Love? Sasuke's Choice!

Realizing that something was off in Sasuke's expression, he asked, "What kind of eyes are those? Are they also Sharingan?"

"You don't know?" Fugaku was taken aback.

Sasuke blinked. "Should I?"

Fugaku gave him a look that said he already knew, so there was no need to pretend, and prompted him, "Elder Nobuhiko..."

So Father had already guessed that Elder Nobuhiko was inside me... Sasuke came clean. "He didn't tell me..."

"He didn't?" Fugaku was surprised too.

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

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

He was still curious about what these eyes could do.

Indeed, even as clan head, he didn't know the abilities of these eyes.

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

He guessed that probably no one in the clan knew this.

Elder Nobuhiko, inside the Soul Space, was just as stunned.

"Sasuke, didn't you say you could acquire even Bloodline Fusion? Does that mean you don't have my Mangekyo?"

He really has Mangekyo?... Sasuke was at a loss for words.

Can I tell him I wasn't in a hurry to fuse because I wasn't very impressed by his abilities?

Who knew you had Mangekyo?!... Silently grumbling to himself, Sasuke managed, "I thought it was Three Tomoe, so I haven't fused with it yet..."

"..." Elder Nobuhiko understood. Sasuke looked down on Three Tomoe...

Sasuke realized he might have been too blunt, so he quickly added, "Well, I was just worried that fusing with it would stop me from awakening my own Sharingan, so..."

Don't say another word. I get it. That really hurts... Elder Nobuhiko felt a pang.

Even ordinary Sharingan were rare among the Uchiha, let alone Three Tomoe.

But he had to admit that Sasuke, with his Soul Space, did have reason to look down on Three Tomoe...

Still...

"Sasuke, you know what it takes to awaken the Sharingan, don't you?"

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

"Tell me what you think," Elder Nobuhiko said, sounding a little hopeful.

"I think the Uchiha are the Clan of Love," Sasuke said. "Only a clan member who understands love will have their brain release special chakra that stimulates the eyes to evolve when they lose someone they love."

Love?... The Clan of Love...?... Elder Nobuhiko's heart shuddered.

He hadn't expected Sasuke to understand the Uchiha more deeply than a thousand years of their accumulated experience.

Of course, the Uchiha had been around for a thousand years. How could they not have analyzed and summarized the conditions for the Sharingan's evolution?

But after a thousand years of experience, all the clan had concluded was that losing a close friend or relative could stimulate the eyes to evolve!

After this conclusion emerged, many clan members turned against one another in pursuit of the Sharingan's power, raising their blades against their own family in a frenzy!

Sadly, even so, only a handful of clan members could awaken the Sharingan. The clan eventually chalked it up to impure bloodlines and insufficient talent.

To prevent such a horrific tragedy from happening again, the clan elders sealed this secret away, allowing it to pass only by word of mouth among their ranks.

As a result, even the Uchiha themselves believed they were an evil clan!

Yet now, Sasuke had offered a completely different—and far more profound—interpretation!

"Haha!"

"What a wonderful name—the Clan of Love!"

"So we were all wrong."

"Only those who understand love and lose it can truly awaken the Sharingan!"

But even if they called themselves the Clan of Love, they couldn't deny that the Uchiha really were a twisted clan!

"Then, Sasuke." Elder Nobuhiko fixed him with a solemn gaze and asked a soul-searching question. "Do you think you understand love?"

"Will you lose that love someday?"

"With your abilities, can you really not protect it?"

"If you could cast that love aside for the Sharingan, or even the Mangekyo, would it really count as love?"

Sasuke fell silent.

He had considered this question too, which was why he had always tried to fit into this world.

Whether with his parents or his clan, he had always opened his heart and treated them with genuine sincerity.

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

If he truly loved them, could he bear to lose them?

Could love that he would cast aside for power really be called love?

No... that wasn't love.

If he really did that, it would only prove that what he truly loved was power—and himself!

Sasuke let out a long breath. "Elder Nobuhiko, I understand."

"Good. I'm glad you understand." Elder Nobuhiko stroked his beard. "Throughout the Uchiha's history, many clan members have killed their friends and family for the power of the Sharingan, but very few of them succeeded in awakening it."

"And not a single one awakened the Mangekyo."

"Sasuke, with your Soul Space, you have limitless possibilities!"

"There's no need to obsess over whether the Mangekyo is your own and lose yourself, only to end up on the wrong path."

"With the abilities of your Soul Space, it shouldn't matter whether the Mangekyo is yours, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "That's true."

The Mangekyo acquired through the Soul Space differed little from one he awakened himself, aside from having fixed Dojutsu.

He could deactivate it at will, and there was no rejection.

"Still, Elder Nobuhiko, I'm curious. What is your Mangekyo's Dojutsu?"

Elder Nobuhiko stroked his beard and smiled. "Won't you find out after you fuse with it?"

Clearly, Elder Nobuhiko was worried I'd go astray in pursuit of my own Mangekyo, so he was pressuring me to fuse with his... Sasuke gave an awkward smile.

Indeed, Sasuke was still reluctant.

Although he had given up on using "losing love" to trigger the Sharingan's evolution, he still wanted to try other methods and awaken a Mangekyo that truly reflected his own heart.

After all, he was only one year old. There was no need to decide just yet, was there?

Wait!

Suddenly, a thought struck Sasuke.

Maybe the Soul Space has a way for me to awaken my own Sharingan even after fusing with these eyes?

At once, he connected his consciousness to the Soul Space and checked how Bloodline Fusion worked.

Then he discovered a compromise!

The fused eyes could overwrite his own—or leave them untouched!

In other words, he could have two pairs of eyes and switch between them at will!

After discovering this mechanism, Sasuke didn't hesitate. He was about to fuse with the eyes, but remembered his father was still there, so he returned his consciousness to his body.

"Um, Dad, you must still have things to do, right? Just leave these eyes with me."

If you want me to leave, just say so. What do you mean, I must have things to do?... Fugaku Uchiha's mouth twitched.

Thinking nothing of it, and assuming Elder Nobuhiko didn't want Sasuke to reveal the abilities of these eyes, he handed them to Sasuke. "All right. I'll leave them with you. Keep them safe."

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

"..."

After his father left the room, Sasuke focused his thoughts again, and a notification rang out:

'Ding!'

'Fusion in progress... Fusion successful!'