It felt like an unwritten law of this world: the greater the power, the heavier the price. No one escapes it—unless you're like Orochimaru, who discarded even his own body in the end.
To grow stronger, Kabuto turned himself into something not quite human. With ever-regenerating cells—Hashirama's—he leveraged the principle of Impure World Reincarnation to summon the souls of the dead, letting torsos bloom from his own body under his control to fight. He also took the White Snake Sage's power. He wasn't Sasuke, but he was still terrifying. The price? He pledged his soul to Ryuchi Cave. When he dies, he goes to the pit of myriad serpents and becomes a snake. It is a slaughterhouse where only the strong survive. The strongest serpents may be summoned as familiars; the truly exalted shed skin until they regain human form—only to enter phase two: the servants who guard the White Snake Sage, a hierarchy where the weak are devoured.
Sasuke has already bargained his soul for that power as well. As for Orochimaru, because he fled his body while alive and stored his soul inside a white serpent, he cannot be killed—unless that serpent is burned. As before, Amaterasu is his bane.
And Itachi—his irreversible bodily damage was the debt he paid. Among the Mangekyo's arts, aside from Shisui's, his were the most feared: the black fire of Amaterasu that does not cease until the target is ash.
Kaede kept turning over one question: how to let Sasuke and Itachi reach the Eternal Mangekyo together, before fate drove them into that unavoidable duel; before Itachi's body crossed the line past healing.
Before, Kaede hadn't understood what kind of injury would render Itachi's body irreparable. After arriving in this world, he dug into Uchiha scrolls. They held a detailed analysis of how overuse of the Mangekyo damages the body: the strain halts the birth of new cells. Regeneration fails. As existing cells age and die, there are no replacements. The blood runs out—until not a drop remains.
Itachi likely knew his own end, and chose what he thought was the most useful way to finish his life.
Now both Sasuke and Itachi bear the Mangekyo. In principle, if they were to exchange eyes, both would awaken the Eternal Mangekyo. Then their bodies wouldn't pay the ongoing toll, and Itachi wouldn't need to die.
But one problem still gnawed at Kaede: how to dissolve Sasuke's hatred—and how to bring Itachi willingly under the banner of the Land of Gods.
Maybe this Chunin Exam is the opening.
It feels like the start of a new phase: the secret of the White Eye, the final path for the two brothers, Danzo's endgame; and Obito, with Akatsuki, and whatever fire he plans to set. Even the Cloud's all-or-nothing raid—everything is moving.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]