"Ah!"
Just as Uchiha Shinji was pondering how to further refine the aging potion, Sasuke, standing nearby, suddenly let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
Haku hurriedly approached Sasuke, asking, "What's wrong with you?"
"My eyes... my eyes hurt so much!"
Sasuke writhed in agony on the ground, completely devoid of the confidence he had moments ago.
"Let me take a look!"
Shinji stepped forward to support Sasuke, examining his condition.
Though Sasuke's abdominal wound looked gruesome, dripping with blood, it wasn't actually severe. With a gentle touch of medical shinobi techniques, Shinji nearly healed the wound.
After a quick bandage, Shinji turned his attention to Sasuke's eyes.
At that moment, Sasuke's eyes were in a bizarre state. One eye retained the Mangekyo Sharingan's form, its scarlet pupils gleaming with an eerie brilliance. The other, however, had reverted to a plain black iris, looking utterly dull and lifeless.
Shinji mused silently, "Is this because of using 'Izanami's Fate'?"
In the recent fierce battle, the "Upper Moon Two" had indeed sliced Sasuke in half at the waist. Sasuke's revival was thanks to 'Izanami's Fate,' which briefly warped reality. However, activating 'Izanami's Fate' to distort reality was never without cost!
Perhaps this cost was lighter than using the forbidden technique 'Izanagi,' but it far exceeded that of ordinary Mangekyo dojutsu.
Having wielded Fugaku's pair of Mangekyo Sharingan through the 'Susanoo Tomoshibi,' Shinji also mastered 'Izanami's Fate,' so he understood this deeply.
Though his version of 'Izanami's Fate' differed in focus from Sasuke's, every time he activated it, he felt a profound discomfort unlike that of other Mangekyo dojutsu. As a result, he had rarely used this dojutsu recently.
To him, peering into and twisting fate was a deeply transgressive act.
In comparison, peering into fate was far less intrusive than directly warping it. Even just peering into fate caused him intense discomfort instinctively, so one could imagine the immense cost Sasuke paid for directly rewriting his own fate.
At that moment, Haku reported, "Leader, those Cloud Village shinobi are approaching!"
"Drive them off, then keep watch nearby."
Shinji issued the order.
"Yes!"
Haku nodded and, with a swoosh, vanished from the spot.
Not far away.
Seeing the battlefield suddenly fall silent, the Cloud Village shinobi cautiously approached, hoping to gather some intelligence.
Swish.
At that moment, Haku descended from the sky, blocking the Cloud Village shinobi's path.
"The Akatsuki!"
"It seems they won."
"Retreat!"
The moment Haku appeared, the Cloud Village shinobi silently withdrew in unison.
They had ventured here merely to confirm the outcome. Now, seeing an Akatsuki member sealing off the battlefield, the result was clear.
On the battlefield.
After a while, Sasuke's pain seemed to ease slightly.
Gasping for breath, he sat on the ground as if drained, his hooded red-cloud cloak soaked with sweat.
Shinji asked, "How do you feel?"
"Terrible!" Sasuke panted, clutching his eyes. "My right eye still hurts, like it's being stabbed by needles!"
"The right eye, huh?"
Shinji wasn't surprised, as Sasuke's right eye was the one imbued with 'Izanami's Fate' in its Mangekyo Sharingan.
Sasuke asked urgently, "L-Leader, why is this happening?"
Beneath his mask, Shinji's lips curled slightly.
This time, he had sent Sasuke on this mission not only to temper him but also to let him face setbacks and curb his arrogance.
Sasuke was the type who, when in need, would be extremely diligent and obedient.
In the original timeline, after Sasuke defected to Orochimaru, he followed Orochimaru's orders almost unquestioningly for three years. But as Orochimaru's condition worsened and Sasuke felt his own strength had grown sufficiently, he decisively betrayed him.
Now, having failed to defeat the 'Upper Moon Two' in a one-on-one fight, Sasuke's confidence was shattered, and his Mangekyo dojutsu power was severely depleted. If Sasuke still wished to exact revenge on Itachi, he would have no choice but to obediently follow Shinji's orders and serve his plans wholeheartedly.
With that thought, Shinji began seriously assessing Sasuke's condition.
After asking Sasuke a few detailed questions, Shinji said, "If I'm not mistaken, your right eye has temporarily lost its dojutsu power."
"What!?" Sasuke was shocked, stammering, "What does that mean?"
Shinji said calmly, "It means your right eye has, for now, become an ordinary eye."
"That's impossible!"
Sasuke immediately tried to activate his Sharingan, but no matter how hard he tried, only his left eye could manifest the Mangekyo state.
As for his right eye, let alone achieving the Mangekyo Sharingan, he couldn't even muster the tomoe state. It was as if it had truly become an ordinary eye.
"W-Why is this happening?"
Sasuke was utterly dejected.
"You didn't think twisting fate came without a cost, did you?" Pausing, Shinji said gravely, "Don't forget, you just used a dojutsu to deceive fate and gain a second life. This cost is already light!"
Compared to the total blindness caused by the forbidden technique 'Izanagi,' the temporary loss of dojutsu power in Sasuke's right eye was indeed a minor price.
Sasuke was speechless. After a long silence, he asked, "Leader, when will my right eye recover?"
Shinji said casually, "A few weeks, a few months, or maybe a few years..."
He genuinely couldn't determine how long it would take for Sasuke's right eye to recover, but to instill a proper respect for Mangekyo dojutsu, he deliberately made it sound more serious.
After all, Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra Otsutsuki in this generation, with a level of Yin Release chakra far surpassing that of ordinary Mangekyo Uchiha. His recovery speed should be faster than most. Shinji speculated that, for a first-time use, it might take just a few weeks to recover. As for how long it would take after a second use, he truly couldn't say.
"What!?"
Hearing it could take years, Sasuke was horrified.
Shinji said, "Remember, treat Mangekyo dojutsu with caution from now on!"
Sasuke, full of frustration, said, "B-But why can you and 'B' use Mangekyo dojutsu freely while I can't?"
Shinji glanced at Sasuke, speaking with an air of superiority, "Because our Sharingan are not the same!"