Chapter 218 – Sasuke's Mangekyō, and Kitagawa Gen's Ruthless Kindness
"Damn it! I really shouldn't have killed him so quickly!"
On the way back to Konoha, Sasuke suddenly slammed his fist down, his face full of regret.
His sudden outburst made Naruto break into a nervous sweat, and even the Takigakure shinobi following them jumped in alarm.
After such devastation, they knew—even if they hated it—that they could no longer keep the Seven-Tails.
Especially after witnessing Gen's terrifying power, they understood just how firm Konoha's resolve was.
So, even though Konoha hadn't demanded anything yet, the Takigakure shinobi hurriedly offered concessions on their own.
Of course, Fu remained a shinobi of Takigakure—her trip to Konoha was officially "just a visit."
And given Takigakure's heavy losses, Konoha, at least for appearances, would offer aid in return.
Still, the Takigakure delegation was restless. It wasn't just Gen's overwhelming might that terrified them—Sasuke's unpredictable moods didn't help either.
"Enough, Sasuke. Don't dwell on it."
Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, too weary to speak further. Gen, on the other hand, looked on with the expression of someone enjoying the show.
That left Kakashi no choice but to try calming his student.
"Don't take Gen's words too seriously. He's too extreme. You handled it just fine."
"But letting him die so easily… that feels like betraying the memory of my clan!"
Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration.
"And who knows what havoc he'll wreak if resurrected with Edo Tensei. That bastard deserves worse!"
"See? Exactly what I said!" Gen gave him an approving look.
Kakashi sighed. "At least Sasuke isn't as extreme as you…"
"Tch." Gen rolled his eyes, then smirked at Sasuke.
"Instead of whining, think about what happens when Itachi is resurrected."
"Let him come back!" Sasuke growled, his scarlet eyes burning brighter.
"This time he died too cheaply. And I'm no longer the same as before!"
"…This kid."
Kakashi shook his head helplessly. He and Jiraiya pulled Gen a few steps ahead, lowering their voices once they were out of earshot.
"Was Orochimaru the one who took him?" Jiraiya asked quietly.
"Yeah. Confirmed," Gen replied with a nod. His tone turned serious.
"When the Third used Edo Tensei, it was so slow I learned it just by watching. Earlier, I tested it on a bandit—you saw the result."
Kakashi and Jiraiya both nodded grimly. They had indeed witnessed it: the sacrificial bandit collapsed, but Itachi never appeared.
Which meant only one thing—
"Orochimaru struck first," Jiraiya muttered, irritated. "Probably used whatever bodies he could find."
Unlike them, Orochimaru had no moral restraints.
Kakashi sighed too, but there was no point agonizing over it now. He glanced back at Sasuke before speaking.
"His eyes… they've changed. But this doesn't match the records we have."
"I don't think the Uchiha are as simple—or as weak—as Tobirama's notes made them sound," Gen said with a faint smile.
"The Mangekyō was always rare, so the data was incomplete. Sasuke himself is proof enough."
Senju Tobirama had studied the Uchiha extensively, even speculated about the Mangekyō.
But his theory always centered on "the loss of love." In reality, awakening wasn't limited to that one extreme—it was always about extreme emotions, but those emotions could take many forms.
Sasuke's case was different.
"He didn't awaken it through loss, but through rebirth," Gen explained. "Itachi forced him into a position where he could neither forgive nor belong. Killing Itachi wasn't about losing love—it was about redefining himself. That too… is evolution."
Kakashi, with his own Sharingan, understood immediately.
"Sasuke really is… a special child."
"Indeed," Gen agreed, though his eyes flickered. Not as special as Uchiha Obito, though.
After all, Obito's Sharingan had skipped directly from two tomoe to Mangekyō. Even stranger, his ability had leaked out before he'd even awakened it fully. That was unheard of.
And then there was the most bizarre awakening of all—the one belonging to a girl who might one day be Sasuke's daughter…
"…Anyway, Sasuke's powers are already shifting."
The anger was still there, the desire to kill Itachi still burned.
But his emotions had changed. And with them, so too had the reflection of his soul—the essence of the Sharingan.
Sasuke, trusting Gen completely, had even whispered his new ability to him, along with the mindset that birthed it.
"I wanted to carry the hatred and will of my entire clan," Sasuke said, "to wield their vengeance as my strength, and end Itachi with their voices in my blade. And so…"
From that conviction emerged a strange, remarkable power.
"Amenotokotachi?"
Gen murmured to himself, turning the words over. The ability gave him an eerie sense of déjà vu.
"The left eye enhances the body—speed, strength, endurance."
"And the right eye strengthens techniques—ninjutsu, dōjutsu—growing more powerful the more chakra he expends."
