Kumogakure – Indra's Private Laboratory
The aftermath of the attack was a quiet storm of activity. The ROOT agents in the valley were secured in chakra-suppressing seals and taken to a maximum-security annex beneath the Kumo Intelligence Division. The Blight Seal was safely contained within the Stasis Prism, a chilling trophy of Danzo's malice.
But for Indra, the most pressing matter was internal. Standing before a full-length, reinforced mirror in his lab, he activated his Sharingan. The three Tomoe spun, black against crimson. Then, with a focused surge of emotion—not grief, but a crystallized, cold fury at the violation of his home and the targeting of his mother—they changed.
The Tomoe melted, flowed, and reconfigured into a distinct, angular pattern. It was not a simple design like a shuriken or a straight-edged Tomoe. It was a complex, interlocking geometric lattice, reminiscent of the crystalline structure of his Stasis Prism or the circuitry of his barrier systems. A Mangekyō Sharingan born not from loss of a loved one, but from the wrathful resolve to protect his entire world from those who would shatter it.
Indra: (Whispering to his reflection) So this is the price of power… and the path to blindness.
A sharp, familiar pain lanced behind his eyes, a biological receipt for the divine power now housed within them. He could feel the microscopic degradation begin immediately, the curse of the Uchiha. But unlike every Uchiha before him, he did not feel despair. He felt a wave of profound, analytical curiosity.
Indra: Biological decay triggered by chakra toxicity and cellular overclocking. The optic nerves are the primary conduit, thus the first to fail. The solution isn't to slow the usage, but to upgrade the hardware and repair the software in real-time.
He walked calmly to a sealed refrigeration unit, his new Mangekyou casting the room in sharper, more detail-rich shadows. He retrieved two vials. One, a deep emerald green—the Ocular Regeneration and Chakra Pathway Stabilization Serum, Mark IX. The result of five years of sequencing Uchiha and Uzumaki DNA from his own body, combined with the regenerative properties of Hashirama cells (cultivated from a single, cloned sample obtained from a White Zetsu corpse on a remote S-rank mission). The second vial was silver, shimmering with liquid light—a High-Density Chakra Infusion Catalyst.
He lay down in the open mouth of the Healing Pod, the very device he'd invented years prior. He inserted the vials into the injection ports.
Indra: Computer, initiate Ocular Evolution Protocol: Eternal. Administer serum and catalyst. Sync neural patterns to the Inner World's restorative biome. Use my template completion as a stabilizing blueprint.
The pod's lid slid shut with a soft hiss. Inside, it was not dark. Soft, holographic displays lit up, scanning his eyes. Needles, finer than hair, extended and injected the solutions directly into the ocular muscles and optic nerve clusters. The sensation was intense—a burning cold followed by a wave of cellular euphoria as the serum went to work.
His consciousness was partially routed to his Inner World. He stood in the pristine, self-designed landscape, watching as the spiritual representation of his eyes—two brilliant, complex orbs of light—were gently encased in a lattice of green and silver energy. The lattice pulsed, and with each pulse, the degrading, fraying edges of the orbs were not just repaired, but reinforced, woven with stronger, more resilient threads of chakra and life-force.
In the physical world, the Healing Pod hummed. Advanced sensors monitored every cell. The degradation was halted, reversed, and then the very structure of his ocular chakra pathways was rebuilt according to the optimized blueprint provided by the converging Indra Ōtsutsuki and Ashina Uzumaki templates. It was not a transplant. It was an in-situ evolution.
Thirty minutes later, the pod opened. Indra sat up, blinking. He activated his eyes. The intricate Mangekyō pattern flashed into existence instantly, with zero pain. The clarity was staggering—he could see the individual dust motes in the air, the subtle heat haze from a console across the room, the latent chakra signatures imprinted on the floor from hours before. And more importantly, he could feel the permanence. The eyes were stable. Self-sustaining.
Indra: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Achieved not through theft, but through synthesis. A fitting path.
