and although the person they invited had arrived, they had failed to provide proper protection.

Yet Yasunori Sakai did not blame them at all. He had even deliberately tried to console them. Even Uchiha Yashiro felt deep respect for him.

"Tekka-kun, I’ll leave what comes next to you and Pakura."

After saying that, Yasunori Sakai’s body could no longer hold on and directly lost all vital signs. Far away at Loulan Base, Hyuga Mirai also lost the image from Yasunori Sakai’s perspective.

Android 18 explained from beside him, "Sir, once Yasunori Sakai loses his vital signs, the Nanoparticles in his body will activate their self-destruction sequence to prevent anyone from discovering them."

Hyuga Mirai nodded. "I know that. There were still a few words left unsaid, but forget it. This is enough."

Seeing Yasunori Sakai die, Uchiha Tekka’s clenched fists trembled slightly.

If Yasunori Sakai had not met with disaster, joining the Saudi Federation would have been the Uchiha Clan’s most correct choice, because there was someone here who understood them!

That was what Uchiha Tekka thought. Although Yasunori Sakai had spoken for the Uchiha Clan even on his deathbed, without him, Uchiha Tekka felt that even if they integrated into the Saudi Federation, something would be missing.

As he lowered his head, the tomoe in Uchiha Tekka’s eyes gradually linked and expanded, transforming into a distinctive triangular Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Lord Kazekage, I am Uchiha Yashiro. Yasunori-san’s death is somewhat related to us."

"It has nothing to do with you. I can still tell who the enemy is."

Though Pakura’s expression had calmed, everyone present could sense the anger in her voice. Her rage was not directed at the Uchiha Clan, but at Konoha’s Root.

"The Saudi Federation being able to recruit the Uchiha Clan was not only something Sakai had always hoped for, but also the Federation’s good fortune. I will have Elder Yasunori handle the agreement from here on. I hope you do not mind."

"Thank you for the trouble, Lord Kazekage. Our Uchiha Clan will definitely avenge Yasunori-san."

Uchiha Yashiro spoke firmly. If they did not retaliate for this, the Uchiha’s reputation would be utterly ruined. What great clan with a heritage spanning centuries would invite an ally only to have him killed, then not dare seek revenge?

Although this had been a private operation by the six of them, together they could mobilize one-third of the Military Police Force’s strength.

"Once I return, I will have Elder Yasunori complete the agreement as soon as possible. Yashiro-san, regarding a declaration of war against Konoha, I will have the Federation cooperate with your Uchiha Clan. It will both avenge Sakai and help draw away some attention from you."

After leaving those words behind, Pakura led her subordinates away.

Once both sides departed, only traces of devastation remained across the ground. The Uchiha did not erase the evidence. They merely destroyed the Root ninja’s heads before openly leaving the corpses behind.

They no longer cared. The rebellion was about to happen, and the Uchiha had found a way out for their ordinary clansmen.

The thoughts in Uchiha Tekka’s heart had changed. What he needed now was not a coup d’état, but revenge!

On their way back, the other five clansmen all learned of the change in Uchiha Tekka’s eyes. However, Uchiha Tekka asked them to keep it secret, and they readily agreed not to tell anyone.

A ninja’s intelligence was a crucial factor in determining victory or defeat in battle. If one learned an opponent’s abilities beforehand, one could prepare countermeasures, and that could be fatal for a ninja.

The Mangekyō Sharingan Uchiha Tekka had awakened was his new trump card. The Eye Technique housed in his left eye was Tsukuyomi’s Protection. It could heal injuries; so long as a person was not dead, this Eye Technique could restore them. However, the more severe the injury, the more ocular power it consumed.

The Eye Technique housed in his right eye was Amaterasu’s Imprisonment, the strongest sealing technique. It could bind any target within his line of sight in place like a sacrifice. This was an offering to the gods, and once caught in this Eye Technique, it was extremely difficult to break free.

Though he had not used it yet, Uchiha Tekka felt that the binding technique in his right eye was ten times stronger than the Uchiha Clan’s Body Binding Illusion.

After Yasunori Sakai’s death, Hyuga Mirai spoke with Tsunade again about her going to Konoha. It would be best if she did not go voluntarily. She should wait for the Anbu to seek her out, or return to the village right when the Uchiha rebellion broke out.

Tsunade had no objections to this. She did not want to go begging them to make her Hokage. If the village were not the life’s work of her grandfathers, she would not even want to return.

She already had her own pursuit. However, since Hyuga Mirai had asked her, Tsunade would do her utmost for the sake of achieving everlasting peace.

After finishing his conversation with Tsunade, Hyuga Mirai went to find Sasori.

The instant he pushed open the Laboratory doors, Hyuga Mirai loudly said, "Sasori, only you can handle this!"

Sasori, who was assembling a puppet, froze for a moment. Then, after hearing Hyuga Mirai out, the anger on his face intensified somewhat.

"You’ve started assigning babysitting and transportation work to me now?"

"Other than you, I truly can’t think of anyone else who can do it. I’ll go with you this time, but since I exposed some things during my last visit to Konoha, I can only rely on you publicly."

"The Uchiha Clan joining the Saudi Federation is highly significant. I really can’t rest easy leaving something this important to someone else. Otherwise, I would have gone to Orochimaru."

Faced with Hyuga Mirai’s exceedingly sincere request, Sasori found it difficult to deal with him every time. He directly pushed Hyuga Mirai away, then clicked his tongue and said,

"I understand. Just call me when it’s time. Seriously."