The Second Eye of God

The Eye of God had long since stopped being a secret from the little ones.

The night Izumi received her Eye of God, she told all her younger siblings about it.

They had thought it was just something made up in a story, so they were thrilled to learn it could actually exist in real life. The little ones immediately surrounded Uchiha Arashi, all wanting an Eye of God of their own.

But by then, Uchiha Arashi had gathered very little Power of Recognition. He could barely form one more Eye of God, so he had to decide who would get it.

So he came up with a plan and made a deal with his younger siblings. From then on, Izumi would test them every month. Anyone who performed well and met the required strength would receive an Eye of God. The rest would have to wait until everyone else had received theirs and Uchiha Arashi had some free time to give one to whoever was still waiting.

A month had not yet passed, but the one who had performed best recently had already emerged, and Uchiha Izumi had also recognized her strength.

"Uchiha Ayatsuki."

Uchiha Arashi continued gathering the golden light as he called a name.

The tallest person in the crowd, Uchiha Ayatsuki, froze for a moment before her face lit up with delight.

"Here!"

"Come over here. Stand in front of me."

"Yes!"

She hurried forward, her little face flushed with excitement.

"Congratulations. Izumi has told me all about how well you've been doing lately, including the fact that you've reached Genin-level strength..."

At that, Uchiha Arashi paused and looked up at the others.

"The Uchiha are gone. In the past, everyone, myself included, could rely on the Uchiha clan and live under its protection. Those who weren't strong enough could count on the clan to protect them, while those who were strong enough could work for the Police Force. Everyone had a secure future.

"But Konoha couldn't tolerate the Uchiha, so the clan was destroyed. The greatest support we had was gone.

"From that moment on, we could only rely on ourselves and fight with everything we had to stay alive."

The excitement on his younger siblings' faces quickly faded. They fell silent, and the mood grew unbearably heavy.

Then Uchiha Arashi suddenly smiled.

"Of course, even though the Uchiha are gone, I'm still here. You can still rely on me. But my abilities are limited, and I need your help. So you have to grow up as quickly as you can. Every one of you has to be able to stand on your own. Ayatsuki, you're the first. Here, this is my graduation present to you."

None of them would ever be able to attend the Ninja Academy again. A normal graduation ceremony was out of the question.

In that case, he would make up for it himself.

Uchiha Arashi squeezed the ball of light in his palm, and it shattered. An Eye of God meant for the Uchiha appeared.

He flicked it toward Uchiha Ayatsuki.

Ayatsuki hurriedly caught it. As she gazed at the Eye of God in her palm, her face lit up with excitement once again.

"Huh? Arashi, why hasn't my Eye of God changed...?"

"Because it hasn't sensed your wish yet," Uchiha Arashi said.

"My wish?"

Ayatsuki tilted her head, puzzled.

"Did you forget what happened in the story? The Eye of God is a reward granted by the gods after they sense a person's wish."

Uchiha Arashi shook his head with a helpless sigh.

Those little ones—one moment they were hanging on his every word, and the next they weren't paying attention. How could they forget such important information?

"Sorry, I forgot."

Ayatsuki stuck out her tongue and looked at the Eye of God again. "My wish? My wish... My wish..."

Her wish had once been to graduate from the Ninja Academy, go home, and take over the family business, running the clothing store.

She had never wanted to become a ninja. All she had hoped for was a peaceful life.

But all those beautiful wishes and everyday routines had ended that night.

She had watched her parents get killed with her own eyes. She had wanted to run out and fight, but fear had gripped her so tightly that she could not even move.

As the enemy came closer and closer, she could never summon the courage to act.

Until Uchiha Arashi rescued her.

She had done her best to forget the past these last few days, but how could it be that easy?

Every night, the moment she closed her eyes, the scene of her parents' deaths appeared before her.

"My wish..."

A peaceful daily life? A quiet existence?

It was all gone.

They were the lingering spirits of the Uchiha. Their only purpose in this world was to avenge the Uchiha who had died—and avenge their own parents.

"I want to grow stronger!"

Ayatsuki's gaze hardened. "I want to grow stronger! I want revenge! I want... I want to protect everyone, Arashi, Izumi, Shizuka, Kyoko... I want to protect all of you! I won't let anyone get hurt again!"

Boom—

Almost the instant she made up her mind, the Eye of God, which had been gray, suddenly turned red. A flame ignited within the crystal.

At the same time, flames surged from Ayatsuki's body, enveloping her completely. Yet she felt no discomfort.

On the contrary, the flames felt like her mother's embrace, making her feel warm and safe.

The others were startled by the sudden blaze and instinctively moved half a step away. But they quickly gathered around her again, gazing at Ayatsuki enviously.

"Treat the Eye of God as part of your body. Don't think about how to control it. Just let it happen naturally, like breathing or eating."

Uchiha Arashi offered her some guidance.

Ayatsuki took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

The flames on her body burned for half a minute before finally beginning to die down, little by little, until they disappeared into the air.

"I did it!"

Ayatsuki opened her eyes, beaming with delight, then tried to summon the flames again.

She summoned them, drew them back, summoned them again, and drew them back. Before long, she had completely mastered the Eye of God and was playing with it like a new toy.

"Don't just stand there envying her. You need to train hard too, and aim to perform well and reach Genin strength. As long as you meet the requirements, everyone will get an Eye of God."

"Yes!"

His younger siblings answered in unison. They had already been training and studying hard, and now that they had an Eye of God to strive for, they would probably work even harder.

After that, Uchiha Arashi returned outside and told Izumi what had happened in the Shadow Space.

Izumi was genuinely delighted.

"Ayatsuki is ready to go out now. Tomorrow, I'll get your identities sorted out. Then you'll be able to live openly in Konoha."

Uchiha Arashi said this was part of his original plan.