Uchiha Sou's recovery was long and uneventful. He kept in mind the revelation and warning that had come with his successful attempt at "Internal Seeking," and devoted almost all his energy to refining himself from within and slowly soothing the invisible "hostility" of the outside world.
To outsiders, the young jōnin who had earned a modest reputation for saving the day seemed to have damaged his foundation by overexerting himself. His strength was advancing slowly, perhaps even regressing. He had grown quieter, often sitting alone in the woods at the edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound for half a day at a time. He called it "contemplating the Sharingan," but in truth, he was practicing in a way no one could understand.
At first, this "sluggish" behavior drew some attention and sympathy. But as time passed and tension within the Uchiha Clan continued to rise, he gradually faded from the center of everyone's attention. That suited Cang just fine.
Only he knew that each session of seated "meditation" was a cautious dance on the edge of an abyss. He no longer tried to "steal" or "force" anything. Instead, he immersed his consciousness in the subtle threads of "cause" and "effect" within himself. Like the most patient embroiderer, he used his mental energy as a needle, slowly untangling and mending the damage and blockages left by his overexertion, and even making the slightest improvements.
Each successful "stitch" brought tangible improvement to his body. His Chakra flowed more smoothly, and his mental energy recovered in a more refined state. But then came the world's ever-present rejection. He had to stop immediately and devote his entire mind to soothing it, conveying the thoughts "harmless," "restrained," and "nothing more."
The process was painful and slow, its results far less dramatic than directly absorbing Natural Energy or interfering with external causality, but they were more solid, and it seemed to gradually "numb" the unseen vigilance. He felt like a program quietly rewriting its own code: he had to accomplish his goal while evading detection by the system's firewall.
Meanwhile, the mood within the clan grew ever grimmer. Uchiha Madara's injuries were healing far more slowly than expected. The malicious seal carved by Tobirama Senju clung to him like a bone-deep parasite, constantly eroding his life force and Dojutsu Power. Madara spent most of his time recovering in a private chamber and rarely appeared, leaving nearly all the clan's affairs on Izuna Uchiha's shoulders.
Izuna used his Mangekyō Sharingan with increasing frequency. He had to handle the clan's heavy workload, keep a constant watch on the Senju Clan's movements, and even occasionally lead a team to deal with border skirmishes. Every use of that forbidden power hastened the loss of his sight. Cang could clearly see the light in Izuna's eyes gradually being replaced by exhaustion and worry. His presence, too, had grown ever colder, more and more like a half-drawn blade destined to break.
Cang was filled with conflicting emotions. He respected Izuna and was grateful for his care, and he knew all too well how Izuna's story would end. The urge to do something rose within him time and again, only for him to force it back down.
I can't act recklessly... I'm too weak right now. I can't afford to pay the price of changing another important person's fate a second time. All he could do was offer Izuna carefully prepared herbs to ease the strain on his eyes whenever they happened to cross paths, and quietly hasten his own training.
At the same time, fragments of news about the Senju Clan trickled in through the Uchiha intelligence network.
Hashirama Senju seemed to have become one with nature, and his power grew by the day. One report claimed he had single-handedly put out a wildfire that had swept through a vast forest, displaying power beyond imagination. The area known as the Forest of Senju continued to expand, brimming with life. It had nearly become the Senju Clan's undisputed domain, impenetrable to outsiders.
As for Tobirama Senju, he had become a cold shadow looming over the hearts of the Uchiha. His new Water Release Ninjutsu, strange Sealing Jutsu, and the prototype of his elusive Space-Time Ninjutsu had inflicted heavy losses on the Uchiha in several minor clashes. He was like a precision war machine, efficiently and coldly reaping lives. His name alone was enough to make Uchiha children stop crying.
The nature of warfare was quietly changing because of these two brothers, each moving toward a different extreme.
That night, Uchiha Sou once again ventured deep into the woods beyond the clan compound.
After months of slow "weaving" and "soothing," he felt he had finally brought himself to a delicate threshold. Nine-tenths of the hidden damage in his pathways had been repaired. His mental energy had not only fully recovered but had grown even more refined through his precise control. The world's rejection remained, but it seemed to have grown accustomed to his "gentle, harmless" method of training; its reactions were no longer so violent.
He took a deep breath and decided to attempt something bolder.
