Naruto: The Rise Of Uchiha

"Ah—"

Uchiha Itachi screamed and fell to the ground, blood flowing from his eyes.

Two eyeballs appeared in Uchiha Fugaku's hands.

In the real illusion, he had gouged out Itachi's eyes.

In reality, Uchiha Itachi's eyes disappeared and reappeared in Fugaku's hands.

"Itachi..."

"Brother..."

Uchiha Itachi, who had declared he was going to leave the family, suddenly collapsed, as if suffering a major blow.

Uchiha Mikoto and Sasuke looked worried and rushed over instinctively.

Although they were disappointed that Itachi had betrayed the clan and even intended to leave, they were still family bound by blood.

The moment they saw Itachi injured, their concern overrode their anger.

"Itachi, your eyes..."

Mikoto was shocked upon seeing his hollow, bleeding eyes.

She turned to Uchiha Fugaku.

"Fugaku, did you destroy Itachi's eyes?"

Although she hadn't witnessed the fight, she could easily guess that Fugaku had removed them.

"I took his Mangekyō Sharingan. You can implant a pair of ordinary Sharingan in their place. As for returning these Mangekyō, that depends on his future behavior."

Uchiha Fugaku said.

After careful thought, he chose to extract Itachi's eyes, seal his chakra, and imprison him.

He didn't spare Itachi out of paternal love—there was no such bond between them.

The main reason was to consider Mikoto's and Sasuke's feelings.

Although both were angry and disappointed in Itachi's betrayal, he was still family. Killing him could create lasting resentment.

To avoid that, Fugaku chose to take his eyes and imprison him for life.

"I see."

Mikoto was silent for a moment, then nodded and used medical ninjutsu to stop Itachi's bleeding.

Although shocked by Fugaku's actions, it was still within her limit. It was better than executing Itachi outright.

Besides, Itachi could still receive a transplant and recover his vision.

And Fugaku had promised to possibly return the Mangekyō, depending on future circumstances.

"You want me to betray the Hokage? That's impossible..."

Hearing their conversation, Itachi spoke stubbornly.

"Brother..."

Looking at Itachi's persistent defiance even after losing his eyes, Sasuke's voice was filled with disappointment and anger.

His eyes turned red in his fury.

Then, a black tomoe appeared in each—he had awakened the Sharingan.

In his pain and disappointment, Sasuke awakened his Sharingan.

"Sasuke, you've awakened the Sharingan?"

Fugaku was surprised as he noticed the change in Sasuke's eyes.

He hadn't expected Sasuke to awaken the Sharingan so soon, but it was a welcome development.

"Sasuke awakened the Sharingan?!"

Mikoto was also stunned. Her anger faded slightly.

Though hurt by Itachi's betrayal, Sasuke awakening the Sharingan at such a young age was worth celebrating.

It meant Sasuke had a natural talent for it.

This time, she would protect Sasuke well and never let him follow Itachi's path.

Fugaku sealed Itachi's chakra and locked him in a bedroom.

After placing a barrier around the room, Fugaku left his home.

He didn't leave the Uchiha district but instead went to the secret chamber near the Naka Shrine.

Inside, he saw Spore Clone No. 1, clearly more refined and powerful than the others.

An idea came to mind.

"Although this was meant for Sasuke, he won't awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan for years. That time shouldn't be wasted."

"If I transplant the Mangekyō into Spore Clone No. 1, I might gain Kage-level strength."

With a three-tomoe Sharingan, Clone No. 1 was already at elite jonin level.

Replacing it with Mangekyō could potentially raise him to Kage-level.

He would gain a completely loyal subordinate with immense power.

Additionally, the clone's Hashirama cells would prevent the blindness usually caused by Mangekyō use.

In the storage room, he carefully placed Itachi's Mangekyō into a liquid-filled container.

He then looked over the Sharingan on the wall.

His gaze landed first on a three-tomoe Sharingan but then shifted to a single-tomoe pair.

"It's a waste to give that traitor three-tomoe. A one-tomoe is more than enough."

He took the one-tomoe Sharingan and left the chamber.

Mikoto could implant those into Itachi.

But for the clone's surgery, he would ask Uchiha Masa to do it.

It wasn't that he doubted Mikoto's skill, but rather, Itachi's eyes still held sentimental weight for her.

He returned home, gave Mikoto the one-tomoe Sharingan, and asked her to implant them in Itachi.

Then he returned to the secret room and summoned Uchiha Masa.

"Chief, what's the matter?"

Upon entering the room again, Uchiha Masa asked curiously.

"This is a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. I want you to implant them into this clone."

Fugaku held up the container and pointed to Spore Clone No. 1.

"Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Uchiha Masa was shocked to see the clan head possess Mangekyō.

She thought Shisui's had been destroyed by Izanagi—so where did these come from?

Soon she guessed they might be inherited from a previous Mangekyō user.

"Are you sure?"

"It's not that difficult."

Uchiha Masa nodded with confidence.

A few hours later, the eye transplant was complete.

Spore Clone No. 1 slowly opened its eyes.

In its black-and-white pupils, the three-blade windmill pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan emerged.

(End of this chapter)