Uchiha Kei had managed to turn a misfortune into a blessing. He had never dreamed that this was how he would obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The pattern of Uchiha Kei's Mangekyō was something he had never seen before, resembling a diamond with a triangular shape.
Uchiha Kei had always wondered what kind of shock would let him cross that threshold—or break through the "wall" standing before his eyes.
Uchiha Kei had family in this world, but he didn't have much of a bond with any of these so-called relatives.
It wasn't easy for a mature soul from another world to form new attachments. At least, Uchiha Kei hadn't managed it.
Besides, Uchiha Kei didn't have any particularly close friends. He had entered the Ninja Academy at five and simply couldn't get along with a bunch of little kids.
By the time he was seven, he had "graduated" and gone off to war. Even if he'd wanted to form such a bond, he hadn't had the chance.
Uchiha Kei had faced a shock on the battlefield, too. At first, he had struggled to adjust to the deaths of both his comrades and his enemies.
But the shock had come and gone quickly. By now, Uchiha Kei could suppress his discomfort and face everything in silence.
For someone like Uchiha Kei, who had almost no Bonds and was so indifferent to life, it was already remarkable that he had used Genjutsu to bring his Sharingan to the Three Tomoe stage.
But the lack of Bonds had left him almost completely stuck on the path to further advancement.
Uchiha Kei had awakened his Three Tomoe at ten. Now, at thirteen, the only thing he had accomplished was finding that "wall." In every other respect, he had made no progress at all.
But now, faced with a lethal threat from Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Kei's usually calm heart had been shaken to its core.
Desperation and the overwhelming desire to live had consumed Uchiha Kei, allowing him to miraculously awaken the very thing he had always dreamed of!
The Mangekyō Sharingan—the power Uchiha Kei had been waiting and planning for ever since he had arrived in this world and learned his surname was Uchiha—had finally blossomed!
"Honestly, it's embarrassing. Other people awaken their eyes by killing the ones they love, and I awakened mine because I didn't want to die. What a—"
After showing his Sharingan to Hyuga Aya and Imai Kenta, Uchiha Kei had immediately shut it off. Ignoring their shock, he propped his head up with one hand and thought to himself.
Uchiha Kei also felt rather frustrated. Although he had awakened the Mangekyō, his abilities were truly strange.
He hadn't awakened familiar skills like "Kamui," "Tsukuyomi," or "Amaterasu." Instead, he had gotten abilities he'd never even heard of.
The Mangekyō's abilities were chosen and manifested according to the thoughts in the mind of the person who awakened it.
When Namikaze Minato had almost killed him, Uchiha Kei had been driven to desperation. He'd pulled out a Kunai, ready to trade his life for his opponent's in one last-ditch attack.
At the time, Uchiha Kei had kept thinking, "If only I were faster and Namikaze Minato were slower. If time could just stop long enough for me to dodge, that would be even better!"
Perhaps it was because Uchiha Kei had thought that way that he had really awakened abilities like those.
Uchiha Kei's Dojutsu had something to do with time.
The ability in his left eye was called "Time Leap." It could speed up time for either an enemy or himself.
The ability in his right eye was called "Time Rewind." It could slow down time for either an enemy or himself.
Most interestingly, his two eyes also had a combined ability called "Time Stop," which could bring time to a halt!
"Time Stop" was terrifying. If it worked on anyone without exception, Uchiha Kei would practically be a nuclear weapon!
But the information his eyes had given him told Uchiha Kei that he was probably dreaming.
The effects of "Time Stop" depended partly on Uchiha Kei's Dojutsu Power and partly on the strength of his enemy.
Simply put, the longer he stopped time, the more Dojutsu Power Uchiha Kei would consume. And the stronger his enemy, the greater the toll on his Dojutsu Power.
"This is... kind of a rip-off."
Uchiha Kei thought to himself that unless he had enough strength and Dojutsu Power, the technique might only last a second or two before he collapsed.
That was exactly why Uchiha Kei had passed out: the first time he used "Time Stop," he froze Namikaze Minato. In the end, he dodged the attack and abandoned his attempt to strike Minato, then promptly fainted.
In short, this Dojutsu was practically a one-for-one technique. For now, that was all it seemed to be.
What was more, "Time Leap" and "Time Rewind" weren't even in their complete forms, either.
From what his eyes had told him, the complete version of "Time Leap" could make someone live out their entire life in an extremely short time!
This Dojutsu was every bit as terrifying as "Time Stop." What's more, it gave its target a vivid, realistic experience filled with terror!
The complete version of "Time Rewind" also left Uchiha Kei speechless. Its true effect should be to rewind time—to make time genuinely flow backward!
"Too bad none of them are complete, and the Dojutsu Power they consume is terrifying." Uchiha Kei sighed, but soon something else struck him. "Why do these abilities feel so familiar?"
Uchiha Kei furrowed his brow and thought hard for a while. Then he realized with a start that his three abilities, put together, were basically a video player.
Speed up, slow down, and pause—weren't those the basic functions of any video player?
And the complete versions were like adding a mouse, letting him move through time and choose the exact point he wanted to watch.
Uchiha Kei didn't know what to say. He had spent years trying to awaken the Mangekyō without success, only for it to appear when he was about to die.
That should have been a good thing. But Uchiha Kei had discovered that his Mangekyō abilities weren't fully developed.
And they demanded a lot of chakra and Dojutsu Power, which left Uchiha Kei in a bind.
The most ridiculous part was that, after all that, Uchiha Kei had discovered that this thing was basically a "video player." Its abilities were powerful, but he couldn't even afford to use them right now.
Besides, Uchiha Kei knew one thing for sure: awakening the Mangekyō didn't make him invincible.
For Uchiha Kei—and for this world—the Mangekyō merely put him on relatively high ground.
But there was a limit to how high he could climb. At the very least, the Kage—and even Danzo—were experienced at dealing with Mangekyō users.
Uchiha Kei had only gained a certain degree of self-protection. If he went looking for trouble, Danzo would most likely have him completely under his thumb, or someone else would kill him!
"By the way, you awakened your Sharingan just like that?" As Uchiha Kei was thinking, Hyuga Aya suddenly asked uncertainly. "And it's already at the Three Tomoe stage?"
"More or less." Uchiha Kei sighed. "I don't know why, but Uchiha Obito awakened the Double Tomoe Sharingan too, didn't he?"
"Does your Uchiha clan only awaken the Sharingan when you're about to die?" Hyuga Aya asked, looking puzzled. "Is it because of emotional trauma? Or a powerful will to survive?"
Uchiha Kei's face stiffened at her words. "What's it to you?"
"Or did you awaken your Sharingan because you were about to die? What a coward, afraid to die!"
"Shut up."
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