Uchiha Sou followed Madara and Izuna, along with the surviving members of their squad, in silence along the road back to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The rain had stopped, but the smell of blood in the air seemed impossible to dispel, clinging to everyone's nostrils. The bloody scenes from the battlefield remained vivid in their minds, leaving them shaken. No one spoke along the way. Only the rustle of feet against mud and fallen leaves, and the occasional stifled groan from the wounded, broke the heavy silence.
Uchiha Sou kept his head down, seeming to focus on the ground beneath his feet, but inside, his thoughts churned. Reincarnation... the Warring States period... the Uchiha... the Senju... and Uchiha Madara, as powerful as a god or demon, and Uchiha Izuna, who seemed gentle but was just as decisive and ruthless... It all felt unreal, yet utterly real. The wound on his arm, cut open by flying stones, still ached faintly, constantly reminding him of how close he had come to death.
That feeling just now... He unconsciously touched his eyes. The heat and unusually clear vision seemed to have faded somewhat, but a curious sense of insight remained. He could more keenly notice the absolute vigilance beneath Madara's seemingly casual stride at the head of the group, and could also sense the fleeting heaviness in Izuna's gaze as he looked over the wounded.
Was this the precursor to awakening the Sharingan? The Uchiha's power really did stem from intense emotional stimulation? Fear, the will to survive... and that desire for power?
"Sou." A voice interrupted his thoughts.
Izuna had slowed his pace and fallen into step beside him.
"How are you feeling? For your first battle to be an encounter on this scale, you did very well to keep your composure." Izuna's tone was gentle, with a hint of concern—a far cry from the sharp commands he had given on the battlefield.
Uchiha Sou took a deep breath and chose his words, drawing on the original owner's memories and personality. "I-I'm all right, Uncle Izuna. I'm just... a little shaken." He paused, then added, "You and Uncle Madara got there just in time."
"Hmph. Even if we hadn't, no Uchiha brat should die so pathetically." Madara, walking ahead, tossed the words over his shoulder without looking back.
Izuna smiled helplessly and said quietly, "Don't mind him. That's just how Big Brother is. He cares about you, really. When he saw you were all right, he immediately cleared out the enemies in that area."
Uchiha Sou nodded, though he understood perfectly well. Madara certainly had a unique way of showing concern.
"Your reactions were quick. You dodged at just the right moment." Izuna continued, his eyes assessing Sou. "And I noticed your observation skills seem sharper than before. Looks like the pressure of battle really can spur someone to grow."
Uchiha Sou's heart tightened. Izuna really was observant. He quickly went along with it. "I don't know either. In that moment, everything just seemed especially clear, and my body moved on its own."
"That's your potential being drawn out." A note of approval flashed in Izuna's eyes. "When we get back to the compound, come find me. You need to work harder on your basic training. You can't keep relying on me and Big Brother. A true warrior needs to be able to face any danger alone."
"Yes, Uncle Izuna!" Uchiha Sou answered at once, his heart stirring. This was an opportunity—a chance to learn from this Uchiha prodigy up close and improve his abilities in a reasonable way.
The atmosphere in the compound remained grim when they returned. The names of the fallen were reported, and muffled sobs rose from the crowd. Uchiha Sou looked at the sorrowful faces and silently returned to his humble little house.
The next day, he went to Uchiha Izuna's training ground as promised.
Izuna's training was exceedingly strict, covering everything from the accuracy, force, and angle of basic Shuriken throws to fine control of Fire Style Chakra, Taijutsu sparring, and even the techniques of stealth, tracking, and countertracking. Every exercise demanded the utmost precision, leaving no room for carelessness.
Uchiha Sou discovered that the original owner of this body had a decent foundation, but lacked a certain "instinct." As for Sou himself, thanks to an adult's understanding and the "insight" unexpectedly awakened on the battlefield the day before, he learned at remarkable speed.
He was particularly quick to grasp the essentials of Shuriken throwing and tactical prediction, and sometimes even asked questions from such unexpected angles that Izuna was slightly surprised.
"Excellent!" After an intense Taijutsu spar, Izuna deflected his attack, his eyes full of even greater admiration. "You're improving faster than I expected. Looks like being tested between life and death has done you a lot of good. Keep going!"
Under the high-intensity training, Uchiha Sou was so exhausted he felt like his body might fall apart, but he could clearly feel himself growing stronger. His subtle sense of control over his eyes was also becoming clearer.
During a training session a few days later, Izuna threw more than ten Shuriken at once, each coming from a different angle and moving at incredible speed.
"See them! Predict their trajectories!" Izuna shouted.
Uchiha Sou focused completely, concentrating all his attention. At that moment, everything around him seemed to slow down. The paths of the Shuriken became clear in his eyes, and he could even vaguely predict how they would change next.
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
The Kunai in his hand deflected or knocked away most of the attacks with precision. The last two were impossible to avoid completely, slicing through his sleeves and pant legs, but it was still a nearly perfect defense.
Breathing hard, he stopped moving.
Izuna didn't speak right away. He simply looked at Sou's eyes in surprise.
Uchiha Sou sensed something was happening and raised a hand to touch his eye sockets. A familiar warmth welled up again, even clearer than before.
Izuna produced a small bronze mirror from somewhere and held it out to him.
Uchiha Sou took the mirror and looked at himself. Deep in each of his black pupils, a slowly revolving, crimson Tomoe had appeared!
The Sharingan! The One-Tomoe Sharingan!
He'd really awakened it!
Though it was only the most basic One-Tomoe Sharingan, this meant he had truly crossed the threshold into the Uchiha's core power!
"Congratulations, Sou." Izuna gave him a sincere smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Now that you've awakened the Sharingan, you can truly be called a capable Uchiha shinobi. Remember how you feel at this moment. Remember what you want to protect. That conviction will drive you to become stronger."
Uchiha Sou stared at the eerie yet powerful crimson eyes in the mirror, his heart pounding violently.
Power! This was what power felt like! It was still weak, but it was undeniably his own!
"Thank you, Uncle Izuna!" He suppressed his excitement and thanked Izuna solemnly.
Izuna nodded, though a trace of complicated emotion flickered in his eyes. He remembered what it had been like when he awakened his own eyes. That moment usually came with a deeper loss and greater pain. Sou's awakening seemed to stem more from his desire to survive and the awakening of his own potential. Perhaps... that was a good thing?
"All right, that's enough for today." Izuna put his emotions aside and grew serious again. "Having the Sharingan is only the beginning. How to use it and how to make it evolve—that's the path ahead. Don't slack off!"
"Yes!"
Izuna watched Uchiha Sou walk away, lost in thought.
"How is he?" A low voice came from nearby. Uchiha Madara had somehow come to lean against a tree at the edge of the training ground.
"His talent is better than I expected, especially his insight and ability to learn," Izuna replied. "He's also fairly level-headed. He has potential."
Madara looked in the direction where Uchiha Sou had disappeared, his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan revealing nothing of his emotions. "I hope he isn't another useless weakling. The Uchiha have no need for the weak."
Izuna smiled. "You have high hopes for him, don't you, Big Brother?"
Madara snorted. He neither admitted nor denied it, and turned to leave.
Elsewhere, Uchiha Sou returned to his room and looked at his Sharingan in the mirror again.
After his excitement came deeper contemplation.
"One-Tomoe... This is just the beginning. The road ahead is long... very long..."
"Madara, Izuna, the Senju, Konoha..."
He clenched his fists. In the dim room, his crimson eyes glimmered with a faint but unwavering light.
He knew that from the moment these eyes opened, his life had changed completely.
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