"Sasuke, your eyes look different!"
Naruto had noticed the three-tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Sasuke's eyes and couldn't help blurting it out.
"That's the three-tomoe Sharingan," Hyuga Neji said, his expression complicated.
With Sasuke awakening the three-tomoe, his strength had jumped again, and the gap between them was widening. And… could the Box of Ultimate Bliss really grant wishes?
A blasphemous thought toward the Hyuga main family flashed through Neji's mind—the wish to abolish the Caged Bird Seal. But thinking it through, he realized the Box had limits. It "grants wishes" by releasing the Yin-Release monster Satori. Satori could help Sasuke awaken the three-tomoe, but could it undo the Caged Bird Seal? Probably not.
The Caged Bird was, at its core, a sealing technique; if Satori could handle that, it wouldn't have been sealed away by Kitazawa. With that in mind, Neji quickly regained his calm. Besides, in his current life, the Caged Bird didn't make much practical difference.
"I awakened the three-tomoe?" Sasuke looked up at once, surprise in his voice.
In his memory, he had wished for the three-tomoe via the Box and Satori's power. Now that Satori was sealed and the Box shut again, he'd assumed his three-tomoe would vanish with them—but it hadn't.
"Eh? Your three-tomoe just disappeared again!" Naruto scratched his head, baffled.
Sasuke's eyes had returned to normal—triggered, in fact, by a change in his emotions.
"What?" Sasuke quickly looked to Uchiha Itachi.
"You awakened the three-tomoe through the Box, so you can't control it properly yet," Itachi said after a moment's thought. "Once we're back, I'll teach you. Then you'll be able to turn it on and off at will."
"I see." Sasuke let out a breath, then couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. "Haha, I awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan!"
He laughed twice, then clapped a hand over his mouth. Now wasn't the time to gloat—and he'd gotten this three-tomoe by fighting Naruto and Itachi. Still, the him in those memories had been absurdly strong, beating Naruto with ease.
So this is the power of the three-tomoe?
The thought made Sasuke want to burst out laughing again.
Kitazawa only shook his head. He could guess what Sasuke was thinking. But that wasn't the three-tomoe's power—that was Satori's. With Satori sealed, Sasuke had indeed gotten stronger, just not as much as he imagined.
[Current Mission: Help Uchiha Sasuke awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan.]
[Reward: Stealth Sharingan Activation (no visible traits).]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa's spirit lifted. The "Not Visible Sharingan" he'd been waiting for was finally here!
As the three lines appeared, a flood of information poured into his mind. Just like the name implied: from now on, when he activated the Sharingan, his eyes would still look like his normal eyes—no tomoe.
Controlled properly, even his chakra fluctuations wouldn't be easily sensed. Only when casting genjutsu would the chakra give him away. Even so, that was plenty. It meant that until the moment he actually used genjutsu, almost no one would realize he'd activated the Sharingan. Against most shinobi, he could go for a first-glance kill—one look and they'd be done.
[Current Mission: Defeat Satori.]
[Reward: Contract Seal.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Another set of lines flashed before Kitazawa's eyes. The Contract Seal was a special technique even among the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts. It severed the bond between a summoner and their summon.
In the original story, Namikaze Minato used it to cut the contract between Obito and the Nine-Tails. If it could sever a pact with the Nine-Tails, lesser summons were no problem. It could even be used mid-battle.
For example, in his fight with Orochimaru—if Kitazawa had known the Contract Seal then, he could've cut Orochimaru's contract with Ryūchi Cave and reduced his combat power. After all, without a contract, most summoned beasts had no reason to fight for a ninja.
Of course, it was useless against shinobi who had a great relationship with their summons—they could just sign again later. Still, for Konoha, the Contract Seal was hugely valuable; it could help safeguard the Nine-Tails.
"Bring Mui here."
Kitazawa came back to himself and gave the order.
Two Anbu nearby sprinted toward Hōzuki Castle and returned moments later with Mui. Compared to before, Mui was a shell of himself—utterly shattered. Kitazawa had made him watch the entire process of wishing and defeating Satori.
Smart as he was, Mui had understood the Box's true nature: the wish was a front; releasing Satori was the reality. In other words, he could no longer resurrect his son, Muku.
"What are you going to do?" Kitazawa asked.
"You're not going to kill me?" Mui blinked, confused.
"Why would I?" Kitazawa shook his head. "You broke the rules; I broke the rules. Call it even."
