Drip, drip, drip.
The gloomy sky suddenly began to rain, droplets falling onto Sasuke, sliding down his cheeks and mingling with the tears at the corners of his eyes.
Sasuke looked up at the somber night sky: "Is it raining…?"
At this moment, the tomoe of his Sharingan had transformed into a six-pointed star pattern—the Mangekyō Sharingan. With the change in his eyes, his entire demeanor shifted.
The chilling aura that once made hearts tremble was gradually absorbed into his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan.
Consequently.
His already highly pure Yin Release chakra reached an even higher level of purity.
Yet, despite the surge in dojutsu power and the dramatic increase in chakra, his emotions remained strangely subdued.
Though his freshly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan should have been radiant with brilliance, it now appeared somewhat dazed and unfocused!
After a moment, he lowered his head, gazing at Shinji's body lying in the muddy water.
He raised his hands, seeing the starkly vivid blood staining them: "I killed him? What have I done!?"
After a brief pause, he frantically tried to wash the blood off his hands with the rain, but no matter how he scrubbed, the blood wouldn't come clean.
Suddenly, he froze, looking around in confusion: "No… something's wrong! I'm under a genjutsu!"
Clap, clap, clap.
From the nearby forest, a round of applause echoed!
Then, Shinji's real body, clad in the red-clouded Akatsuki robe, emerged from the shadows.
As Shinji appeared, the scenery around them shifted once more. The rain, the blood—everything vanished. The forest returned to its original state, still eerily quiet, though the lingering heat and smoke in the air confirmed that a ninjutsu clash had indeed taken place.
"'A'!?"
Sasuke's gaze sharpened, his Mangekyō Sharingan radiating an intimidating brilliance!
Shinji chuckled lightly: "I thought I could keep you fooled a bit longer, but you saw through it so quickly! Heh, as expected of the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"It was all a genjutsu!?"
Sasuke was taken aback, then looked at the spot where Shinji's body lay, noticing there was no fatal wound on his chest from the strike he'd delivered.
Sasuke hurriedly crouched down, his trembling hand checking Shinji's breathing, and found that Shinji was merely unconscious, still with a heartbeat and breath.
Shinji's real body, dressed in Akatsuki attire, smiled: "He's not dead. He's just under my genjutsu, temporarily knocked out."
Sasuke froze, his face a mix of complex emotions—relief, joy, fear, and deep guilt!
Shinji asked, "By the way, I haven't congratulated you yet! How does it feel to have the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Sasuke slowly stood, looking at Shinji: "So you were here all along! When did you cast the genjutsu? Was it after I clashed with Shinji in ninjutsu?"
Having realized Shinji wasn't dead, Sasuke began to piece things together.
The lingering heat, smoke, and faint traces of combat around them confirmed he had indeed fought fiercely with Shinji. 'A's genjutsu must have been cast after their ninjutsu clash.
Shinji nodded slightly: "Yes, if I hadn't intervened, one of you would've had to die!"
Sasuke let out a long breath, momentarily unsure how to respond.
At this point, Shinji carefully examined the brand-new pair of Mangekyō Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes.
Using genjutsu to stimulate an Uchiha into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan was theoretically impossible. The Sharingan, a reflection of the heart and a symbol of the spirit and will, was extraordinarily perceptive.
Completely deceiving an Uchiha, blurring the line between genjutsu and reality, was nearly impossible.
Even tricking their consciousness couldn't fully fool their instincts!
Even Shinji, with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, couldn't achieve such a feat. Moreover, most Uchiha genjutsu targeted the mind.
Even pinnacle Mangekyō techniques like 'Tsukuyomi' or 'Kotoamatsukami' were forms of mental control, unable to fully deceive the target's five senses.
This was precisely why Shinji had insisted on bringing Yakumo.
Without Yakumo's Kurama clan genjutsu, which offered absolute control over the five senses, his plan would've been fundamentally unfeasible.
Yakumo's presence filled the critical gap in Shinji's plan, making tonight's attempt possible.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly!
As Sasuke had deduced, Shinji had chosen the moment when Sasuke and his shadow clone were locked in a genjutsu duel to act!
This wasn't premeditated but a necessity. As Sasuke grew closer to awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, his strength surged rapidly, and the shadow clone could no longer suppress him. If Shinji hadn't intervened, the ruse could've collapsed at any moment.
With Shinji's real body stepping in, Sasuke, who hadn't yet awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, was no match for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Without any resistance, Sasuke fell into his genjutsu.
Sasuke didn't even realize the genjutsu came from someone else, assuming it was the shadow clone's doing.
Sasuke's later breaking of the genjutsu was deliberately allowed by Shinji to make him believe he'd escaped the illusion's control.
In reality, the moment Shinji cast his genjutsu, Yakumo had also activated hers!
To ensure success and prevent a deadly clash between Sasuke and Shinji, Yakumo held nothing back, summoning Ido to join her in casting the genjutsu.
Since Sasuke was already ensnared in Shinji's genjutsu, Yakumo's illusion bypassed interference from his Sharingan, easily taking control of his five senses.
Everything that followed was a performance directed by Yakumo under Shinji's instructions.
For anyone else, even a flawless performance might not have triggered the Mangekyō Sharingan. But Sasuke was different. Even before Shinji orchestrated this act, Sasuke had already been on the verge of awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan multiple times.
As the reincarnation of Ōtsutsuki Indra, he was never far from the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Shinji's performance merely gave Sasuke the final push he needed to cross that threshold!
In the forest.
Looking at Sasuke, who had successfully awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, and Shinji, unconscious on the ground but alive, Yakumo slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
Nearby, Ido's spiritual form was somewhat indignant: "Hmph, I got careless earlier. Otherwise, that Sasuke guy wouldn't have seen through our genjutsu so quickly!"
Though surprised that Sasuke had pierced their genjutsu right after awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, Yakumo smiled and said, "None of that matters now!"