Hyōma’s robust physique allowed this blind man to achieve the astonishing feat of undergoing surgery in the morning and returning to work in the afternoon.
Indeed, only a few hours after being wheeled into the operating room, the blind man had already walked out under his own power.
Seeing Hyōma moving with such agility, Uchiha Kei understood that the operation must have been a success.
A success so complete that Hyōma didn’t even seem to need a recovery period.
Even so, Kei still asked with concern:
"How do you feel?"
Having regained his sight, Uchiha Hyōma closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.
His face was intoxicated by the dazzling world of colors before him.
Two tomoe rotated within his Red Eyes.
At first glance, he looked almost exactly like an Uchiha.
"Lord Kei, I feel fantastic. Better than I ever could have imagined. If you don’t believe me, watch this."
Hyōma raised his hand and drew a katana toward himself.
Then he began swinging it.
His swordsmanship flowed like drifting clouds and running water, elusive, unpredictable, and mysterious.
Unfortunately, demonstrating it for Kei was like playing a zither to a cow.
It was completely wasted on him.
Hyōma knew his lord’s understanding was limited, so he could only explain while continuing to demonstrate.
"Lord Kei, look. My swordsmanship has always been known for its speed, but I’ve never been able to make my movements this fluid."
"That’s all because the Kaguya cells, through the fusion created by the Chimera Technique, have modified my bones and joints, allowing me to wield my sword with far greater flexibility."
As he spoke, Hyōma suddenly struck with his blade at an extremely strange angle.
"Now I can use techniques that violate the normal structure of the human body, allowing me to employ even more unpredictable swordsmanship."
Seeing Kei’s blank expression, Hyōma continued explaining.
"Don’t underestimate this, my lord. When two swordsmen cross blades, even the smallest muscular movement can reveal the direction of an incoming strike."
"But with the Kaguya cells, my swordsmanship can no longer be predicted according to conventional principles."
"That fraction of a second is enough to determine the winner when two master swordsmen clash."
Kei remained unimpressed.
Something requiring this much technical understanding simply wasn’t suitable for him.
If he had possessed that kind of brain, he would have already become a swordsmanship master under Danjō’s instruction.
"What about the other effects?"
Kei was far more concerned with the increase in chakra, the amplification of ninjutsu, and how long Hyōma could maintain his combat output.
Hyōma naturally understood.
He sheathed the katana and reported to Uchiha Kei.
"There’s also the vitality of this body. After being modified by the Sage cells, I’m overflowing with energy. I don’t feel tired at all."
As he spoke, Hyōma activated his Cursed Seal.
Compared with Orochimaru’s original Cursed Seal, Azusai’s modified version had fewer side effects, lasted longer, and had suffered very little reduction in power.
"There’s also the Zero-Tails. It continuously supplies me with chakra."
"At this point, I could activate Cursed Seal Mode and cut my way from one end of Konoha’s main street to the other without even breaking a sweat."
The Zero-Tails created by Azusai came in two varieties.
The first consisted of Tailed Beasts like Red Maru, which could be activated through special emotional stimuli.
They were essentially no different from genuine Tailed Beasts, although their power was slightly below that of Shukaku.
The other type was created purely by piling up human lives.
Strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be called a Tailed Beast.
It was more like a high-powered engine that continuously supplied chakra.
Its power was far inferior to the Seven Deadly Sins Tailed Beasts.
Hyōma’s Zero-Tails belonged to the ordinary variety.
The only Tailed Beast currently bearing a proper name was Falsehood, and it had been reserved for Kei.
Naturally, the best things were always reserved for their lord.
With every explanation Hyōma gave, Kei nodded furiously.
This was probably the greatest amount of movement he had made in recent days.
The prospect of recovery simply made him too happy.
"Hyōma, then what are the drawbacks?"
"Make sure you explain those properly too."
Kei continued pressing him.
After all, nothing in this world was perfect.
One couldn’t simply listen to the advantages.
They also needed to know the weaknesses so they could understand how to conceal them.
Hyōma nodded.
"If I absolutely had to name a flaw, it would be that every ability is inferior to the original."
"At best, each one only reaches sixty, seventy, or eighty percent of the original’s effectiveness."
"If we could increase that by another ten or twenty percent, I could probably deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen by myself!"
Kei’s dissatisfaction with Hiruzen was already obvious.
Every Uchiha dreamed of killing Sarutobi for their lord.
Yet the shortcomings Hyōma described were hardly shortcomings in Kei’s eyes.
Sage Mode might be powerful, but it carried the risk of failure.
A genuine Tailed Beast might have greater output and destructive power, but one still had to communicate with a sentient being.
