The Matter of Me Awakening the Sharingan and Shocking the Higher-Ups

Although he was curious about the strange behavior of those two Patrol Uchiha Clan Members earlier, Uchiha Gin, who was traveling with the squad, had no time to investigate further.

As the people ahead slowed their pace, a massive stronghold appeared before Uchiha Gin. Production and living conditions during the Warring States Period were relatively primitive, but a great clan like the Uchiha Clan had built its grounds into a fortress of exquisite stone. Though it could not compare to the concrete high walls of future Konoha, it possessed a distinct character of its era.

When the Guard at the entrance saw them, he merely verified their identities before letting them through.

Upon entering the Uchiha Clan Territory, Uchiha Clan Members training filled his view. There were both young and old, with some of the youngest being only a few years old.

Children barely old enough to walk were practicing their accuracy with sharpened shuriken, while the older ones trained in the Uchiha Clan's swordsmanship. The Clang of Metal rang without end, and women were not absent from the ranks either. It could truly be called an entire clan under arms.

Along the way, Uchiha Gin realized that the Uchiha Clan's genes were no joke. From old to young, male to female, there was not a single unattractive person among them. The face he had thought was rather handsome seemed utterly ordinary here.

Impressed though he was, Uchiha Gin noticed that every Uchiha Clan Member he encountered instinctively avoided his gaze.

One Uchiha woman with her daughter even saw Uchiha Gin glance in their direction, immediately dragged her daughter back into the house, and shut the doors and windows behind them.

"What's going on? Everyone here looks at me like I'm some kind of monster."

Uchiha Gin scratched his curly hair in confusion.

"Was the original owner really that unpopular?"

"Uchiha Gin, when we meet the Clan Leader, you will report on the mission."

At last, Uchiha FengHuo, who was walking at the front, turned back and spoke.

"Got it, Captain."

Knowing he could not avoid it, Uchiha Gin nodded in agreement.

The group arrived before an imposing building at the very center of the clan grounds. Uchiha FengHuo informed the Guard that they wished to meet the Clan Leader and report on their mission. The Guard went inside to announce them, then returned shortly afterward and opened the doors for them.

After entering and winding through several corridors, they finally arrived outside a room.

When they pushed open the door, they saw a middle-aged man seated in the place of honor, with two white-haired elderly men—one fat, one thin—standing beside him. The three appeared to be discussing something, but stopped and looked over when someone entered.

This was Uchiha Gin's "first" time meeting the original owner's distant maternal uncle, the current Uchiha Clan Leader, Uchiha Tajima.

He wore the Uchiha Clan's common wild, upward-swept hair. Two deep lines ran down his lean face, while his dark, profound eyes carried a faint pressure.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar middle-aged man before them, the members of the Uchiha Squad dropped to one knee in greeting.

Uchiha Gin was stunned when he saw their movements. No one had told him about this part. What was he supposed to do now? It was already too late to kneel, so he could only stand there awkwardly, looking rather at a loss.

The others kept signaling to him with their eyes, urging him to hurry, but Uchiha Gin, who had never had such a habit, was completely at a loss.

"It is good enough that you returned alive. Rise."

Seated in the middle, Uchiha Tajima spoke coldly. He did not blame Uchiha Gin; instead, he seemed accustomed to his failure to salute.

"Thank you, Clan Leader!"

The group replied respectfully as they rose to their feet.

"Fenghuo, I have always had faith in your strength. That you were the first to complete this mission was also within my expectations."

Uchiha Tajima looked at the standing Uchiha FengHuo and spoke with a hint of praise in his tone. The two seemed to have a fairly good relationship.

"It is all thanks to the Clan Leader's guidance!"

Who knew this old geezer could lay it on so thick? He could spout nonsense without even blinking.

"Then tell me about the course of the mission."

Uchiha Tajima continued.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha FengHuo said nothing and immediately turned his gaze toward Uchiha Gin. Prompted by that look, he stepped forward, placed the Senju Itama he had knocked unconscious beforehand in front of him, and said, "Clan Leader, allow me to report on the mission!"

