I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 11

But this old man's habit of showing off his knowledge of the past was nothing new. Although Uchiha Fugaku felt that times had changed and those "unofficial histories" were utterly useless, he had no intention of crushing an old widower's hobby.

"Yes, it was once quite popular. Of course, the Hyuga Clan claims it's just a rumor." Uchiha Setsuna looked eager to discuss it. "Still, it's not as if the Hyuga Clan cannot use ninjutsu. Though the Gentle Fist is not weak, its inconveniences are quite obvious..."

Uchiha Fugaku understood instantly.

The Uchiha Clan greatly admired the notion that a true hero killed with his eyes. All kinds of genjutsu indirectly trained the power of Yin Release.

Meanwhile, the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique, and the famed Formation of Eight Gates all essentially trained Yang Release indirectly.

As the most subtle power the Sage of Six Paths left to his descendants, later generations of ninja had developed countless methods for cultivating Yang Release. Taijutsu was the most common approach. As long as one did not fool around recklessly, tempering the body was also a way to strengthen one's life force.

But he had no desire to continue that topic.

Then he realized that the shaking of the house had stopped.

Looking down, the surging water dragon had vanished. Uchiha Shingen was still protected by that water barrier that seemed almost alive, while the arena was a complete mess. The bluestone slabs that had once covered it had all been blown away, scattered everywhere.

Uchiha Shisui stood on the filthy arena, soaked from head to toe, as though he had just been caught in a torrential downpour.

"About time they use genjutsu to decide the winner, right?"

"It can only be that way. Shingen has developed his Water Release very well."

The others were discussing it as well.

No one was blind. Uchiha Shingen's Water Release was like a set of nesting dolls, one technique hidden within another. Layer upon layer of protection left Uchiha Shisui with no way to get close.

Not only was Fire Release impossible to use properly in this environment, but trying to use the Body Flicker Technique was wishful thinking as well. Moisture containing Uchiha Shingen's chakra filled the air. Whether it gathered or dispersed depended on a single thought from him, and at any moment, he could make Uchiha Shisui take a Water Prison Jutsu to the face.

Impressive!

In this sparring match, whether in taijutsu or the five elemental releases, Uchiha Shisui clearly held no advantage.

Then the only option was for a "true hero to kill with his eyes."

In everyone's impression, Uchiha Shingen had never shown any outstanding ability in that regard.

But why was Uchiha Shisui not moving at all?

Uchiha Shisui had a very long dream.

The title "Shisui of the Body Flicker" had begun to bring him endless pain as the clan and the village gradually reached the point of irreconcilable hostility.

Sparring in ninjutsu with Uchiha Itachi was his only joy in this cruel world.

Yet he often felt that something was missing around him, making him feel as though his life was unreal.

But caught between the clan and the village, he had no spare energy to think about it.

At last, the final moment he could not avoid arrived.

With the resolve to succeed or die, he tried to use Kotoamatsukami on the entire clan, only to be ambushed midway by Shimura Danzo and lose one of his eyes.

In that instant, there was only despair. His former companions would ultimately slaughter one another, and the name Uchiha would gradually be forgotten by the world along with the clan's destruction.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His murderous rage surged up, and he activated Susanoo with a single eye, killing a large number of Root ninja.

Then he came to terms with it again, entrusting his eye to Uchiha Itachi, who was both his disciple and little brother. In the end, he leaped from the cliff, constantly recalling what he had forgotten in his life.

After letting go of everything, he finally remembered.

Why was there no one named Uchiha Shingen in the clan?

The world shattered before his eyes. So it had all been an illusion.

When he opened his eyes, Uchiha Shisui found himself surrounded by a circle of people.

He was still on the arena. Those matters that had weighed on him until he could barely breathe had only been a nightmare.

Wait! Hadn't he been in the middle of a match?

"Shisui, are you okay?"

A clansman asked.

Everyone had gathered here for no other reason than because they had noticed Uchiha Shisui standing motionless on the arena. Then his expressions had gradually become more and more animated, and no matter how they looked at it, something was clearly wrong.