He deactivated the eyes, his vision returning to normal without even a hint of strain. He had not just cured the blindness; he had engineered its impossibility.
Kumogakure – Emergency Council Chambers
The air in the Raikage's strategic council room was thick with a mixture of fury and grim satisfaction. Present were A, Killer Bee, Darui, the heads of Intelligence and Logistics, and, by special secure transmission, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, Lord Enmaru Saito. His holographic image flickered at the head of the table.
Indra stood before them, having just finished his report. He had chosen to reveal the full scope of the attack, including the identity of the spatial intruder.
Indra: ...the intruder utilized the Kamui technique, a space-time ninjutsu unique to one individual, believed KIA during the Third Great Shinobi War: Obito Uchiha.
Raikage A: Obito Uchiha? Minato Namikaze's student? That's impossible. He was crushed under a boulder. Konoha confirmed his death.
Indra: Konoha was mistaken, or deceived. His chakra signature, while advanced, matches residual samples I cross-referenced from our archives—blood and chakra prints collected by our agents from the Kannabi Bridge aftermath. It's him. Furthermore, his target was explicit: abduction, likely to gain leverage over me and, by extension, Kumo's technological assets.
Daimyo Enmaru: (His voice, usually smooth and diplomatic, was icy.) He invaded the sovereign territory of the Land of Lightning, attacked the home of a national treasure, and sought to kidnap the son of a woman who saved my granddaughter's life. This is not a shinobi matter. This is an act of war by a Konoha-affiliated entity.
The Daimyo's Favor towards Indra was no secret. Delia's past healing of his family had brought their initial sanctuary. Indra's inventions—the healing pods that now served in the Daimyo's own hospital, the barrier that protected his palace, the agricultural revolution that swelled his nation's wealth and stability—had cemented it. Indra was not just a Kumo shinobi; he was a cornerstone of the Land of Lightning's new golden age.
Head of Intelligence: Our interrogations of the captured ROOT agents confirm that the sabotage was a Danzo Shimura operation. The spatial marker was their doing. They served as the flashy distraction to pull Thunderhead's and Commander Indra's focus.
Darui: So Danzo and a supposedly-dead Konoha hero are working together? Unbelievable.
Indra: Their alliance appears pragmatic, not personal. Obito operates on a different scale. Danzo provided the window; Obito attempted the theft. Both failed.
Raikage A slammed his fist on the table, cracking the reinforced stone.
Raikage A: They failed because we were strong! Because Indra was stronger! But this changes everything. We have concrete evidence of Konoha's black ops leader conspiring with a rogue, super-powered Uchiha to commit an act of terrorism on our soil. We present this to the Daimyo of Fire, and we shatter Konoha's credibility at the next Summit.
Daimyo Enmaru: Patience, Raikage. The evidence is compelling, but it is also explosive. We must wield it, not detonate it blindly. We will file a formal, scathing protest with the Fire Daimyo and demand Danzo Shimura's head be delivered to us in a box. The threat of releasing this intelligence to Iwa and Suna will make them compliant. It will isolate Konoha further. But there is another matter. Indra, your eyes. During the defence, you used a power far beyond the standard Sharingan.
All eyes turned to him. Indra nodded. He had planned for this.
Indra: The attack triggered an evolution. I have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. (A collective, sharp intake of breath filled the room.) I am aware of the legends. The great power, followed by inevitable blindness. It is a genetic flaw, a built-in degradation of the optic nerves from the chakra strain.
He paused, letting the weight of the 'curse' sink in.
Indra: I have solved it.
Killer Bee: Solved it? Yo, you mean you fixed the funky eyes' expiry date? That's a dope rhyme, and a doper feat!
Raikage A: Explain. Now.
Indra: Using my understanding of biology, Fuinjutsu, and the regenerative samples I've studied, I developed a serum and a procedure using the Healing Pod. It halted the degradation and permanently stabilized the ocular chakra pathways. My Mangekyō will not degrade. I will not go blind. I have, for lack of a better term, achieved what Uchiha legends call the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, through science, not fratricide.
