Hidden Leaf Village year 13, end of year.
Falling leaves fluttered, the weather gradually turned cold, and the withered yellow grass was covered with a layer of white frost.
A month had passed since the Hidden Cloud Village invaded the Land of Fire. The main forces of both sides fought fiercely in the north, with each side having its own victories and defeats. However, with Ginkaku joining the battlefield, the balance of victory instantly tilted towards the Hidden Cloud.
Uchiha Kagami, as the front-line commander, was no match for the two brothers and retreated steadily. Faced with the fierce enemy, he decisively abandoned the position to preserve the lives of more comrades.
After several battles, the Hidden Leaf's casualties were not heavy, but the price was... the iron hooves of the Hidden Cloud's main force had penetrated deep into the heart of the Land of Fire.
Under Kagami's leadership, the Hidden Leaf's vanguard retreated completely, and the entire army retreated to Kikyo Mountain, defending it strictly.
When this news reached the Hidden Leaf, the higher-ups were in an uproar.
Many people were condemning Uchiha Kagami, believing that he was the culprit for the repeated defeats. As a commander, he became more and more timid in battle, and without even the determination to sacrifice himself, how could he defend the front-line position?
After the meeting, those families who condemned Kagami were dispatched to the front line by Tobirama as the main reinforcements to support the Kikyo Mountain front.
If it had been the old Tobirama, he would have joined the ranks of those who rebuked Uchiha Kagami, but he suddenly remembered the words Hashirama had said to him before his death, and changed his mind.
The Hidden Leaf Village... is never just a place. The Hidden Leaf where people exist is the real Hidden Leaf.
This could not help but make him recognize this disciple a little more.
"Kagami, you are the true successor of Big Brother's Will..." Tobirama looked out the window, sighing with his brows furrowed.
Kagami had a very special habit. After each mission, he would meticulously organize the details of the mission into notes for analysis of information, and at the same time review his shortcomings in the battle.
No matter how small the details were, as long as he noticed them, they would be recorded in detail in the report.
At this moment, the thick stack of paper on the Hokage's desk was the report that Kagami had compiled from more than a dozen battles, large and small.
Obviously, Tobirama had read it over and over again.
"Insufficient Eye Power?"
His brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but feel a hint of worry.
According to Kagami's description, the Mangekyo Sharingan was a path to blindness. Although his Eye Technique was powerful, his Eye Power was unrecoverable.
The so-called Eye Power refers to the power of the eyes, which is a pure Yin Release Chakra formed by the fusion of mental energy in the brain and a part of the body's energy, acting on the external force.
After opening the Mangekyo Sharingan, Kagami's mental energy underwent a qualitative change, so the Yin Release Chakra in his body also rose accordingly, which is why he would be promoted to a Kage-level powerhouse.
Kagami's report clearly mentioned that every time he released his Eye Technique, his mental energy would skyrocket, and his Yin Release Chakra would become stronger and stronger, but this energy had exceeded a certain limit, and once it reached a certain critical value, it would begin to backfire on his body.
This Yin Release energy would accumulate little by little in his mind, gradually eroding his body, starting from destroying the optic nerve, and producing irreversible effects.
The external manifestations were decreased vision, the optic nerve collapsing little by little, and every cell in the body stinging like needles.
Of course, compared to the devastation of the mind, external pain was insignificant.
Kagami stated that every time he released his Eye Technique, his heart would be filled with an uncontrollable desire for destruction, which was simply driving him crazy.
Only by releasing the power could the spirit be satisfied, and after satisfaction came a long emptiness, and a stronger power must be released to fill this crazy throbbing.
Such a cycle, constantly repeated, the price was a vision that became more and more blurred day by day.
Every battle with the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers was a life-and-death struggle. His vision had deteriorated a lot. He could not distinguish between male and female beyond 200 meters, and he could not distinguish between humans and animals beyond 500 meters!
Kagami mentioned that the reason Uchiha Shin'yu was so obsessed with his Mangekyo Sharingan was because only by transplanting the eyes of a Synchronized Source Blood Relative could one unlock the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!
This would not only fuse the Eye Power of another person but also eliminate the effects on the user's body. The Yin Release Chakra would no longer damage the optic nerves, completely avoiding the side effects of vision loss and blindness.
"If that's the case..." Tobirama worried, his face gloomy.
Kagami was a rare combat force on the front lines, and the only one at that. Moreover, the Hidden Cloud Village's Raikage had not yet made a move. Once the opponent personally intervened, what could he, the Hokage, do?
If one day, Kagami really reached his limit and his eyes were destroyed, what would he do?
Within the village, the only ones who could be considered Kage-level combat forces were Kagami and Hyuga Harukaze.
Hyuga Harukaze, as the Hyuga Main Family Clan Head, was better suited for defense in terms of both personality and methods. Therefore, staying in the Hidden Leaf Village to guard the main base was the wise choice.
In other words, the current stability of Hidden Leaf Village was maintained by Kagami's bloody battles on the front lines.
For some reason, Hashirama's voice and smile flashed through his mind.
Perhaps, entrusting the future to these children is the right decision...
That morning, he overlooked the mountains, smiling so freely, a kind of ease from the inside out.
Tobirama was very sure that he had only seen that expression when Hidden Leaf Village was first established.
"How cunning, leaving in a hurry and throwing this mess to me..." Tobirama snorted inwardly, finally sighing faintly.
To maintain Kagami's combat power, he had to preserve his eyes, seize Uchiha Shin'yu's eyes, and achieve eternity!
But... that was clearly impossible.
He was the one who defeated his brother, and it would not be an exaggeration to call him the number one person in the Shinobi World. With the current weak Hidden Leaf Village, what could they do?
If it weren't for Kagami's special Eye Technique, he would probably have been captured by that guy long ago.
To be honest, the reason why Tobirama was so worried was that he was afraid that Shin'yu would suddenly go crazy one day and participate in the battle. If that happened, the entire Shinobi World would be turned upside down by him.
"Could it be... do I really have to try transplanting my brother's flesh into Kagami?"
In fact, he had thought about it a long time ago. Since the Mangekyo Sharingan would damage the optic nerves and damage the body's cells, if these cells had Hashirama's ability to constantly heal themselves, would it be possible to avoid the risk of blindness?
But...
This news came from Uchiha Shin'yu!
He couldn't guarantee that this guy wouldn't play dirty tricks on Kagami during the war, nor could he guarantee that there was no conspiracy in it.
But letting his disciple fight desperately outside while he, as the Hokage, could only hide in Hidden Leaf Village and eke out a living also made his heart suffer.
Although the people in the village didn't say it, he could also sense that some people already had some opinions about him, the Hokage.
Although on the surface they still looked respectful, the imperceptible contempt in their eyes had already been seen through by him.
"Brother, what should I do..."
Time passed little by little in Tobirama's shame and entanglement.
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