"Calm down, Chuan."
Just as Uchiha Chuan's kunai was about to stab Uchiha Asahi, Uchiha Kai's hand shot forward and seized his wrist with an iron grip. The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan spun calmly in his eyes.
Kai could see it clearly—Chuan had been pushed past his limits.
Sweat dripped from his face. His breathing was ragged, his chakra fluctuating wildly.
His eye—only a single tomoe had manifested—spun sluggishly, as though its wielder was teetering on the edge of collapse.
"Is he undergoing the transition?" Kai narrowed his eyes.
In order to avoid revealing too much, Kai had used a genjutsu—an illusion originally developed to stimulate the Mangekyō Sharingan.
To most, it was a horrifying experience. To Kai, whose Sharingan had already matured, and whose willpower had been honed, it was tolerable—especially with mental conditioning and prior exposure.
Even if he were trapped in it for a full day, the illusion would do no lasting harm.
As Kai assessed the situation, Uchiha Chuan's eyes suddenly rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.
Uchiha Asahi rushed to his side, concern overriding any fear. Despite being a seasoned shinobi, Asahi lacked medical ninjutsu and didn't have the Sharingan to perceive the genjutsu's internal effects.
"Lord Kai… is he alright?" Asahi asked uncertainly.
"He should be fine. He's just unconscious," Kai answered, though inwardly, he wasn't entirely sure.
"That illusion was probably too much for someone without a fully awakened Sharingan."
Asahi said nothing. He looked quietly at his collapsed son, worry etched deep into his features.
For all the power and prestige of the Uchiha, a parent's concern for their child remained universal.
Roughly half an hour passed in tense silence before Chuan stirred.
"You're awake?" Kai stepped down from the table and held Asahi back before he could rush forward.
"I... Lord Kai?" Chuan blinked up at him, confusion and fear still lingering in his expression.
The illusion had clearly left a mark. It had pushed him beyond his threshold.
It was, after all, a genjutsu crafted to trigger the Mangekyō. For someone who hadn't even fully awakened the standard Sharingan, it was like staring into the void.
Kai said nothing. He simply watched.
Would Chuan mirror Sasuke Uchiha's case? Kai remembered it well—when Itachi had cast his Tsukuyomi on Sasuke, the trauma had triggered the activation of his Sharingan at a very young age. Though the dojutsu had remained dormant afterward, it was undeniably awakened.
Chuan slowly took a breath, then focused his chakra.
His eyelids fluttered closed—then opened, revealing a pair of fully awakened Sharingan.
"Good," Kai smiled faintly. He picked up a nearby mirror and handed it to him.
"Take a look. You survived—and you got what you wanted."
Chuan stared dumbly at the mirror. The blood-red eyes staring back seemed almost unfamiliar.
Then his expression crumbled, tears welling in his eyes. Asahi stepped forward and embraced his son. For a moment, father and son shared their catharsis in silence, the emotion too great to contain.
Kai looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
"You two can hand over your reports and go home," Kai said flatly. "Rest up. You're no use to me dead on your feet."
"I... I don't need rest, Lord Kai!" Chuan had dropped to one knee. His voice trembled with loyalty and guilt.
"Thank you for your mercy—but I am still capable. Please let me continue supporting you!"
"Shut up," Kai chuckled softly. "I can assess your condition just fine. You're not the first I've benched. The first was Kakashi."
He paused, then added sternly, "Before you leave, remember this—"
"We will not speak of this to anyone. We will never betray Lord Kai!"
Asahi had already dropped beside his son. The two voices rang out in unison.
Satisfied, Kai gave a nod and dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Once they left, Kai exited the office alone. He rarely remained at the Konoha Police Force headquarters unless absolutely necessary.
Today was an exception.
With Asahi absent too, the temporary command of Kai's squad would fall to Kenta Imai—a civilian-born shinobi with a rare sense of balance and discipline.
"I wonder what the other two squads will think," Kai thought with faint amusement.
"And Kenta... will he go crazy from all the chaos?"
Still, Kai felt no pressure. He had more pressing matters.
He'd scheduled a meeting with Hyūga Aya.
Their cooperation had become more frequent, and Kai wouldn't allow her to sit idle—especially not when her personal goal, freedom from the Hyūga clan's Caged Bird Seal, could be within reach.
"The Ōtsutsuki on the moon might have the answer," he mused. That alone made her a worthwhile investment.
But aside from that, Kai had begun preparing for another battle.
His next target: Uchiha Shun.
He needed bait—something that would draw Shun in. A body part would do, but Kai preferred a different method.
"A forged letter… a page from Yuchiha Yu's old notes..." Kai smirked. "Having the Sharingan makes it easy to imitate someone's handwriting."
As he approached the forest near his training grounds, Kai spotted Aya waiting on the path ahead. She hadn't ventured deeper, likely knowing this was his usual route.
"Sorry I'm late," he called casually. Despite the words, there was no remorse in his tone.
"It's fine. I've just arrived," Aya responded with a soft smile.
"But I admit… there are parts of this forest I'm not brave enough to explore."
Kai didn't bite.
"How's your progress with medical ninjutsu?" he asked bluntly.
"Tolerable," Aya shrugged.
"I'm no genius like you, Kai. You awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, after all."
She smirked, then added, "But I can manage basic healing and monitor chakra flow with my Byakugan."
Despite her modesty, Kai knew she had worked hard. In just half a year, she had developed effective medical techniques—an achievement helped by her Hyūga heritage and intimate understanding of human anatomy via the Gentle Fist style.
Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Can you heal a heart?"
Aya blinked, startled. "Heal a heart? That depends—are we talking about a living patient or… a corpse?"
"A corpse," Kai clarified. "I don't need it revived. I need it restored—externally intact, as if undamaged."
"That's... difficult," Aya frowned. "Once someone dies, their chakra dissipates. Cells stop dividing. Without living tissue, I can't regenerate anything unless the body was sealed shortly after death."
"What if I sealed it instantly in a scroll?"
Aya thought for a moment. "In that case, maybe. Depends on the condition."
Then she gave him a sideways glance. "Whose body is it? Don't tell me… Uchiha Obito?"
Kai smirked but didn't confirm. He wasn't about to waste resources on Obito's remains, even if they were recoverable.
Bloodline clans like the Uchiha were careful with their dead—but Kai wasn't sentimental.
To him, burning the corpse was often the most efficient path.
Still, he played along.
"Guess."
"Obito, then," Aya replied dryly.