Uchiha Kagami still couldn't absorb too much of Sukuna's power. The principle was similar to Naruto and the Nine-Tails.
He was too young, and his body hadn't fully developed.
If he had the Nine-Tails inside him, Uchiha Kagami might still have tried to reconcile with it. But Sukuna...
He was a thoroughgoing egotist, evil to the core, and took killing women and children as a source of pleasure.
Uchiha Kagami had a clear understanding of Sukuna: he was nothing more than food nourishing his growth.
Compared to Sukuna, his own Uchiha bloodline was obviously more worth developing.
The Sharingan.
The ultimate manifestation of Yin Release. It governed Spiritual Energy and shaped form from nothing.
Once the Mangekyo awakened, one could even possess the mighty power to distort Space-time!
The Cursed Energy of the King of Curses was actually another manifestation of Yin Release.
Put bluntly, Yin Release and Yang Release were Spiritual Energy and physical energy.
Uchiha Kagami already had the soul of an adult. On top of that, he had Sukuna as a Yin Release charging station, so his Spiritual Energy was practically off the charts.
If he hadn't consciously trained his body from the age of two and controlled the growth of his Spiritual Energy, he might well have awakened the Mangekyo at eight.
In Uchiha Kagami's view, unless absolutely necessary, awakening the Mangekyo too early wasn't a good thing. The strain it placed on the body was simply too great.
Itachi Uchiha falling ill as a youth probably had something to do with awakening the Mangekyo before his body had fully developed.
Unfortunately, his little brother Shisui had died before the aftereffects arrived. Otherwise, with another case to study, Uchiha Kagami would have had an easier time making judgments.
You mean Obito?
Was Obito's half-White Zetsu body really something so easy to obtain?
No, wait. It seemed... it wasn't that difficult to get, either...
Just as Uchiha Kagami was pondering how to get in touch with Tobi, who loved playing with feces, the teacher's voice rang out from the podium.
"This afternoon is practical combat class. As for the new students, we'll test your Shuriken throwing."
The Second Hokage had established the Ninja Academy system, but in his era, it was still in its infancy. In terms of structure, it was more like a Jonin taking several disciples.
It was during the Third Hokage's tenure that the education system was truly established and the various ninja clans brought into it.
It had even produced elite ninja like the Sannin.
More importantly... Orochimaru and Jiraiya had both come from civilian backgrounds. The implications were self-evident.
No matter how many mistakes Sarutobi Hiruzen would later make because of cowardice disguised as "tolerance," the Shinobi Hero hadn't completely aged yet.
Hashirama Senju had been unrivaled under heaven and secured the finest land, but after his death came two successive Ninja World Wars.
One had to understand... Konohagakure had been the victor in both Ninja World Wars!
You could say the Third Hokage was bad, but you couldn't say he was incompetent.
Among the Kage of the Five Great Nations in that era, he was genuinely the strongest!
As an Uchiha, Uchiha Kagami did indeed regard the Third Hokage's faction as an imagined enemy, but he wouldn't underestimate them.
Having grown up without parents, he had experienced the warmth known as "clan members" for the first time. He could never allow the future in which his clan was wiped out to happen.
Nor would he blindly follow the progression of events from the original Space-time. He and Sukuna were both variables. If he still made plans according to the original timeline, that would be the truly foolish thing to do.
Aside from certain major events whose timing was fixed and which he couldn't influence, he needed to selectively forget everything else. He couldn't let it affect his own judgment.
"Classmate Uchiha Kagami, what are you thinking about?"
Kurenai Yuhi, sitting beside Uchiha Kagami, lightly tapped his shoulder.
I'm thinking about how to eliminate the evil organization led by the Third Hokage, with your father and his lot serving as its claws.
Uchiha Kagami turned his head away and ignored her. Compared to Sasuke Uchiha, one of the few normal people in the Uchiha Clan, his personality was actually more similar to Itachi's.
Arrogant, conceited, and convinced that he alone could shoulder all the consequences.