He stopped focusing on repairing himself and sank his awareness into the depths of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He could feel that after his brush with death and his interference with causality, his Dojutsu Power had changed in some indescribable way. It seemed to have touched the threshold of something deeper, yet a thin veil still stood between him and the other side.
He thought of Izuna Uchiha's cold, profound Mangekyō pattern, and of the domineering pressure of Uchiha Madara's Dojutsu Power as he remembered it.
The power of the Mangekyō comes from an extreme emotional shock, especially the pain of losing someone dear... I can't imitate that, and I never want to experience it.
But... what if interfering with "causality" could slightly shift a "fated" destiny? What if I didn't change the outcome directly, and only... "optimized" the process a little?
An audacious, perhaps even mad idea began to take root in his mind.
He gathered all his mental energy and cautiously stirred that faint, strange Dojutsu Power connected to "causality." He did not try to peer into the distant future or change any major event.
He focused every thought on an "effect" so tiny as to be almost insignificant—
The strain on Izuna's optic nerves the next time he used his Mangekyō Sharingan... reduced by one percent.
The "cause" was so small it could almost be ignored, and the resulting "effect" would be just as insignificant. It might let Izuna's eyes endure for one more second, or keep one drop of blood from falling.
Yet the instant that "cause" was set—
"Bzzz—!"
A rejection far more violent than any he had felt before crashed down upon him! It was as if the weight of the whole world had come pressing down on his mind! The natural energy around him turned feral and hostile in an instant, crushing his body and spirit as it tried to grind this "Fire Thief," who had dared to trespass again and again, into dust!
Uchiha Sou groaned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. It felt as though ten thousand steel needles were piercing his brain! Without hesitation, he severed his connection to that tiny "causality," turning all his mental energy into the purest, most abject pleas of "soothing" and "apology," and frantically sending them outward.
I meant no offense! Just this once! Never again! It was only for the smallest kindness!
Like a fallen leaf in a storm, he struggled to keep his consciousness clear, repeating his "soothing" again and again.
He did not know how long it took before the terrifying rejection finally began to recede like the tide. But the lingering pressure still left him shaken, drenched in cold sweat.
He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes wide with horror.
As I thought... it won't work. No matter how tiny the goal, as long as it involves the fate of an "important person," even the slightest disturbance brings such a violent backlash...
This failed attempt made him understand more clearly the dangers of this path and the severity of its rules.
Yet just as a sense of defeat began to engulf him, a strange realization suddenly rose in his heart.
Under the extreme mental pressure and the process of "soothing," his mental energy had grown intensely concentrated, as if it had been forged. More importantly, as he tried with all his strength to "soothe" the outside world, the Chakra pathways and cells in his own body, so carefully "woven," had spontaneously produced an extraordinarily faint but remarkably harmonious resonance.
This resonance was unlike the "life" energy he had imitated before, and unlike Chakra of any nature.
It was more restrained, more subtle, closer to... the "principle" of his own existence?
In an instant, inspiration struck, and he seized the insight.
He stopped trying to absorb Natural Energy from outside and stopped trying to "set" any causality. Instead, he sank his entire awareness within himself and guided the newly born, faint harmonious resonance, letting it follow some mysterious course of its own.
Gradually, his breathing grew long and rhythmic. The violent Natural Energy around him miraculously settled. No longer hostile, it seemed to watch him with a trace of curiosity, swirling around him without invading.
He entered a state unlike anything he had experienced before.
As if he had become a self-contained, complete microcosm, seeking within himself and relying on nothing external.
Although he had failed to interfere with Izuna's fate and had nearly brought disaster upon himself, by a stroke of misfortune and fortune alike, he had touched the true gateway to a higher level within his own power system—the nascent form of a unique "sage" insight born from harmonizing the "causality" within himself.
This path seemed to have found a delicate, temporary balance with the world's own rejection.
Uchiha Sou slowly opened his eyes. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan turned slowly, and deep within them gleamed a subtle, inscrutable light.
The road ahead remained long, but its direction seemed a little clearer.
He looked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound, his gaze seemingly able to pierce the walls and see Uchiha Madara struggling against pain and the curse in his private chamber, and Uchiha Izuna, still working late, exhaustion and resolve in his eyes.
The undercurrents were still surging.
And he had to... grow stronger, faster.
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