Slave to Power

Three months passed in a flash.

Toji's life had been peaceful during this time.

Every day, he traveled back and forth between Gospel Hospital and the Zenin Clan's underground laboratory.

Sealing Jutsu studies, Curse Mark research, Earth Grudge Fear secret technique development, Uchiha human experiments... all of it divided up his energy.

The only changes in his routine came on weekends.

On weekends, he went to the Ninja Academy to teach the Medical Corps, playing a teacher-and-student game with Matsumoto Kazuka.

The second change concerned Uchiha Chiri.

Her treatment had ended, but they had not cut off contact afterward. Instead, she took the initiative to invite Toji to dinner and checkups every weekend.

Toji did not refuse.

Maintaining a good relationship with the acting head of the Uchiha Clan, a powerful woman with the Mangekyō Sharingan, was beneficial to him.

The checkup invitations were legitimate arrangements.

Toji regularly performed brain examinations on her, observing her Sharingan along the way and collecting firsthand data.

Uchiha Chiri was very powerful, but her story only lived on through word of mouth among later generations of the Uchiha Clan. Toji believed that her risk of Bloodline Disease was the same as Itachi Uchiha's in the future.

Without early screening and care, she might suddenly fall ill and die one day.

As they spent more time together, their relationship gradually warmed.

However, that warmth was only Chiri's one-sided perception. Toji had no energy to spend his time on women.

Other than that,

he offered no further opinions regarding the village's development plans.

Such as establishing the Anbu, the Konoha Military Police Force...

First, one should handle the matters of one's own position. Interfering too much made it easy to be branded as "ambitious." Only by rooting himself in medicine and education could he maintain the facade of being indifferent to conflict.

Second, for someone secretly carrying out kidnappings and human experiments, the Anbu and the Konoha Military Police Force... were all troublesome shackles that would only increase the risk of exposure.

Toji's goal had never been to strengthen Konoha.

The only one he devoted everything to was himself.

On this day, three months later,

the weather was clear.

Toji finally mastered the first Sealing Jutsu he had learned since crossing over—the Five Elements Seal.

Toji refined chakra, circulated it according to a specific hand seal, and gathered it at his fingertips.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dark purple flames ignited one after another at the tips of his five fingers, flickering faintly.

"Though I'm still not very proficient at casting it, I succeeded at last."

Toji turned and walked into the basement toward Uchiha Yan.

The next moment, without any warning, he pressed the hand imbued with the Five Elements Seal directly onto her face.

In the original story, Orochimaru struck Naruto's abdomen with the Five Elements Seal, disrupting the stability of the Four Symbols Seal. By the same logic, if he wanted to seal Uchiha Yan's Izanagi, the seal had to target her eyes.

"Ow, what are you doing?!"

Uchiha Yan cried out in pain. Just as she was about to lose her temper, Toji had already withdrawn his hand.

"You're free."

With that said,

he released the chakra points that had been sealed on Uchiha Yan's body one by one, allowing her to refine chakra independently again.

"What did you do to me?"

"Sealing Jutsu." Toji did not hide it, bluntly laying out the ugly truth first. "I've placed a limit on the chakra you can refine. The moment you try to activate Izanagi, your chakra will instantly fall into disorder, and the technique will inevitably fail."

"Tch, I told you I wouldn't use my own eyes..."

Uchiha Yan closed her eyes and licked her lips.

Her newly freed body instinctively began refining chakra. When she opened her eyes again, scarlet Sharingan appeared within them.

At first, there were only Two-Tomoe.

But in the next instant, all the extreme emotions she had accumulated since being captured under Toji's deliberate guidance surged into her brain like floodwaters bursting through a dam, stirring the sensitive nerves innate to an Uchiha.

The two tomoe in her eyes spun wildly and twisted. Once they stabilized, a third tomoe formed.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Their efforts had not been in vain.

Toji calmly watched Uchiha Yan's delighted expression.

The sudden leap in power made her joy impossible to conceal. Yet she remained rational enough not to be overwhelmed by the suddenly surging strength and long-suppressed anger and attack Toji.

This outcome was within Toji's expectations.

The research results had been verified, which was worth celebrating, but it was far from enough to make him lose composure.

Fundamentally, Uchiha Yan's talent was mediocre.

At twenty years old, even after witnessing the collapse of her beliefs firsthand, she had only reached Two-Tomoe. That meant her original talent had already reached its limit.

Everything Toji had done was to make a mediocrity break through her own limits. Three-Tomoe was only the beginning. In the long run, there was still a long way to go before reaching the ultimate goal, the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"How does it feel?" Toji asked.

Uchiha Yan murmured blankly, "So this is the power of Three-Tomoe... It's truly intoxicating. My brother only rebelled against that woman after gaining this power. But..."

She came back to her senses, greed filling her eyes. "It's not enough. This is nowhere near enough. I want more. I want even greater power!"

Even Uchiha Bing, who had possessed the power of Three-Tomoe long ago, had been beaten to his knees by that woman.

Let alone her.

The Uchiha were crazy. The moment the skies cleared, they lost their minds, but that did not mean they had no brains.

Based on the objective facts, Uchiha Yan knew full well that her talent was limited. Through effort alone, she would never become the person she imagined herself to be.

Toji had imprisoned her and restricted her freedom, yet during this time, she had lost nothing. Instead, her Sharingan had advanced another step.

If not for Toji...

She would probably still be wandering the Shinobi World, desperately searching for Lord Madara's whereabouts while enduring the endless pursuit of both her clan and the village.

"You said it, didn't you? That you would let me gain Uchiha Chiri's power, perhaps even surpass her."

Seeing the undisguised greed and desire on Uchiha Yan's face,

Toji understood. He had succeeded. He had gained a willing slave.

What people desired most would ultimately enslave them.

The Hyuga Clan were slaves to freedom, while the Uchiha were slaves to power.

Curse Marks and Sealing Jutsu alone could not buy true submission. But if one used the thing they craved most as bait, they would willingly be driven by it.

After personally experiencing the exhilaration of a leap in power, Uchiha Yan would never forget that feeling.

Once she had tasted the marrow, there was no turning back.

"Of course," Toji said calmly. "You will have it."

He spoke with confidence.

During his long-term contact with Chiri, he had already glimpsed some of the secrets of those eyes.

Not one or two out of ten, though, but one or two out of a hundred.

It was Toji's own twisted sense of humor.

"When?"

"Frequent stimulation will cause pathological changes in your brain. For at least a long time to come, you need to settle down and bring your body into its best condition."

Toji changed the subject. "I've shown my sincerity. Next, it is time for you to give yours."

Uchiha Yan recalled the equal exchange Toji had mentioned, a bloodthirsty smile curling across her lips.

"What do you want me to do?"

Toji's tone was calm as he spoke only two words.

"Ninja."

"By whatever means necessary, bring me ninjas who have lost the ability to move but must still be alive. The stronger, the better. No more than two at a time."

"Don't act too frequently, or people will start watching you. Bring them to me on the last day of every month."