067 Danzo Sets the Pace and Leads the Way

Efficiently and decisively removing Yamato’s right eye, Orochimaru placed it into a nutrient tank he had prepared in advance. Then, from a separate tank, he retrieved Shisui’s right eye and implanted it into the hollow socket left in Yamato’s face.

The entire eye replacement surgery was swift. Yamato only felt a fleeting emptiness followed by a swelling sensation; his original, lifeless eye was gone, replaced by another half-blind eye afflicted with a crimson disease.

Once Orochimaru had finished his medical ninjutsu, the pain faded rapidly.

Yamato blinked. Bloody secretions welled up at the corner of his eye, carving a faint path through the blood tears already on his face.

Apart from that, Yamato felt no discomfort.

The sole difference between this new eye and his original was the vision. Yamato tried closing his left eye, and at once, the world before him was shrouded in dense white fog. Even Orochimaru, standing mere steps away, was reduced to only a vague outline.

Such severe myopia rendered the world abstract, indeed.

Quickly reopening his left eye, Yamato gazed at the scene once more, clear and sharp, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Orochimaru-sama, this is...”

“This is Shisui’s eye—an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan that has lost most of its vision from overuse,” Orochimaru replied, a faint smile playing at his lips. “You possess cells from the First Hokage. Perhaps they can help restore the Mangekyo Sharingan’s sight.”

So that’s why he needed my body...

Yamato finally relaxed, his tension dissipating completely.

Fortunately, Orochimaru-sama was still the same Orochimaru—coveting only his body, not harboring any other intentions.

Yamato felt a twinge of embarrassment and irritation. It was Kakashi’s fault for making him read those strange books; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let his mind wander so wildly.

“The value of the Mangekyo Sharingan—you must understand it well,” Orochimaru said, his gaze fixed on Yamato, voice calm. “This concerns grave matters. Keep it hidden as much as possible. If you can’t conceal it from Guy and Kakashi, so be it. But from everyone else—not one must know.”

The words were gentle, but the threat implicit.

Yamato’s heart chilled; he nodded quickly in assent.

Even if Orochimaru hadn’t said so, he would have kept it secret. If others learned that the First Hokage’s cells could restore the Mangekyo Sharingan’s power, countless would covet his body, and he’d never again live freely in Konoha.

He made a mental note to buy a pair of goggles soon. With their cover, no matter how different the new, half-blind eye was from his own, no one would notice.

Seeming to sense Yamato’s thoughts, Orochimaru smiled faintly and drew a delicately crafted lens from his ninja pouch.

He breathed softly on the lens, stepped forward again, and, raising his index finger, pressed the lens into Yamato’s right eye.

Yamato felt a slight soreness in his right eye. After a brief adjustment, he opened it again, discovering that his right field of vision had improved considerably. However, compared to his left eye, the brightness and color seemed a bit off.

“This is a corneal contact lens, also known as an invisible lens. It can correct your vision,” Orochimaru explained with a smile. “But for you, its greatest use is concealment.”

According to the genie, this special lens was called the ‘dead fish eye’ cosmetic lens, designed to disguise the grayish Mangekyo Sharingan as Yamato’s original eye.

Goggles and the like were too conspicuous—easily seen through by the observant.

Yamato blinked. His right eye was now comfortable, though his heart felt a touch uneasy. After all, this was different from the surgery; now there was a foreign object in his eye.

Still, Yamato understood that the lens greatly reduced the chance of exposure.

...

Having found a suitable host for Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan, Orochimaru didn’t bother greeting Jiraiya and left the woods of Konoha directly.

He had many tasks on hand, all requiring careful progress; he had no time to accept Jiraiya’s invitation to the bathhouse.

With Tsunade absent from Konoha, even if Jiraiya was discovered, he wouldn’t be beaten half to death.

Orochimaru recalled the scene outside the bathhouse, treating Jiraiya’s injuries, and couldn’t help but let out a derisive chuckle.

Currently, the curse marks that corrode a ninja’s chakra and soul still needed time; restoring Shisui’s eye couldn’t be rushed. The improvement of the spirit transformation technique had hit a bottleneck, so Orochimaru decided to change his approach and advance the research on the First Hokage’s cells.

Fugaku Uchiha had contacted him multiple times, clearly impatient.

Having provided both test subjects and fools for the experiments, Orochimaru wasn’t about to let them slip away. Soon, he arrived near the Uchiha clan’s territory.

On the site of former ruins, rows of new buildings had risen, with no trace of the damage left by the Nine-Tails’ rampage.

At the entrance to the Uchiha district, before a torii-style gate, Fugaku Uchiha stood with his hands behind his back. Seeing Orochimaru, he stepped forward to greet him.

Orochimaru smiled, “Clan Chief Fugaku, you’ve been waiting for a while, I presume.”

“Not at all. I only arrived a short time ago.”

After a few polite exchanges, they headed toward the Uchiha Police Force.

Beside the newly built police station stood a small medical room, officially intended for treating injuries among the police force. In reality, no village medical ninja had taken up residence, and it was now commandeered by Orochimaru.

The physical enhancement surgery was essentially the First Hokage cell experiment, requiring the Uchiha jōnin’s active cooperation to suppress the invasive properties of the cells.

Such cell transplants could never be hidden—once performed, everyone would know. So, there was no need to conceal it; being open about it would make him appear more honest.

The two walked slowly along the newly paved road. Merchants and passersby on either side bowed and greeted them courteously, showing that Fugaku was indeed popular among his people.

Yet, upon recognizing Orochimaru, their expressions stiffened, their gazes tinged with rejection.

Orochimaru understood: this was the result of the fallout from the ‘Reanimation’ incident.

The old man, as Hokage, had to weigh the village’s interests first and would not let personal feelings override his duty.

Yet, within days, the news had spread everywhere. Even the usually reserved Uchiha were well aware. Orochimaru couldn’t believe that Danzo wasn’t behind this.

For the sake of the Hokage’s seat, that man would certainly stir up trouble.

Fugaku, ever observant, noticed his clansmen’s reaction to Orochimaru and said awkwardly,

“Orochimaru-sama, they are unlike us—easily swayed by certain matters.”

The implication: these clansmen were only carried along by the village’s will, so please don’t take offense.

“You mean to say, they don’t think for themselves?”

Orochimaru looked at Fugaku, smiling. “If they really couldn’t think for themselves, why would the Third and the others bother to deceive them?”