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Chapter 83: Eye Swap, Transplanting the Rinnegan
...
An underground base.
In the empty subterranean hall, a translucent vortex suddenly appeared. Obito Uchiha stepped out first, with Kisame Hoshigaki close behind. Finally, the members of Taka emerged.
Karin Uzumaki supported Sasuke Uchiha, her expression a mix of worry and vigilance. Suigetsu Hōzuki stood obediently where he was, not daring to act out. The chilling aura and killing intent radiating from the masked man in front of him made him feel very uneasy. Having been forced to retreat so pathetically, the man was definitely in a bad mood. Suigetsu Hōzuki didn't want to become his punching bag.
"Ahhh...!"
Sasuke Uchiha cried out, half-kneeling on the ground in pain. His failed attempt to forcibly use Amaterasu during the final retreat had caused his Mangekyō Sharingan to backlash at this very moment. The stabbing pain in his left eyeball was soul-deep and unbearable.
"Sasuke!" Karin Uzumaki crouched beside him, full of concern, and held out her arm. "Quick, bite me!!"
"No need!"
Sasuke Uchiha panted heavily, clutching his eyes as dark red blood seeped from between his fingers. He didn't choose to bite Karin Uzumaki; it wouldn't help much.
He staggered to his feet and released his hands, looking around. His expression suddenly turned to panic. "No! I can't go blind! I absolutely can't go blind!!" The hall was dim. Sasuke Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan was already on the verge of blindness, and now he couldn't see even a single ray of light. His vision was pitch black.
He suddenly remembered something. Staring with his dull, bleeding eyes in the direction he sensed Obito Uchiha, he roared with extreme agitation, "Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan! You have it! Give it to me! I need to transplant it now! I want my light back!! I can't be blind!! I need to obtain even greater power!"
He had originally planned to kill Danzō and get his revenge on Konoha before transplanting Itachi Uchiha's eyes to gain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. But plans couldn't keep up with reality. Who would have thought that a single battle would completely exhaust his visual prowess, leaving him almost totally blind. The fear of blindness was greater than anything else.
He finally understood the state of mind Madara Uchiha must have been in when he took his own brother Izuna's Mangekyō Sharingan. His strength was almost entirely dependent on his Mangekyō Sharingan. Once lost, becoming blind was a secondary concern. Losing that powerful, intoxicating strength was what was truly unacceptable. When he had first heard the masked man tell Madara Uchiha's story, he had thought Madara Uchiha was nothing special, just gouging out his own brother's eyes because he was going blind. Now, he was facing the same predicament. If Itachi Uchiha were still alive, regardless of whether he would actually go through with it, it would be hard for the thought of taking his eyes not to cross his mind.
Obito Uchiha ignored the manic Sasuke Uchiha and spoke to Kisame Hoshigaki. "Kisame, go and rest for now. I will have another mission for you later."
Kisame Hoshigaki nodded. "Mr. Madara, I await your orders." He walked off into the darkness, adding as he left, "Mr. Madara, I am very eager to see that new world. Please feel free to entrust me with any mission." His shark-like face flickered in and out of the light, gradually disappearing. Even though this mission had been a failure, his steps were steady, his conviction firm.
He had lived through the bloody mist of the Village Hidden in the Mist. Betrayal and counter-betrayal, assassination and counter-assassination... his hands were long stained with the blood of his comrades. Kisame Hoshigaki felt this world was far too cruel and far too fake. The moment "Mr. Madara" stepped out from behind the Fourth Mizukage and appeared before him, his sense of the world's falsehood and distortion reached its peak. Who could have imagined that the Mizukage of the renowned Village Hidden in the Mist, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, was being unknowingly controlled by genjutsu! If Mr. Madara hadn't revealed himself, not a single person in the entire village would have noticed. The village, and everyone in it, was being played like puppets in Mr. Madara's hands. How absurd, how illusory!
Obito Uchiha watched this loyal subordinate leave, then turned his gaze to the still-shouting Sasuke Uchiha. He shook his head in disappointment. This little traitor really had no composure. Impulsive, irritable, and arrogant. The moment his emotions got the better of him, he threw all caution to the wind. He was a complete idiot. But, as a pawn, he still had his uses.
Obito Uchiha despised and looked down on Sasuke Uchiha. And Black Zetsu, at his feet, felt the exact same contempt for this moron. Almost all of Sasuke Uchiha's flaws were ones he possessed as well. Or rather, this was the common ailment of the Uchiha. No wonder everyone else called their clan red-eyed freaks and psychopaths.
"Hey! Did you hear me!! Hurry up and give me Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan," Sasuke Uchiha urged impatiently.
Obito Uchiha stared at him coldly, his killing intent fluctuating, but he ultimately suppressed it. He was just an extremely immature brat. As long as he had value, there was no need to get angry with him. He then took a test tube from his Kamui dimension. Two blood-red eyeballs were floating in the solution: Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
He tossed the test tube and a scroll to Karin Uzumaki, his voice cold. "The girl by your side is a medical-nin, more or less. She's competent enough to perform the eye transplant surgery. The precautions and procedure are all in this scroll. Read it yourselves."
After speaking, he walked toward the depths of the base, with Black Zetsu following silently behind. While Sasuke Uchiha was getting his eye transplant, he would also transplant the Rinnegan to increase his own power. His current strength was no longer enough to deal with the White Tiger. He had to strengthen himself.
The footsteps faded, leaving only the three members of Taka in the hall. Suigetsu Hōzuki immediately felt a wave of relief. That terrifying man and that creepy black creature were finally gone. He couldn't help but ask, "Sasuke, what do we do now? Jūgo was captured by that woman. We don't know how he is. He's our comrade. We have to save him."
Although Suigetsu Hōzuki always liked to argue with his teammates, in his heart, he had long considered the other three to be his comrades, bound by life and death. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped up back then, ignoring his own heavy injuries to take on the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki and even taking a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Sasuke Uchiha turned a deaf ear, just urging Karin Uzumaki, "Quick, take me to get the transplant!" Right now, regaining his sight and his power was the only thing that mattered. Everything else could wait.
Not getting the answer he wanted, Suigetsu Hōzuki's expression darkened, a trace of disappointment in his heart.
"Sasuke, I'll support you. I'll take you for the transplant right now." Karin Uzumaki didn't care about anything else. Only Sasuke Uchiha mattered; everyone else was crap. "I've read the scroll. The procedure is simple. I'm very confident. I can definitely transplant them safely and restore your sight."
Sasuke Uchiha nodded, his face impassive, and allowed Karin Uzumaki to lead him toward the base's medical bay. Suigetsu Hōzuki was left alone in the hall. He watched them go, opened his mouth, but in the end, just sighed and found an empty room to rest.
...
In a secret room deep within the base, Obito Uchiha stared at the Rinnegan in the test tube, saying nothing.
Black Zetsu emerged halfway from the ground. "Lord Madara, are you planning to transplant one Rinnegan or both?"