Chapter 75: Wait a Minute—He's Awakening a Mangekyō Sharingan?!
This was... the legendary shinobi, Uchiha Madara himself!
Even though his physical body had deteriorated to an old and frail state—appearing so weak that a mere gust of wind might blow him over, and even a random genin could theoretically end his life—
The domineering aura of someone who once looked down upon the entire shinobi world as invincible still occasionally flickered deep within his cloudy, turbid eyes. That presence alone remained genuinely terrifying.
Uchiha Kazuki's eyes remained unnaturally calm, as if they contained a cold, unfathomably deep pool of water. A subtle mocking smile appeared on his lips as he turned toward Black Zetsu, who had quietly entered from behind:
"This is the Uchiha Madara you were so confidently talking about? Heh. Just some old man who's clearly about to die from natural causes. It seems I really must have gone completely insane to actually believe your ridiculous claims!"
As he spoke those dismissive words, a bone-chilling killing intent suddenly surged upward—like an arctic wave of murderous pressure filling the entire underground cave.
"Are you seriously mocking me right now?"
Uchiha Kazuki's eyes turned icy cold, flashing with dangerous crimson light as genuine anger appeared prominently on his face:
"This is the person you claimed could help me awaken my Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"Wait, wait! Please calm down!"
Black Zetsu visibly panicked, quickly scrambling to explain the situation:
"We're absolutely not lying to you! He genuinely is Uchiha Madara! You should know about their legendary battle at the Valley of the End, correct? Although Lord Madara miraculously survived that encounter, he was left severely and permanently injured. So many decades have passed since then—it's completely normal for his body to have aged to this extent!"
Black Zetsu had personally witnessed firsthand just how impossibly fast Uchiha Kazuki could move. His Body Flicker Technique was practically on par with Namikaze Minato's legendary speed.
If it accidentally provoked his rage further, given Uchiha Madara's current critically weakened physical state, the legendary shinobi's head might literally fall to the ground in the blink of an eye. Then Black Zetsu would have absolutely nowhere to turn and no backup plan whatsoever.
Hearing this desperate explanation, Uchiha Kazuki—though still radiating fury—visibly suppressed his overwhelming anger. He spoke with a grim, threatening expression:
"Fine. I'll give you exactly one more chance to prove yourselves. If you cannot definitively prove that he is Uchiha Madara and can genuinely help me awaken my Mangekyō Sharingan... then don't blame me for permanently silencing both of you."
The absolutely pure, concentrated killing intent was sharp as a freshly honed blade—sending literal chills racing down Black Zetsu's spiritual spine.
This guy is definitely completely serious about that threat!
If the next explanation still failed to convince Uchiha Kazuki of the truth, then Madara's head would probably be separated from his body without hesitation.
Thinking frantically about this terrifying possibility, Black Zetsu immediately turned its desperate gaze toward the still remarkably calm Madara, pleading urgently:
"Lord Madara! Looking at the current situation... do you perhaps want to provide some proof of your identity?"
"Proof? Sure, I can do that."
Uchiha Madara carefully scrutinized the dangerous young man standing before him, speaking in a hoarse but steady voice:
"This should be more than sufficient to prove my true identity, correct?"
Three distinctive tomoe suddenly appeared within his blood-red eyes, spinning slowly.
As if suppressed by the overwhelming power radiating from those legendary eyes, the three tomoe currently active in Uchiha Kazuki's own Sharingan gradually began to fade and dim in response.
"So these are... Uchiha Madara's actual Sharingan?"
Kazuki stared with intense, unwavering focus at those legendary eyes, becoming completely mesmerized and deeply captivated. A look of utter rapture and fascination unconsciously spread across his face:
"Such incredibly powerful ocular energy! I can physically feel the absolutely terrifying power contained within those eyes!"
This guy... he's not actually planning to try stealing them, is he?
Black Zetsu nervously glanced at Uchiha Kazuki's increasingly fanatical expression—as if he'd just discovered a massive gold mine—and its metaphorical lips twitched as it made increasingly wild internal guesses.
Fortunately, those particular fears didn't immediately materialize into reality.
At least for the moment, Uchiha Kazuki's behavior remained relatively restrained and controlled. He simply continued staring with intense, almost obsessive focus at Madara.
"Ahem."
Even the legendary Uchiha Madara had never before experienced being stared at with such disturbingly fanatical, hungry eyes.
To claim he wasn't unnerved would be a blatant lie. Besides, his finely-honed combat intuition told him very clearly that this young man was thinking about something extremely unpleasant regarding his eyes.
So Madara quickly restored his eyes to their normal appearance, coughed lightly twice to break the tension, and—while leaning heavily on his wooden cane—immediately changed the subject:
"What you just witnessed was merely a remnant fragment of its former power, not the complete Mangekyō Sharingan in its true form."
That explanation is sufficient for now.
Uchiha Kazuki slowly suppressed his greedy, fanatical gaze, seemingly regaining his normal composure and control:
"What exactly do you mean by 'not the complete Mangekyō Sharingan'?"
"Heh. I mean it quite literally."
Uchiha Madara remained seated in his crude stone chair, speaking with deliberate, meaningful weight:
"I've gambled my eyes on the future itself."
"..."