If communication went badly, the Tailed Beast could even cause trouble.
Jūgo’s Sage cells carried the risk of going berserk.
And the Kaguya bloodline had its own bloodline disease.
Azusai’s knockoff versions might be weaker than the originals, but they didn’t carry those drawbacks.
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"
Excited, Kei repeated the word three times.
"Arrange the surgery for me as soon as possible."
"This frail body of mine will probably need half a month of rest afterward."
"During that time, work with Mr. Azusai to transplant the eyes into those rogue shinobi who are willing to join the Uchiha."
"Don’t make any rash moves against Konoha. Everything waits until I’ve fully recovered."
"Yes, my lord!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Hyōma and Kei were different.
Although Hyōma was blind, he had a healthy body.
Kei, on the other hand, had practically been drained dry by the little parasite in his right eye.
Surgery itself was physically exhausting, and afterward he would certainly need a period of recovery.
During that time, Kei couldn’t personally oversee affairs.
Therefore, everything had to be delegated so that everyone understood their objectives.
Seeing how united his people were, Kei nodded.
"By the way, make sure you preserve the remaining Red Eyes. Don’t waste them."
"Our future population growth depends on them."
Kei continued giving instructions.
But then he noticed the ten leaders of his faction exchanging uneasy glances.
"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"
Kei had no idea why everyone suddenly looked nervous.
Azusai stepped forward.
"Um... My lord, there aren’t actually enough eyes."
"We won’t have any left over."
Azusai felt somewhat embarrassed.
He assumed his lord was disappointed that the number of Red Eyes was too small and had failed to meet his expectations.
Kei probably hoped that after providing every willing rogue shinobi with an eye transplant, there would still be some left over.
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough even for the planned transplants.
Hearing that there weren’t enough Red Eyes, Uchiha Kei was extremely surprised.
In Kei’s mind, these sealed Red Eyes were essentially the same as the Hyūga Clan’s Caged Bird Seal.
They were a means for the main family to control the branch family.
The branch family existed to serve the main family.
Their lives and deaths were determined by the main family’s whim—in this case, Kei’s.
How could anyone be so eager to accept a life in which their survival depended entirely on someone else’s preferences while being expected to serve them like a dog?
But Kei had forgotten something.
He hadn’t merely brought a group of Uchiha into this world.
He had also brought something else:
faith.
If one were to say that the greatest military contribution of a certain mustachioed dictator to the Third Reich was creating stylish uniforms and convincing countless passionate young men to enlist, then Kei’s contribution was similar.
The Shinsengumi’s striking uniforms and strict discipline had infected everyone around them.
Their collectivism, suppression of individuality, and uniforms that erased differences gave those who joined an overwhelming sense of belonging.
And those who hadn’t joined began yearning to become part of it.
A phenomenon known as convert’s zeal began spreading among the rogue shinobi.
This mindset often caused people who joined a faction later to become even more loyal and fanatical toward it than those who had belonged to the faction from birth.
In more colloquial terms:
The converts became more extreme than the original believers.
Rogue shinobi and missing-nin who, for various reasons, had been rejected by the shinobi villages of the world were suddenly accepted by the Uchiha, one of the most famous shinobi clans in existence.
And they chose to pledge themselves to the Uchiha.
To them, this meant rejecting their previous lives and beginning anew.
To prove that they had made the right choice, these people became more Uchiha than the Uchiha themselves.
They wanted to prove themselves worthy of Uchiha recognition and thereby obtain a higher social standing.
Now they had suddenly heard that the Uchiha were recruiting branch-family members.
The reward?
A Sharingan.
The price?
A sealing technique similar to the Hyūga Clan’s Caged Bird Seal to protect the eyes from being taken by outsiders.
After all, these eyes had none of the usual drawbacks of transplanting a Sharingan.
They were essentially plug-and-play Sharingan.
Naturally, the Uchiha didn’t want them falling into the hands of outsiders.
Would anyone really refuse?
If not for the fact that people without Uchiha blood would find the Sharingan a burden rather than an advantage, rogue shinobi and missing-nin—whose moral standards were generally rather low—would have already found ways to acquire a pair.
Now they had the opportunity to obtain a Sharingan that wasn’t a burden while simultaneously joining the Uchiha Clan they had always admired.
Wasn’t that a double blessing?
So what if they were branch-family members?
Wouldn’t life as part of the branch family of a great clan still be far better than life as an ordinary civilian?
And so, it wasn’t only missing-nin who wanted in.
Even some civilians began finding ways to request a pair for their children studying at the Iga Academy.
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