Yin Release and Samehada (Seeking votes! Seeking investment!)

The essence of the Sharingan?

This question was somewhat baffling. The Sharingan is just the Sharingan! Talking about its essence... it's like stopping a random passerby on the street and asking them, "Do you know what the essence of humanity is?"

Aside from getting a bunch of Byakugan stares and curses like "lunatic," there wouldn't be any other result.

Of course, judging people by their status is a flaw most can't avoid.

When a similar question came from Sōken's mouth, none of those present thought he was crazy. Instead, they were convinced the question held deep meaning, each racking their brains to uncover the mystery and discover the source of Sōken's immense strength.

"Is it spiritual energy?"

The title of genius wasn't earned for nothing.

Shisui was the fastest to grasp what Sōken was pointing at.

"That's right, spiritual energy. But I prefer to call it [Yin Release]." While traveling, Sōken didn't mind sharing his research insights. Whether anyone gained inspiration depended on their own talent. "Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Water, plus Yin and Yang—these seven nature transformations encompass everything a shinobi can do."

"Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, secret techniques, Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta... all of these derive from these seven natures. Including our clan's Sharingan—it's a manifestation of Yin nature power. At the most basic conceptual level, it's the same as the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Secret Technique or the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique—all Yin Release."

"You mean training spiritual energy... well, Yin Release—training Yin Release can strengthen the dojutsu's power?"

Shisui asked skeptically.

"Of course it's not that simple, but it touches the edge. I once saw a line in a handwritten journal from the clan's library: 'The pinnacle of the Sharingan is the pinnacle of Yin Release techniques.' The reverse is also true—the stronger your Yin Release techniques, the stronger your Sharingan."

This wasn't something Sōken made up.

It was a real record.

As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three thousand nails. The Uchiha, an ancient clan passed down for a thousand years, had a library filled with junk eliminated by history, but also many good things left behind—especially records and documents about the Sharingan.

"The pinnacle of the Sharingan is the pinnacle of Yin Release techniques"—Sōken had read this in a journal left by a clan leader from over three hundred years ago. It wasn't a systematic text, just scattered insights from that leader's daily training. That's why it hadn't been stored in the secret vault but placed in the public library accessible to all clan members.

Sōken suspected that clan leader might have been, like Madara Uchiha, a reincarnation of Indra.

"Yin Release... but how do we actually do it? Is studying Genjutsu enough?"

"It can't be that simple, right? Everyone knows Genjutsu. We Uchiha, once we awaken our eyes, all of us can use Genjutsu."

Fugaku Uchiha's trusted subordinates argued among themselves.

Shisui thought for a moment, then shook his head. What Sōken said wasn't unreasonable, but it was too brief. It was like telling someone that to make an Explosive Tag, you just need to prepare the paper and infuse it with chakra, without explaining how to draw the tag or what techniques to use when infusing chakra.

In short, it told you what to do but not how to do it.

"Don't think I'm holding back. The reason I reached this level isn't because of some secret trick—it's because I had Samehada's help." At the mention of its name, Samehada, strapped to Sōken's back, wriggled slightly in response.

"Samehada?"

Not just Shisui, everyone looked confused.

But at this point, Sōken stopped talking, too lazy to say more. If he had developed any techniques, he wouldn't mind sharing them with his comrades. But his progress in Yin Release and Yang Release was largely thanks to Samehada's help—not something that could be widely shared.

"Killing Suikazan Fuguki on the battlefield back then was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made!"

Sōken thought sincerely.

Without Samehada, he might have already gone down crooked paths like colluding with Orochimaru to steal cell transplant technology or sneaking into Kumogakure to steal the Sage of Six Paths Tools. Fortunately, Samehada let him touch the essence of Yin Release and Yang Release, so he didn't need any crooked paths—there was a straight road to the heavens!!!

Indra, the Uchiha clan's ancestor lost to history, was the best example.

He inherited his father, the Sage of Six Paths', powerful Yin Release (spiritual energy), was born with the Three Tomoe Sharingan, and later awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan without the risk of blindness, reaching the Eternal Eye directly... or rather, the true Mangekyo Sharingan.

In Sōken's view, what was now called the Mangekyo Sharingan was merely a half-finished product born from the Uchiha's declining inherited Yin Release power. The so-called eye transplant was essentially a fusion of Yin Release power—combining two portions of Yin Release power could create a true Mangekyo.

In the end, the Yin power, sourced from spiritual energy governing imagination, shaping form from nothingness, was the true essence of the Sharingan.

Susanoo, that divine power, was the best proof of shaping form from nothingness.

"Don't underestimate Samehada! It's the only living weapon in the Shinobi World."

Noticing everyone still confused and eyeing Samehada suspiciously, Sōken couldn't help defending his beloved tool. "Don't forget, even our clan's war fan is just a lifeless object without consciousness. Samehada is a great creation that embodies the essence of both Yin Release and Yang Release techniques."

"Yin Release? Yang Release?"

Fugaku Uchiha frowned slightly.

But this former clan leader's facial expressions were always well-controlled—it was hard to glean any information from his face.

"Great... isn't that an exaggeration?"

Even Shisui was piqued by Sōken's exaggerated phrasing.

"Giving life to a cold weapon, letting it think and remember—isn't that great? Don't take its existence for granted and forget how incredible it is to bring a weapon to life. That's a realm even the God of Shinobi never touched."

Sōken's words plunged Shisui into thought.

Creating life?

Is it that hard?

Not difficult at all. Humans, animals—all these living things endlessly reproduce the next generation, keeping the land teeming with so much life in motion. But... to bring a weapon that was originally lifeless to life—is that truly something a human can accomplish?

"What exactly... is the origin of Samehada?"

Shisui murmured to himself.

Sōken did not answer that question.

The origin of Samehada?

Simple!

Scouring the thousand-year history of the Shinobi World, there was only one person capable of forging such a highly distinctive, irreplicable weapon: the Sage of Six Paths, who still watched over this world even in death. This was not Sōken's baseless conjecture, but something he had excavated from Samehada's millennia-long memory.

Samehada could think like a human, so naturally it could also remember like one.

Though its thinking ability was roughly on par with that of an ordinary non-ninja human child, never maturing over a thousand years, acting purely on instinct, its memory was excellent. It had firmly etched into itself the aura and voice it had perceived at the moment of its birth.

That was a man called the "Sage of Six Paths," whose true name was "Hagoromo Otsutsuki."

That man used Yin Release to create Samehada's form from nothing, and then used Yang Release to grant Samehada life—

Thus, it was said that Samehada was a great creation embodying the essence of both Yin Release and Yang Release techniques.

Coincidentally, the golden finger of [Knight of Owner] granted Sōken a powerful dominion over armaments, allowing him to completely control every aspect of Samehada—its power, its will, its memories... all of it fell under Sōken's command.

And it was precisely all of this—

that forged Sōken's current strength to crush his clansmen.

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