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The destination for this trip was a stronghold where one of Orochimaru's special experimental subjects was located.
Kabuto was responsible for rowing the boat.
Sasuke sat at the stern, maintaining his White Curse Mark release.
"Uchiha Shin, Naruto and I once fought him. He had dozens of Mangekyo Sharingan transplanted all over his body. His ocular power allowed him to mark and manipulate objects, but strictly speaking, that level of ocular power didn't meet the standard of a normal Mangekyo…"
Orochimaru sat at the bow, his gaze never leaving Sasuke.
"Shin's eyes were, after all, mass-produced clones. Furthermore, Shin isn't an Uchiha member in the strict sense. He was born into the Yaksha clan, and his constitution allows him to adapt to foreign bloodlines without rejection. He greatly admired your elder brother Itachi, which is why he named himself Uchiha and willingly became my experimental subject."
Sasuke: "So, the 'blueprint' for your cloned eyes wasn't activated by Shin himself, was it?"
Orochimaru: "That's right. You never asked before, so I never told you. The blueprint for Shin's cloned Mangekyo came from the right eye of the Mangekyo Sharingan activated by 'Uchiha Ke'!"
Sasuke lowered his head in thought: "Ke, that name… I think I heard my father mention it. He was one of the Uchiha heroes who died during the Second Ninja World War…"
Orochimaru smiled, revealing a shocking truth: "Ke, is precisely Uchiha Obito's father…"
Sasuke was surprised, then enlightened: "Is that so… No wonder."
Orochimaru: "Ke's Mangekyo had an ocular power called 'Butō Tōmei,' a space-time ninjutsu that allowed for free 'interchange' between marked objects. Although it didn't possess the space-time for 'Kamui' as a transit, it had certain conveniences that Kamui lacked. Uchiha Shin's ocular power to manipulate objects is precisely the product of Butō Tōmei's degradation!"
Sasuke: "To think, that eye has such a background…"
Orochimaru: "Indeed, that eye was too wasted on Shin. Mangekyo eyes, after all, carry the risk of blindness, and hashirama cells can offset the side effect of blindness from a 'single Mangekyo.' So, in order to utilize that eye, I specifically created a mini-human using hashirama cells to serve as a sustained vessel for that eye's ocular power."
At the mention of that mini-human, Sasuke showed a brief look of reminiscence.
Because… that mini-human created with hashirama cells, along with that Butō Tōmei right eye, were both punched to smithereens by his daughter Sarada!
Keeping Sarada's voice and smiling face deep in his heart, Sasuke did not dwell on the past: "You also possess Ke's left eye, don't you!"
Orochimaru laughed: "Of course. Like Kamui, Butō Tōmei's ocular jutsu also comes in a pair, and in terms of combat performance, the left eye's function is more powerful than the right eye's."
Sasuke mused: "Obito's father, huh? Perhaps, those eyes… could be of great use in the future!"
The boat docked.
The three of them disembarked onto the unnamed island and walked towards the cave that was Shin's lair.
Along the way, Orochimaru asked: "Sasuke-kun, how do you intend to acquire that eye? Dealing with Shin and taking it by force is the most straightforward, but I'll defer to your opinion."
Sasuke calmly said: "Let me talk to him. Not just for the eye, but there are some things I need to make clear to that guy face-to-face."
Upon arriving at the cave entrance, several young men with onion-shaped heads appeared on the rock wall, their nascent 'Mangekyo Sharingan' glaring menacingly!
"Intruders, huh…"
It was all too familiar; these were Uchiha Shin's clones.
Sasuke confirmed the number; there were only twelve, significantly fewer than the hundreds there once were.
Orochimaru: "At this time, Shin doesn't yet possess independent cloning technology. These limited clones are all my and Kabuto's work, but they don't seem to recognize us…"
"Protect Father!"
Swish! Swish!
Shin's clones, who respectfully called Shin 'Father,' leaped down from the rock wall, ready to fight for their father!
"Don't be rude…"
From within the cave, a short-haired young man, wearing an Akatsuki Robe left behind by Orochimaru from his Akatsuki days, strode out.
Being a full eighteen years earlier than their previous encounter, Shin at this time was not bald, nor was his body covered in implanted Sharingan.
"Father-sama…" Shin's clones knelt in greeting!
Orochimaru said: "Shin, it's been a while."
Shin stepped forward and bowed slightly: "Orochimaru-sama, I apologize for not welcoming you sooner. You've come with such a large entourage; you must have something important to discuss with me, right?"
Even when facing Orochimaru, Shin did not kneel or bow. In his eyes, the only one truly worthy of reverence… was Uchiha Itachi, who had annihilated the entire Uchiha clan and was a member of the Akatsuki!
Orochimaru said: "Indeed, I have something to discuss with you. But before that, I want to introduce someone to you. His name should not be unfamiliar to you…"
Shin looked coldly at the young man who stepped forward: "You are…"
"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke introduced himself.
Shin's gaze immediately turned ferocious: "Ah, you are Itachi's only failure! Uchiha Sasuke, as Itachi's brother, a weakling who survived only by his pity, not only are you not grateful, but you even aim to kill Itachi. What an ignorant fool!"
Sasuke's expression was unperturbed. He was no longer the naive child he once was; he had experienced the vicissitudes of life, and his eyes had seen too much.
He calmly said: "Shin, just like the Itachi I once hated, the Itachi you worship is a deliberate illusion created by Itachi, not his true self. In other words, your blind worship is a great insult to Itachi…"
Uchiha Shin was enraged: "Huh? What are you talking about! You're just a brat who hasn't even experienced war, acting like you know Itachi so well!"
Sasuke raised two fingers of his right hand to his chest: "More words are useless. Let's speak with strength…"
Shin laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke: "You mean, you want to fight me? Hey, hey, do you know what you're capable of?"
Sasuke: "If you win, you can do whatever you want with my life. But if you lose, you must abandon your obsession with Itachi's name! Also, return that eye that serves as the cloning blueprint to us!"
"Hahahahahahahaha…"
Hearing this, Uchiha Shin burst into wild laughter: "Good! I won't let any guy who dares to speak ill of 'Itachi' go unpunished. I, the last Uchiha, will cleanse the clan for Itachi!"
Kabuto asked with concern: "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"
Sasuke: "I'm fine. I've gradually adapted to the pain caused by the White Curse Mark, and a battle of this level is perfect as a warm-up for the Ten-Tails' battle…"
Sizzle!
Shin's eyes, with their inverted triangle Mangekyo pattern, glowed brightly!
"Uchiha Sasuke!!!!! Let me show you the true power of the Mangekyo Sharingan!!!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless blades scattered from his sleeves, flying into the air under the manipulation of his ocular power!!
"Die!!!!!"
Uchiha Shin smirked and swung his sleeve, sending the blades flying!!!
Sizzle!
Sasuke's Mangekyo eyes rotated. After forming a hand sign, he exhaled a pillar of black fire.
— Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Yakushi Kabuto was shocked: "Using 'Amaterasu Black Flames' as a regular Fire Release!?"
Orochimaru smiled: "Freely using Fire Release, this is an ability from the 'Eternal Mangekyo' period, but Sasuke uses it with ease. It seems Sasuke-kun is adapting to the power of the White Curse Mark faster than I anticipated…"
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