Love? Sasuke's Choice!

Realizing his expression had betrayed him, Sasuke spoke up, "What kind of eyes are these? Are they also Sharingan?"

"You don't know?" Fugaku looked somewhat stunned.

Sasuke was taken aback. "Should I know?"

Fugaku wore an expression that said, I already know, don't bother pretending, and prompted, "Elder Nobuhiko..."

As expected, Father has already guessed that Elder Nobuhiko is within me... Sasuke laid his cards on the table. "He didn't say..."

"He didn't say?" Fugaku was also stunned.

First, he hadn't expected Sasuke to admit it so easily.

Second, he found it strange that Elder Nobuhiko hadn't mentioned it!

He was still curious about the abilities of these eyes.

Indeed, even as the clan head, he did not know the abilities of these eyes.

He didn't even know that Elder Nobuhiko possessed a Mangekyo!

This piece of intelligence, he estimated, was unknown to anyone else in the clan.

Inside the Soul Space, Elder Nobuhiko was also bewildered:

"Sasuke, didn't you say you could obtain even bloodline limits? Could it be you don't have my Mangekyo?"

So there really was a Mangekyo?... Sasuke was at a loss for words.

Can I say I looked down on your abilities, old man, so I wasn't in a rush to fuse with them?

Who the hell knew you had a Mangekyo! Mentally grumbling, he forced out a sentence: "I thought it was just Three Tomoe, so I hadn't fused with it yet..."

"..." Elder Nobuhiko understood; this was a case of looking down on the Three Tomoe...

Sasuke also realized he had spoken too bluntly and immediately added, "Um, I was just worried that after fusing, I wouldn't be able to awaken my own Sharingan, so I..."

Stop talking, I already understand; it's too hurtful... Elder Nobuhiko felt a bit stifled.

One had to know that even the Sharingan was something very few in the Uchiha clan could awaken, let alone the Three Tomoe.

But he had to admit, with Sasuke possessing a Soul Space, he certainly had the qualifications to look down on the Three Tomoe...

Only...

"Sasuke, you should know the conditions for awakening the Sharingan, right?"

"This..." Sasuke pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I do know."

"Tell me your insights." Elder Nobuhiko sounded slightly expectant.

"I believe the Uchiha clan is a clan of love," Sasuke said. "Only those who understand love, when they suffer the loss of that love, will their brains secrete a special chakra to stimulate their eyes to evolve."

Love?... A clan of love...?... Elder Nobuhiko felt a shock in his heart.

He had not expected Sasuke's insight into the Uchiha clan to be more thorough than their thousand years of experience.

Yes, with the Uchiha heritage spanning a millennium, how could they not have analyzed and summarized the conditions for the Sharingan's evolution?

Yet, after a thousand years of accumulated experience, the clan had only concluded that the eyes could be stimulated to evolve when one lost a dear friend or family member!

Once this conclusion emerged, many clansmen, in order to obtain the power of the Sharingan, turned against their own kin, raising their butcher knives against their loved ones in a state of madness!

It was just a pity that even so, the clansmen who could awaken the Sharingan were few and far between, and later, the clan simply attributed it to impure bloodlines or insufficient talent.

To prevent such tragic and inhumane events from happening again, the clan's upper echelons completely sealed this secret, passing it down only among the high-ranking members.

Consequently, even the Uchiha clan itself believed they were a clan of evil!

He had not expected to hear a completely opposite, yet far more thorough, insight from Sasuke today!

"Haha!"

"What a 'clan of love'!"

"So we were all wrong."

"Only by understanding love and losing love can one truly awaken the Sharingan!"

But even with the title of a clan of love, it could not be denied that their Uchiha clan was indeed a twisted one!

"Then, Sasuke." Clan Head Nobuhiko narrowed his eyes, posing a soul-searching question: "Do you believe you understand love?"

"Will you lose this love in the future?"

"With such abilities, are you truly unable to protect it?"

"If this love can be discarded for the sake of the Sharingan, or even the Mangekyo, then can this love truly be called love?"

Sasuke fell silent.

He had considered this question himself, and therefore, he had been working hard to integrate into this world.

Whether it was his parents or his clansmen, he had always kept his heart open, interacting with them sincerely.

But... just as Elder Nobuhiko said, did he truly understand love?

If he truly loved, would he be willing to lose it?

Can love that is discarded for the sake of power truly be called love?

No... that is not love.

If one were to truly do such a thing, it would only prove that what they truly love is power, and themselves!

Sasuke let out a long sigh and said, "Elder Nobuhiko, I understand."

"It is good that you understand." Clan Elder Nobuhiko stroked his beard and said, "In the past history of the Uchiha clan, there have been many clansmen who killed their own kin for the power of the Sharingan, but those who successfully awakened the Sharingan because of it are few and far between."

"As for those who could awaken the Mangekyo, there hasn't been a single one."

"Sasuke, you who possess a Soul Space have infinite possibilities!"

"There is no need to obsess over whether the Mangekyo is your own and lose yourself, walking down a crooked path."

"I believe that with the help of the Soul Space's abilities, it won't make a difference whether it is your own Mangekyo or not, right?"

Sasuke nodded: "Indeed."

Aside from the Dojutsu being fixed, a Mangekyo obtained through the ability of the Soul Space is no different from one awakened by oneself.

It can be closed freely, and there is no rejection whatsoever.

"However, Elder Nobuhiko, I am quite curious. I wonder what the Dojutsu of your Mangekyo is?"

Elder Nobuhiko stroked his beard, smiling broadly: "Won't you know once you have completed the fusion?"

Clearly, Elder Nobuhiko is worried that I will go astray for the sake of my own Mangekyo, so he is forcing me to fuse... Sasuke gave a sheepish smile.

In truth, Sasuke was still unwilling to give up.

Although he had already abandoned the idea of using the condition of "losing love" to facilitate the evolution of the Sharingan, he still wanted to make other attempts to awaken a Mangekyo that was truly a reflection of his own heart.

After all, he was only one year old now; there was no rush to make a choice, was there?

Wait!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Sasuke.

Perhaps the Soul Space has a way to awaken my own Sharingan even after the fusion?

Thinking of this, he immediately connected his consciousness to the Soul Space and checked the mechanism of Bloodline Fusion.

Immediately, he discovered a compromise!

The eye fusion could overwrite, but it did not have to overwrite his own eyes!

In other words, he could possess two pairs of eyes and switch between them at any time!

Having discovered this mechanism, Sasuke no longer hesitated and was about to fuse, but remembering that his father was still there, he returned his consciousness to his physical body.

"Uh, Dad, you probably have things to be busy with, right? Just leave these eyes to me."

If you want to kick me out, just say so. What do you mean by 'I probably have things to be busy with'?... Fugaku Uchiha's mouth twitched.

Without thinking too much, assuming only that Elder Nobuhiko did not want Sasuke to reveal the abilities of these eyes, he handed them to Sasuke: "Very well, I will leave the eyes to you. Store them well."

"Mm, I will take good care of them." Sasuke nodded obediently and waved him off: "Goodbye, Dad. Remember to come home for dinner later!"

"..."

After his father walked out of the room, Sasuke moved his consciousness, and a notification sound rang out:

Ding!

Fusion in progress... Fusion successful!