I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

Uchiha headquarters, Sakugo's courtyard.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on the stone slabs and shattering into golden fragments.

Shuoge sat on the veranda, a knife across his lap, wiping the blade back and forth with a strip of cloth.

Footsteps came from outside the door; it wasn't just one person, but several.

Someone knocked on the door, not loudly, but rhythmically.

Shuoge didn't get up. "Come in."

The door was pushed open.

Hiashi Hyuga stood at the doorway, dressed in a formal gray kimono with a black sash around his waist.

Hinata followed behind him, wearing a light purple short-sleeved shirt, holding a wooden box in her hands, her head down, not daring to look at him.

Two elders from the Hyuga main clan stood behind, carrying gift boxes wrapped in silk, their expressions somewhat unnatural—such exchanges had never occurred between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans before.

Hiashi Hyuga walked into the courtyard, stood under the eaves, and bowed deeply to Sakugo.

"We are deeply grateful for your help in dealing with my daughter's situation last time. The Hyuga clan will remember this forever."

Hinata peeked out from behind her father, stealing a glance at Sakugo before retreating back inside. Her voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz. "Thank you... Uncle."

Shuoge glanced at her, then at Hyuga Hiashi. He continued cutting the cloth strips in his hand, the sunlight reflecting off the blade.

"Need not."

He lowered his head and continued wiping the knife.

Elder Hyuga looked somewhat embarrassed.

The head of a clan personally came to express his gratitude, but the other party didn't even stand up or offer him a cup of tea.

One of the elders opened his mouth as if to say something, but Hiashi Hyuga raised his hand to stop him. He looked at Sakugo's back, remained silent for a moment, and placed the gifts he had brought at the door.

"If you ever need anything from Hyuga in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

He turned and left with Hinata and the elders. The sound of their footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared at the end of the alley.

Shisui returned from outside, carrying a bag of shuriken for practice. He saw the gift boxes piled up at the door, and then saw Hyuga Hiashi's departing figure. He walked into the courtyard and placed the shuriken under the eaves.

"The Hyuga clan has come? What are they doing here?"

"Delivering something." Shuoge sheathed his sword, stood up, and hung the sword on his back.

Zhi Shui glanced at the gift boxes, then at Shuo Ge, and asked no more questions. He picked up the scabbard and went inside.

Shuoge stood in the courtyard, the sunlight shining on him and casting a long shadow.

He glanced at the gift boxes by the door, but didn't open them. He then turned and went inside.

He leaned the knife against the wall, sat down, and closed his eyes. His left eye's vision was still blurry, a little better than before, but far worse than his right. He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

"I need to go out."

……

……

……

An espionage mission to the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.

The objective is to eliminate a group of wandering ninjas who are entrenched in an abandoned mine in the mountains.

Intelligence indicated there were twelve of them, led by a Jonin who had defected from Iwagakure and was skilled in Earth Release. Sakugo was leading the team, accompanied by four Anbu members. The mission was simple, requiring no personal involvement from him, but he still came.

The mine entrance is located below a cliff and is mostly hidden by bushes.

Shuoge crouched on a tree in the distance, his mask tucked into his waistband, his three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating behind the mask.

"Blade, frontal assault or infiltration?" The vulture perched on a branch next to him, holding a kunai in his hand.

"Frontline attack," Shuoge said softly. "Quickly finish this."

Eagle nodded, jumped down from the branch, and led three members of the secret service toward the mine.

Shuoge remained in the tree, keeping watch. He kept an eye on the rock wall to the left of the mine—there was a hidden sentry post tucked away in a crevice.

The hidden sentry moved.

He poked his head out from a crevice in the rocks, a kunai in his hand, aiming at the eagle's back.

Shuoge caught it; the knife slid silently from its sheath. He flung out a kunai, which flew off the tree and embedded itself in the sentry's throat.

The person fell down, and the kunai fell to the ground with a clatter.

The eagle glanced back and continued on its way.

The battle lasted less than five minutes. Of the twelve men, five died and seven were captured. Shuoge jumped down from the tree and entered the mine. Vulture, who was counting the prisoners, saw him and approached.

"Mission accomplished. No one was injured."

Shuoge nodded. "Fall back."

---

It was already past midnight when they returned to the secret service's base.

Shuoge sat at the end of the corridor, his mask tucked into his waistband and his knife resting beside him.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and his Mangekyou Sharingan silently activated.

Three black crescent moons slowly rotated in the red pupils, the edges of the three crescent moons in the left eye blurred, like ink stains soaked in water.

He stared at the luminous pearl at the end of the corridor; he couldn't see its outline with his left eye, but he could see it clearly with his right.

He closed his eyes and turned back to black.

Can't delay any longer.

He took a blank scroll from his ninja tool pouch, unrolled it, and dipped his brush in ink. He wrote only one line: "My left eye is worsening; we need to meet. The usual place."

Once the ink was completely dry, he rolled up the scroll and sealed it with wax. White Zetsu emerged from under the floorboards, half of his body sticking out, and tilted his head to look at him.

Shuoge handed over the scroll. White Zetsu caught it, sank into the floor, and disappeared.

---

Three days later, a reply arrived.

Shuoge unfurled the scroll, which contained only one line of text: "Land of Fields, New Base. Coordinates attached. Bring your Sharingan."