Mui fell silent. His life's obsession had been to open the Box and bring Muku back. With that gone, what was left for him? What meaning did his life have?
"Then kill me," he said, dead inside.
"Even if Muku can't return, don't you care about the girl he liked?" Kitazawa asked after a moment.
"You mean Ryūzetsu?" Emotion flickered back onto Mui's face. "How do you know about her?"
"Looking into you is trivial for Konoha," Kitazawa said with a faint smile.
Every movie had its heroine; in Blood Prison, it was Ryūzetsu. She and Muku had grown up together. She'd believed Mui killed him and tried every way to assassinate Mui in revenge—until Naruto arrived and she learned the truth.
After they defeated Satori, Naruto was gravely injured, and Ryūzetsu, wish fulfilled, gave her life to save him. The technique she used was the S-rank "Dragon Life Reincarnation," which transfers one's life in a single burst—via a kiss.
A one-for-one resurrection, very similar to Chiyo's "One's Own Life Reincarnation," which, notably, could also grant life to a puppet. Worth mentioning: in the movies, Naruto pretty much kisses every female lead.
"You should also know that Kusagakure is currently torn between the Grass Flower and Grass Fruit factions," Kitazawa went on. "Ryūzetsu is Grass Flower and even joined their Anbu. One slip and she could die."
"What do you want from me?" Mui had caught on long ago—Kitazawa wouldn't be chatting this long without a purpose.
[As the future Hokage, you must stir the shinobi world.]
[Current Mission: Secretly take control of Kusagakure and become its leader.]
[Reward: Eight Trigrams Seal.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa raised a brow. A system mission, now? Why hadn't there been one for Otogakure? Because Tsunade had led the operation? Or because Konoha's control over Oto wasn't "secret" at all but achieved through Orochimaru?
"With your strength, you'd be the strongest in Kusagakure," Kitazawa said after accepting. "Don't you want to be its leader?"
"You want to control Kusagakure?" Mui blurted.
"With Konoha's power, we could make anyone its leader," Kitazawa corrected mildly. "But I respect you. So I'm willing to cooperate."
"I agree," Mui said after a brief struggle. Muku had died because of him; if Ryūzetsu died too, he'd have no face to see Muku in the afterlife.
Once he became Kusagakure's leader, he could end the feud between Grass Flower and Grass Fruit. The Box had been moved; their fighting was meaningless now.
"Itachi, stay and help him. Once he's leader, come back," Kitazawa instructed.
"Understood, Kitazawa-sama," Uchiha Itachi nodded.
He'd already caught the subtext. Mui wasn't a Konoha shinobi; to be safe, Itachi should plant a Mangekyō genjutsu suggestion—something like a weaker Kotoamatsukami. Invisible day-to-day, decisive at critical moments.
Kitazawa couldn't help smiling. Itachi was the perfect utility man—effective and low-maintenance. He couldn't say "control him" in front of Mui, so he'd simply said Itachi would stay to help. As the Hokage's secretary, Itachi really shouldn't be doing this sort of thing; given Mui's level, two Anbu squads would've been enough to secure his rise. Itachi had understood Kitazawa's real intent immediately.
"I'll take the students back to the village first," Kitazawa decided. "This is yours now; the Anbu will be under your command."
"Got it," Itachi said.
"See you, Nii-san!" Sasuke waved. It was only a short separation; he didn't feel reluctant at all. On the contrary, he was buzzing to get home and tell Fugaku he'd awakened the three-tomoe.
Neji, meanwhile, was puzzled. Was that really it? Why had Kitazawa brought him along—just to watch?
Hinata didn't overthink it. For her, doing a mission with Kitazawa was enough.
Kitazawa brought the four students back to Konoha. As for the Box of Ultimate Bliss, he handed it off to the Anbu for transport—it would probably arrive two days later than they did.
"I'm stopping by the Hokage's office. You all head home and rest," Kitazawa said, ruffling Hinata's hair.
"I'm going first, Kitazawa-sensei!" Sasuke took off at a run toward home.
"In such a rush, huh," Kitazawa chuckled, then turned toward the Hokage Tower.
At the Uchiha compound—
"Dad!"
Fugaku happened to be home and, seeing Sasuke so hyped, asked, "How did the mission go?"
"Great!" Sasuke said, barely able to contain himself. "And you'll never guess what happened!"
"Where's your brother?" Mikoto glanced around.