Uchiha Kazuki almost completely lost his carefully maintained composure, desperately wanting to retort with sarcasm but remaining genuinely unsure what to say.
'Gambled on the future'? That's the most dramatic way possible to say 'I used Izanagi and went blind,' you theatrical old man.
"Legend states that you were killed after your climactic battle with the First Hokage at the Valley of the End."
Kazuki maintained his suspicious persona perfectly. Though a sliver of genuine doubt remained despite actually seeing the Sharingan evidence, he pressed further:
"How do you explain that widely accepted historical fact?"
"Because at the absolute last moment before death, I used a forbidden eye technique called Izanagi."
Uchiha Madara seemed to have fully anticipated this exact question, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"Izanagi is one of the ultimate dōjutsu techniques unique exclusively to the Uchiha clan. At the terrible cost of permanent blindness in the eye used, it can temporarily transform illusion into reality and reality into illusion. It was precisely with this forbidden eye technique that I successfully deceived Senju Hashirama himself and survived from the Valley of the End until this very moment."
At this critical juncture, Black Zetsu helpfully added from the side:
"Lord Kazuki, you can verify the complete authenticity of the Izanagi technique by consulting the secret historical records kept by the Uchiha clan."
"Never mind all that. None of those details actually matter to me."
Uchiha Kazuki casually raised one hand, brushing aside the stray dark hairs on his forehead. A hint of dangerous fanaticism shone through his otherwise arrogant expression:
"Whether you are genuinely Uchiha Madara or some elaborate impostor is completely and utterly unimportant."
"Not bad. Good eyes—and good answer."
Uchiha Madara's weathered face showed clear approval, as if he recognized something of his former younger self reflected in this ambitious boy:
"Just as you correctly stated, whether I am truly Uchiha Madara or not doesn't matter at all. What genuinely matters is... whether I can actually give you the power you desperately seek, correct?"
Uchiha Kazuki's lips curled upward slightly into a confident smile.
"Correct."
"The method to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan requires experiencing immense, overwhelming grief and loss."
Uchiha Madara leaned more heavily on his cane, scrutinizing the young man before him with calculating intensity. He spoke in a deep, gravelly voice:
"Only by directly witnessing the death of a close blood relative or your most treasured friend, and experiencing the resulting extreme mental anguish and despair, can the Mangekyō Sharingan successfully awaken."
He deliberately paused for dramatic effect, then asked with careful emphasis:
"Can you actually do it? To personally kill someone you genuinely value with your own hands? To face absolute despair and soul-crushing pain head-on without flinching?"
"Extreme mental anguish and immense pain?"
Hearing this dramatic explanation, Uchiha Kazuki displayed a thoughtful, contemplative expression before responding:
"That's it? It sounds surprisingly simple and straightforward. Are there any other specific requirements or conditions?"
"???"
Surprisingly simple?!
Uchiha Madara was genuinely stumped speechless by that casual response, his aged eyelids twitching involuntarily as he emphasized more forcefully:
"Are you absolutely certain you heard me correctly? It requires: directly witnessing the death of someone you deeply care about, experiencing immense grief and loss, and undergoing extreme mental anguish sufficient to shatter your psyche. It's not something you can accomplish by just casually killing some random person you don't care about!"
"Ah, yes. I heard you perfectly clearly."
Uchiha Kazuki calmly adjusted his glasses with one finger, revealing his characteristic pleasant smile. He repeated the requirements in a completely nonchalant, matter-of-fact tone:
"Only by personally killing someone I genuinely care about and experiencing the resulting extreme mental anguish can I awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. So I'm asking you again—are there any other additional conditions beyond that?"
"..."
Silence. Complete, stunned silence.
After a very long, awkward moment, Uchiha Madara finally spoke with an incredibly complicated expression on his weathered face:
"No... there's only that single condition."
"Oh, okay then. Perfect."
Uchiha Kazuki adjusted his black-rimmed glasses once more and smiled pleasantly:
"Wait here for just a moment. I need to go awaken my Mangekyō Sharingan real quick."
[End of Chapter 75]
Author's Notes:
WHAT?! KAZUKI JUST CASUALLY SAID HE'S GOING TO AWAKEN THE MANGEKYŌ?!
This chapter is absolutely hilarious and terrifying at the same time!
Key Highlights:
Kazuki's Performance:
Perfectly faked anger and killing intent
Made Black Zetsu genuinely panic
Got obsessed with Madara's eyes (staying in character)
Casually treated awakening Mangekyō like a simple task
Madara's Reaction:
Actually unnerved by Kazuki's eye obsession
Gave the dramatic "gambled on the future" line
Explained Izanagi and requirements
Completely stumped by Kazuki's casual attitude
The Punchline:
Madara: "You must kill someone precious and experience soul-crushing despair!"
Kazuki: "That's it? Sounds easy. Any other conditions?"
Madara: "..." (completely speechless)
Kazuki: "Cool, brb, gonna go awaken it real quick"
The Big Questions:
Does Kazuki already have someone in mind to kill?
Is he using Lord of Mysteries abilities to fake the emotional trauma?
Can he actually awaken it, or is this a bluff?
What's his REAL plan here?
Remember: Kazuki is an Audience pathway Beyonder—he can perfectly manipulate emotions and possibly even fake the psychological requirements!
This is about to get INSANE!