Sasuke silently followed Jugo's clone through the dark corridors of an underground hideout. The corridor was lit by torches and the quiet atmosphere gave the place a sinister ambiance, likely intentional on Orochimaru's part, since this was another one of his hideouts.
Sasuke didn't ask where they were going, his eyes fixed ahead, walking calmly without looking away, treating Jugo as part of the scenery.
The years had made him much calmer, but at the same time, his eyes weren't cold, just bored, this was a stark difference in personality compared to his Shippuden counterpart.
Soon they arrived at a locked room with seals scattered everywhere.
Jugo pointed to the center of the empty seals and spoke. - Go over there, sit down.
Sasuke looked at Jugo with narrowed eyes, but then simply jumped straight over to the spot and sat down.
Jugo watched calmly as Sasuke settled in.
-Did you know that the Sharingan has an evolution?- Jugo asked calmly.
Sasuke didn't answer at first, but his mind drifted to the that man's eyes, he had seen him here before, so he nodded.
-Opening the Mangekyo Sharingan is a complicated process, but it basically requires extreme pain, something so intense it could bring you to the point of collapse.- Jugo explained lightly.
As Sasuke recalled something Itachi had said, that if he wanted power, he should kill his best friend... Naruto's face appeared in his thoughts as Sasuke clenched his fists.
Jugo didn't concern himself with Sasuke's inner thoughts, but continued. -This kind of mental breakdown, along with the enormous Yin chakra that surges during the Sharingan's evolution, can cause serious mental problems.
Sasuke turned his attention to Jugo, frowning, by this point he had already grasped the point of Jugo bringing him there. -So? As long as you give me power, I can handle it.
Of course, Sasuke wouldn't kill Naruto, but Jugo brought him there, he must have had another plan. If it involved extreme pain, those seals around him could be the answer. At that point, even if it was dangerous, Sasuke would accept it. Anything to kill Itachi.
Jugo smiled slightly, looking at Sasuke and saying. -Be patient, I'm explaining what will happen next.
Sasuke sighed to calm himself and returned to his composure, looking at Jugo with indifferent eyes once more, waiting for him to continue.
Jugo nodded before continuing. -See these seals?- He pointed to the seals around the room. Sasuke looked around, the entire room was covered in seals, even the ceiling.
Jugo continued speaking as he looked. -Each one of them contains someone's pain, there are tens of thousands of seals here. What I intend to do is let all of that influence you at once.
Jugo based this on his advancement to Wraith. At that moment, he saw the final moments of thousands of soul fragments. He reasoned that if he extracted people's pain and moments of extreme sadness, sealed them, then released them into Sasuke simultaneously, he could cause enormous emotional distress, to the point where Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan would open.
There was all kinds of pain there: the pain of losing relatives, the pain of not having anything to eat, the pain of being beaten, the pain of losing love...
There were dozens of types, thousands combined.
Jugo may have used too much, but he didn't want to try it gradually, he had enough to cause someone's mental breakdown. He just needed to release that pain little by little, until Sasuke reached his limit.
Of course, the problem of extreme Yin chakra still had to be resolved.
As Sasuke listened to Jugo, his eyes widened slightly, looking at the seals around him. He felt the room suddenly grow cold, his lips trembling slightly. Was he supposed to receive all this pain at once?
He had no idea what effect this would have on him, but it didn't seem like it would be easy to deal with, even so, he didn't complain. As long as he could get stronger, he would accept it.
Jugo pulled a syringe from his pocket and tossed it to Sasuke, who easily caught it, looking at the whitish-green liquid inside.
-This is... protection. It contains an enormous amount of Yang chakra. We'll use this to prevent extreme Yin chakra from causing you permanent mental damage. It will also have additional effects if you actually open the Mangekyo Sharingan.- Jugo explained lightly.
That syringe didn't contain direct Hashirama cells, but Zetsu cells, which are much milder. Jugo also thinks Sasuke wouldn't want Hashirama's face on his body, at most, it would leave the affected area with a white coloration.
He explained this to Sasuke and said that if he wanted, he didn't have to use it, but if he went crazy...
Jugo didn't finish speaking, but Sasuke understood.
Sighing, he took off his shirt and inserted the needle into his shoulder, tightening everything at once.
The effect was evident, the pain in that area intensified, causing a chain reaction. His Sharingan opened on its own, almost as if trying to contain the Yang chakra causing havoc.
Jugo smiled and lowered his body, placing his hand on the seal and speaking. - Let's begin.
The moment Jugo said that, the seals in the room lit up with a vibrant purple light. The next moment, the seals began to emerge from the ground, transforming into shapeless, ghostly figures as they entered Sasuke's body.
The first one entered and Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt an extreme pain, it was as if he had lost someone important. He had no idea where the pain came from, but Jugo might understand better.
If he had to make a comparison, it would be like hormonal changes causing extreme mood swings, but stronger.
For example, when a woman experiences postpartum depression after pregnancy, caused by the abrupt drop in hormones following childbirth, among other factors.
It sounds funny, but what Sasuke is feeling right now is like that, a pain he doesn't know where it comes from, but it exists and it's real.
It's amazing what you can do with curses when you really start to understand them, using the pain of others as a weapon is just one simple application, although in this case it was used as the driving force for Sasuke's eyes to advance.
Jugo didn't stop, releasing more and more pain and hitting Sasuke.
Sasuke trembled, bracing his hands on the ground as his Sharingan spun continuously. He clenched his teeth to stifle a scream, his eyes red as he tried to stop tears from escaping.
Sasuke even regretted it at that point, but it was only his fierce willpower that prevented him from running away, Jugo hadn't imprisoned him, it all depended on how much he could endure.
-Do you want me to stop?- Jugo asked.
-No! Keep going! I can feel my eyes throbbing!- Sasuke said through gritted teeth.
Jugo smiled and increased the intensity, more and more curses coursed towards Sasuke. At that point, he couldn't take it anymore, he fell to the ground in a fetal position, hugging his shoulders as he cried out in pain. At least he wasn't screaming, just crying softly.
Jugo could feel the change in the chakra in Sasuke's eyes, they were getting heavier and heavier. He was close, so he increased the charge even more!
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, his hand digging into the hard stone floor, his nails bleeding, his eyes swollen and wide, tears pouring down like a dam.
But in the center of his eyes, the trio of tomoe suddenly merged, Jugo felt the change instantly, stopping the curses.
Sasuke brought his hands to his eyes as he leaned back, tears still falling, but at that point, a smile slowly grew on his face.
-Ha... haha... Hahahahahahahaha! - The excited laughter wouldn't stop, he had succeeded.
Jugo looked at the familiar shape of Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan and raised an eyebrow. He was curious as to whether Sasuke had received the same abilities and if he had finally gone mad, or if his precautions had helped.