Itachi would destroy his clan for the sake of the village. Uchiha Kagami was thinking that for the sake of his clan members, he wouldn't hesitate to destroy the village.
Without the Uchiha, was there any need for Konohagakure to exist?
That was why Uchiha Kagami didn't want to form any bonds with these people. That stuff was poisonous.
Obito had been ruthless enough to exterminate his clan, yet he hadn't taken back Kakashi's eye, abandoning his invincible stance.
Sasuke had gotten Naruto, that tenacious parasite, stuck to him, and even refused to take an arm because he supposedly wanted to atone for his sins.
What a joke. What crime had he committed?
With little girls, the more you ignored them, the more interested they became in you.
Of course, that presupposed you looked good.
The young Kurenai Yuhi edged a little closer. "Your hair's a little curly too, huh? Were you born with it like that?"
Uchiha Kagami stood up in open disgust and left to find somewhere to eat the bento his grandmother had prepared.
He could more or less ignore the others, but who was Kurenai Yuhi?
She was a prodigy who could use ordinary Genjutsu to contend with Mangekyo ocular techniques!
Uchiha Kagami was afraid that talking to her would lower his intelligence.
Only the somewhat aggrieved little girl remained, secretly puzzled. She could clearly feel Uchiha Kagami's disgust.
Had she done something to upset him?
Wasn't curly hair pretty?
--
When Uchiha Kagami opened the bento his grandmother had prepared beneath a tree, several little boys gathered around him.
"Uchiha brat, you're pretty arrogant!"
Young Asuma, a toothpick between his teeth, walked over.
"Do you know that Kurenai is my good friend? What are you putting on airs for?"
Uchiha Kagami shoveled rice into his mouth and said indifferently, "Not only that. You two will get married and have children in the future."
"Uh..."
Asuma, who had been ready to spring into action, was completely dumbfounded. His little face flushed bright red.
"You... What are you talking about? What... What marriage? That's way too far away!"
"But you Uchiha, you sure know how to talk..."
"Right, and the child you have won't look like you. It'll look like an Uchiha." Uchiha Kagami cut him off.
"Argh! Get him! Beat him up! It's on me!"
Furious, Asuma charged ahead.
One minute later.
Sitting on Asuma's back, Uchiha Kagami continued eating.
"Now I'll answer your question from earlier."
With his foot planted on Asuma's palm, Uchiha Kagami said calmly, "We Uchiha are just that arrogant."
"Don't think I'm some piece of trash like Goggles."
"Argh! Let go if you dare! I wasn't ready just now!"
The commotion drew quite a few people over. As more and more watched, Asuma's face grew even redder.
"You think this is a children's fight? That you can have another go?"
After finishing his bento, Uchiha Kagami stood up and stomped Asuma's palm into the earth.
Crack—
There seemed to be a faint sound of bone breaking.
Uchiha Kagami turned his head. His icy gaze pressed down on Asuma, making him afraid to move.
"If this had been a battlefield, and you had attacked me, I could have killed you."
That instant of utterly genuine killing intent stabbed into Asuma's nerves.
Glancing at the growing crowd of children, Uchiha Kagami quickly reined in his killing intent and silently walked through the crowd, whose members instinctively made way for him.
He made no attempt to feign goodwill or build relationships with his classmates.
He wasn't confident that he could put on an act harmless enough to fool the Third Hokage and those other old bastards.
Besides, in their eyes, a normal Uchiha was exactly like this—explosive at the slightest provocation.
Play the coward?
That was something Fugaku would do.
A genius of the Uchiha was supposed to show his edge and hold his head high!
The relationship between the village and the Uchiha hadn't yet reached the point where they would assassinate each other's young geniuses. Otherwise, Kakashi and Shisui wouldn't have been able to live past ten, either.
When things truly reached that point...
The madness Uchiha Kagami buried deep in his eyes was no less than Sukuna's. If anything, it surpassed him.
Only a monster could control a monster.
Before you continue