Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, revealing a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm… such a thing exists… let me think…"
He lowered his head and pondered for a while. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed.
"I understand.
"After replacing the eyes with those of a close blood sibling, one constantly feels the grief of losing a loved one. This emotion continuously stimulates the brain, causing it to constantly secrete that special energy, which combines with Chakra to regenerate new Yin-Attribute Chakra within the eyes.
"With new supply coming in, naturally, blindness will not occur. This is essentially using a special method to allow Yin-Attribute Chakra to be produced endlessly."
Gento nodded thoughtfully.
In that case, since he had already mastered Yin-Attribute Chakra, could he find a way to artificially create an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?
He wanted to ask further.
Abruptly, Orochimaru glanced into the distance, his expression changing slightly.
He turned his head and smiled at Gento, a trace of apology in that smile.
"I have to go. All my research on the Sharingan is recorded in this scroll."
He took out a scroll from his robes and casually tossed it to Gento.
"If you want to find me in the future, use that Summoning Jutsu. I look forward to our next meeting."
With that, he grabbed Anko, who had remained silent the entire time, and in a flicker, disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Holding the scroll, Gento looked toward the direction Orochimaru had left, unable to help but feel a sense of emotion.
Saving Orochimaru really was the right choice.
Although in the original story Orochimaru also managed to escape, he had lost his experimental materials and suffered heavy injuries.
With his help, Orochimaru's departure had become far more composed.
Moreover, cooperating with a genius scientist like him, someone with immense talent and relentless dedication to research, was far more useful than that old man, the Third Hokage.
As he was thinking this, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission!]
[Reward: S-rank Ninjutsu Flying Thunder God!]
A second later, a vast flood of memories poured into his mind–dense formulas, hand seal sequences, spatial perception techniques…
All of it was engraved into his consciousness.
Flying Thunder God… obtained!
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several dark figures approaching through the distant forest.
They were Anbu pursuing Orochimaru.
If he, the Uchiha clan head, were discovered near Orochimaru's base, it would be impossible to clear his name.
Without a second thought, the power of his left eye surged.
"Yomotsu!"
The space behind him rippled, and Gento's figure slowly sank into it, disappearing completely in the blink of an eye.
With the cover of the Yomotsu space, he skillfully avoided the Anbu's search and returned home without incident.
Closing the door, Gento immediately took out the scroll Orochimaru had given him and began reading it eagerly.
The scroll was filled with intricate diagrams of the human body's meridians.
Red lines of veins spread densely throughout the body like tree roots.
Beside them were even more detailed localized diagrams.
The meridians around the eyes were specially enlarged, each tiny pathway clearly outlined.
Next to the diagrams, Orochimaru had meticulously annotated the flow paths of Yin-Attribute Chakra.
Gento possessed a certain foundation in medical knowledge, so reading this content was not difficult for him.
After a long time, he finally raised his head.
"So that's how it is…"
He closed his eyes and began refining Yin-Attribute Chakra within his body.
Chakra slowly gathered in his lower abdomen.
Gento held his breath, carefully guiding this power along the meridian pathways marked in the scroll, moving it upward bit by bit.
At last, that stream of Yin-Attribute Chakra slowly flowed into his eye sockets.
At the moment it entered his eyes, Gento felt that the faint stinging sensation in his eyes instantly turned cool and soothing.
Even more astonishingly, he felt that this cool energy was filling the gaps within his eyes that had been depleted.
Those gaps had always existed before, like a container that could never be filled. Each time he used the Sharingan, the emptiness would grow larger, accompanied by a faint aching deep within his eyes.
And now, as the cool energy continuously flowed in, those gaps were being filled little by little.
A comfortable, refreshing sensation spread from deep within his eyes.
The stinging pain that had accumulated from frequent use of the Mangekyo gradually faded within this coolness.
Gento opened his eyes and could clearly feel that his ocular power was recovering.
"This is…"
Gento blinked in disbelief.
"The damage is being repaired?"
Gento couldn't help but become excited.
What did this mean?
It meant that he had truly mastered the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!
No longer needing to worry about the consumption of ocular power, he could now use the Mangekyo Sharingan freely!
It also meant that he could help other members of the Uchiha clan restore their ocular power!
In the future, Shisui and even Itachi would no longer need to worry about going blind from overusing the Sharingan!
At the thought of this, Gento felt a surge of excitement.
Although in the original story, Itachi, that "filial son," had done some utterly rebellious deeds, it had to be admitted: his talent was terrifyingly powerful.
If he could be properly guided before he went down the wrong path, and be given a pair of Mangekyo that could be used freely without consequence…
Just imagining that scene was enough to make one look forward to it!
...
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
The day before Kushina's delivery.
During this period, the most significant event in Leaf was that Minato Namikaze had successfully completed the Hokage inauguration ceremony and officially became the Fourth Hokage.
That morning, Shisui appeared before Gento.
"Gento-sama."
Shisui cupped his fists in greeting, his expression respectful.
"All members of the Uchiha clan have completed the relocation and are now settled in that town outside the Hidden Leaf."
He paused, then added:
"At present, only Fugaku-sama, along with three hundred members of the Leaf Police Force, and the clan's Anbu, remain in the village."
Gento nodded.
Since the Nine-Tails Disaster was bound to occur, there was no way he would let the entire Uchiha clan remain in the Hidden Leaf and risk their lives.
After all, it hadn't been easy to build up their population; losing even a small portion would make his heart ache.
With the authority he now held within the clan, once he proposed the relocation plan, he encountered almost no resistance. It was carried out smoothly within just a few days.
Gento stood up.
"Let's go. Accompany me to pay a visit to the Fourth Hokage."
"Yes!"
The two walked one after the other toward the Hokage Tower.
Arriving at the Hokage's office, Shisui followed Gento inside as he pushed the door open.
Minato was seated behind the desk.
He wore the white Hokage robe, a gentle smile on his lips. His entire demeanor was bright and approachable, completely lacking the imposing pressure of the previous Hokage.
Gento sharply noticed:
Unlike during the Third Hokage's time, when intelligence reports piled up like mountains, Minato's desk had almost no stacked documents.
Seeing Gento enter, Minato immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile:
"Clan Head Gento, what brings you here?"
Gento smiled and got straight to the point:
"Minato, the Leaf Police Force intends to organize an evacuation drill for the civilians to prepare for unexpected situations. I've come today to request your approval."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly, the smile on his face fading a bit.
"You're still concerned about… that supposed enemy invasion?"
Gento laughed it off, waving his hand:
"Don't worry. All expenses this time, including manpower costs, will be covered by the Uchiha ourselves. The village won't need to reimburse anything extra."
Minato hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
He stood up, opened a side door in the office, and walked inside.
Not long after, the door opened again.
Hiruzen unexpectedly walked out together with Minato.
Gento's eyes flickered slightly.
With a pipe in his mouth and a kind smile on his face, Hiruzen spoke first in a familiar tone:
"Hehe.
"I had already retired, but Minato insisted, saying he lacked experience, and made me stay on as an advisor. I hope you won't find it laughable, Gento."
As he spoke, he even turned his head to glance at Minato.
Standing behind him, Minato looked a bit awkward and could only smile along.
...
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