Chapter 71: Transform! Uchiha Fugitachi!
Itachi was exceptionally perceptive. After hearing Yasushi's explanation, he immediately understood the situation.
He glanced at his father with a complex expression, but quickly looked away.
"Father, there's no point wasting words on him! He's a typical Uchiha—extremely narrow-minded with no value worth saving. We should eliminate him quickly!"
"Is that so?" Fugaku sighed deeply, regarding Yasushi with regretful eyes, clearly reluctant to give up. "Yasushi, is reconciliation truly impossible?"
"Hatred won't bring you happiness. It only brings suffering and misfortune."
"Haha..." Yasushi laughed with bitter madness. "Fugaku, oh Fugaku! You die once and you're still the same indecisive, hand-wringing coward!"
"If you'd had even the slightest backbone, if you'd just picked a side and stuck with it, the Uchiha wouldn't have ended up like this!"
"Your son is an animal, and you're no better!"
"I've wanted to beat some sense into you for ages, but you were already dead. Never got the chance."
"You might be under Kotoamatsukami's control now, but don't think for a second I'll go easy on you!"
Yasushi formed hand signs, attempting to regain control of Fugaku and send him back to the Pure Land. As expected, it failed.
Kotoamatsukami's genjutsu was indeed formidable—strong enough to override the Reanimation's control, elevating "serve Konoha" to maximum priority, transcending even death itself.
Dead and still loyal to Konoha.
However, a Reanimation was still just a Reanimation. Even temporarily freed from Reanimation control, as long as Yasushi could re-insert the control talisman kunai into Fugaku's body, he could seize control once more.
At that point, even if Fugaku's spirit wanted to serve Konoha, his body would answer only to Yasushi's commands.
"Fugaku, if you want to protect your village and your son, then come defeat me!"
Yasushi roared, unfurling his blood-red Susanoo. He swung its staff with tremendous force toward Fugaku.
Fugaku abandoned negotiation, activating his black Susanoo to meet the attack head-on. The two Susanoo collided with devastating impact.
BOOM!
The explosion echoed like thunder on clear skies. The shockwave made numerous shinobi's ears bleed as they scrambled to distance themselves from the battle's reach.
Rolling waves of force erupted outward from between the two energy giants, as if hundreds of Wind Release users were simultaneously unleashing jutsu. The ground was completely pulverized, scraped down three feet.
Debris and dust caught in the violent winds spiraled skyward like a tornado, merging with the storm clouds above. The mixture rapidly condensed and fell as rain.
Battles between Susanoo weren't as flashy as regular shinobi combat, with no need for tactical finesse. Just direct clashes and strikes.
After all, aside from a few special jutsu, conventional techniques couldn't even scratch their defenses. Using them would just waste chakra.
Though the black Susanoo was only half-bodied with a vulnerable base, both Fugaku and Itachi stood within it. Yasushi wouldn't be foolish enough to walk into that trap.
To defeat Fugaku, only frontal assault would work.
The two energy giants immediately began hammering at each other like blacksmiths, clashing with thunderous impacts.
Before long, the scales of victory began tilting.
The full-bodied blood-red Susanoo towered over the half-body black Susanoo in height, size, and chakra density. It completely dominated, sending the black Susanoo rolling across the battlefield, barely able to defend, with no capacity to counterattack.
If Fugaku weren't a Reanimation, the sheer recoil force would have killed him outright.
But though Fugaku's Reanimation body provided infinite chakra, his ocular power wasn't infinite.
Without the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, ocular power couldn't regenerate after use. It only depleted, and once exhausted, blindness followed.
Normally, even Mangekyo Sharingan users could only employ their techniques as ultimate attacks, relying on conventional jutsu for regular combat.
People like Sasuke who spammed Amaterasu without caring about going blind were definitely the exception.
Susanoo was especially chakra-intensive. The more intense the battle, the greater the consumption.
After dozens of collisions, blood tears began streaming from Fugaku's eyes.
Itachi felt a flicker of emotion, but he quickly crushed that sentiment, speaking coldly.
"Father, let me out."
"I can also use Susanoo. Let's fight side by side, father and son together!"
But Fugaku shook his head.
"That won't work, Itachi."
"Have you forgotten how you defeated me?"
"This Reanimation body is my greatest weakness."
"If Yasushi breaks through and places the control talisman kunai inside my body, I'll be forced to fight you against my will again."
"I see." Itachi frowned. "But in your current state, Father, you won't last much longer."
Fugaku fell silent momentarily, then suddenly commanded the black Susanoo to leap backward several times, creating distance from the blood-red Susanoo.
Then he reached out, drew the blade from Itachi's waist, and with one stroke severed his own head. During the brief window before the Reanimation could regenerate, he grabbed his severed head and pressed it against Itachi's shoulder.
Through some unknown method, his head adhered firmly to Itachi's shoulder. The Reanimation stopped trying to regenerate.
"Itachi, for now, we must fight with united strength!"
"Perhaps we can try combining our ocular powers together."
"Don't resist. Try to accept my ocular power."
"Father!" Itachi startled, about to protest, but a surge of powerful ocular energy already flowed from Fugaku's severed head.
Itachi had no choice but to relax, allowing Fugaku to channel the ocular power into his eyes.
Though both possessed Mangekyo Sharingan, each pair's ocular power was fundamentally different.
Individual Mangekyo Sharingan were inherently flawed—unable to restore ocular power, going blind after excessive use.
This was a structural defect. But transplanting a blood relative's Mangekyo Sharingan and fusing both ocular powers created a stimulating effect on the Mangekyo's structure from the different chakra natures.
This structural flaw would heal, evolving the Mangekyo into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Did the Eternal Eyes require a new pair of Mangekyo Sharingan? Did they have to come from blood relatives?
Of course not!
The Eternal Eyes required high-quality chakra!
Two different Mangekyo Sharingan ocular powers, when fused together, could elevate one's chakra quality!
Just as two chakra natures fusing created a Kekkei Genkai bloodline limit, and three natures created Kekkei Tota bloodline selection.
Ultimately, everything in the shinobi world came down to chakra!
Including life and death, space and time, and naturally, all types of eyes!
That's why becoming the Ten-Tails jinchuriki immediately granted Rinnegan.
Because the Ten-Tails' chakra quality was sufficiently high that any eyes, with or without special techniques, would immediately evolve into Rinnegan under its stimulation!
The reason Ashura and Indra's chakra could reincarnate through descendant bloodlines, and why the Sage of Six Paths designated them as the saviors' cheat codes, was because their chakra quality was high enough to evolve their hosts!
So it wasn't Wood Release that was impressive—it was Hashirama Senju!
Similarly, whether the Mangekyo Sharingan came from blood relatives didn't matter. What mattered was the ocular power residing within those eyes!
Blood relatives were chosen purely because transplants had the lowest rejection rates and highest success rates.
So the question became: if you didn't transplant the eyes but simply channeled the ocular power into another person's eyes, could you evolve Mangekyo Sharingan into Eternal Mangekyo?
The answer was—
Yes!
****
50+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces