Uchiha Madara had finally made his decision.
For him, sitting back and waiting to become a blind invalid incapable of fighting was worse than death.
He had fought on battlefields for half his life, carving out his reputation as the Ninja Shura with his own pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
If those eyes were to lose their sight completely one day, what meaning would there be in his existence?
Eye transplantation.
Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he had to try.
Inside Madara’s residence in the Uchiha compound.
The three of them sat together—doors and windows sealed shut, trusted Uchiha shinobi standing guard outside, no one allowed to approach.
Uchiha Hikaru spoke first, laying out the principles of the transplantation procedure step by step.
After hearing him out, Izuna’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Hikaru, are you certain this will work?”
When his brother had called him over, he had assumed they would be discussing clan affairs, maybe at most some Konoha political matters or follow-up arrangements regarding the Uzumaki marriage alliance.
But the moment he stepped through the door, Hikaru had started talking about exchanging eyes.
This was nothing short of alarming.
“Izuna-sama, I am absolutely certain.
For the Mangekyo Sharingan to be rendered immune to blindness, transplantation between blood-related brothers is required.
Unfortunately, I have no brother—otherwise, I would definitely undergo the procedure myself.
My eyes are destined to go blind.”
Uchiha Madara was silent for a moment, then spoke.
“Izuna, I trust Hikaru.”
Izuna looked at his brother, then at Hikaru, and finally nodded.
“I trust Hikaru as well.” He paused.
“However, eye transplantation is no small matter.
To avoid unnecessary panic, brother, you must make thorough preparations.”
Hikaru took over: “Izuna-sama, rest assured.
During the procedure, I will step in to play the role of Madara-sama—handling daily public appearances and simple administrative matters.
No one in the clan or the village will suspect a thing.”
“As for Izuna-sama, you will need to communicate with Ameori-sama.
She is now your wife, and you will inevitably be absent from public view for several days during the recovery period.
You cannot keep it from her.
Furthermore, this matter concerns the future of the Uchiha clan.
Only the three of us shall know of it.”
“Don’t worry.
I’ll handle things with Ameori.”
Three days later.
Inside the underground chamber of the Uchiha compound.
The technical requirements for the eye transplantation were actually not that high.
In the original story, Uchiha Obito had performed the procedure on Sasuke in that rundown cave without any issues.
Moreover, in the later parts of the story, Obito and Madara were constantly plucking out and inserting eyes—plug-and-play, more convenient than a charger.
Hikaru wiped the blood from his hands and let out a long breath.
“Madara-sama, Izuna-sama.
The procedure was a complete success.
For the next week, avoid light exposure, do not use chakra, and rest quietly.”
One week later, in the chamber.
Hikaru personally removed the bandages from their eyes.
The white gauze was unwound layer by layer…
Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes.
His Mangekyo Sharingan had now taken on the pattern of the Eternal Mangekyo as seen in the original story.
“Madara-sama, Izuna-sama—how do you feel?”
Madara rose to his feet and looked around.
“Excellent.
My vision has never been this clear.”
“Brother, it’s not just visual acuity.” Izuna stood up as well, his Sharingan spinning rapidly in his eyes, a visible surge of chakra emanating from his body.
“I can feel my ocular power has increased significantly as well.”
“Indeed.” The corner of Madara’s mouth lifted slightly.
“My ocular power has definitely grown stronger.
I want to fight Hashirama again right now—I can hardly wait to see the look on his face.
This time, I will not lose.”
Uchiha Madara was a proud man; that had never changed.
Though he acknowledged Hashirama Senju’s strength, even regarding him as his only friend and rival, losing to Hashirama was a wound that would never fully heal.
The Battlefield Rose.
The Ninja Shura.
Uchiha Madara had never been one to accept being second to anyone.
“Madara-sama, Izuna-sama.
Your eyes are still in the recovery phase—your chakra and ocular power are still integrating with the new eyes.
Once you have fully healed, then you can spar with Hashirama-sama.
There is no rush.”
“Hahaha…” Madara laughed heartily, his voice filled with unrestrained joy.
Izuna laughed as well.
He turned to Hikaru, genuine gratitude in his eyes.
“Hikaru, I cannot thank you enough.”
“Hmph—” Izuna clenched his fists, a fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.
“If I were to fight that old fox Tobirama Senju again…”
Hikaru watched the two brothers.
They were truly cut from the same cloth.
If Izuna were to fight Tobirama Senju again, Hikaru’s money would be on Izuna.
Now that he possessed the Eternal Mangekyo, Izuna’s chances of victory were excellent.
But Madara was a different matter.
Senju Hashirama stood at the absolute ceiling of super-Kage level.
Madara had never beaten him.
Even with the Eternal Mangekyo, it would not be enough.
Even with the Nine-Tails, it still would not be enough.
Only Madara with the Rinnegan could stand a chance.
“Izuna-sama, it’s not that you have become stronger.” Hikaru corrected him with a smile.
“It’s that the Uchiha have become stronger.”
Madara paused briefly, then nodded.
“Yes.
The Uchiha have become stronger.”
“What a pity I have no brother,” Hikaru said.
“Otherwise, I would have done the same.”
Without a blood-related sibling, the problem of Mangekyo blindness could never be resolved.
Hikaru’s own Mangekyo was destined to lose its light one day.
“Hikaru.” Madara spoke.
“From now on, do not use your Mangekyo anymore.
As for the blindness issue, we will see if we can find another solution in the future.”
There was, of course, another method—Hashirama Senju’s cells.
In the original story, after Obito transplanted White Zetsu’s body tissue, he used Kamui constantly, practically every day, yet not only did his vision not deteriorate, Hikaru felt his ocular power had actually increased.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, using the same Kamui, performed rather poorly by comparison.
But that method was far too dangerous.
Hashirama’s cells were highly invasive.
Tobirama’s human experiments had all failed.
Orochimaru had managed one accidental success, which was Yamato.
Later, Danzo had barely suppressed the invasion of Hashirama’s cells using a whole arm full of Sharingan, and even then, he had nearly been assimilated and turned into a tree on more than one occasion.
Without access to Tobirama Senju’s human experiment data, and without sufficient safety guarantees, Hikaru was not about to try it lightly.
Tobirama had already begun his secret human experiments, believing himself undetected.
In truth, he had started them earlier than in the original story, driven to it by the pressure Hikaru had placed on him.
Hikaru’s series of calculated moves had left Tobirama gasping for air.
The alliance with the Uzumaki should have eased the Senju’s decline, but then Uchiha Izuna had married Uzumaki Ameori as well.
With no other options, Tobirama had been forced to begin his human experiments ahead of schedule.
Now Hikaru was simply waiting for Tobirama’s results to come in.
When they did, he would step in—not only to condemn that old fox from the moral high ground, but also to use it as leverage to force a Senju-Uchiha marriage alliance.
Tobirama thought he was playing at the first level.
Unfortunately for him, Hikaru was playing at the second.