My Mangekyo

"Woo—woo—woo—woo—woo"

Late at night, on that same cliff, Kaede played a bamboo flute, gazing at the star-filled sky. A faint melancholy drifted from the notes.

"Kaede, you seem unhappy. Why? Can you tell me?"

He stopped playing. "I know those people today didn't deserve to die, yet I personally pushed them into hell. I feel like the devil's accomplice, even more detestable than the devil himself."

"But Kaede saved a mother, didn't he? Doesn't that mean there's a gentle kindness in your heart, far better than those who've long gone numb? Kaede saved at least one person, so he's not the devil's accomplice—he's a good person." With delicate brows and clear, bright eyes, Tong was like an angel soothing a wounded soul.

For the first time in his life, a girl gave him a "good person" card, yet Kaede was delighted. "Tong, you're right. Doing something is far better than doing nothing. I once had too high expectations for the Uchiha, so when I saw the truth, I was bitterly disappointed. Today I finally understand—maybe I set the bar too high from the start. The moment Fugaku stood firm against Orochimaru in front of me, and the clan members unhesitatingly backed him, that was the scene I most wanted to see. I was wrong, terribly wrong. I shouldn't have only seen the Uchiha in power while ignoring the true desires of the clan. They are the real voice of the Uchiha. So I've decided—tomorrow, I'll correct this mistake. Will you witness it with me?" Kaede naturally reached out and grasped Tong's small hand.

But Tong kept staring into Kaede's eyes. "Kaede... Kaede, your... your eyes... eyes..."

Kaede tapped her forehead. "Don't mind the details. It's just that I've awakened the Mangekyo. Come on, Tong, touch it—see if I've gotten even more handsome." He grabbed Tong's hand and placed it on his face, snapping her back to reality. She shyly pulled away. "You're so annoying."

"Mangekyo Sharingan. Elders, are you ready to witness a miracle?"

The tomoe in Kaede's eyes had vanished. In their place, within his crimson irises, four tomoe paired into two lightning-like Thunder Patterns, crossed together and slowly rotating.

This wasn't a normal awakening. Through years of research, Kaede had discovered that the Sharingan's awakening was tied to the accumulation of special Yin Release Chakra in the brain. Whenever an Uchiha was stimulated or emotionally stirred, this Yin Release Chakra would build up. Reaching a certain threshold would unlock the corresponding number of tomoe. This special Yin Release Chakra was the Sharingan's dojutsu power. During the tomoe stage, it was in a phase of constant accumulation. As for the Mangekyo Sharingan, it required this gradual buildup to push the dojutsu power to its limit, breaking the original Sharingan's genetic constraints to evolve. That was why the Mangekyo was so much stronger than the Sharingan—it wasn't the Sharingan; it was its evolved form. And the secret of the Eternal Mangekyo lay within that dojutsu power; simply swapping eyes wouldn't grant it.

As the Uchiha clan had been passed down to the present, their genes had begun to drift from their ancestor, the Sage of Six Paths. A single Mangekyo Sharingan only granted a limited amount of Sage Eye genes. Using a Sage's eyes in a mortal body meant the more they were used, the faster blindness set in—because they were incomplete. They needed another set of dojutsu power and genes to complete themselves, evolving once more to leave behind the mortal eyes of the Sharingan and reach the level of a half-Sage Eye: the Eternal Mangekyo. The next step was to gain the power of the Sage Body, Sage Chakra, and Yang Release. By completing this power and genetic restoration, one would fully become a direct descendant of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, evolving the Rinnegan.

Kaede had discovered this secret long ago, but he had no good way to increase his dojutsu power. Moreover, this Yin Release Chakra constantly influenced his mind, making him extreme. So Kaede had not only refrained from actively increasing his dojutsu power but had also used a mysterious power born from his own body to suppress its growth, fearing it would cloud his judgment and rob him of rational thought. But today, he needed the Mangekyo's power. So he stuffed his immense soul power into his Sharingan, forcibly breaking through the limits and awakening the Mangekyo. Though this briefly unlocked the Mangekyo, these eyes were now ruined—the fragile ocular meridians couldn't withstand such violent awakening.

At today's routine Uchiha clan meeting, Kaede attended on behalf of his branch. Long ago, he had taken over from his great-uncle and become a regular here.

"Today's meeting has no major issues. Any of the elders have something to say?" Fugaku presided over the meeting with an air of detachment, like a puppet on strings.

Kaede now understood that Fugaku was probably just as annoyed with these elders but had no choice but to respect them. Most of these people were Uchiha who had existed since Madara's era—the oldest generation of the clan. They were the fathers and elder brothers who had betrayed Madara, leaving him a lone commander who left Konoha by himself. Afterward, out of fear of Madara, no one dared to become the Uchiha clan head. That era was the Uchiha's strongest, with countless Mangekyo Sharingan in the clan. But divisions and the abuse of Izanagi sparked a civil war. Originally, including Madara's branch, the Uchiha had survived the Warring States period with thirteen branches. After the civil war, only seven remained. The Uchiha leadership pacified the internal strife and then went home to have children, too lazy to deal with these people. The Uchiha fell into unprecedented weakness; countless Mangekyo users killed each other, leaving only weak children with little combat power. Kagami Uchiha was pushed forward as a link between the village and the Uchiha, until Kaede's father's generation, when someone finally proposed electing a clan head. Fugaku emerged as the new leader.

And today, Uchiha Kaede decided to become that reformer, making the entire Uchiha submit to his name.

Kaede strolled into the meeting hall. "I have something to say!"

"Oh, isn't this the Uchiha's youngest elder? Still nursing, are you?" The third old man squatting on the right spewed filth.

"[Lightning Release: Lightning Garment]" Clad in a Lightning Garment, the moment his Mangekyo activated, thunder roared. The entire meeting place was filled with nothing but blue lightning bolts rampaging. The scene shifted abruptly. The elders hurriedly opened their eyes, but even through their Sharingan, all they saw was dancing lightning. Starting with the elder closest to Kaede, every elder was ravaged by the lightning. It all happened in an instant and ended in the blink of an eye. Kaede, wrapped in his Lightning Garment, knelt on one knee in the center of the hall, his sword planted before him. He opened his hand, and white, graying, and black eyebrows fell. These were what Kaede had just shaved off the elders' heads. Only the third elder had been shaved bald—likely never to grow hair again.

"Cut Hair as Punishment. Do you wish to live?"