"Are you sure you want to transplant these eyes, Sasuke?"
Gojo Satoru seemed to want to persuade him to reconsider, but Sasuke had already made up his mind.
He needed power, the power to protect his comrades, and the Eternal Mangekyo was clearly his best path forward.
The weak Sasuke of the past was dead; what stood here now was a Sasuke with unwavering will!
With a grim resolve, Sasuke directly copied Itachi Uchiha, reaching up and gouging out his own eyes. The blood of Naruto, Kakashi, and himself mingled on his face.
Immediately after, he inserted Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan. He knew nothing of medical common sense like rejection responses, but the physiology of people in the Naruto world was different anyway, and the Sharingan was famously hot-swappable.
"Hey, hey, hey, I never said I was against you transplanting your eyes. There's no need to be so extreme, is there?"
His actions startled Gojo Satoru. Yuta Okkotsu rushed forward and used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal his eyes.
Fortunately, there was no rejection response whatsoever. Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan was a perfect match for him, and after being repaired by the Reverse Cursed Technique, they were just like his original eyes.
Sasuke knew he had been too hasty, but acting this way allowed him to stop thinking—to stop thinking about Itachi Uchiha's words, about the truth of it all.
After transplanting Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan, he felt an immense ocular power flow into his eyes, and they quickly began to change.
The six-pointed star pattern of his original Mangekyo remained, but superimposed upon it was a three-bladed pinwheel pattern. It looked as if Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo had been embedded within his own.
The powerful ocular energy made him feel as though he could unleash his techniques recklessly, without a care for the cost.
In the span of a single day, he had evolved from a three-tomoe to a Mangekyo, and then to an Eternal Mangekyo, and had even slain his 'arch-enemy,' Itachi Uchiha.
But why couldn't he feel happy?
"Pull yourself together, Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei wouldn't want to see you with that look on your face."
Naruto slapped him hard on the shoulder, snapping him back to his senses.
That's right. Kakashi-sensei had sacrificed himself for him. It was all because he was too weak.
"Who said I was dead?" A familiar voice suddenly called out from a distance. Everyone whipped their heads around to look at the newcomer.
Kakashi jogged over, waving his hand. There were no visible injuries on his body, but the piercing wound was still visible on his clothes, proving that it hadn't been a genjutsu but had actually happened.
"This might sound incredible, but I was resurrected by someone."
"That person had a pair of Sharingan. If I'm not mistaken, it was most likely the legendary Sage of Six Paths... Oof!"
Before Kakashi could finish, he felt an impact as Sasuke crashed right into him.
Feeling the embrace, Kakashi silently remained still. A few seconds later, Sasuke pushed him away.
"It's... it's good that you're back. We all thought you were dead."
Forcibly suppressing his bashfulness and joy, Sasuke kept a straight, expressionless face, but everyone could tell his true feelings from his actions.
Kakashi also knew what a shock his death had been to them, so he didn't say anything more.
But there was one thing he had to emphasize: the information he'd received from the 'Sage of Six Paths.' After winning the Culling Game, one could wish for everyone to be resurrected.
This point alone made everyone take notice. The ability to resurrect everyone... was the 'wish' granted by the Culling Game really such a powerful force?
To win the Culling Game, they would have to eliminate the other contenders—for instance, the holders of the other two game pieces, perhaps even the game master, the other Uchiha who was Itachi Uchiha's partner, and—Geto Suguru!
Gojo Satoru had a premonition he would be running into him soon. As for the holder of the sixth game piece, Schwarzer was not part of his considerations.
He believed Schwarzer wasn't a bad person. Besides, she wanted to analyze the human 'heart,' so the more samples, the better. He was confident he could persuade her.
"Then we have to find a way to seize the other game pieces, and we must also be wary of the 'administrator.'"
"If Itachi Uchiha can make a move, then the others certainly can too. We have to be careful in the upcoming battles!"
At the entrance to the White House, Gojo Satoru had clashed with those two and could faintly sense that the other masked man was an even more troublesome opponent than Itachi Uchiha.
Moreover, Itachi Uchiha's goal from the very beginning wasn't to kill them but to stimulate Sasuke Uchiha into awakening his Mangekyo. He had realized this quickly, and even Sasuke himself had probably guessed as much.
But now wasn't the time to talk about it, so they all tacitly avoided bringing it up.
"No, it's not about us going after the game pieces. They're already gathering here."
Kakashi looked at the pillars of light in the sky. Unbeknownst to them, the distance between them had already closed significantly.
The commotion from Naruto's Tailed Beast transformation and Itachi Uchiha's Susanoo was simply too great. It was obvious the other two 'game piece' holders had realized a major battle was taking place here.
Regardless of the outcome, such a massive disturbance and intense battle would surely leave the participants drained. It was the perfect time to pick off the survivors.
Just as he said, a figure rapidly arrived before them, a pillar of light identical to their own above its head, indicating its status as a 'game piece' holder.
"To think you've managed to gather three game pieces. How terrifying."
Four arms, four eyes, and a voice that was extremely familiar to Gojo Satoru. The newcomer was, of course—the 'King of Curses,' Sukuna.
"Oh, right. I brought you a welcoming gift. I hope you'll like it. That brat Itadori should appreciate this, right?"
Sukuna was holding a round object, which he tossed directly at them.
The group looked closely, and Naruto recognized it instantly. It was a human head—the head of Zenin Naobito!
"This old geezer caused you quite a bit of trouble before, didn't he? If I remember correctly. After all, I did live inside that Itadori brat for so long. Consider this rent."
Three pillars of light had appeared on Gojo Satoru's side, and anyone could see they weren't to be trifled with. Consequently, a large number of sorcerers had targeted the lone Sukuna instead.
Unfortunately for them, they were no match for him, and all of them were converted into points for Sukuna.
'Ryomen Sukuna, Sorcerer, Total Points—73,000 (Supreme Special Grade Sorcerer).'
"Now is the perfect chance to finish them, Sukuna. They have the numbers, after all. You'd better seize this opportunity."
From behind Sukuna, another person emerged. It was none other than the 'Geto Suguru' who had been on Gojo Satoru's mind!
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