A cascade of pink petals swayed down like spring rain, while many tender buds still clung to the dense canopy. Sōgen reached up, plucking one small bud. It felt heavy in his hand, though its pupil power was not yet full. Normally elusive and immeasurable, the spiritual energy now had weight, given form by the illusion of **"Wood Blossom Sakuya."**
Uchiha Obito broke free from the illusion of **"Wood Blossom Sakuya."**
Regarding this, Sōgen felt neither disappointment nor regret.
On the contrary, today's harvest was already beyond his expectations. Although it was a pity that he couldn't permanently solve the Obito problem, some things simply couldn't be forced. You must take one step at a time, one bite at a time. As long as you're moving forward, that's enough.
"Interesting!"
Sōgen crushed the flower bud in his hand. The shimmering power, as brilliant as stardust, slipped through his fingers and vanished into the gentle spring breeze.
Looking at his hand, he clenched his fist thoughtfully.
Obito's pupil power was fundamentally different from his own and Shisui's. It wasn't just a variation from person to person; it was a deeper difference. Obito's power was unnaturally stable.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, passed down from their ancestor Indra, was born out of the declining state of the Uchiha's yin energy. Though it surpassed the three-tomoe Sharingan, it couldn't stabilize that immense power. Every use of the Mangekyō Sharingan hurt the user as much as it hurt their enemies.
But Obito's power seemed injected with some stabilizer, in a constant state of calm and endless supply, allowing him to use his abilities recklessly without fear of any side effects.
"Is this the power of Hashirama's cells? Or should I say, Senju's life force… or perhaps Yang Release?"
Whatever name it goes by, the essence is the same.
Indeed, Yin Release and Yang Release—these were the core of the Sage of Six Paths' teachings. Training in both was the most reliable path. It might not offer the speed of cell transplants, but it was stable and dependable.
Unless absolutely necessary, Sōgen had no desire to turn half his body white or have another man's face growing on his chest!
"Indra, the Sage's eldest son, inherited the 'eyes,' while Asura, the younger, inherited the 'body.' When the Sage's 'eyes' and 'body' unite, it forms true Sage power!"
In this small courtyard world, Sōgen was the sole and supreme master. Not even White Zetsu could invade and eavesdrop on his words.
His off-key humming still echoed in the yard, but his figure had already vanished. The courtyard world faded along with the melody, disappearing like snow melting into the sky without a trace.
---
"Roar!!!"
In its prison, the Three-Tails opened its eyes. It felt the pupil power that bound it disappear. The wretched one-eyed Uchiha's power suddenly weakened to a confusing degree—he was still alive, yet his pupil power had diminished as if he were on the verge of death.
However, it wasn't going to ponder that too deeply.
If that accursed Uchiha died, all the better! Or, even better, if all those annoying red eyes died out entirely. For a thousand years, Uchiha had toyed with the tailed beasts like pets, weapons, or chakra machines...
Shaking off these unpleasant memories, the Three-Tails thought: Now that I've broken free from the Sharingan's control, why not find a place to sleep? After all, Yagura looked too weak to control its power anymore.
It was only because of its constant internal struggle with Yagura that the one-eyed Uchiha had taken advantage of it in the first place.
But suddenly, the Three-Tails felt something on its head. The sensation was familiar, and a deep-seated disgust surfaced... another human? Even the lazy Three-Tails was starting to feel angry—why do these humans always insist on stepping on its head, whether in the real world or the realm of the mind?
Years ago, the most hated Uchiha Madara had stomped on the heads of all nine tailed beasts, finally concluding that stomping on Kurama's head was the most comfortable. Madara had then bound Kurama in a summoning contract and taken the fox away.
But none of them had fared well afterward.
A freak named Hashirama had beaten them all up and divided them as gifts to various humans.
"Roar!!!"
It let out a low growl, attempting to intimidate the human on its head.
Then—
"Quiet."
The man on its head stomped down.
For the Three-Tails, this was like scratching an itch—it was covered in a hard shell that even Kurama would struggle to break.
But instead of calming down, the Three-Tails only grew angrier.
"Roar!!!"
It shook its head violently, trying to throw the man off. Sōgen, caught off guard by the sudden aggression, was tossed down, landing on the mental cage Yagura had been sealed in.
"Why so aggressive? You look like a turtle, I thought you'd be calm and obedient, but you keep roaring without saying a word."
Sōgen was clearly displeased with the Three-Tails' behavior.
Now it was the Three-Tails' turn to be confused.
It blinked its eyes—each about the size of the gates of Konoha—staring at Sōgen. Black hair, red armor, crimson eyes... Uchiha Madara? Panic surged through the Three-Tails. It had just gotten rid of one one-eyed Uchiha, and now another Uchiha with red eyes had appeared—and he even dressed like Madara!
"Human!"
The Three-Tails spoke.
It sensed the man was formidable, his fearsome pupil power no weaker than Obito's—in fact, it was even stronger. Honestly, it had grown tired of being manipulated by these red-eyed humans.
When under their control, its consciousness remained in a muddled state, far from the peace of sleep. Instead, it felt nauseating—a truly awful experience.
So, the Three-Tails decided to submit. Better to be sealed inside Yagura, where at least it could sleep in peace, however cramped the space might be.
But—
"Lie down!"
Sōgen had no patience for the Three-Tails. After withdrawing from his illusion world of **"Wood Blossom Sakuya,"** he had appeared on the beast's head, only to have it keep growling at him.
So, Sōgen unleashed a dose of the Uchiha clan's signature technique.
