Uchiha Tunan hurried home, shut the door, poured himself a cup of tea, and sat alone in reflection.
He had noticed the strange look in Kushina Uzumaki's eyes today.
That look was very wrong. It carried intense wariness.
Like herbivores forced to drink from a crocodile-infested pool on the grasslands during the dry season.
Uchiha Tunan did not know where he had slipped up, so he had improvised a scene and left in a hurry.
He feared that staying any longer would expose too many flaws.
Where had he gone wrong for someone he had just met to become wary of him?
She had said that people in the village had recently been discussing him.
But everything he had done had clearly placed him on the righteous, tragic side. There was not a single fault to pick apart.
Strange...
Uchiha Tunan understood the importance of examining oneself daily.
Only then could he continue improving along the path of hunting.
If Kushina had anything special about her,
it was naturally the Uzumaki Clan physique and the Nine-Tails within her.
Could Kushina possess a talent like mind-reading or telepathy?
Could she see through his flawless disguise and gaze directly upon the true nature of his heart?
That would be troublesome...
Kushina's time of death was during the Nine-Tails' Rampage, wasn't it?
Uchiha Tunan took a light sip of tea, his fingers tapping urgently against the table.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Uchiha Tunan's mind, and his tapping fingers came to a stop.
I've got it!
So she can see into the heart? Then I'll put a disguise over my heart itself.
The corner of Uchiha Tunan's mouth curved upward slightly as he walked over to the mirror.
The Three Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly.
Genjutsu, Hypnotic Eye!
I deeply respect Kushina.
I even regard her as a mother, seeking maternal love from her.
Like a bonfire in the night, she illuminates the depths of my heart.
Whenever I see her, the Heart Fire ignites and drives away the darkness.
When Naruto is born, the Heart Fire will extinguish itself.
Uchiha Tunan felt his consciousness blur. Within the pitch-black space of his heart, a small flame bloomed.
In an instant, bloody tears flowed from Uchiha Tunan's eyes, and his ocular power was greatly depleted.
But the effect was extremely noticeable. Now, whenever Uchiha Tunan thought of Kushina, he felt an instinctive sense of closeness.
"Prey will always be prey. You can't escape.
Hiss... this damned heartache..."
A magnetic murmur echoed through the dim room.
Toward evening, the Great Elder came to Uchiha Tunan's home and personally took him somewhere.
Naka Shrine.
This was the Uchiha Clan's most vital place and a symbol of the Uchiha spirit.
Only the clan head and the Great Elder could enter and leave freely.
There were no electric lights here. Illumination still came from oil lamps.
Inside the room, the greenish lamplight flickered, swaying the shadows of the Great Elder and Uchiha Tunan across the walls.
"Tunan, this is the birthplace of the Uchiha Clan.
Whenever something important happens, everyone gathers here as well.
I called you here today for two matters."
"Your method of stirring up conflict among Konoha's higher-ups last time was quite good. Under pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the Uchiha Clan generous compensation.
This portion belongs to you."
As he spoke, the Great Elder pushed a brand-new bankbook toward Uchiha Tunan.
Uchiha Tunan expressionlessly glanced at the number written in the bankbook.
Six hundred thousand ryo.
That was already equivalent to the reward for completing an A-rank mission.
Converted into Tonkotsu Ramen, that was ten thousand bowls.
Seeing that Uchiha Tunan showed no reaction to such a huge sum, the Great Elder admired him even more.
"Such compensation is already quite good. After all, we have no conclusive evidence.
You're still young, and the clan feared that having too much money would cause you to lose yourself.
So after some consideration, we decided to give you only six hundred thousand ryo.
The rest of the money will be held by the clan.
Just tell me whenever you need it."
Uchiha Tunan smiled faintly, picked up the bankbook, and tucked it into his ninja tool pouch.
"It's already a lot. Thank you, Great Elder."
The Great Elder nodded in satisfaction and handed the scroll before him to Uchiha Tunan.
"Now that you've been promoted to Genin, you may select three techniques from the Inheritance Scroll. The techniques this time are more advanced than the previous ones.
But after discussing it with Fugaku, I decided to give you the clan's strongest secret art.
This one secret art takes up the slots for two techniques. Take a look."
Uchiha Tunan had never heard of the Uchiha Clan possessing any especially powerful secret art.
Could it be Izanagi?
Uchiha Tunan spread open the scroll.
At its beginning was the name of the secret art:
Instant Body Flicker Technique.
"This is..." Uchiha Tunan paused in slight surprise.
The Great Elder's lips curled upward as he began explaining.
"The difficulty of learning this technique is beyond S-rank. It belongs to Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu.
But because it was too difficult, later generations researched it and split it into the Body Flicker Technique and the Clone Technique.
Later, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, borrowed from this technique to create the Shadow Clone Technique, whose clones possess physical bodies."
Instant Body Flicker Technique, Body Flicker Technique.
Uchiha Tunan suddenly remembered someone from the original work.
Body Flicker Shisui.
His Body Flicker Technique was not a movement technique. Instead, during battle, it created numerous physical clones.
And those physical clones would not disappear after being attacked like Shadow Clones.
It was undeniably a godly technique.
Uchiha Tunan rolled up the scroll and said with a grateful expression, "Thank you, Great Elder."
The Great Elder then spread open a huge scroll before him and pointed at it.
"Choose one more technique. It isn't that the clan is unwilling to give you more techniques; these are rules established by our ancestors."
"I understand." Uchiha Tunan was not greedy. More ninjutsu was not necessarily better.
He then turned his gaze toward the scroll.
The ninjutsu recorded on this scroll were clearly far more advanced than those he had seen last time.
Most were combination techniques involving ninjutsu and taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu, or taijutsu and genjutsu.
Their difficulty was extremely high, and their power and effects could not compare to ordinary ninjutsu.
At last, Uchiha Tunan spotted a technique near the back of the scroll. His eyes lit up, and he pointed at it.
"That one."
The Great Elder followed the direction of Uchiha Tunan's finger.
Secret Technique: Beast Devour.
The Great Elder immediately narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.
"Beast Devour is a technique used on ninja beasts.
It normally uses Chakra to alter a ninja beast's physique, and at critical moments, it can send the beast into a berserk state.
This technique was developed by Uchiha ancestors after drawing inspiration from the Aburame Clan's insect devouring.
Its practical combat effect is not especially great, and it consumes a large amount of Chakra in daily use. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Uchiha Tunan's expression was firm.
"Very well."
The Great Elder nodded, formed a hand seal, and slapped the scroll.
A small scroll appeared before them.
The Great Elder gave Uchiha Tunan a look.
Understanding, Uchiha Tunan reached out, took the small scroll, and put it into his ninja tool pouch.
"Tunan." The Great Elder's voice suddenly became low.
Uchiha Tunan adjusted his glasses and sat upright. "What are your orders, Great Elder?"
"Where do you think... the future of the Uchiha lies?"
Uchiha Tunan paused. "Blind obedience cannot change the Uchiha Clan's current situation."
The Great Elder narrowed his eyes. "You mean..."
Uchiha Tunan stood up, looked down at the Great Elder, and uttered four words in an unequivocal tone.
"The Strong Rule."
With that, Uchiha Tunan turned and walked outside.
"Very good. I look forward to the day it arrives."
The Great Elder narrowed his eyes, turned to look back at the stone tablet deep within the room, and murmured to himself.
"Everything, for the Uchiha."
Before you continue