Ninja Amusement Park * Sharingan

After a while, Tobirama finished his work and returned to the Meeting Room.

He had just pushed open the door when he was so shocked by the sight before him that he stopped in his tracks.

One entire wall of the Meeting Room was now covered with sheets of paper.

The paper contained a huge regional planning map, with crisscrossing lines and various symbols and words he had never seen before.

[Genjutsu Trial Corridor], [Earth Release * Earth Walking Experience], [Training Ground], [Water Release * Rapid River Ride], [Warring States-Themed Street], [Observation Tower]...

Next to the blueprints were small concept sketches, depicting the outlines of some oddly shaped buildings and tiny silhouettes of people.

Meanwhile, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha stood side by side in front of the wall covered with blueprints, their heads tilted back, their faces showing the same blank expression.

Tobirama's gaze shifted from the dazzling blueprints on the wall to his two older brothers' stunned expressions, and finally landed on Izuna, who was standing with his hands on his hips, looking like he wanted to praise him.

He pressed his temple, which was beginning to throb slightly. "... Izuna, what trick are you up to now?"

Upon hearing this, Izuna turned around, a dazzling smile instantly spreading across his face. He then boldly swung his finger across the entire wall. "Ninja Theme Park!"

Tobirama: "..."

Although he recognized each character individually, the meaning of the words combined was completely beyond his comprehension.

Theme park? Amusement park? Ninja? What on earth is all this?

But as he looked at the terrifyingly detailed plan on the wall, clearly not something that could be drawn on a whim, and at the familiar glint in Izuna's eyes—the glint of cunning and excitement that always appeared before Izuna was about to do something big— Tobirama alarm bells rang.

I don't understand, but I have a feeling... something is very, very bad.

This guy is probably going to come up with something that defies common sense and will probably kill people again.

A few minutes later.

"Alright! I've come up with the idea. You guys handle the execution! I'm off!" Izuna stretched.

He completely ignored the complicated looks from the three audience members, waved cheerfully, and slipped out of the Meeting Room.

He was hungry and wanted to eat Three-Colored Dango to replenish his sugar.

Meanwhile, in a side hall next to the ancestral hall in the Uchiha Clan Compound, the atmosphere was heavy.

Thirteen-year-old Uchiha Hinata, dressed in a well-fitting dark blue Clan Attire, stood upright in the center of the hall.

Although the atmosphere was heavy, no one showed any opposition; instead, they were filled with curiosity and inquiry.

The youngest of the Elders present is over thirty years old. Every pair of eyes has undergone a blood-red transformation and has witnessed or experienced loss and pain that is etched into their very bones.

That's why they know better than anyone how heavy the price of awakening these cursed yet powerful eyes is.

Therefore, when they heard that Hinata, a child who was only thirteen years old, had extraordinary talent but had never experienced a major life-or-death event, had unexpectedly opened his eyes by participating in a theatrical performance, they were shocked.

Their first reaction was not doubt or elation, but deep skepticism and faint hope.

Although the Sharingan is the powerful bloodline that underpins their clan's survival, once the conditions for awakening it are known, no one wants to try it.

The reason is simple: no one wants to lose their closest friends and family. What kind of logic is it to gain strength only after losing them?

Power that comes too late only brings pain.

Therefore, they were eager to know if there was another possibility for the conditions to open their eyes.

After heated discussion, they decided to bring the person in question to ask how he did it and whether he knew how he had opened his eyes.

"Hinata," the Elder, whose hair and beard were already turning gray, spoke slowly from the head seat, his voice deep, "Tell me exactly what you felt when you opened your eyes."

Hinata bowed slightly to show respect, then raised his head again and said in a steady voice.

"By then, the play had ended. I deactivated the Transformation Technique and transformed back into myself from 'Atsumori'. Looking at Rei lying on the stretcher, truly injured, and Harukawa beside her with red, tear-filled eyes..."

"My mind is... a mess. The despair in the play is real, the pain of loss is real, but seeing them still alive, that sense of relief... is also real. And... a lingering fear. What if... what if it wasn't just a play?"

Hinata's voice fluctuated slightly here, but quickly returned to calm.

"At that moment, something inside me... seemed to explode."

"The determination to protect them, the fear of losing them, and the conviction that they must live—all these things combined and broke through something. My eyes started to burn, and my vision changed."

The Elders listened quietly without interrupting. They could sense the intensity and complexity of the emotions expressed in that brief description.

"Afterwards, I asked Lord Izuna," Hinata continued. "I asked him, 'Why can acting open people's eyes? This seems different from the conditions we know.'"

The Elder hurriedly asked, "What did he say?"

"Lord Izuna said that the Uchiha have always misunderstood the conditions for awakening the Sharingan. Awakening the Sharingan is not based on despair or hope, but on the ultimate human emotion, something more intense than hope and more profound than despair."