This ability… why does it feel so much like Uchiha Madara?
When Madara made his move, the impression he left on everyone could be summed up in a single word—overwhelming.
Overwhelming to the point of being untouchable.
His ninjutsu was absurdly powerful, his Susanoo even manifested with extra arms compared to others.
Beyond that, there were no unnecessary tricks—just pure, crushing strength.
Except against Hashirama Senju…
"A pure stat monster, huh?"
Gen hadn't expected Sasuke's new ocular powers to shift in such a way, but on second thought, it fit him perfectly.
After all, Sasuke had never relied much on Amaterasu or Kagutsuchi. His combat style leaned far more on ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Susanoo.
Now, fighting with the will of his entire clan on his shoulders, wasn't he walking the same path Madara once had?
And if you really think about it, most "legit" Mangekyō awakenings ended up with abilities that boiled down to the same thing—
just split between left and right eyes.
Kotoamatsukami from Shisui.
Kamui from Obito.
Whether Itachi was an exception was debatable.
Even Sasuke's own Amaterasu might not have been his originally—it could very well have been carried over by the Izanagi-style Transcription Seal.
As for Kagutsuchi, perhaps it was only born because Sasuke had accepted Itachi, making it the perfect complement to Amaterasu.
Of course, this was all speculation. Mangekyō abilities were endlessly varied, their origins too complex to pin down.
Still, if the Transcription Seal theory held, then Itachi's ocular techniques weren't impossible to appear in Sasuke's eyes.
He hadn't gotten Itachi's Edo Tensei body, but he had obtained his eyes.
Too bad Shisui's remaining eye was out of reach.
"Forget it. No point in overthinking this."
Kakashi, unaware of what was running through Gen's head, pressed his temples with a sigh.
"Let's pick up the pace. We had some unexpected turns this time, but the mission is basically done."
"Agreed." Jiraiya nodded, then chuckled.
"And we even came out ahead. Not a single one of us ended up in the hospital."
"…Really?"
Gen arched a brow. And he had to admit—setting aside Sasuke's eye transplant, they had indeed avoided any serious injuries this time.
For a moment, he considered arranging something just to maintain the usual "curse" of their missions.
But then he laughed and shook the thought away.
"Forget it. Let's head back. This fight gave me some gains—I need time to digest them."
"Gains again?"
Kakashi looked surprised, and even Jiraiya's expression was full of wonder.
"You monster, your talent is unreal."
Gen just smiled faintly. He was shocked himself when he saw the reward.
[Side Mission Completed: Three years… do you know what I've experienced in those three years? ]
[Crush the invading enemies and show them what you've endured all these years.]
[Reward Obtained: Rinnegan Yin–Yang Release Insight]
At first, he was stunned. Yin–Yang Release? And as an "insight"?
He'd only ever associated ocular abilities with Yin Release.
The sudden appearance of Yin–Yang Release caught him completely off guard.
But the moment he dug deeper into the reward, he understood.
"This is about the Rinnegan's command over Yin–Yang Release…
about the fusion of the two, and how these eyes function on a fundamental level."
Both the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan were "final forms" of the dōjutsu line,
both born from the intertwining of Yin and Yang.
Yet they developed in different directions.
The Tenseigan, in Gen's hands, was a pure "stat eye"—an engine of raw, explosive power.
The Rinnegan, as far as he could tell from Nagato's example, leaned more toward mechanisms and systems.
In essence, it was a "system eye."
And this new insight into Yin–Yang Release… would be invaluable for his ultimate plan.
"For my Bloodline Fusion Project, this is a huge leap forward."
At this stage, Gen's bloodline development had reached a critical point.
What remained was gathering Indra's chakra, Ashura's chakra, the power of the Tailed Beasts,
and preparing for the inevitable arrival of the Ōtsutsuki.
All leading toward one goal—
"The creation of the Bloodline Fusion."
The tailed beasts could wait—the Ōtsutsuki weren't arriving tomorrow.
But Indra, Ashura, and the fusion process… those he needed to start plotting now.
"Nagato and his Akatsuki really are perfect blood banks.
No matter how many times I drain them, they just keep producing."
Gen couldn't help but feel grateful.
Without their unshakable faith and relentless determination,
how could they constantly feed him strength with their sweat, blood, and effort?
"You guys better keep bleeding and sweating for me.
How else am I supposed to keep leveling up this fast?"
Sometimes, he almost felt guilty enough to hang a lantern for them in memorial.
Forcing Nagato and his comrades into unpaid labor—
bleeding, sweating, shining, and ultimately fueling his rise.
Still, at least they were alive, weren't they?
Alive—that wasn't so bad, right?
Gen chuckled to himself.
"I really am too kindhearted."