"He still has unfinished business," Sasuke replied, then announced with pride, "I awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"The three-tomoe?" Fugaku and Mikoto both froze, doubt flickering across their faces.
Awakening two tomoe at seven was already astonishing—but two tomoe was roughly chūnin level. Konoha had seen chūnin under ten before, so that was barely acceptable. But three tomoe at eight wasn't just astonishing; it was unprecedented.
"I'll show you," Sasuke said, trying to demonstrate—only to realize he didn't know how to turn it on. He remembered Itachi's words, so he recounted the mission from start to finish.
Fugaku and Mikoto believed him. An eight-year-old couldn't spin such detailed, outlandish lies—and they could verify everything when Itachi returned. There was no reason for Sasuke to make it up.
"As expected of my son!" Fugaku couldn't help laughing. Three tomoe at eight—barring surprises, Sasuke would definitely awaken the Mangekyō. Add his connection to Kitazawa, and the Hokage's seat was almost a given.
"Hahaha!" Fugaku's laughter grew freer and bolder.
At the Hokage Tower—
Stepping inside, Kitazawa exhaled; it was much warmer. It was January, and the cold outside bit deep. He went upstairs, stopped before the Hokage's office, and knocked. With permission granted, he pushed the door open and entered.
"Tsunade-sensei," he said as he approached. "Mission accomplished."
"With you handling it personally, how could it fail?" Tsunade looked up at him. "Where's the Box?"
"I handed it to the Anbu," Kitazawa said. "I came back with Sasuke and the others first. The Box is heavy—it'll be two days."
"Have the Sealing Team lock that dangerous thing down," Tsunade mused.
"Sealing it would be a waste. I want to take it apart and reforge it into ninja tools," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
"It's said to be a tool of the Sage of Six Paths. Can it even be disassembled?" Tsunade blinked.
"No idea," Kitazawa admitted. "When it gets here, I'll gather every blacksmith and we'll figure it out."
"Fair enough," Tsunade nodded. "If it really can be reforged, it should pack quite a punch."
"There's also the matter of Mui, the warden of Hōzuki Castle," Kitazawa continued, explaining the plan to back Mui as Kusagakure's leader.
"If you trust him, that's fine," Tsunade said without much comment. The former leader of Kusagakure had been the culprit behind Karin and her mother's suffering; his death was a relief.
Working with a new leader from a minor village was optional anyway. Such villages existed by the Five Great Nations' tacit consent—buffer zones and battlefields if war broke out. Since Kitazawa had already moved the pieces, she'd let him play it out; it wasn't a critical issue.
"In our fight with Satori, Itachi used the Mangekyō Sharingan," Kitazawa added. Since Itachi had revealed it himself, Tsunade needed to know. A Mangekyō user was a valuable asset for future difficult missions.
"You're sure?" Tsunade sat up straighter.
"His eye pattern wasn't three tomoe anymore—it was a triangular shuriken," Kitazawa said. "More importantly, it showed power beyond the three-tomoe."
"The Uchiha really do produce geniuses," Tsunade sighed. "Shisui first, then Itachi—two Mangekyō so close together."
"Luckily, they stand with Konoha," Kitazawa said. "On that front, it's good news."
"Mm." Tsunade agreed. "If Itachi revealed his Mangekyō of his own accord, it shows he trusts Konoha."
"I think it shows he trusts you," Kitazawa chuckled.
"The old man's already retired and you're still bad-mouthing him?" Tsunade shot him a glare.
"I didn't say anything," Kitazawa said, blinking innocently.
"…" Tsunade wanted to kick him, but he was standing too far away, so she let it go. "One last thing."
"Sasuke has awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Another Uchiha prodigy, huh." Tsunade paused. "Do you think he'll awaken the Mangekyō?"
"Nine out of ten," Kitazawa replied.
"Good thing you're his teacher—we won't have to worry about him going astray," Tsunade said. She'd read Tobirama's research on the Uchiha, which noted how many of them grew extreme under the Sharingan's influence—hence his comment that the Uchiha were "born evil."
The more extreme, the easier the eye evolved—and the greater the danger. Without a strong Hokage, the clan could be a huge instability. From that angle, Danzo's targeting of the Uchiha was understandable—his methods were just stupid.
Tsunade wasn't particularly worried now. Beyond her own strength, the key reason was that Kitazawa possessed Wood Release. Back then it was Hashirama who had it—and he was the one who kept the Uchiha firmly in check.
~~~
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