I asked him what it was.

Hinata's gaze slowly swept over each of the Elders present, and he uttered that word.

"Like."

The side hall was completely silent, save for the faint crackling of burning incense sticks.

Like?

This word evoked a strange sense of absurdity and... an indescribable emotion in the several Elders who had weathered many storms and whose hands were stained with blood and the lives of their enemies.

"Love?" An Elder with a stern face couldn't help but repeat, his brows furrowed. "Family affection? Friendship? Or romantic love? These emotions certainly exist, but how could they trigger a change in the Sharingan?"

Another Elder raised a question, "If the Sharingan could truly be awakened through love, we wouldn't be suffering so much."

Hinata shook his head. "No, I don't think the love that Lord Izuna speaks of is quite the same."

"Lord Izuna said he wasn't referring to a specific kind of love or affection, but something more fundamental."

He said that for this kind of 'love,' a person can become a 'Superman.'

"Superman?" another Elder asked, puzzled.

"Hmm. I don't mean the kind of 'superhuman' who possesses Monster Strength or Ninjutsu," Hinata explained. "Lord Izuna said that's a creator of value. It's an ideal personality that can constantly transcend itself through willpower, overcome nothingness and despair, and establish the meaning of its existence based on life itself."

"It roughly means... when we have someone we want to protect no matter what, someone we're willing to push ourselves to the limit for, a goal we want to achieve, and an unwavering belief in it, we can unleash power and will far beyond what is ordinary."

"However, Lord Izuna also said... people truly understand the weight of this love, and see clearly what their unwavering love is... often at the moment they are about to lose it, or have already lost it."

Hinata's voice lowered.

"That's why... Sharingan is so difficult. It's not because of the pain itself, but because pain is often the mirror that allows us to see clearly what we 'love' in our hearts and confirm its irreplaceable value."

"We don't become stronger because of loss, but rather we are suddenly struck by the realization of what we once possessed that is worth protecting with everything. That belated, heart-wrenching awakening ignites the power within our blood."

A long silence fell over the side hall.

Hinata's last words were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples that lingered for a long time.

Because they realized that what Izuna said might be true.

Some people awaken their Sharingan on the spot upon losing it, but many others only realize they've awakened Sharingan shortly afterward, even after the funeral...

They initially thought it was a slow reaction or a delay caused by excessive grief.

Now it seems... perhaps what Izuna said is true.

It was only after that, in the desolate mourning hall, beside the empty tombstone, and by the cold bedding, that those people, through repeated recollections and confirmations, finally realized with absolute clarity what they had lost forever.

That belated realization, that heart-wrenching confirmation, ignited a fire in my blood.

So Izuna's theory... is correct?

This realization left the Elders with mixed feelings.

If the essence of opening one's eyes is truly an affirmation of what one loves and an outburst of the will to protect it, rather than simply a reflection of enduring pain...

Wouldn't that... make things even more hopeless?

Because of love, people often don't appreciate what they have until they lose it, and only then can they truly measure its importance in their lives.

This is simply an inescapable paradox.

To see what you love clearly, you need a mirror to see what you've lost.

And loss is precisely the greatest pain.

"If it truly is love," the stern-faced Elder spoke again, his voice hoarse, "Then besides waiting for loss and experiencing pain... aren't we left with no other choice? How... is this fundamentally different from our previous understanding?"

Another Elder sighed, "Yes... love is something we only begin to realize when we lose it. If awakening the Sharingan truly depends on the confirmation of 'love,' and confirmation is often accompanied by loss... then won't our Uchiha Clan forever be trapped in this curse of exchanging pain for power?"

The atmosphere in the side hall fell silent once again.

This time, it carries an overwhelming sadness.

They seemed to see a circular mountain road, starting with love and ending with loss and power, and then the cycle would repeat itself.

An endless cycle, from which there is no escape.

Just then--

"Ah!"

Uchiha Hinata, who was sitting in the center, suddenly let out a soft "ah," as if he had remembered something extremely important.

All eyes instantly focused on him.

Hinata looked up, a hint of realization and apology on his face. "Oh right, I forgot to mention earlier. After telling me all this, Lord Izuna specifically added an example."

He paused, then said clearly, "Lord Izuna said that he had met a little girl. That little girl had not experienced loss; she grew up in love and care, and because she was not a child with poor talent, she had never been to the battlefield."

"She opened her eyes out of overwhelming excitement and joy upon learning that she was about to see her long-missed father."

"What?!" The Elders exclaimed almost in unison, their faces filled with disbelief.

Nothing was lost?

Because he was about to see his father, because of joy and excitement... did he open his eyes?

But there shouldn't be any such examples in the community, right?