Coming Clean

"Just got lucky. I took advantage of their righteousness and caught them off guard," Uchiha Akira said, waving a hand.

"There's no such thing as luck on the battlefield." Minato Namikaze's smile widened. "I can't even imagine how happy Fugaku will be when he hears the news."

His girlfriend, Kushina, was best friends with Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Fugaku's wife. Through that connection, he had gained the Uchiha Clan's support.

So the stronger the Uchiha Clan became, the happier Minato Namikaze was.

The stronger the Uchiha Clan was, the less resistance he would face after winning the Hokage Position, with the clan's support behind him.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, had first earned the name Wicked Eye. Then Uchiha Shisui had gained the name Body Flicker Shisui on the battlefield. Now it seemed that Uchiha Akira would soon make a name for himself as well.

At the Konoha camp, in the tent where the Uchiha Clan was stationed,

Uchiha Fugaku wore a broad smile. As he walked from the command tent, he drew envious looks from countless Konoha Ninja.

When he learned that Uchiha Akira had killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Uchiha Fugaku was overjoyed.

As the Uchiha Clan's leader, he saw the emergence of powerful ninja like Uchiha Akira and Uchiha Shisui as the best possible confirmation of his achievements.

Uchiha Akira had just finished dealing with the clan members who had rushed over to visit after hearing the news. He had only been sitting for a few minutes when Uchiha Fugaku arrived.

"Akira, you really did it!" Uchiha Fugaku's stern face broke into a pleased smile. "I had no idea your strength had reached this level. Even I couldn't have done better!"

Uchiha Akira shook his head. "Clan leader, you're praising me so much you'll only set me up for a fall."

The Uchiha Clan's leader couldn't possibly be weak. Even if Uchiha Fugaku wasn't the strongest in the clan, he was certainly among the top three.

Otherwise, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have accepted him as their leader.

What's more, Uchiha Fugaku might have already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

If he really had awakened it, Uchiha Akira thought, Uchiha Fugaku might be the strongest member of Konoha's Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Shisui was still too young, and seemed a little immature.

"I mean it." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and smiled. "Your strength is no worse than mine now. You can hold your own against Shisui."

"I'm still not as strong as Shisui," Uchiha Akira said, shaking his head.

Although Uchiha Shisui was several years younger than him, he was a true genius of the Uchiha Clan—and he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Uchiha Akira figured that with only one Mangekyō, he was bound to be at a disadvantage in terms of ocular power.

After all, he only had one Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Sharingan Kekkei Genkai needed a pair of eyes to unleash its true power.

"Akira." Uchiha Fugaku's voice turned solemn. He looked at Uchiha Akira with a serious expression. "Have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

After a moment's consideration, Uchiha Akira made up his mind. His expression turned a little odd as he said, "You could say that."

To increase his standing within the Uchiha Clan and better push certain matters forward, Uchiha Akira decided to come clean—more or less.

For now, what he had shown of his abilities still wasn't enough. The Mangekyō Sharingan would be a powerful bargaining chip.

"Could say that?" Uchiha Fugaku furrowed his brow, confused. "Either you have or you haven't. What do you mean, 'could say that'?"

Uchiha Akira held up a finger and pointed to his left eye. "Only my left eye has become a Mangekyō Sharingan. My right eye is still in its Three Tomoe form."

"What?" Uchiha Fugaku's stern face filled with shock. "That's impossible! There's no precedent for this in the Uchiha Clan's records of eye awakenings."

"Clan leader, take a look." Uchiha Akira shrugged. Then the pattern in his left eye shifted, forming a scythe design with its ends joined together.

"So it really is..." After seeing the pattern in Uchiha Akira's eye, Uchiha Fugaku let out a long breath and murmured, "I can't believe this is possible. Only one eye awakened the Mangekyō..."

Then he looked at Uchiha Akira with regret. A single Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't unleash the eye's true power. "Akira, you really have made history. It's just a little unfortunate."

As the Uchiha Clan's leader, he knew all too well how difficult it was to awaken these legendary eyes. Anyone who got even one chance in their lifetime was fortunate.

When a second chance came, the emotional shock might not be as intense as the first time.

Uchiha Akira shrugged. "I'm already satisfied. Even with just one eye, I've changed dramatically."

As he spoke, he studied Uchiha Fugaku and asked, "Clan leader, I assume you've awakened these eyes too?"

Uchiha Fugaku fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "That's right. I awakened them before, amid blood and tears."

"So the clan leader really did awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan." Uchiha Akira looked as if his suspicions had been confirmed.

"You must have already guessed." Uchiha Fugaku chuckled. "That child Shisui has awakened these eyes too. Counting you, three of us in the clan have awakened them."

"I could guess. Shisui is so young, yet so powerful. By any ordinary reckoning, it doesn't make sense." Uchiha Akira nodded.

"Mm." Uchiha Fugaku nodded and said gravely, "Don't tell anyone about your eye awakening. Not even anyone in our own clan."

"I understand." Uchiha Akira nodded.

"Since awakening them, every time you use these eyes, they place a heavy strain on your body and bring you closer to blindness." Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Akira with a grave expression and warned him, "Akira, be careful whenever you use your Mangekyō Sharingan from now on. Never use it unless you're in a critical situation."

"Is there a way to solve that?" Uchiha Akira asked anyway.

"There is!" Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "The Mangekyō Sharingan isn't the pinnacle of our Uchiha Clan. The true pinnacle is the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, a dōjutsu that can only be awakened by transplanting another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan."

"What's more, the risk of failure is extremely high. In the Uchiha Clan's history, only Uchiha Madara ever obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan after transplanting his younger brother's eyes," Uchiha Fugaku continued.

"We believe that the closer the blood relation, the greater the odds of successfully obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan after the transplant." Uchiha Fugaku's expression turned regretful. "Your blood ties to me and Shisui are too distant. None of us has a chance to reach the true pinnacle of the Uchiha Clan."

"I see. Thank you for explaining, clan leader," Uchiha Akira said.

"Think nothing of it." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head. "It's my duty as clan leader to tell you these things. It's what I ought to do."