Izumi Uchiha

Yue stood to the side, watching the scorched earth, and inwardly scoffed.

Great Fireball Technique?

Asking him to learn this was like asking a university student to learn addition and subtraction.

"Yes, Lady Mikoto." Hikari stood to the side obediently; by the looks of it, she truly intended to follow Mikoto's words and watch Yue Uchiha.

BOOM!

The moment he heard those four words, Yue Uchiha's brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer!

He straightened up abruptly, his remaining right eye erupting with undisguised, extreme shock.

Uchiha... Mikoto?!

Yue's breathing stalled completely at that moment.

As a transmigrator, how could he not know this name!

In the meager historical records and top-secret archives of later generations, this name represented an indelible myth of the Uchiha Clan during the Warring States period.

She was one of the very few women in the Uchiha Clan to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan!

She was the peerless genius who created "Izanami," the other ultimate, inescapable genjutsu, to save those clansmen who were addicted to "Izanagi" and killing each other in their madness!

She was the only ray of clear, compassionate light within the dark Uchiha!

No wonder... no wonder she possesses this kind of out-of-place gentleness, no wonder she took the initiative to teach us, who are viewed as mere disposable weapons...

A stormy sea raged in Yue's heart.

So that's it... perhaps this is the true reason "Yagokoro Omoikane" brought me here.

Yue forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, the corners of his mouth curling into a trace of imperceptible madness and ecstasy.

With such a genius as Mikoto Uchiha, how many secret techniques and ninjutsu must she possess in her old age?

Perhaps even she herself did not know.

"Since it is Lady Mikoto's guidance, then I shall make a fool of myself."

Yue restrained the ecstasy in his eyes, deliberately adopting a tone that was arrogant yet tinged with a hint of reverence.

He took a deep breath and quickly formed hand seals.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

BOOM!

A massive, dark red fireball roared out, its size even a circle larger than the one Mikoto had just released. It slammed into a distant tree trunk, erupting with a deafening roar, the rolling heat waves instantly scorching the surrounding leaves dry.

"The power is acceptable. Very good. My Great Fireball Technique at your age probably couldn't compare to yours."

"It seems I took things for granted; you don't actually need much instruction in terms of ninjutsu."

She hunched her back and walked slowly in front of Yue, her withered fingers gently tapping his eyes.

"Dōjutsu is the manifestation of the spirit. Empty your mind."

Feeling an extremely cool Yin Release chakra flowing into his eyes—as if it could soothe the wounds of his soul—Yue Uchiha's heart gave a sudden leap.

Such profound mastery of Yin Release!

Is this the genius who created Izanami?

With just a casual touch, he felt his left and right eyes improve significantly.

His left eye could even perceive changes in light now; if he spared no cost, he should be able to use "Yagokoro Omoikane" two more times.

If he could learn her understanding of Yin Release and spiritual energy, combined with the vague ideas sparked by the Spring of Returning Light earlier, The exhausted dōjutsu in his left eye, and even the future fusion of Dragon Vein senjutsu chakra, would definitely find a perfect breakthrough!

"I have learned much." Yue lowered his head, hiding the calculations in his eyes tightly.

Hikari, standing to the side, clutched her food box blankly. Watching the usually arrogant and domineering Yue Uchiha acting as docile as a stroked cat, a trace of rare confusion flashed in her eyes.

Her little head, closed off for so many years, could not fathom why this man changed his face faster than turning a page.

Seeming to notice Hikari's gaze, Yue turned his head and glared at her irritably, making a gesture as if to knock on her skull.

Frightened by his aggression, Hikari subconsciously shrank her neck and silently took a bite of the rice ball in her arms. Her cheeks puffed out slightly like a hamster guarding its food, yet she stubbornly turned her head away, ignoring him.

Watching the interaction between the two—seemingly noisy, but actually revealing a faint breath of life—a kind smile appeared on Mikoto Uchiha's wrinkled face.

She had lived too long, long enough to witness the darkest, most insane history of the Uchiha Clan.

Those clansmen who killed each other due to the abuse of Izanagi, those souls lost between endless genjutsu and reality...

With the light of one eye and the inescapable Izanami, she had forcibly pulled the clan back from the edge of the cliff.

But the Uchiha of today were still deathly ill.

In order to vie for hegemony in the Warring States, the Elders began to exploit younger generations with extreme talent, like Hikari and Yue, with increasing severity. The ruthless chariot of war bound one Uchiha after another to it.

The pride and honor of the clan made this chariot run faster and faster, until it began to crush those Uchiha who ran too slowly.

"Both of you are wretched children crushed beneath the war chariot that is this clan."

Osari turned around, hands clasped behind her back, and looked up at a sliver of sunlight breaking through the clouds in the sky, her voice heavy with boundless sorrow.

"Hikari, this child, has been treated as a weapon since she was small; her emotions were stripped away, and not a soul was willing to patiently teach her even the most basic ninjutsu. And you, Yue... your right eye is on the verge of exhaustion, while your left is already blind. You must have endured a great deal of suffering as well."

Upon hearing these words, every nerve in Yue's body instinctively tightened.

"There is no need to be tense, child." Osari turned her head, her remaining bright right eye shining with the wisdom of one who sees all. "Though this old woman's eyes are aged, I have seen many things in my time."

"While I cannot strip you of your status as tools, I may be able to provide a place for you to vent your emotions. If there comes a day when you are lost, angry, or unsure of what you are fighting for, this old woman's experience might perhaps offer a bit of guidance for your path forward."

"This is perhaps the only thing I can do for you."

And it is the only thing I can do for the Uchiha Clan, Osari added silently to herself.

She desperately wanted to cure the Uchiha of their current malaise, but in her old age, she lacked the strength to match her will. If not for the fact that she still possessed a Mangekyo, she feared there would not even be a seat for her among the Uchiha leadership.

She wanted to pin her hopes on these two members of the new generation who had awakened their Mangekyo at such a young age, but who would ever welcome such a forced burden?

Especially when it meant saving an Uchiha like this.

In the end, she did not say it aloud.

Her actions now were merely to let these two youths with bright futures know that, within the Uchiha, there was at least a flicker of warmth remaining.

This was the only thing she could manage.

"It is getting late, and this old woman must be going..." Before Osari could finish her sentence.

A crude command arrived.

"Tool Hikari, Tool Yue, you have a mission. Get over here at once."