The silence was absolute, broken only by the faint hum of the Daimyo's hologram. The implications were world-shaking.
Daimyo Enmaru: (A slow, approving smile spread across his face) You not only defend us with unmatched power, but you also conquer the very curses that power brings. You turn weaknesses into strengths. This information does not leave this room. To the outside world, Indra has the Mangekyō, and it is a ticking clock. Let our enemies believe time is on their side. Let them believe he will eventually cripple himself. It will be their fatal miscalculation.
Raikage A: (A fierce grin mirroring the Daimyo's) Deception within strength. I like it. Your eyes are now a state secret of the highest order. But this 'Obito'… he saw you use the Mangekyō's power.
Indra: He did. And he felt its potency. He will report its awakening. But he has no way of knowing I've cured the flaw. He, like everyone else, will assume the clock is ticking. It may make him reckless, believing he can wait me out.
The council concluded with a series of directives: a ruthless, formal diplomatic offensive against Konoha, the continued lockdown and intelligence extraction from the ROOT prisoners, and the accelerated rollout of Thunderhead's second phase. As the others filed out, the Daimyo's hologram lingered, focusing on Indra.
Daimyo Enmaru: Indra. You have given this old land its youth back. You have my unwavering support. Whatever resources you need, whatever authority you require, it is yours. Build your fortress. Make our storm so mighty that not even ghosts dare whisper at our gates.
Indra: (Bowing respectfully) Thank you, Lord Enmaru. I will.
Konohagakure –
Hokage's Office
The message from Kumo had arrived. It wasn't a scroll. It was a diplomatic projectile. A formal, sealed indictment detailing a ROOT sabotage operation on sovereign soil, complete with the confessions (extracted and verified) of the captured agents naming Danzo. And attached, a separate, chilling addendum: a forensic analysis of the spatial breach, with chakra resonance data conclusively matching one Obito Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt decades older. Across from him, Homura and Koharu wore masks of shock. Danzo, present for the 'discussion,' stood rigid, his face a stone mask.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: (His voice was dangerously quiet) You authorized an operation on Kumo's soil. After my explicit stand-down order.
Danzo: The Uchiha boy is a vortex sucking in Konoha's future. He had to be checked.
Homura: Checked? You attempted to destroy their food supply! You painted a target on the entire village! And you… You involved Obito? How is that even possible?
Danzo: I did not 'involve' him. He appeared. He offered… tactical support. His goals, for the moment, align with removing a dangerous variable.
Koharu: His goals? He is a missing-nin, a ghost! And according to this (she slapped the Kumo report), he attempted to kidnap the boy's mother from inside their village! Using a technique only he was known to possess! The Kumo Daimyo is demanding your head on a pike, Danzo, and he has the evidence to get it from the Fire Daimyo!
The door burst open. Shikaku Nara entered, his usual lazy demeanour gone, replaced by sharp urgency. Inoichi Yamanaka was right behind him, pale.
Shikaku: Hokage-same. The intelligence from Kumo… we've run the chakra signature analysis through our own old war archives. From the Third War. From Minato's team.
Inoichi: It's a 99.7% match to Obito Uchiha. The 0.3% variance is consistent with extreme power growth and… possibly organic modification. He's alive. And he's working with… (he glanced at Danzo with undisguised contempt)… rogue elements.
The revelation hung in the air, suffocating. Obito's survival rewrote history. His alliance with Danzo painted a picture of a deep, festering rot within Konoha's own shadow.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: Danzo Shimura. You are hereby stripped of all authority over ROOT. You are confined to your compound pending a full inquiry by the Council and the Fire Daimyo's magistrates. Any attempt to contact your network will be seen as treason.
Danzo: Hiruzen! You are letting them manipulate you! That boy in Kumo is the true threat! He has the Mangekyō! The report states he used it to fight Obito! He will go blind, and when he does, Kumo will turn on him! We must act before—
Sarutobi Hiruzen: ENOUGH! Your actions have nearly started a war we cannot win against a village that is now a technologically advanced fortress. You have conspired with a traitor we thought dead. You are the threat, Danzo. To this village's honour, to its safety, and to its soul. Guards!