"Gin, stop fooling around. The elders are present. Step back for now; I have a mission to assign you later."

Uchiha Tajima looked at his nephew with some surprise. He knew very well what his nephew's current strength was.

Sending him out on missions had merely been a way to keep him from continuing to cause trouble in the clan. He had never expected him to offer the others any help in their missions; it would already have been fortunate if he did not hold them back.

"Clan Leader, let Uchiha Gin make the report."

Uchiha FengHuo spoke from the side.

Since even the squad captain had said so, Uchiha Tajima's curiosity was piqued. He turned and seriously looked at the nephew he had never paid much attention to before. "Then, Gin, tell us about the course of your mission."

With Uchiha Tajima's permission, Uchiha Gin began with the moment "he" had forced his way into the Senju Clan Land. When he spoke of being severely wounded by a powerful Senju Clan member and nearly dying, a vicious glint flashed through Uchiha Tajima's eyes. When he went on to describe how they had encountered a melee between the Hagoromo Clan and the Senju Clan, and how the Uchiha Squad had watched the two sides fight, an appreciative expression appeared on his face. Then, upon hearing that they had captured Senju Butsuma's son, Uchiha Tajima's eyes burst with sharp light. His gaze shifted to the unconscious brat before Uchiha Gin, and he fell into thought. Finally, Uchiha Gin also recounted how they had been pursued by the Whirlpool Clan.

"That musclehead was Uzumaki Ashina's son. He is extremely powerful. How did you survive his hands?"

The fat elderly Uchiha, who had been listening with great interest, asked curiously.

Uchiha Gin was not angered by the interruption, and Uchiha Tajima, who had still been pondering, also looked toward him.

"Because I awakened it in a desperate situation."

As he spoke, he Pointed At his eyes. Two tomoe slowly rotated within his scarlet pupils.

Logically speaking, Uchiha Gin awakening his Sharingan should have been cause for celebration. Yet when the Two Tomoe appeared in his eyes, the atmosphere in the room suddenly froze. The expressions of the two older Uchiha, who had looked normal moments ago, turned frighteningly grim as if they had changed faces in an instant.

Uchiha Tajima, seated in his chair, even activated his own Three Tomoe Sharingan and stared fixedly into Uchiha Gin's eyes. The rapidly spinning tomoe seemed as though they were about to draw him in.

The suddenly frigid atmosphere left Uchiha Gin, who had prepared a whole speech, speechless for a moment. After a while, he carefully asked,

"Should I continue?"

"Uchiha FengHuo, you and the others may leave first. Consider this mission perfectly completed. Take a few days off and go home to see your families."

Uchiha Tajima interrupted Uchiha Gin's question, forcing him to swallow his words.

Though Uchiha FengHuo and the others did not understand what was happening, they did not dare linger after hearing the Clan Leader's order and promptly took their leave.

Seeing his teammates leave, Uchiha Gin also prepared to make a run for it. Just as he lifted Senju Itama and was about to slip away, Uchiha Tajima's cold voice rang out.

"Gin, stay behind. I have some things to ask you."

Seeing that he could not leave, Uchiha Gin resigned himself to his fate and put the brat in his hands down. He looked dryly at his distant maternal uncle and waited to be questioned.

However, Uchiha Tajima did not continue addressing him. Instead, he turned to the plumper elderly Uchiha beside him and asked, "Elder Yan, what is going on here?"

"That shouldn't be possible. There is no way."

The elder Uchiha being questioned was Uchiha Yan, an elder of the Uchiha Clan and one of the clan's oldest higher-ups.

"Elder Miao, explain this to me. What is going on?"

Not receiving a satisfactory answer, Uchiha Tajima turned to the other lean elderly Uchiha. Uchiha Miao did not reply.

Instead, he fixed his wrinkled eyes on Uchiha Gin's Two-Tomoe Sharingan, whose tomoe were still slowly spinning.

Uchiha Gin felt his scalp tingle under that stare and secretly thought, Was the original owner's talent really that terrible? Did awakening a Two-Tomoe Sharingan really shock all these higher-ups this much?