章 53: NIGHTMARE

The training field was silent when Chen turned to Mikoto and suddenly asked, "Mikoto, do you want to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Those words fell like a bomb. Kushina and Tsunade looked at Chen with disbelief.

Tsunade, quickly recovering from the surprise, approached Chen and, standing at 5'4" (1.63m), embraced him by the neck, her eyes shining with curiosity and skepticism. "Do you have a way to obtain the Mangekyō, Chen?"

Chen, with a smug smile, replied, "With just a pair of Sharingan, I can help obtain it."

Mikoto, however, seemed worried. "But Chen, didn't you say that after activating the Mangekyō, I would lose my sight with regular use?" Her voice trembled slightly, not out of fear of blindness itself, but out of fear of never being able to see Chen again.

Chen gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I've already found a solution for that."

Tsunade, still embracing Chen, let out a laugh. "What are you talking about? The Mangekyō Sharingan doesn't make you blind. Where did you hear that?" She pulled away from Chen, shaking her head in amusement.

Mikoto looked at Tsunade, confused. "Chen told us. Isn't it true?"

Tsunade frowned. "He's completely wrong. Madara used the Mangekyō Sharingan and I never heard that he went blind." Turning to Chen, she gave him a tap on the arm. "Don't go spreading false news, kid."

Chen could only smile, aware that he possessed knowledge of the Naruto world that they didn't.

Tsunade continued, addressing Mikoto. "Don't believe Chen. Not even the Uchiha clan knows how to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan. How could he know?"

But Mikoto, to everyone's surprise, shook her head. "I believe in Chen," she said firmly, her voice full of confidence.

Chen felt a surge of pride at Mikoto's unwavering faith. He looked at Tsunade with a triumphant expression. "See? Mikoto still believes me."

Tsunade gritted her teeth, visibly irritated. "Tsk, that smug face of yours makes me want to hit you."

Finally, Tsunade's expression softened, and she looked at Chen seriously. "Just... don't hurt Mikoto, understand?"

Chen responded with an enigmatic smile. "How could I want to hurt Mikoto?"

But inside, Chen knew the truth. For Mikoto to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have to make her suffer.

It was a cruel price, but necessary. He could only hope that Mikoto, with her gentle heart, could forgive him when the time came.

Slowly pulling out a kunai, Chen placed it in Mikoto's hand. She looked at it bewildered, but extended her hand to take it, blindly trusting Chen.

"Mikoto," Chen began softly, "to activate the Mangekyō..."

Suddenly, without warning, Chen grabbed the kunai from Mikoto's hand and stabbed himself in the chest.

Mikoto's world stopped at that instant.

Her eyes widened, a mixture of stupefaction, terror, and disbelief flooding her face.

"Chen... what...?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

Hot tears sprang from her eyes as her Sharingan activated involuntarily, the Three Tomoe spinning frantically.

Chen fell into her arms, his blood staining Mikoto's trembling hands.

"No... no, please," Mikoto pleaded, her voice barely audible between sobs. "Chen, you can't... you can't leave me."

Holding Chen's increasingly cold body, Mikoto felt her world crumbling.

The pain was unbearable, as if her heart was being torn from her chest.

"NO!" she screamed, her voice tearing through the air. "I don't want you to die, Chen! You can't leave me!"

At that moment, something changed in her eyes.

The Three Tomoe merged, giving way to a new pattern: a Mangekyō Sharingan in the shape of a cherry blossom about to bloom.

But Mikoto, blinded by pain, didn't even notice.

"Chen," she whispered, caressing his face desperately. "If... if I don't open the Mangekyō, will you survive? Tell me yes, please."

With trembling hands, Mikoto took the bloodied kunai. Without hesitation, she directed it towards her own chest.

"If it's the only way to save you..."

Just as she was about to stab herself, a large hand stopped her.

Mikoto looked up, incredulous, to see Chen smiling softly at her.

"The illusion is over, Mikoto," he said in a calm voice.

The world around them shattered like glass, revealing the true training field.

Chen was standing in front of her, unharmed, alive and smiling.

Mikoto was paralyzed for a moment, unable to process what she was seeing.

Then, with a choked sob, she threw herself into Chen's arms.

"Is... is this a dream?!" she asked, her voice trembling, looking at him with hope and fear. "Please, tell me everything before was an illusion! It has to be!!"

Chen hugged her tightly, feeling how she trembled in his arms. "Of course it's not a dream, Mikoto," he said in a soft but emotion-laden voice.

"What happened before was a dream, a nightmare. But now you've awakened, and what you have in front of you is reality."

Mikoto clung to Chen as if she feared he might disappear at any moment.

Her tears soaked Chen's white shirt, but they were tears of relief mixed with the residual pain of the experience.

Chen closed his eyes, feeling the weight of what he had just done. He hadn't wanted to subject Mikoto to such emotional torture, but he knew it was the only way.

Mikoto, with her gentle and kind heart, so different from the other Uchiha, needed to experience deep pain to awaken the Mangekyō.

"I'm sorry, Mikoto," Chen whispered, gently stroking her hair. "But it was necessary. Now you have the power you needed."

The training field fell silent for a moment, broken only by Mikoto's soft sobs.

Kushina, with curiosity, approached her friend.

"Mikoto, what's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head. "You should be jumping for joy. You've got the Mangekyō Sharingan!"

Tsunade, for her part, observed the scene with narrowed eyes, her mind working at full speed to process what she had just witnessed.

In an instant, Mikoto had gone from having a normal Sharingan to a Mangekyō in the shape of a cherry blossom, and now she was clinging to Chen as if her life depended on it.

"Chen," said Tsunade, her voice tinged with disbelief and a touch of alarm. "Have you really...? No, this can't leave here. If someone finds out..."

Chen simply smiled, saying nothing. His silence only served to increase Tsunade's frustration.

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed, running a hand through her blonde hair in exasperation. "If the Uchiha clan finds out, they'll come for you. And if others don't want the Uchiha to have you, they'll try to... eliminate you. This will only bring you trouble, Chen."

The concern in Tsunade's voice was palpable, but Chen seemed unperturbed. His confidence in his own strength was absolute.

Kushina, meanwhile, had moved closer to Mikoto, her eyes shining with a mixture of admiration and something else... jealousy, perhaps?

"Your eyes are beautiful, Mikoto," Kushina murmured. "Like a cherry blossom about to bloom."

Mikoto, still in Chen's arms, raised her head. Her eyes, now with the Mangekyō pattern, were full of tears. "Chen," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Please, don't do this to me again. I was so scared..."

Chen hugged her tighter, gently stroking her hair. "I promise you, Mikoto. Never again."

Tsunade observed the scene with a mixture of emotions on her face. "They look so sweet together," she murmured, and then added quietly, "How envious."

Kushina, for her part, couldn't help but pout. Although she was willing to share Chen with Mikoto, seeing this intimate scene awakened a twinge of jealousy in her heart.

"Hey, Chen," Kushina said, trying to maintain a light tone but unable to completely hide her annoyance. "Don't you think you've hugged Mikoto enough? There are more people here, you know?"

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