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For a "Sage of Medicine" like Tsunade, performing an eye transplant naturally didn't require much time.
Two hours later, it was all complete.
However...
Tsunade sat to the side, watching Kagaya, whose eyes were now bandaged with white cloth.
"A transplant... what you received probably wasn't a simple transplant, was it?"
At first, Tsunade had thought it was just an ordinary procedure of swapping out one pair of eyes for another, nothing remarkable. What she hadn't expected was that during the process, Kagaya's Mangekyō and his father's Mangekyō had fused.
What in the world was this? Eyes merging—in all her years, Tsunade had never seen such a thing.
This also made her certain that what Kagaya called a "transplant" was no ordinary one.
"Hm? What do you mean, Lady Tsunade?" Kagaya sounded confused. He had completely lost his sight partway through the surgery and couldn't see anything, so he naturally hadn't witnessed the fusion.
Tsunade explained. "Your eyes and your father's eyes fused together. Two pairs became one pair, now lying quietly within your eye sockets. You didn't know about your own situation?"
Kagaya was genuinely startled. Fusion? Honestly, he hadn't known. This was his first time transplanting Mangekyō. He'd only called it a "transplant" because that's what it was called in the original narrative. But what was this fusion about?
Thinking it over carefully, though, it seemed this made more sense. Otherwise, if simply transplanting a relative's eyes could evolve the Eternal Mangekyō, wouldn't two blood-related brothers just swap their Mangekyō and both obtain the Eternal Mangekyō?
Yet in the history of the ninja world, both Madara and Izuna possessed the Mangekyō, but only Madara obtained the Eternal Mangekyō. Sasuke and Itachi both had it, yet only Sasuke ended up with the Eternal version.
This indicated that no matter what, two pairs of Mangekyō could only produce one pair of Eternal Mangekyō. Therefore, the concept of fusion seemed perfectly logical.
Otherwise, if a simple exchange could grant everyone the Eternal form, then in Uchiha history, wouldn't Mangekyō be as common as dogs and Eternal Mangekyō users be everywhere?
Having reasoned this out, Kagaya spoke somewhat helplessly. "Lady Tsunade, the fusion was unexpected for me as well."
Tsunade looked at him curiously. "You didn't expect it either? Then, did you transplant the Mangekyō just to restore your eyesight?"
"Of course not, Lady Tsunade. Have you heard of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Kagaya didn't hide it. The evolution to the Eternal Mangekyō, though known to few, wasn't something that needed to be kept secret. After all, even if you knew transplanting Mangekyō between close relatives could lead to evolution, what use was that knowledge if you didn't possess two pairs of Mangekyō with a direct blood connection?
So, Kagaya saw no need to conceal the matter of the Eternal Mangekyō from Tsunade.
Tsunade frowned. "Eternal Mangekyō? What is that?"
Within the Uchiha clan, even the regular Mangekyō was a legend, let alone the form above it. Only a handful of Uchiha knew about the Eternal Mangekyō. Outsiders were virtually impossible to know of its existence.
Kagaya explained. "The Eternal Mangekyō, as the name suggests, is permanent. This form of the Sharingan will never go blind. No matter how much it's used, there are no side effects. In fact, the Mangekyō is not the end of the Sharingan's evolution. The Eternal Mangekyō is the true end point!"
There was the Rinnegan above the Eternal Mangekyō, but strictly speaking, that could no longer be considered a Sharingan. So, in a sense, the Eternal Mangekyō was the pinnacle of the Sharingan.
Tsunade's eyes widened instantly. The more intelligent the person, the better they understood the terrifying implications of what Kagaya was describing.
A powerful weapon with side effects and a powerful weapon without side effects were two entirely different concepts!
Take Kagaya's Mangekyō, for example. To invade Konoha once, he nearly went blind. Because of such severe side effects, Kagaya had to meticulously plan the invasion to avoid failure.
But once rid of such drawbacks, it was no exaggeration to say Kagaya could take on Konoha single-handedly, without Orochimaru or Akatsuki!
Moreover, what Tsunade didn't know was that eliminating the side effects also applied to Susano'o!
In the original story, Sasuke suffered immense pain using Susano'o with his Mangekyō, blood perpetually streaking his face. The cost of activating Susano'o with the Mangekyō was simply too great.
At the Mangekyō stage, Susano'o was, as described, both the user's guardian deity and their harbinger of death. Using it meant gambling with one's life.
But all of this vanished with the Eternal Mangekyō. At that stage, Susano'o became only the guardian deity, never again the death god.
Most importantly, with the Eternal Mangekyō, once trained to its peak and with sufficient ocular power and chakra, one could awaken the Complete Body — Susano'o.
The Complete Body Susano'o was a terrifying power that could even contend with Hashirama in his prime! Though it still couldn't defeat him, the mere fact that it could face Hashirama head-on was terrifying enough!
If Kagaya awakened the Complete Body Susano'o, he would become, after Hashirama and Madara, the only one who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those legends. Even if he still fell short of them, the ability to stand alongside them would be enough to let the entire ninja world experience what true invincibility felt like.
Of course, Kagaya hadn't even awakened the Eternal Mangekyō yet; he needed a considerable adaptation period. Even after awakening it, his own ocular power and chakra reserves wouldn't be sufficient to sustain the Complete Body Susano'o.
Tsunade suddenly clenched her fist. She was beginning to regret performing the transplant.
"Will you invade Konoha again?"
Kagaya naturally understood Tsunade's concern. If he were to invade Konoha with the power of the Eternal Mangekyō, it would be hell—a hell for Konoha.
"No."
However, Kagaya would not invade Konoha again. Those who deserved to die were dead. He was no murderous demon. He no longer had a reason to invade Konoha, at least not for now.
Tsunade's voice turned cold. "Swear it in the name of Uchiha Shisui!"
From Tsunade's intelligence, Shisui held immense significance for Kagaya. Having lost someone important herself (Dan), Tsunade knew well the weight such a deceased person could hold in one's heart.
Kagaya fell silent. Tsunade wasn't wrong. For other agreements, like their initial verbal pact, Kagaya could deny it in the future if he wished. But once Shisui's name was invoked, unless absolutely forced, Kagaya would not break his oath.
It was similar to his previous actions against Konoha. Kagaya had primarily targeted the main culprits and those who stood in his way, sparing the rest, precisely because Shisui had instructed him on his deathbed not to harm Konoha. Although Kagaya had already broken that instruction to a degree, because it was Shisui's wish, he had still restrained himself, focusing only on the principal offenders.
Seeing Kagaya's silence, Tsunade stood up abruptly. "If you cannot do it, then I will have no choice but to remove those eyes myself!"
Tsunade could not accept the fact that she might have personally created a terrifying enemy for Konoha.