As ANBU moved to escort a seething, silent Danzo away, Hiruzen sagged into his chair. The world had just become infinitely more dangerous. A super-powered, eternal-feuding Uchiha was alive and in league with his corrupted old friend. And in Kumo, a different Uchiha, one of impossible genius and loyalty to his new home, had just awakened a power they all believed would eventually cripple him. But as he read the cold, precise language of Kumo's report, a terrible doubt crept in. Had Indra Uzumaki-Uchiha, the boy who turned scarcity into plenty and built invisible shields, really left a problem like blindness unsolved?
Kamui Dimension –
Obito Uchiha POV –
He clutched his side, where the lingering echo of those black spatial rods had wrenched his chakra system. The humiliation was secondary to the shock. The boy's power… it had authority. It wasn't just strong; it commanded reality in a way that felt… Otsutsuki.
And the eyes. The Mangekyō pattern he'd seen was unlike any record. It spoke of order, of design, not just emotion.
Obito: He's awakened it. Faster than even, I did. His hatred… his resolve… It's focused, crystalline. Not a burning chaos, but a cold, hard diamond.
Black Zetsu oozed from the ground beside him.
Black Zetsu: A new Mangekyō. How… predictable for a Uchiha. He will use it. He will burn through his sight. His great mind will be shackled by impending darkness. A fitting irony.
Obito: You're sure? He doesn't seem the type to accept a flaw he can't fix.
Black Zetsu: Some flaws are baked into the blood, Obito. The Uchiha curse is one. No amount of technology can rewrite a destiny written by the Sage's own failings. His blindness is inevitable. It is the lever we will use. When he is desperate, half-blind, clinging to fading power… that is when we offer a solution. The Gedo Statue, the Rinnegan… true, eternal power. We turn the architect of Kumo's fortress into the key that unlocks its destruction from within.
Obito said nothing. He remembered the boy's calm, terrifying certainty as he locked down space itself. "You think your borrowed eye makes you master of space?" This Indra did not feel like someone waiting to go blind. He felt like someone who had already read the blueprint of his own curse and drawn up plans to demolish it.
But he kept that doubt to himself. Let Zetsu believe in inevitable tragedy. Obito would plan for a more dangerous possibility: that the boy had already won his first and most personal war.
The Pure Lands –
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki POV –
The Sage watched the unfolding events, his astonishment growing. He had felt the surge of a new Mangekyō—a pattern singing with structured intellect, not mad passion. And then… he felt the curse activate… and be silenced. Not replaced, not circumvented by a brother's eyes, but healed, perfected in situ.
Hagoromo: He… cured the flaw. He used the gifts of this world—ingenuity, the life-force of my first son's descendant, his own transcendent will—to mend the wound I left in my second son's lineage. Not by repeating the cycle of theft, but by breaking it with creation.
He looked at the sleeping figure of Naruto Uzumaki in Konoha and the brooding, training Sasuke Uchiha. Their destinies, once a locked binary, were now adrift. The Asura chakra, unattached, lingered in the world. The Indra chakra was fully vested, but in a vessel that rejected its tragic script. A profound, cautious hope bloomed in Hagoromo's ancient heart. This was a true divergence. A third path. It was fraught with peril, for it attracted the gaze of his mother's will and the stars beyond. But for the first time in a millennium, the future was not a repeating echo of his failure. It was a new song, composed by a conductor from another world, and its first notes were the sound of a storm fortifying its home, and the silent, eternal click of perfected eyes opening forever.
[System Notification: Achieved: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (Synthesized). Template Synergy Boost: Indra Ōtsutsuki – 84%, Ashina Uzumaki – 78%, Victor Von Doom – 37%. New Ability Unlocked: Ōtsutsuki Decree (Novice).]
End of chapter – 6