Obito looked up at the black-robed Uchiha, just as the black-robed Uchiha was looking at him.
"As expected of the one I've chosen." Uchiha Madara noted in his heart as he watched the pattern in Obito's blood-red pupil transform from tomoe to dart-shaped.
The Mangekyo Sharingan is not something anyone can activate. Even amongst Mangekyo users, there are differences in ocular power.
The reason Uchiha Madara chose Obito was because of Obito's rich emotions. Such intense emotions, once plunged into darkness, would yield immense ocular power beyond that of ordinary people.
Just as Obito's aura became powerful upon activating the Mangekyo Sharingan, an equally strong aura arose from another direction.
Uchiha Madara turned slightly, it was his alternate target Uchiha Shisui, whose Sharingan had also changed.
To prevent any mishaps, Uchiha Madara's target was not just one person. Besides Obito with his rich emotions, the talented Shisui was also part of his plan.
His original plan was to switch to Shisui if there were issues with Obito. Unexpectedly, both of them became disciples of Teacher Mokgetsu.
"Teacher Mokgetsu..." Shisui looked lost at Mokgetsu's lifeless body, blood tears streaming from his eyes, unable to accept this result.
Shisui generally didn't use the word "most", as it signifies absolute priority, being too sharp and direct.
But if Shisui were to describe Mokgetsu's status in his heart, Shisui would only have one answer: Mokgetsu is the most important person to him, without exception.
Shisui is now ten years old, but he has been with Mokgetsu for four years, meaning nearly half his life was spent under Mokgetsu's tutelage.
His parents died early, Shisui learned their appearance only from a photograph, unaware of their voices, having learned of their character and deeds only through others' words.
For Shisui, his real family was just the uncle who occasionally came to take care of him.
But his uncle had his own family and missions as a ninja, unable to care for Shisui too much. Shisui understood this and was only grateful to his uncle.
Before meeting Mokgetsu, Shisui was mostly in a state of being alone.
Training alone, studying alone, living alone.
After meeting Mokgetsu, everything changed.
After school, which should have been rest time, Mokgetsu would make time for teaching him.
Since then, his time alone reduced.
Even when he didn't want to learn the useless courses at Ninja Academy, Mokgetsu would arrange for a Shadow Clone to guide him instead of just leaving him training alone with tasks.
The nineteenth of October of the year he turned six was the most unforgettable day of Shisui's life.
October nineteenth is Shisui's birthday.
Back then, Mokgetsu was very busy, both with work at Ninja Academy and their cultivation, so Shisui didn't tell Mokgetsu about his birthday.
"A birthday is just the day of birth, nothing too special, no need for celebration." Back then, Shisui consoled himself this way.
Of course, it was only consolation; in truth, Shisui really wanted to spend his birthday with his empathetic teacher, Mokgetsu.
But Shisui disliked causing trouble for others, and Mokgetsu was so good to him, Shisui least wanted to trouble Mokgetsu.
So Shisui could only swallow his bitterness and silently go home after training ended.
At that time, he even envied Obito, because Obito would definitely not think so much and naturally tell Mokgetsu his birthday, inviting Mokgetsu to celebrate together.
Just when Shisui was at his lowest, a miracle happened.
Though he hadn't told Mokgetsu the date of his birthday, Mokgetsu learned his birthday through some means and set it up at his home in advance, giving him a huge surprise.
Back then, Shisui truly felt that Mokgetsu was the embodiment of his heart's dreams. How else could he so precisely fulfill his inner longing, meeting his needs?
The surprises didn't end there; Mokgetsu learned how to craft ninja tools, not as a special strength demand, but to prepare his gift, even injuring his hand for it.
Rarely tearful, Shisui's reaction could almost be described as a breakdown in tears.
Shisui often heard others speak of how great paternal and maternal love are, but he hadn't felt it, so he had no real sense of it.
After receiving Mokgetsu's gift, Shisui suddenly understood what those people meant.
Mokgetsu wasn't his father, but Mokgetsu's care for him was no less than others' descriptions of paternal love.
Since then, Shisui actually regarded Mokgetsu as a sort of father figure.
"It can't be, Teacher Mokgetsu definitely can be saved, that secret medicine, yes, secret medicine!" Shisui thought of the secret medicine Mokgetsu gave them, hurriedly taking out a black medicine pill from his ninja pouch.
Whoosh!
Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan fixedly focused on Uchiha Madara, suddenly erupting with chakra to use Instant Body Jutsu and reach Mokgetsu, swiftly placing the black pill into Mokgetsu's mouth, then pulled out the Wood Release branches.
Uchiha Madara didn't stop Shisui, only watching coldly.
His Sharingan could see clearly that Mokgetsu was already dead, completely dead. There was no secret medicine capable of bringing back the dead, at best recovering some physical strength or chakra.
With Shisui's assistance, the taste of the black medicine traveled down Mokgetsu's throat into his body.
The Repairing Elixir worked quickly, and Mokgetsu's body visibly recovered, wounds healing rapidly, leaving no scars.
Before long, it looked as if he hadn't been injured, yet he didn't awaken.
"It's a waste of effort, he's already dead." Uchiha Madara shook his head, using a voice-changing technique to speak mildly.
What Shisui did could only make Mokgetsu's corpse look better, nothing more.
"Teacher Mokgetsu isn't dead! He's just tired, not awakened yet!" Shisui stared fiercely at the black-robed Uchiha with his blood-red Mangekyo, as if engraving him into his mind.
Mokgetsu, he would definitely find a way to revive.
Since Uzumaki Naruto and the others could traverse time, there was no reason he couldn't.
Even if he risked getting lost within some timeline, he certainly had to save Mokgetsu.
Not only does Shisui want to revive Mokgetsu, but he also seeks revenge on the black-robed Uchiha who killed Mokgetsu.
"Rather than deceiving yourself, you should think of a way to resurrect him."
Uchiha Madara withdrew his gaze, chakra burst forth as Susanoo upgraded into a twenty-meter-tall blue giant and headed towards Nohara Rin.
The backup plan not only required Mokgetsu's death but also substantial alterations in other steps.
Nonetheless, Nohara Rin remained a crucial character.
As long as Nohara Rin lived, Obito couldn't fully descend into darkness.
Of course, Uchiha Madara didn't intend to kill Nohara Rin here. Doing so would only increase Obito's hatred towards him, the enigmatic black-robed figure, with no other effects, but he intended to take Nohara Rin away.
Nohara Rin's death needed to be sufficiently twisted to make Obito realize the world was cursed, beyond salvation, and that only creating a new world could save everything.
"Die!"
Obito's hatred for the black-robed Uchiha reached its zenith, he unconsciously amassed a large amount of chakra in the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Just as Uchiha Madara controlled Susanoo to stretch a large hand toward the injured and fallen Nohara Rin, the position of Susanoo suddenly warped.
"Hmm?" Uchiha Madara, reacting swiftly, directly jumped away.
In the next moment, the warping expanded, the towering blue giant having half its body vanish into thin air, as if directly obliterated.
"Is this his Mangekyo ability? Seems good." Uchiha Madara, observing Susanoo losing half its body instantly, displayed an expression of keen interest.
Mangekyo Sharingan possesses various abilities; some repeat amongst individuals, but most differ, and the ability Obito displayed just now ranks relatively strong among the Mangekyo abilities Uchiha Madara had seen.
Whoosh!
Shisui set down Mokgetsu's body and charged at Uchiha Madara, having now accumulated enough chakra in his Sharingan.