This Uchiha is way too Cautious

Chapter 97: Mangekyō

"This voice..."

Cold sweat broke out all over Uchiha Kei's body—

he hadn't expected things to turn out like this at all!

At this moment, Kei was absolutely certain:

he had fallen into a genjutsu.

What confused him, though, was when exactly he had been caught in it.

Even more baffling—why had he, of all people, fallen prey to an illusion?

Though his Sharingan still appeared to be at the three-tomoe stage, Kei's real foundation was the Mangekyō.

No matter how powerful his opponent was, it shouldn't have been possible to trap him so silently!

Unless—

Kei took a deep breath, a possibility flashing through his mind.

He was starting to guess who the enemy might really be.

Among the Uchiha who remained in Konoha, Kei wasn't sure exactly how many Mangekyō users were left.

But he did know of at least one: Uchiha Fugaku.

And judging by this opponent's physique and sharpness of movement, he clearly wasn't some frail old man.

Rather, he was in his prime—a strong and capable youth or middle-aged fighter.

No wonder this guy called himself the "Guardian of the Uchiha."

No wonder he had repeatedly tried to persuade Kei to stop.

No wonder he had urged Kei to turn back.

It all made sense now—this masked man was none other than the Uchiha clan leader himself!

Realizing this, Kei felt a massive headache coming on.

He had gone to such great lengths to mislead this man, to earn his trust.

But how had Fugaku managed to track him down?

Kei didn't think he had left any obvious traces at the scene.

Otherwise, the investigation teams from other Konoha clans would have caught him long ago.

"You... who exactly are you?"

Kei took a deep breath, scanning the black-and-white world around him with wary eyes.

"And how did you find me?"

"Traces at the scene," Fugaku's voice echoed from all directions.

The world around Kei had long since shifted into a surreal landscape, impossible to distinguish reality from illusion.

"You covered your tracks well," Fugaku continued.

"But not well enough—you still left clues behind."

"Traces...?"

Kei frowned, thinking hard—

both about how to get out of this situation and about what evidence he might have left behind.

A moment later, his face darkened.

"...It was the kunai, wasn't it?"

Exactly!

Kei finally remembered—

the only thing he had possibly left behind was the broken kunai.

The one he had split in two with his blade,

and which Uchiha Yuu had hurled back at him.

Yuu was a Sharingan user too.

To defeat him one-on-one without a drawn-out battle would almost certainly require another Sharingan user.

Otherwise, a chaotic group battle would've left behind far more evidence.

And in this world, only Uchiha fights would leave such specific, minimal traces.

That kunai must have been covered in sword marks.

And it just so happened—

Kei's weapon was a ninja blade.

"Very clever," Fugaku's voice said quietly, tinged with regret.

"But it's over now."

"Now, tell me—"

His voice grew firmer.

"What exactly did you mean earlier, when you said the Uchiha clan would perish?"

"You really think you've won?"

Kei suddenly sighed, seeming almost relaxed.

"You're good, I'll admit," he said.

"But if this is all you have—

it's still not enough."

"You are a genius, Kei," Fugaku said coldly.

"Someone with vision.

Someone with potential.

I didn't want to kill you—

I wanted to find a way for us to work together.

But you made a mistake."

He paused, his voice growing sharper.

"And did you really think my abilities ended here?

Did you think the three-tomoe Sharingan was the peak?"

"Of course not." As Fugaku's words faded, Kei suddenly smiled coldly.

"Because," he said softly,

"I have these eyes too."

All of a sudden, the three tomoe in Uchiha Kei's eyes began to spin wildly.

Within the vortex, a strange triangular diamond pattern silently emerged in his pupils!

At that moment—

Kei saw through everything.

He realized the kneeling masked figure before him was nothing but a phantom.

The real Uchiha Fugaku, masked and concealed, stood not far away.

And in Fugaku's eyes—

a Mangekyō pattern very similar to Uchiha Itachi's, but with three distinct points—

spun slowly, casting an ominous glow.

Yet what shone even clearer in Fugaku's gaze was sheer terror.

That's right.

At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku was deeply terrified.

He had thought—truly believed—that he had already overestimated Kei enough.

Yet even so, he had still vastly underestimated him!

Mangekyō Sharingan.

This was the Mangekyō Sharingan!

How on earth had Kei awakened such eyes?

Had he been hiding them all along?

Anxiety gnawed at Fugaku's heart.

He tried to calm himself, but it was futile.

And Kei wasted no time seizing this opening!

The moment his Mangekyō awakened, Kei had already grasped the nature of the genjutsu trapping him.

This illusion created a special space, somewhat resembling Tsukuyomi.

However, it wasn't quite the Tsukuyomi Kei remembered from the future.

Regardless, his mind flooded with instinctive knowledge on how to break free.

Forming a rapid series of hand seals, Kei erupted with both his chakra and ocular power.

With his spiritual energy surging,

he wrested control of the illusory space—

before Fugaku could fully recover!

In this world of stark black and white,

the white moon overhead suddenly turned blood-red,

imbuing the space with an eerie and oppressive atmosphere.

Moments later, the moon itself twisted—

transforming into a massive, scarlet eye,

its blood-colored gaze bathing the entire world in crimson.

Within that eye,

the same triangular diamond pattern of Kei's Mangekyō rotated slowly and inexorably.

It was unmistakable—

the mark of Uchiha Kei's Mangekyō.

"Impossible...!"

Fugaku could no longer suppress his shock.

He stared at the sky—

at the massive scarlet eye identical to Kei's own—

and cried out involuntarily.

"Nothing is impossible,"

Kei replied coolly.

"You grew complacent, while I remained alert.

I warned you—

if this was the extent of your power,

then this is where it ends."

"How did you obtain those eyes?"

Though Fugaku still wore his mask, his voice had regained a measure of composure.

"Did you kill your closest friend?

A family member?

Or..."

"In honor of your last moments, I'll tell you,"

Kei sneered coldly.

"I watched far too many of my comrades die—

especially those who gave their lives to protect me."

"So now—"

he said, raising his blade,

"—you can join them."

As Kei spoke, his ninja blade once again crackled with blue chakra.

The fierce aura emanating from him—amplified by the Mangekyō—

was more terrifying than ever.

Kei's body tensed, ready to strike at any moment.

Yet just then—

Fugaku slowly raised his hand to his mask.

And removed it.

"You finally took it off,"

Kei murmured, lowering his blade slightly.

"If you hadn't, I might not have known how to properly end this."