Spring of Returning Light

Inside the command tent of the Uchiha Clan high command, dim candlelight flickered, illuminating several aged faces etched with deep furrows and schemes.

"That branch orphan who calls himself Yue Uchiha is simply a mad wolf born for slaughter."

An elder took a sharp swig of murky wine, his clouded eyes flashing with undisguised fanaticism.

"In just half a month, he and Hikari have overturned three frontline outposts of the Senju Clan! The bizarre gravitational force released by that right eye is something even the elite jonin of the Senju cannot withstand."

"He is indeed a heaven-sent weapon, in some respects even sharper than Hikari."

Another high-ranking elder stroked his chin, a cold, sinister smile curling his lips. "However, the sharper the blade, the greater the risk of it backfiring on its master. Yet, he happens to be a cripple blind in one eye, and his reason is thoroughly blinded by hatred."

The elders exchanged cold, knowing laughs.

On the battlefield over the past half-month, Yue Uchiha had indeed displayed a chilling, suppressive power.

He was like a tireless meat grinder, and the gravitational manipulation of his right eye, "Amenominakanushi," was a dimension-crushing blow in group combat.

Yet, after every eruption, Yue would "cooperate" perfectly by exposing fatal weaknesses.

He would clutch his bleeding right eye and cough violently in the mud, reveal glaring blind spots in combat due to the blindness of his left eye, and even collapse into piles of corpses, convulsing from chakra exhaustion.

These incredibly realistic "near-death" reactions were all performances Yue orchestrated through superb acting for the watchers hidden in the shadows.

He understood the psychology of these power-holders all too well.

A flawless powerhouse with bottomless strength would only invite endless suspicion and backstabbing.

But a terrifyingly powerful revenge machine that lacked longevity, was riddled with flaws, and had to rely on the clan to survive—that was the perfect tool.

Clearly, Yue's performance hit the mark with the Uchiha high command.

"Using his ocular jutsu without regard for the cost like this consumes a massive amount of ocular power. I suspect that is the reason his left eye went blind. Such a useful and handy tool must not be allowed to break so easily."

The Great Elder finally spoke, his withered fingers tapping against the table.

"Since he is so useful, we cannot let him be scrapped easily. From today on, have him and Hikari use the 'Spring of Returning Light' together."

"Great Elder... the cost of the Spring of Returning Light..."

"It is of no consequence." The Great Elder raised a hand to interrupt.

"Those low-level Uchiha, or those clansmen who have lost their value due to severe battlefield injuries—the two-tomoe or three-tomoe Sharingan in their sockets are wasted there. They can neither be used as top-tier combat power nor pave the way for the clan's hegemony."

The so-called "Spring of Returning Light" was never some magical natural spring, but a bloody ocular power transfer array developed by the Uchiha Clan during this cruel Warring States period.

It was named for the way the transferred ocular power flowed like a spring.

In underground secret chambers, the high command would imprison clansmen who were crippled, had resisted the leadership, or were simply deemed "expendable" due to insufficient talent.

Through extremely cruel sealing arts, they forcibly maintained the active state of their Sharingan, extracting the ocular power and life force from their eyes drop by drop—much like squeezing juice from sugarcane—eventually converging it into a cold, dark chakra capable of nourishing a Mangekyo.

"For the great revival of the Uchiha, a little sacrifice is necessary."

"Everything for the Uchiha."

An elderly woman sighed heavily.

She had finally managed to resolve the tragedy caused by the unrestricted use of Izanagi, yet she still could not solve the madness that surged deep within the hearts of the Uchiha.

And now, she was old, and the Uchiha had returned to the darkness of her youth.

Within this dim tent, the darkness and madness of the Uchiha high command had completely twisted the meaning of "clan," pushing the cruelty of cannibalizing one's own kind to the extreme.

Meanwhile, in a drafty tent far from the main command tent—a place reserved for housing "tools"—the cold rain dripped through gaps in the damaged canvas, splashing into small puddles on the muddy ground.

Hikari Uchiha sat quietly on a wooden crate used for storing explosive tags.

She was still wearing that loose, dark blue combat uniform, stained with mud and dried blood.

A gash several inches long had been carved into her left arm by a Senju Clan wind-style jutsu; the flesh was turned outward, and bright red blood dripped from her pale, slender fingertips into the mud, making a rhythmic "drip, drip" sound.

But Hikari seemed to feel no pain, staring blankly at the pitch-black, rainy night outside the tent, her clear, black-and-white eyes void of anything.

"Damn it, can this lousy weather in the Warring States period just take a break for two days? I can't even find a dry mat."

Accompanied by a complaint that completely ruined the atmosphere, the tent flap was roughly pushed aside.

Yue Uchiha walked in, grumbling as he carried a dusty medical kit.

He shook the rain from his cloak while skillfully digging out a pile of relatively dry firewood from the corner, then flicked a wisp of fire-attribute chakra from his fingertips to deftly ignite a fire.

The warm glow instantly dispelled the chill in the tent.

Hikari turned her head mechanically, looking at this "kind" who was always chattering and noisy, her expression remaining vacant.

After half a month, she still hadn't adapted to Yue Uchiha's behavior.

In her understanding, a weapon only needed to wait quietly in a corner for the next command after a mission, or be dragged away by the high command to have chakra forcibly infused into it.

But ever since this person named Yue Uchiha arrived, a noise called "chatter" had entered her world.

It was annoying, yet compared to the other Uchiha, she didn't find it hateful.

It was a contradiction, and the inarticulate Hikari Uchiha did not know how to describe this conflicting feeling.

Yue brushed the dust off his hands and turned to look at Hikari, his gaze immediately locking onto her arm, which was still dripping blood.

"Tell me, are you stupid?"

Yue strode over and sat down on a wooden crate opposite her with a huff, "You're bleeding like a river, and you were just planning to sit there and let it air dry?"

"This is merely a superficial wound."

Hikari's voice remained devoid of any inflection, cold and indifferent, carrying a numbness that kept others at a distance, "It will scab over within three days; it won't affect my hand-seal speed. I am a weapon, and weapons do not need..."

"Weapon my foot!"

Before Hikari could finish, Yue reached out without ceremony and gave her forehead a light chop with his hand.

"Thwack."

The sound wasn't loud, but Hikari froze as if she had been hit with a binding spell, stunned into silence.

She blankly covered her forehead, her hollow eyes widening slightly as she looked at the young man before her, feeling completely at a loss.

Why would he do such a thing?