"Your house is quite big."
Ryujin Kenichi glanced around the room, trying not to let his nerves show as Kakashi Hatake sat across from him, unmasked and relaxed — or at least appearing to be.
Just a short while ago, they had been eating ramen together at Ichiraku Ramen. Somehow, a casual meal turned into an invitation, and now he was inside the private residence of one of Konoha's most well-known ninja.
"It's just me here," Kakashi replied, his tone mild as he poured two cups of tea. His expression remained unreadable, but there was a quiet weariness in his single visible eye.
Kenichi accepted the tea and took a cautious sip. The flavor was plain, almost bland, but serviceable. At least it wasn't spiked with any of the strange herbs he'd once heard tea-drinkers from the Land of Rivers favor.
"Your eye… it must be a burden," Kenichi said softly, watching Kakashi carefully.
Kakashi's fingers instinctively drifted toward his left eye — the eye covered by his hitai-ate. A gift. A curse. A reminder. The Sharingan that once belonged to his teammate, Uchiha Obito.
"Yeah," he said after a moment. He didn't elaborate, but the heaviness in his voice said enough.
Kenichi already knew the basics. The Sharingan wasn't meant for non-Uchiha. Kakashi didn't have the bloodline to control it naturally, and keeping it active constantly drained his chakra. Even so, he wielded it with unmatched precision.
When he had first returned to the village after the Third Shinobi War, there had been tension with the Uchiha clan — understandable, given he carried one of their most sacred dōjutsu. If not for the intervention of his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, things might've gone very differently.
Kenichi rested his chin on his hand, thoughtful. He had studied the Uchiha clan in detail — the Sharingan, especially its evolved form, the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A mythical power among dōjutsu, its use came at a steep price: each activation of its unique techniques wore away the user's vision. Only by transplanting the Mangekyō from a close blood relative could one obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, which preserved sight and stabilized the immense power.
But how? Why did blindness set in? What differentiated the Eternal Mangekyō's structure from the original? Were the eye patterns random, or did they follow some deeper Uchiha law? If, say, someone were to transplant Shisui's eye, would they inherit his Kotoamatsukami?
Kenichi's fingers twitched.
He was burning with curiosity.
He wanted that power.
He knew there were few Mangekyō users in the current ninja world — Kakashi and Obito were the only confirmed cases. Shisui and Itachi, still young, had not yet awakened theirs. Fugaku Uchiha's status was uncertain, but he was no easy target.
Which meant… Kakashi was the most viable option.
For now.
Still, he had to play it smart. He couldn't let his intent show.
"Kakashi, um... this might be a little awkward to ask, but..." Kenichi scratched the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. His cheeks flushed just slightly — enough to sell the hesitation.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt.
"That technique you used in the war — the one like a piercing flash — is that the Chidori? Could I… maybe learn it?"
There was a moment of silence. Kakashi blinked slowly, and for a second, Kenichi thought he had overstepped. But then, the silver-haired jonin set his teacup down.
"It's not a secret anymore. I developed Chidori when I was your age. If you have the chakra control and speed for it, I can teach you," he said with a nod.
"My sensei would probably nag me if I didn't help out a fellow shinobi, anyway."
"Thank you, Kakashi-senpai!" Kenichi smiled, bowing his head respectfully. But his eyes, just for a moment, flickered toward the hitai-ate hiding that cursed eye.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
That power has to be mine.
Later that night, Kenichi collapsed on his futon, fatigue creeping in from the intense training. Chidori was challenging — not impossible, but mastering the speed and control would take time.
But that wasn't what kept him awake.
"The night of the Nine-Tails' attack..." he whispered to himself, staring at the ceiling. "That might be my only chance."
During the chaos, many shinobi would be scattered, some overwhelmed, some wounded. And Kakashi would likely be on the frontlines, exhausting himself. His chakra would be depleted. Vulnerable.
"I need to time it perfectly," Kenichi murmured, fingers steepled under his chin. "Drain him. Wait for his exhaustion. Then strike."
He was under no illusions. Kakashi's talent was monstrous. Becoming a jonin before seventeen, personally trained by the Fourth Hokage — and now wielding the Mangekyō. Kenichi didn't have the body of a Senju or the cursed gift of a tailed beast. But he had intellect. Obsession.
"That eye... will be mine."
Moreover, his strength had improved significantly. If he were to fight Kakashi now, he might actually stand a chance. The only real obstacle was that he still hadn't mastered Sage Mode.
This made Ryujin Kenichi all the more eager for his eventual meeting with the First Hokage. But he had to be realistic—there was a strong possibility Hashirama Senju wouldn't agree to teach him. If that happened, his only option might be to seek out the Sage Techniques through his teacher and make the journey to Ryūchi Cave, where the White Snake Sage resided.
Of course, developing Sage Mode on his own wasn't entirely off the table—but the risk of turning to stone if natural energy wasn't properly balanced made him cautious.
"Alright then, it's settled," he muttered. "When the time comes, I'll study the difference between the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and the Mangekyō. The Eternal Mangekyō is still too far away for now." He stretched lazily, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
His current research progress was solid. He had already obtained a Three-Tomoe Sharingan specifically for analysis. That was also the reason he had set his sights on Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan.
Although Kakashi's eye appeared to be a standard Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Kenichi knew the truth—it had already evolved into a Mangekyō Sharingan. The problem was, Kakashi had never experienced the kind of trauma or emotional trigger needed to awaken it consciously, so he remained unaware of its full potential.
Kenichi felt a twinge of guilt. Taking Kakashi's eye wasn't something he relished. Still, he believed Kakashi, freed from the burden of the Uchiha eye, might finally forge a path that was truly his own. After all, Kakashi was a genius in his own right—even without the Sharingan.
The real problem, though, was Obito.
"That guy... if he finds out Kakashi lost the Sharingan, things are going to get messy." Kenichi rubbed his temples at the thought.
Obito's eye held much deeper significance in Kakashi's hands—it anchored him to the legacy of their bond. But in the hands of an outsider like Kenichi, who knew what direction Obito might take? The butterfly effect could spiral fast.
Shaking the thought away, Kenichi turned his mind to more pressing matters. The Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha was fast approaching, and he needed to have his plans ready.
If everything went smoothly that night, he would be able to secure a trove of valuable assets—funds, research material, and most importantly, the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It would be a massive step forward.
"Come on then... two-faced brother," he said with a smirk. "Let's see what chaos you stir up. I'll be right there waiting."