Family Legacy

On the first day after awakening his Sharingan, Fugaku demonstrated three C-rank Fire Style jutsu, three C-rank Lightning Style jutsu, and one C-rank Genjutsu for Akaseki.

Akaseki copied them all.

The Uchiha Clan didn't have many scrolls containing ninjutsu techniques compared to other established clans, but the techniques the Uchiha Clan had mastered far outnumbered Konoha's collection!

Ever since the Warring States Period, whenever a clan member awakened the Sharingan, they would copy any jutsu the clan didn't have. After the war, when they had the chance, they would pass those techniques on to other clan members who met the requirements to copy them...

Though these copied techniques couldn't be reverse-engineered into scrolls for others to learn, and could only be passed down by copying them from one person to another, centuries of accumulation had left the Uchiha with an astonishingly broad range of ninjutsu.

They had tens of thousands of techniques, but ninety-nine percent of them were worthless. Some were even inferior versions of common techniques—the kind that took more effort than they were worth.

Still, the owners of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had passed them down generation after generation, unwilling to let anything go to waste. Only two or three hundred of them had any real practical value, and half of those were Fire Style techniques. Those who had awakened the One-Tomoe or Two-Tomoe Sharingan learned these first.

"Can you keep going?" Fugaku asked Akaseki, who was already starting to tire.

"I can... copy one more!" Akaseki struggled to keep his Sharingan active.

Fugaku shook his head. "Let's move on to Taijutsu."

Fugaku then demonstrated one Taijutsu move after another. Akaseki copied five more—or, more accurately, five sequences of movements.

The Uchiha Style Taijutsu was also the product of generations of refinement by the Uchiha Clan. Unlike their approach to ninjutsu, where they amassed as many techniques as they could, the clan had developed a carefully considered system for Taijutsu.

After all, simply copying Taijutsu movements was of little use. Many Taijutsu techniques also required physical conditioning; memorizing the movements alone wasn't enough.

"Our Uchiha Style Taijutsu combines the strengths of different schools and has been refined over generations to suit the Sharingan's unique characteristics. It relies heavily on dynamic vision and focuses on parrying and counterattacking, or dodging and counterattacking... Other shinobi, even the strongest ones, can't imitate it without the Sharingan. You can only learn it after awakening your eyes.

"But Taijutsu is different from ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Simply copying the movements won't do much, and you can't use them in actual combat without plenty of practice." Fugaku stressed the point.

Akaseki could now feel just how much the Uchiha Clan's legacy helped those who possessed the Sharingan.

The Sharingan really was powerful. Akaseki even thought it was the strongest Kekkei Genkai. The Byakugan? It was nothing but a nobody on the roadside.

But...

Now Akaseki could better understand that if the Uchiha Clan ever disappeared, even if others awakened the Sharingan, they probably wouldn't be able to grow so smoothly.

Ordinary civilian shinobi struggled even to learn a practical C-rank or B-rank jutsu.

But in the Uchiha Clan, the moment someone awakened the Sharingan, they were practically stuffed full of techniques.

After copying all those techniques, Akaseki could no longer keep his Sharingan active. His pupils returned to normal, and he collapsed onto the ground, panting.

"Brother Fugaku, you could easily qualify as a Chunin now, couldn't you? Ordinary Chunins are nowhere near as strong as you." Akaseki flattered the young clan head.

But he was telling the truth. Once an Uchiha's Sharingan had stabilized after awakening, even a single tomoe made them unquestionably stronger than an ordinary Chunin.

In terms of ninjutsu alone, D-rank techniques were suited to Genin, C-rank techniques to Chunin, and B-rank techniques were normally within the reach of Jonin.

Even among shinobi clans, whose members had plenty of jutsu to study, only a few Chunins could learn a particular B-rank jutsu—and only when the conditions were right. Yet a newly awakened Uchiha could copy all kinds of B-rank techniques...

"Being a Chunin isn't just about strength. It's an assessment of your overall abilities. I still have a long way to go," Fugaku said modestly.

"Brother Fugaku, you're far too modest. Everyone knows you graduated from the Ninja Academy two years early... You must've already been as strong as a Chunin back then, right?" Akaseki praised him lavishly.

Mikoto: ...

That wasn't what you said about graduating early before...

Fugaku shook his head, ignoring Akaseki's flattery, and changed the subject. "Your Jonin instructor is Jiraiya, right?"

"That's right. Lord Jiraiya seems to be testing us tomorrow, too," Akaseki said honestly.

"My father said Jiraiya's strength is already about equal to his. You should treasure the chance to learn from him," Fugaku said.

"Don't worry, Brother Fugaku! I won't bring shame to the Uchiha!" Akaseki declared, brimming with determination.

A test?

Before, Akaseki wouldn't have dared compare himself to exceptional graduates like Minato and Ranwu, but now...

His confidence had soared since awakening his Sharingan... especially after that training session!

He'd just learned C-rank ninjutsu and Genjutsu that he'd never have managed before, even if he trained himself to exhaustion. How could that not excite him?

Tomorrow, he'd show the two of them who the real core of their team was!

Fugaku nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, then left.

Akaseki stayed behind, ready to train his Taijutsu on his own. As for ninjutsu and Genjutsu... his chakra was depleted, so he couldn't train those at all.

The first five sets of movements were all parry-and-counter sequences.

They were basic movements from a single school. Unlike moves such as Konoha Whirlwind, they weren't techniques you could simply perform as attacks. You had to practice them over and over until they became part of your everyday Taijutsu exchanges!

The reason this Taijutsu could only be used by Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan was that it required not only precise timing for parries and dodges, but also the ability to seize the instant when an opponent's movements faltered after being parried or dodged, then counterattack. Only then could the moves reach their full potential.

You could say the style was tailor-made for the Sharingan's dynamic vision...

Still, even without activating his eyes, Akaseki could practice the movements. It wasn't as if he was sparring with anyone.

Akaseki practiced a few times, then waited until his body was tired before finding a corner to sit cross-legged in. He began trying to fine-tune his chakra control—the same thing the clan head had mentioned earlier. For the next month, there was no need to rush to increase his chakra. It would naturally grow after he awakened his eyes, so the best use of his time was to learn how to control it.

Meanwhile, now that things had quieted down, Akaseki couldn't help thinking again about the thing inside him... He didn't know whether it was a curse, a Genjutsu, or some kind of reincarnated chakra...

[Immersive short-drama experience platform?] Akaseki tentatively called out in his mind.

At first, Akaseki had thought this thing was there just to torment him. But earlier, he'd discovered that it seemed to offer some kind of reward called "GG"!

Akaseki suspected that his Lightning Style chakra transformation was a reward from this thing.

Then...

Could there be other rewards, too?