Shota's Nightmare

The vote concluded, and Clan Elder Amano made the final decision on the spot:

"The Uchiha clan accepts the Hokage's large-scale mobilization and will present a united front."

Then, the mid-month clan meeting officially began according to the agenda.

The entire process was peaceful and friendly; everyone spoke their minds freely and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The following is a summary of the high-frequency trending topics from the clan meeting:

The naturally evil white-haired old ghost, the Senju old thief...

Danzo the old dog, the vermin of Konoha...

The dead-fish-eyed clan, cowards who only know how to glare...

The Third Hokage, that Sarutobi Monkey...

The two idiot advisors, old things who only know how to point fingers...

Thanks to these hot topics, the cohesion of the Uchiha clan was strengthened to an unprecedented degree.

Everyone felt refreshed and highly satisfied, with many expressing that they would definitely attend next time.

Finally, the mid-month clan meeting concluded successfully.

The attending Uchiha began to leave in an orderly fashion, returning to their respective homes.

When Uchiha Kazuhiko found his mother, Eri, she was standing with many other Uchiha behind two white-haired elders.

Great Elder Shio and Third Elder Yutaro.

They had come to the Clan Clinic specifically to observe the "psychological surgery" Kazuhiko was performing on Shota and to conduct a medical evaluation.

Vice Dean Kenichi followed behind Elder Shio, his face beaming with joy.

He looked at Eri and smiled:

"Opening the Sharingan through psychological therapy is simply unheard of. Therefore, this medical evaluation must be handled with caution. I have invited the Great Elder and our clansmen to witness it together; the Dean won't mind, will he?"

Eri stared straight ahead, not bothering to acknowledge him.

The crowd at the scene whispered and discussed in low voices.

"Psychological therapy can open the Sharingan? Is that for real?"

"Fake! I know what this is about. Uchiha Kazuhiko, Jonin Eri's son, is a pure disgrace; talk therapy is useless."

"Does this Uchiha Kazuhiko really deserve to be Jonin Eri's son?"

"They are blood-related, after all; blood is thicker than water."

"I think he's just grandstanding, hiring foreign ninjas to teach him genjutsu. Kazuhiko is simply the shame of our Uchiha!"

"..."

In the Uchiha, what matters is strength and background.

If Kazuhiko were a Jonin, even if he claimed that a healthy diet could open the Sharingan, there would be Uchiha ninjas willing to believe him.

But for a perennial Genin, Kazuhiko's family background was practically a burden.

You have that kind of family background and you're still a Genin? How can you even sleep at night?

Any Uchiha who saw him couldn't help but sourly remark:

"Trash."

In the Uchiha, strength is the symbol of status.

If you are a Three-Tomoe Jonin, everything you say is right.

If you are a perennial Genin, how dare you even breathe!

Kazuhiko stood to the side, his expression calm.

The offensive power of these words was a bit lacking for him now.

But he couldn't just let them pass by like wind in his ears.

After all, he was destined to control the fate of the Uchiha clan; although honest advice is hard to hear, these words made him lose face.

Kenichi, is it? And you few little runts!

I have remembered you all. Those who criticize this Lonely One to his face shall face the ultimate punishment.

Yutaro looked at Kazuhiko, his gaze profound.

He wanted to see what kind of capacity a person who could say "the Uchiha are sick" possessed.

He wanted to see if his psychological medicine actually had any effect.

"The Clan Clinic is not a place for one person to dictate everything."

Shio walked toward the Medical Observation Room, his voice booming.

"The Clan Clinic is the collective property of all Uchiha. As for today's psychological treatment procedure, I will record and evaluate it truthfully, and together with Elder Yutaro, decide whether the Psychology Clinic still has any reason to exist."

Shio's words were clearly intended for Eri to hear.

"Begin, child. Let me see just how much you are capable of."

After speaking, Yutaro turned and walked toward the Observation Room to wait for the psychological treatment to commence.

Kazuhiko nodded to his mother and headed toward the operating room prepared for him.

Inside the operating room, all large medical equipment had been cleared away, leaving only a specialized metal recliner.

Directly in front of it stood a massive mirror.

On the other side of the mirror, Elders Shio and Yutaro were already seated, waiting in silence.

The door was pushed open, and Kazuhiko walked into the room with Shota.

The two were chatting and laughing.

"How is it? Are you nervous?"

"A little. This place is quite different from where we usually talk; there's no sunlight, and there isn't..."

The next moment, Shota suddenly closed his eyes tightly, as if falling into a deep sleep.

"...and there isn't that warm feeling, either. It makes one feel very insecure."

Kazuhiko helped Shota onto the recliner and whispered softly:

"It's alright. You just need to sleep for a while."

Outside, Yutaro narrowed his eyes, observing Shota's state.

"It appears to be... a hypnotic genjutsu!"

Things were starting to get interesting.

A medical genin, actually capable of making a chunin fall into a trap without any defenses?

Kazuhiko began to weave hand signs.

The next moment, Kazuhiko's eyes suddenly turned incredibly scarlet, two tomoe spinning slowly and emitting an eerie glow.

"When did he awaken the Sharingan!?"

"Two-Tomoe?!"

"How is this possible?"

"Wasn't it said he was just a medical genin? What is going on with this pair of Sharingan?"

The Observation Room was in an uproar.

Kazuhiko was known throughout the clan as the eternal genin, a failure who hadn't awakened his Sharingan even after a near-death experience; how could he have awakened them so suddenly?

Even Eri was filled with astonishment.

Yutaro was equally surprised.

"I see. That explains everything."

Unaware of the situation in the Observation Room, Kazuhiko focused on manipulating the genjutsu.

Shota's expression began to turn ferocious, as if he were in the midst of extreme agony.

His body began to tremble slightly, his brows furrowed, and his eyeballs rolled frantically beneath his eyelids.

These were signs that he was about to wake up and break free from the genjutsu.

Kazuhiko took out a specialized Chakra Metal Patch; this was a chakra-conducting device he had crafted specifically to amplify his genjutsu.

Through this metal patch, his genjutsu chakra could act precisely and continuously upon the cerebral cortex, making everything Shota saw in the illusions feel even more real.

It was the sword in Kazuhiko's hand.

Except, it did not transmit chakra to pierce or destroy, but to manufacture various tactile sensations of illusion.

As his Two-Tomoe Sharingan operated at full power, Kazuhiko's chakra surged into the metal like a tide, then conducted into Shota's neural regions.

Shota's body stiffened abruptly, then went completely limp, falling once again into a deep genjutsu.

In the world of the illusion, Shota was indeed experiencing despairing agony.

In this world, he had awakened a single-tomoe Sharingan after the clan meeting and had participated in the war against Kumogakure alongside his father.

He had become a war hero and awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Not only had he gained his father's approval, but he had also defeated Hyuga Yizu fair and square, successfully joining the Anbu.

Then, Shota's nightmare began.

"Uchiha Shota, you are well aware of the current situation."

"Fugaku has decided to launch a coup with the entire clan to seize the position of Hokage. Konoha will not tolerate rebellion. Once war breaks out, the entire Uchiha clan will be uprooted—including your parents and your younger sister, Moe. Not a single one will survive."

"I will give you the only path: you personally purge the entire clan while acting as a Konoha Anbu on a mission. In exchange, I will allow you to keep one survivor. Konoha will keep them safe, grant them the status of a ninja, and hold them to no account."