The So-Called Uchiha

The weather in Konoha today was quite pleasant; the sun was bright, and the air, free from industrial pollution, was incredibly fresh. It was early morning, and the members of the Uchiha Clan had finished their breakfast and were heading out to work for the Police Force, which meant there were quite a few pedestrians on the road.

However, as the mother and son walked along the street, the crowd acted as if they were invisible, pretending not to see them, and from time to time, someone would even roll their eyes. This was a far cry from the scenes in the Naruto manga, where Uchiha Sasuke would walk down the street and passersby would greet him warmly in a harmonious atmosphere. Whispers erupted from time to time.

"No way! A one-tomoe mongrel with such diluted bloodline dares to stroll through the Uchiha Clan grounds so brazenly? What do they take our Uchiha Clan for?"

"As expected of a commoner from an outside clan, they have absolutely no upbringing."

Listening to the gossip ringing in his ears, Uchiha Cheng had long since grown accustomed to it; he could only say that shonen manga were all lies. The behavior of the Uchiha passersby stemmed solely from the inferiority of his bloodline.

He was born into the one-tomoe branch of the Uchiha Clan. His father, Uchiha Kenji, was a mediocre man who had barely managed to awaken a one-tomoe Sharingan in his twenties. His mother was an outsider; although she was named Uchiha Mika, the Uchiha surname was one she had adopted according to tradition after marrying into the family, and she was heavily discriminated against within the Uchiha Clan.

Although the Uchiha Clan did not have the Main House and Branch House system of the Hyuga Clan, they still distinguished between the direct line and the branch lines based on the number of tomoe in their Sharingan.

Being born into the three-tomoe bloodline meant one's blood was pure, granting them the status of the direct line; their formidable strength allowed them to control the majority of the clan's resources and power. Those born with two-tomoe or one-tomoe bloodlines were referred to as the branch lines.

In the Uchiha Clan, the status of the direct line was supreme, and the status of the two-tomoe branch was far superior to that of the one-tomoe branch. People of the one-tomoe branch held the lowest status and were therefore always on the fringes of the clan.

Sasuke, however, was the clan leader's own son; even if his talent wasn't apparent early on, he was still a three-tomoe direct descendant. As for him, everyone was eager to curry favor; why would anyone ever roll their eyes at him?

Because of this, in Uchiha Sasuke's memories, the Uchiha Clan was so wonderful, so united, and so loving.

One could only say that those around the strong are all good people, while those around the weak are all bad. And memories can be deceiving.

The Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai that can continuously evolve after being awakened by intense emotional stimulation, and it can evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan after experiencing the pain of losing a loved one. The Second Hokage, after studying the Sharingan, even called the Uchiha the Clan of Love.

However, the Uchiha Clan in the original plot had gone through three Great Ninja Wars and suffered countless deaths of their kin, yet they didn't even have a single pair of Mangekyo in stock. The indifference of the Uchiha Clan's emotions was evident.

After the night of the clan's annihilation, Danzo and Uchiha Obito joined forces to harvest them, turning the Uchiha Clan upside down, yet they also failed to find a single pair of Mangekyo. The only two Mangekyo in the Uchiha were those of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, both of whom did not identify with the Uchiha's ways.

One can only say that humanity is a race that will never be confined to "love" by a mere innate Kekkei Genkai.

Ignoring the eye-rolls of the passersby, the mother and son walked on in silence.

Twenty minutes later, Uchiha Cheng felt his body could no longer hold up, so he hurriedly asked his mother to take him home.

Upon returning to their familiar courtyard, an uninvited guest was already waiting at their front door.