Kenji stared at the paralyzed Hyuga jonin sprawled before him. Without breaking eye contact with his captive, he reached out through his mental link to Rokuro.
*"Bring the Uchiha to my chamber,"* he transmitted silently.
*"At once, my lord,"* came Rokuro's immediate reply.
Within a few minutes, a soft knock echoed through the chamber. Kenji could sense Rokuro's presence even before the door opened, along with the barely conscious Uchiha being dragged behind him.
"My lord," Rokuro said, bowing low as he entered. "I've brought the Uchiha as requested."
The captive ninja hung limply between Rokuro's supporting arms, head lolling forward, dark hair obscuring his face. Blood crusted the corner of his mouth—evidence of his resistance.
"Leave us," Kenji commanded with a dismissive wave.
Rokuro bowed again and retreated, the heavy door sealing shut behind him with a resonant thud.
Now alone, Kenji allowed himself a moment to consider what he was about to do. When this ability had first manifested, he was concerned with questions of humanity, of what line he might be crossing. Those concerns felt distant now.
A tendril of flesh erupted from his back, writhing through the air before piercing the Uchiha's abdomen with precision. The ninja's body convulsed, a strangled cry tearing from his throat as consciousness returned in a wave of agony.
For just an instant, something flickered in Kenji's chest. Then it was gone.
The absorption began. Cells broke down and flowed through the organic conduit. The Uchiha's screams echoed off the stone walls, raw and inhuman, but Kenji's attention had already turned inward.
Visions cascaded through his mind like a violent storm— memories of the Uchihas' whole life. All of it was stored within his mind. When it finally ended, Kenji opened his eyes, and the familiar surroundings felt different.
His reflection in a polished metal surface showed the transformation: three black tomoe spinning lazily in blood-red irises. As he watched, the tomoe began to rotate faster, blurring together until they merged into something entirely new—a four-pointed sun, dark as midnight against the crimson backdrop.
The Mangekyo Sharingan. His demon physic had provided such an abundance of yin chakra that his body had skipped straight past three tomoe sharingan.
Behind him, the Hyuga had awakened to a scene from his worst nightmares. Blood and viscera painted the chamber walls like abstract art, and in the center of it all stood Kenji, his new eyes slowly rotating as they adjusted to their power.
The Hyuga tried to speak, to scream, to do anything, but only a broken whimper escaped. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks. He had already been prepared for death, but this – this was something different, it was inhumane.
Kenji tested his new abilities methodically. His left eye carried something he instinctively knew as *Eien no Shoku*—Eternal Eclipse. A genjutsu that would trap victims in endless cycles of solar torment, making them feel the same as a demon would under direct sunlight. His right eye held *Shinkōten*—the power to amplify positive and negative emotions.
Kenji focused on the Hyuga. The Hyuga saw the tendril coming but couldn't move fast enough to avoid it. As it pierced his chest, however, something unexpected happened—instead of agony, a wave of euphoria washed over him. Kenji had used Shinkōten to amplify every positive emotion the man possessed, turning what should have been torture into something almost blissful.
This absorption proceeded much more quietly.
When Kenji emerged from his trance, new memories had settled into his consciousness alongside the Uchiha's. His eyes had changed again—the Mangekyo pattern fading to black before blazing into golden-yellow irises bisected by crimson slits. A horizontal red streak cut across each eye like a scar.
He blinked experimentally and felt the world expand around him. Where normal Byakugan granted colorless x-ray vision for ten kilometers, his mutated eyes revealed a full spectrum of sight extending three times that distance. Every chakra signature within thirty kilometers appeared as vivid constellations against the landscape of his enhanced perception.
A knock interrupted his exploration of these new capabilities. Even without looking, he could sense Enmu's distinctive presence beyond the door.
"Enter."
Enmu swept into the chamber and dropped to one knee, carefully keeping his gaze averted from the carnage surrounding his master.
"Lord Muzan, I bring news that may interest you."
Kenji studied his subordinate for a long moment, noting the slight tremor in the demon's hands. "Speak."
"The Second Mizukage and Second Tsuchikage are moving toward open conflict. Our... activities with the Kamizuru clan have had unintended consequences. The spy Iwagakure planted in Kirigakure has been exposed, and Gengetsu Hozuki is furious. He's mobilizing for a direct assault on Mu's forces."
*Ah,* Kenji thought, *so it begins.* He'd already known about this from the anime. The legendary battle that would claim both Mizukage and Tuschikage's lives.
---
**Kirigakure - Mizukage's Office**
Steam rose from Gengetsu Hozuki's tea cup as he glared across his desk at his trusted advisor. The man's face showed genuine concern, but the Mizukage was in no mood for caution.
"My lord," Genji said carefully, "engaging Iwagakure directly now, in the middle of—"
"That stone-faced bastard made a fool of me!" Gengetsu slammed his fist on the desk, sending papers scattering. "He planted that spy right under my nose, had him whispering in my ear for months. God knows what kind of intelligence he gathered.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"If word spreads that Iwagakure can infiltrate our inner circle so easily, every village will think us weak. Every enemy will see an opening." His voice carried the weight of absolute conviction. "No. Mu must die for this insult."
---
**Iwagakure Frontlines - Command Tent**
The canvas walls of the command tent fluttered in the mountain wind as the Second Tsuchikage reviewed intelligence reports. Mu's bandaged form cast strange shadows in the lamplight as he moved between the tactical maps spread across his field desk.
"Tsuchikage-sama," his aide began hesitantly, "the Kirigakure asset has gone completely dark. Last transmission indicated he'd been compromised, and since then..." The ninja spread his hands helplessly. "Nothing."
Mu nodded grimly. He'd expected this outcome, though perhaps not quite so soon. Gengetsu was many things, but he wasn't stupid. Once he started looking for rats, he'd find them all.
"Any word on increased activity from their forces?"
"That's what I came to report, sir. Our scouts—"
Rapid footsteps approached the tent entrance, followed by urgent voices outside.
"Enter," Mu called.
A young chunin burst through the tent flaps, barely remembering to bow before delivering his message.
"Tsuchikage-sama! The Mizukage is leading a massive force toward our position. Intelligence estimates at least two hundred ninja, including their elite hunter units. They're moving fast and making no attempt at stealth."
Mu felt something that might have been satisfaction settle in his chest. *So predictable, Gengetsu. Always choosing the direct approach.*
"Sound the alert," he ordered. "All units to combat readiness. And send word to the village—they may try to strike there while our forces are engaged here."
As his subordinates scrambled to carry out his orders, Mu allowed himself a thin smile. He'd been preparing for this confrontation for months. Time to see if the Ghost of the Hidden Mist was as dangerous as his reputation suggested.