What It Means to Be a Clan of Love

"The food's something special today. It's all stuff I've never tried before, and it smells amazing."

Uchiha Sake, one of today's great contributors, curiously studied the dishes in front of him and muttered to himself as he took a bite.

"Eat up. I hear Uchiha Yang specifically asked the cooks to make this for us. The fruit wine, too."

After explaining in a low voice, Uchiha Ya raised his cup toward Uchiha Yang in a gesture of goodwill and toasted him.

Uchiha Sake wasn't a fool. Though Uchiha Yang had no strength, Sake didn't dare offend him, given his ties to the clan head and his own resourcefulness.

So Uchiha Sake followed suit and raised his cup to Uchiha Yang.

As one great contributor after another toasted him, Uchiha Yang graciously returned each toast. After downing several cups in a row, the alcohol began to go to his head.

Tipsy, Uchiha Yang couldn't resist the urge to deliver another motivational speech. He stood up, drawing everyone's attention.

"I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have a ninja's strength. All I can do is think things through and talk."

"You risk your lives out there, while I can only scrape by here in the clan. In my heart, you're all my protectors, guarding me and our clansmen so we can live in peace."

"People outside don't understand us Uchiha, so they often say we're stubborn and domineering."

"After hearing it often enough, even we start to believe that's what we're like."

Suddenly, Uchiha Yang's voice grew impassioned. "No... As I see it, what they call stubbornness and domineering behavior is simply how we treat outsiders."

"We're the ones who truly belong to a clan of love. It's just that we only show that love to our family and friends."

"Today, I want to share a little-known secret with everyone here and all our clansmen."

Uchiha Yang's head was spinning, and he had no idea what he was saying. He only knew that he was giving everyone present another dose of heartfelt encouragement.

As soon as they heard that a secret was about to be revealed, everyone quieted their breathing and fixed their eyes on him.

Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna exchanged a glance. Was Yang about to reveal the Mangekyō Sharingan?

"When you awakened the Sharingan, didn't you all feel that you'd lost your love? That the Sharingan was a power awakened through losing love, through losing the most important thing in your hearts?"

"Some of you might even resent the Sharingan, because its appearance meant you'd lost what mattered most to you."

By this point, Uchiha Yang's mouth had gone dry, so he lifted his hand and took another swig. His head was starting to feel hot.

Everyone was captivated by his words, eager to hear what he would say next.

"Actually, the Sharingan is the eye that reflects our hearts. It's our Kekkei Genkai. But what no one understands is that the Sharingan is the reflection of our love."

"The Sharingan only awakens after we lose love. But what if we put it another way?"

Uchiha Yang had stirred everyone's emotions. When he paused, they grew impatient.

Uchiha Yang didn't keep them waiting. He continued.

"Couldn't we say that when we understand what love is and what matters most to us, then choose it with conviction, the Sharingan responds to the call of our hearts and awakens?"

"Accept the Sharingan from the bottom of your heart. It isn't a cursed eye. It's a reflection of our own love."

"That's just my personal interpretation. I haven't awakened the Sharingan myself, but I reached this conclusion from the clan's many scrolls and personal records, and from the life stories of our ancestors."

"How you choose to understand it is up to you. Ah, there I go talking too much again."

Uchiha Yang put on a regretful expression. Then, with his head spinning, he slumped over and fell asleep.

Some of what Uchiha Yang had said was true and some was not. More than anything, though, it was meant to encourage them.

His words kept echoing in everyone's ears.

One by one, their Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared without them realizing it. Each fell silent, lost in the memories they had always been most reluctant to face.

They remembered what they had lost when they first awakened the Sharingan.

All these years, they hadn't forgotten, nor had they stopped caring. They simply hadn't dared to touch those wounds in their hearts, and had instinctively tried to ignore them.

By the time they had advanced to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they had lost so much. The mental shock they'd endured back then had been more than they could bear.

When someone told them that the Sharingan embodied their love, that it was power forged from love, they felt as if, at that very moment, the Sharingan had finally become one with them.

"So you've been with me all along."

Uchiha Sake seemed to see his dear friend greeting him, as if saying, "Use those eyes to watch over the clan for me."

For the first time in years, a smile spread across Uchiha Sake's face—a smile of relief and release.

His friend had taken a blade for him on the battlefield, and Sake had carried the guilt ever since. Now he vowed to use these eyes to watch over the clan in his friend's stead.

Everyone awakened the Sharingan differently, and each carried a different burden. Some wept with joy, some laughed in relief, and some silently made peace with themselves.

Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna were no exception. Uchiha Madara's Sharingan had awakened when he parted ways with his friend, Senju Hashirama.

His Mangekyō Sharingan, in particular, had awakened before their father's body. Those Mangekyō Sharingan had come into being so he could take over from his father and protect the clan.

Uchiha Izuna also wiped away his tears. Father, don't worry. I'll take good care of Big Brother and the clan.

Uchiha Yang slept soundly, completely unaware that his drunken speech would bring sweeping changes to the Uchiha.

The victory feast wasn't especially lively, but everyone left content. Before departing, each bowed deeply to Uchiha Yang.

They were grateful for his words, and they owed him a great debt.

"Take him home first. I'm going to see Father."

Uchiha Madara told Izuna, then went alone to the clan cemetery. He stood before his father's gravestone, staring into space in silence.

After taking his cousin home, Uchiha Izuna passed by the clan cemetery on his way back. He saw that his older brother hadn't returned and was still standing before their father's gravestone, lost in thought.

"Big Brother."

Uchiha Izuna stood behind Uchiha Madara and called to him.

Uchiha Madara seemed to have known his younger brother would come. He turned and patted him on the shoulder. "Father protected us all his life. Now it's our turn."

"I'll fully support you in capturing those researchers. Remember, treat them well. Don't worry about the cost. As long as they can solve our problem, it'll all be worth it."

Uchiha Izuna nodded firmly.

The two brothers walked side by side. No words were needed.