He held the scroll close to the candle flame and burned it to ashes.

---

The Hokage's office, the next morning.

Minato sat behind the table, a patrol report spread out in front of him. Sakugo stood in front of the table, his mask tucked into his waistband, his sword resting against the side of his chair.

"We'll need to leave the village for a few days," Shuoge said calmly. "To track down the remnants of the Cloud Hidden Army."

Minato glanced at him. Sakugo's face was expressionless, his eyes were black, and as calm as a pool of water.

Minato was silent for a moment, then picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on a blank task sheet.

Sign your name, stamp it with the Hokage seal, and push it over.

"Seven days."

Shuoge took the task sheet, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Be careful," Minato's voice was very soft.

Shuoge nodded, turned and left.

---

The Land of Fields, a new stronghold.

Orochimaru's laboratory is hidden deep in a dense forest, with the entrance at the base of a dead old tree.

Shuoge pushed open the wooden door disguised as tree bark and walked down the stone steps for about ten minutes until he reached an iron door at the end of the corridor.

He pushed the door open and went in.

The laboratory was larger than before, with culture tanks arranged against the wall, and Sharingan eyes, first-generation cell samples, and some other things that were indistinguishable soaking behind the glass walls.

Orochimaru stood in front of the lab table, his back to him, holding a test tube filled with a pale green liquid.

"Sakugo-kun." Orochimaru didn't turn around. "How much longer can your left eye hold?"

Shuoge stood in the doorway, knife behind his back, hands hanging at his sides. "I can't see clearly anymore."

Orochimaru turned around, his golden eyes shining like two lamps in the pale light. A faint smile played on his lips. "Let me see."

Shuoge closed his eyes, then opened them again. His Mangekyou Sharingan activated, three black crescent moons slowly rotating within his red pupils. The edges of the three crescent moons in his left eye were blurred, as if they were melting into the red.

Orochimaru approached, lowered his head, and stared at Sakugo's left eye. His pupil reflected the three blurry crescent moons, golden light flickering within them.

"The pupil's power has been excessively depleted, and the optic nerve has begun to atrophy. If left untreated, the left eye will become completely blind within three months."

Shuoge did not speak.

Orochimaru straightened up, walked back to the lab bench, took a scroll from the drawer, and tossed it over. Sakugo caught it but didn't open it.

"This is a scroll for storing eye power. I extracted eye power crystals from multiple three-tomoe Sharingan, which can temporarily repair your left eye."

Orochimaru leaned against the lab bench, his hands in his pockets.

"But this is only a temporary solution. One injection lasts three months. A second, two months. A third, one month. Ultimately, you need a true, eternal kaleidoscope."

"condition."

Orochimaru tilted his head. "First, ten three-tomoe Sharingan. Second, I want to observe how you use your left eye's dojutsu in battle."

Shuoge was silent for a moment. "Ten. No observation."

Orochimaru smiled. "Sakugo-kun, you're more difficult to deal with than Danzo." He pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Deal. But within three months, fifteen three-tomoe gems. If even one is missing, the deal is void."

"Can."

Orochimaru had Sakugo lie on the experimental table, unfolded the scroll storing his eye power, and activated the technique. A warm stream of chakra flowed from the scroll into Sakugo's left eye, and his eye began to burn.

Sakugo gritted his teeth and remained silent. Orochimaru, recording data nearby, was filled with curiosity in his golden eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, Orochimaru put away the scroll. "All done."

Shuoge sat up and opened his left eye. His vision was much clearer, but not as sharp as before; it felt like looking through a thin veil.

"It's recovered to 70%." Orochimaru's voice was soft. "Bring ten three-tomoe gems in three months. Otherwise, the effect of the next injection will be even worse."

Shuoge got off the lab table, hung the knife on his back, and walked towards the door.

He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

---

Behind the waterfall, Obito stood there, his Sharingan through the holes in his mask staring in the direction where Sakugo had disappeared. White Zetsu emerged from the rock wall and stood beside him.

"He's teamed up with Orochimaru. Aren't you worried?"

"Perhaps we could give him the cells from the first generation..."

Obito awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, but did not advance to the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Instead, he chose to use the cells of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to counteract the side effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Shuoge knew this method, but he wanted a permanent solution.

Furthermore, the power of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan is incomparable to that of the regular Mangekyou Sharingan.

Obito did not answer the White Zetsu's question. He turned and disappeared into the darkness.

---

Back in Konoha, Sakugo handed the mission report to Minato. "No remnants of the Cloud Village were found."

Minato accepted it without asking any further questions. "Thank you for your hard work."

Shuoge nodded, turned and left.

He returned home, took out the eye power storage scroll given to him by Orochimaru from his pocket, and locked it deep in a drawer.

Three months. Ten three-comma jade pendants.

The Uchiha clan only has so many members; they can't withstand this kind of attrition.

Orochimaru's approach is not working; he needs another way.

Tsunade. One of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and the greatest medical ninja in the ninja world.

If even she can't solve it, then there's truly no hope.

He sat in the darkness, gazing at the moon outside the window. His Mangekyou Sharingan activated silently; the three black crescent moons in his left eye were no longer blurry, their edges now clearly defined.

But he knew it was only temporary.

He closed his eyes and turned back to black.