Chapter 77: Speculation
The name "Raikiri" was quickly approved by Kakashi.
From Kakashi's perspective, he felt that Uchiha Kei had given him a blueprint for a stronger technique—a gesture he genuinely appreciated, and one he was eager to experiment with.
Moreover, Kakashi believed that combining his own strengths with Obito's might actually be the best path forward.
At this moment, Kakashi had not yet reached the depths of despair as seen in the anime's flashbacks—likely because Rin Nohara had not yet died by his hand.
Thanks to Uchiha Kei having saved him once before, the relationship between them remained not just good, but steadily improving.
After receiving the sword technique, Kei dedicated some time to practice it.
He quickly realized that for him, it wasn't particularly difficult.
The true challenge lay in identifying an enemy's opening and then instantly channeling lightning chakra through his weapon to deliver either a fatal or disabling strike.
This demanded both exceptional perception and superior physical coordination—fortunately, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, Kei excelled at both.
Kei especially appreciated the sword's paralyzing effect.
As he faced stronger and faster opponents, there were bound to be enemies who could evade even his most lethal strikes.
Previously, Kei could do little against such foes and would have to wait patiently for another opportunity.
But now, with Raikiri in hand, even if the enemy managed to dodge the first strike, the paralysis would prevent them from avoiding the second.
"Of course, it depends on the opponent," Kei thought silently. "Against monsters like Uchiha Madara, the Third Tsuchikage, or Orochimaru, this kind of paralysis might not mean much."
Inwardly, Kei reflected:
"Forget about Madara... Orochimaru's resurrection will unleash chaos in this seemingly calm world. The future is full of god-like battles."
Kei had once lamented how each new generation of ninja seemed weaker than the last.
Looking at the sheer strength of the First Hokage and his peers, then at the current shinobi, the gap was obvious.
Yet after witnessing Naruto Uzumaki and his comrades' potential, Kei no longer dared to make such sweeping statements—especially when even the "Boruto" era turned into full-scale divine warfare.
Perhaps, Kei mused, the ninja profession was inherently unpredictable.
Regardless of strength or weakness, every shinobi had their own brilliance.
Still, bloodline ninja stood at the pinnacle.
"At least I'm a bloodline ninja too," Kei thought. "And compared to others, I know much more. I have far more options available to me."
After parting ways with Kakashi, Kei made his way back toward the Uchiha clan compound.
As he walked, he couldn't help but reflect:
"I've already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. It's about time I started thinking about my future path. I never imagined I'd reach this point so soon. But... without a brother, how will I ever obtain the Eternal Mangekyō?"
The sky was already turning amber with the setting sun.
Although Kei had to attend a clan meeting later that night, he still had plenty of time and was in no rush.
As he walked, Kei pondered over the issues he was facing.
Though he had only used his ocular techniques three times, and the data was incomplete, he had carefully recorded each experience.
Each of the three abilities was powerful—but none of them were fully developed.
Kei wasn't sure how to fully evolve them.
Was it simply a matter of using the Mangekyō repeatedly?
But wouldn't that eventually blind him?
That was a price Kei was absolutely unwilling to pay.
As for Susanoo, Kei hadn't yet found a clear path to mastering it, but he had some ideas.
From his memories, both Shisui Uchiha and Madara Uchiha were able to use Susanoo even before their Mangekyō abilities were fully matured.
Madara was even able to manifest Susanoo without having any eyes at all!
Didn't this suggest that, once the right method was mastered, Susanoo could be deployed with minimal, or even no, damage to the eyes?
In Kei's understanding, Susanoo was a colossal giant constructed entirely of chakra—capable of both offense and defense, and of amplifying other techniques.
Essentially, it was a structure of pure chakra.
The challenge was figuring out how to solidify and shape it correctly to bring out its true power.
What Kei was sure of, however, was that Susanoo must involve some form of Yin Release in combination with chakra.
While Kei didn't know the exact method of extracting Yin Release, having a rough direction was already a huge step forward.
Beyond Susanoo, Kei had also estimated the active durations of his eye techniques.
During his first use of "Chrono Freeze," his chakra and mental state were already severely depleted after prolonged battle.
Thus, Kei adjusted his later usage slightly to extend the duration—although he dared to extend it by only a few seconds, to be cautious.
Against stronger opponents, Kei worried about damaging his eyes; against weaker ones, there was no need to even activate the ability.
The same logic applied to "Chrono Leap" and "Chrono Drift."
Fortunately, these two single-eye techniques consumed far less energy than Chrono Freeze.
Kei remembered that when he used "Chrono Drift," he was able to affect both Kitsuchi and another Rock ninja at the same time.
Meanwhile, "Chrono Leap" showed overwhelming performance in enhancing individual combat, allowing Kei to take down an entire elite Rock ninja squad.
"These abilities are directly tied to my chakra reserves and ocular strength," Kei mused, stroking his chin. "If I can boost both, maybe I can finally unlock their full versions."
Though he didn't know exactly what the completed forms would look like, Kei was confident of at least one thing:
With sufficient chakra and ocular power, he wouldn't suffer severe eye pain and blood leakage after each use anymore.
Most importantly, he would finally have enough power to attempt using Susanoo!
The Mangekyō Sharingan's true strength came from continual usage and training.
No one, not even Obito, had fully mastered it without long periods of combat and refinement.
Even Sasuke Uchiha had to get hammered into shape through endless battles.