Cruel entrustment
Uchiha Aoi lay over Izuna's already cold body, weeping bitterly, nearly fainting. The overwhelming grief drained her of all strength, and the world lost its color in her eyes, leaving only endless darkness and despair. The Uchiha clan members around her all hung their heads, expressions of deep sorrow and anger. The air in the room felt heavy as lead, oppressive, and filled with the sadness of a hero in his twilight years and a family in tatters.
Yet, the cruel toll of war never ceases for personal sorrow. Just as Aoi was lost in her own agony, an old ninja, whose face was heavy with sorrow but whose eyes remained sharp as an eagle's, stepped forward with heavy steps. He was Izuna's most trusted lieutenant, and the elder of the family who had watched Izuna and Madara grow up.
He slowly and heavily knelt on one knee in front of Aoi, who almost fainted from crying. In a hoarse voice but with unquestionable determination, he told Izuna's dying wish, besides seeing her sister, which was another and most important one concerning the future of the family.
"Miss Aoi... please... accept my condolences." The old ninja's voice sounded like it had been ground by sand and gravel, each word expending immense effort. "Master Izuna... before he fell completely into a coma, he used up his last bit of clarity to leave behind one final... and most important, request. He wishes... for you... to remove his eyes personally."
“…Wh…what?!”
Aoi suddenly raised her head, and the blood instantly drained from her tearful face, filled with extreme shock, disbelief, and immense fear! She seemed to have heard a curse from the deepest abyss of hell, and her body trembled violently, like a leaf falling in the autumn wind. "No... Impossible! You lied to me! How could I... How could I do this to my brother?! I can't! I can't even die!" She shook her head frantically, as if this could negate this horrific order. To personally remove the eyes of her beloved brother who had just passed away? This was far more cruel than killing her, and even more unacceptable to her! This was blasphemy! The greatest disrespect to the deceased!
"This is Master Izuna's final order!" The old ninja suddenly raised his voice, his tone emphasizing an almost cruel determination and unquestionable majesty. "This is not just a last wish! It's for Master Madara! For the future and survival of the Uchiha clan! Please obey!"
"For... Madara-nii?" Aoi was stunned, overwhelmed by this sudden connection, her heart filled with fear and confusion. What did this have to do with her beloved Madara-nii?
The old ninja took a deep breath, as if trying to gather enough courage to speak the next words. His eyes were filled with grief and anger, as well as a determination that was close to despair: "Madara-sama... to protect the family, he has been fighting on the front lines all these years, overdrawing the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan... Now... his eyesight has been severely damaged, and he is almost blind! Ordinary medical ninjutsu is simply unable to reverse this! Only by transplanting the eyes of a direct blood relative who has also opened the Mangekyō Sharingan can he regain his sight, and... and there is a great possibility that he will gain a power that surpasses all his past and is truly eternal (referring to evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan)! This is the only way to save Madara-sama and enable him to continue to lead the Uchiha people! This is the only hope for saving the Uchiha people! Izuna-sama... is doing this for this reason..."
Kui was struck by lightning! She froze in place, her blood seemed to freeze!
Madara-san was… going blind? So he'd repeatedly refused her requests to return to her clan. Was he afraid she'd see him so weak? Afraid she'd worry? So, in his final moments, Izuna-san made such a horrific and cruel decision? He'd traded his own eyes for his brother's sight and strength?
The huge impact almost made her collapse!
"Use mine!" As if grasping at the last straw, Aoi grabbed the old ninja's arm fiercely. Her voice was trembling with extreme excitement and fear, but with a desperate determination, "I'm not a ninja! I don't need these eyes at all! Give my eyes to brother Madara! Please! I beg you! Don't touch brother Izuna... Let him... Let him go in peace... I beg you..." She would rather dig out her own eyes than destroy her brother's resting remains with her own hands, to take out the eyes that once looked at her so tenderly! She couldn't do it! Absolutely couldn't do it!
The old ninja closed his eyes painfully, turbid tears sliding down from the corners of his eyes, but he still shook his head firmly, his voice choked but incomparably clear: "No... Miss Aoi... your eyes... No... They must be eyes with the same Mangekyō Sharingan opened, containing powerful pupil power... Ordinary people's eyes... cannot withstand that power, and cannot achieve fusion at all... This is a taboo forbidden technique that can only be completed between close brothers... This is a decision made by Master Izuna... with his own will when he was sober!"
He opened his eyes and looked at Aoi, his eyes filled with endless sorrow and deep admiration. "He said... he will soon follow the previous clan leader... he will no longer be able to accompany Madara-sama... nor will he be able to watch you grow up safely... so... let his eyes, on his behalf... forever watch over Madara-sama, protect him... and on his behalf... forever watch over you, blessing you with a safe life..."
Izuna-san...
At that moment, Aoi understood everything. She understood it completely. In his final moments, all that Brother Izumi thought about was his beloved brother, his inseparable family, and even... her, the sister who couldn't protect him. In his own way, he had made the most cruel yet deeply compassionate arrangement.
The immense, suffocating grief once again overwhelmed her like a tide. She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string, yet no sound escaped her, only a silent, desperate wail.
Finally, under the old ninja's sad and resolute gaze, and in front of her brother's heavy last wish full of love and sacrifice, Aoi trembled and shed tears of blood. Under the meticulous but cold guidance of the experienced old ninja, she used her hands that had never been stained with blood but were now shaking badly to pick up the special tools and completed this task that was like the most extreme form of torture for her, so cruel that it was beyond words.
When she finally held the pair of Mangekyō Sharingans, which still held the last trace of her brother's warmth, once piercing and bright, now tightly shut, in her cold palms, she felt as if the most important part of her soul had been plundered away along with those eyes, completely dead. Only a hollow shell remained, burdened with immense sorrow and sin.
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