**"Demonic Illusion: Sharingan"**
An overwhelming force of pupil power surged into the Three-Tails.
Its massive eye, just opened, lost its glow. The lone eye turned blood-red, closing slowly under Sōgen's control. The beast curled up, becoming as still as a dull gray stone.
Then, Sōgen turned his gaze toward Yagura, who was struggling to climb down from the wall.
Sōgen cast his gaze toward Yagura Karatachi, who was struggling to jump down from the wall.
After Uchiha Obito's ocular power weakened, not only did the binding placed on the Three-Tails dissipate, but even the metal wedges pinning Yagura Karatachi were dissolved, granting the Fourth Mizukage a small degree of freedom. However, after all these years, Yagura's mental state had similarly deteriorated.
Otherwise,
The moment he was freed, he would have immediately acted against the Three-Tails to regain control of his own body.
"Uchiha Sōgen, I think we can have a good conversation." Yagura Karatachi, short in stature and still bearing a baby face, attempted to communicate with Sōgen.
Just as Uchiha Sōgen hadn't forgotten the battle where he and Shisui teamed up to challenge Yagura Karatachi, Yagura hadn't forgotten those two young Uchiha kids who gave him such a hard time.
"I agree we can have a good talk, but not right now."
With a glance, Sōgen unleashed the **Demonic Illusion: Shackles of Karn** technique.
Metal wedges appeared out of thin air, deeply piercing Yagura's limbs, pinning the Fourth Mizukage back against the wall, turning him into a specimen on display. Yagura opened his mouth to curse but decided against it after some thought.
A prisoner,
has no right to negotiate.
He could only hope that Uchiha Sōgen would keep his word, at least giving him a chance to talk.
In the blink of an eye, Sōgen's figure disappeared from the mental space.
————
Under a cedar tree, Uchiha Obito, who was leaning against it and seemingly dozing, suddenly woke up, as if from a terrible nightmare. He struggled to stand, staggering a few steps, tripping on vines, and falling to his knees.
*Thud!*
Blood dripped from his chin, falling onto the grass.
The edges of his orange mask seemed to be stained with crimson as well.
"Obito?"
White Zetsu, who had been standing nearby, cried out in surprise.
Even Black Zetsu showed a hint of shock in his eyes.
Uchiha Obito looked utterly defeated. Though both possessed Mangekyō Sharingan, and even if Sōgen was more proficient in genjutsu, it shouldn't have reduced Obito to such a state. With cells transplanted from someone with Sage of the Six Paths' body, Obito's ocular powers, while not evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō, should still surpass an ordinary Mangekyō!
Moreover,
Didn't Obito use **Izanagi**? Uchiha Madara left behind only a few Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but there should be a few left. If memory serves, Obito placed one in his empty left eye socket.
Why didn't **Izanagi** activate?
"Obito, are you okay?" White Zetsu asked frantically.
"Obito? Obito? I am...? I am Uchiha Madara! White Zetsu, why are you calling me Obito... No, wait, I am Uchiha Obito. I am Uchiha Obito. Rin, Rin, I must save Rin. No, no, I must create a new world. A world with Rin in it..."
"No, no, I am Madara. I am Uchiha Madara. I must... I must kill him! I must kill Uchiha Sōgen. I have to kill Uchiha Sōgen!"
With one hand clutching his mask, Obito lifted his head and looked at the approaching White Zetsu. In the lone eye hole of his mask, his gaze was intensely crimson.
It wasn't just his pupil that was red—
His sclera, his eyelashes, his eyelids... everything was smeared in blood red.
All of this made his entire vision turn crimson!
As if he had returned to hell,
No, that's wrong. He had always been in hell!
"Obito? You..." White Zetsu reached out, trying to grab Obito, but his hand passed through Obito's arm, touching nothing but air. This left White Zetsu dumbfounded.
Even with his ocular powers weakened to such an unprecedented degree, Obito had still activated **Kamui**?
White Zetsu was stunned.
He couldn't make sense of what was happening.
But the bigger shock was yet to come. The space in front of Obito distorted slightly, and a long gourd-shaped fan fell into his hands. Gripping the fan tightly, Obito, paying no heed to his weakened state, resolutely charged toward the deep red **Susano'o** in the distance—not just to approach it, but to kill it.
Two or three seconds later,
Sōgen, safe within his **Susano'o**, blinked, his previously dull eyes regaining their focus. His crimson pupils rotated as he quickly assessed the surroundings. His **Susano'o** remained unharmed, despite the precaution he had taken by presetting one of his ocular techniques in his left eye to automatically counter any attacks…
A wasted effort!
But if the same situation were to arise again, he would certainly make the same choice.
"The Three-Tails!"
The enormous, mountain-like figure of the Three-Tails was hard to miss.
Just as he was considering ordering the Three-Tails to revert from its transformed state, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure leaping atop the treetops—a figure wielding a gourd-shaped fan.
His heart skipped a beat!
Was he seeing things?
He turned his head for a clearer look, and there, Uchiha Obito, wearing his orange mask, held a fan that Sōgen had seen countless times in the clan's portraits and records—**The Flame Fan**, symbolizing the Uchiha clan's thousand-year history and glory, also known as the **Uchiha Fan** because it was passed down from clan leader to clan leader.
Unfortunately, the fan had been taken by Uchiha Madara when he left Konoha, and even after Madara was defeated by Hashirama Senju, his body was returned, but the Uchiha Fan was never recovered, leaving the subsequent clan leaders without it.
Even Sōgen had to use the **Samehada** to fill the empty space behind him.
(End of chapter)