Especially after they gathered around and discovered that his face was actually twisted in ferocity, they were truly startled.

Even Uchiha Shingen, the culprit, was startled.

Honestly, he had not expected this either.

Uchiha Shisui's combat instincts really were excellent. Not long after being swept into the Water Release, he had traced the path of one of the currents and then charged toward Uchiha Shingen along it.

If he had been an enemy, Uchiha Shingen would have either sliced him into minced meat or at least torn off a few parts. But it would not have been appropriate to do that to one of his own.

Then, through the flowing water, their eyes met.

After Uchiha Shingen made a major breakthrough in Yang Release a year ago, his Sharingan had changed.

Not into a Mangekyo. He was not that lucky.

Rather, the fundamental abilities of his Sharingan had been greatly enhanced.

Take insight, for example. Not only could he observe the flow and volume of chakra, but he could also see the process by which it underwent different nature transformations.

On the Mist ninja battlefield, he had observed how the enemy performed the nature transformation for Ice Release. After repeated experiments afterward, he had mastered Ice Release by the end of the war.

When Uchiha Shisui activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Shingen not only clearly saw the circulation of his ocular power, but also sensed... that dense, inescapable darkness.

Sure enough, aside from his own, none of these people's Sharingan were remotely harmonious!

And then Uchiha Shisui ended up like that.

Uchiha Shingen had not fared much better either. It took him a great deal of effort to recover.

Fortunately, Uchiha Shisui had only recently awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and could not yet use its power skillfully or efficiently. On top of that, Uchiha Shingen was not his enemy, so only a small portion of the power had ultimately been unleashed.

Thanks to those conditions, after exhausting himself, Uchiha Shingen had withstood the immature attack through sheer, excessively solid fundamentals and successfully reflected it back.

But he truly had not expected Shisui to be messed up this badly by the power of his own Mangekyo.

His psychological issues were seriously enormous! Just how much had he been repressing himself all this time!?

No wonder Shisui had committed suicide in the original timeline.

"Shisui, were you caught in a genjutsu?" Uchiha Setsuna parted the crowd and walked in, his expression grave as he looked at Uchiha Shisui.

"Elder Setsuna..." Uchiha Shisui had already figured everything out by then, but he still felt dazed. "I think that's what happened... Brother Shingen reflected my genjutsu back at me."

"Hm?" Uchiha Setsuna's eyes widened.

Everyone was stunned.

Wasn't the Mangekyo supposed to be overwhelmingly powerful? Wasn't a Mangekyo against a three-tomoe Sharingan supposed to be like an adult beating up a child?

No one felt that their faith had been shattered. The clan had recorded the Mangekyo's power for generations; it could not possibly be nonsense.

The problem could only be Uchiha Shingen's eyes.

Everyone looked toward Uchiha Shingen's eyes.

They were just a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan, no different from those of the other clan members with three tomoe.

Uchiha Shisui was looking as well. As the person involved, his only impression at the time had been of an impregnable wall.

Could a three-tomoe Sharingan really achieve that?

"Enough, stop crowding around. The match ends here." Uchiha Setsuna waved a hand. "Everyone, go do what you should be doing. Keep your mouths shut. Don't let this matter spread outside."

Everyone nodded in unison.

Those present were all core members of the Uchiha clan, so naturally they understood the stakes.

No matter what, Uchiha Shingen's practice of Yang Release would no longer be a bit of post-meal gossip within the clan.

It had become an issue that required serious attention.

If all of this truly stemmed from the power of Yang Release, then the Uchiha clan would certainly have to reconsider its traditional method of emotional stimulation.

Everyone knew the negative effects of that traditional method. It had once left the entire clan living in fear, but because of its efficiency, the Uchiha had always regarded it as a classic and continued using it to this day.

"Shisui, you know very well how dangerous genjutsu can be. Go back and recuperate properly. Don't take any missions for the time being," Uchiha Fugaku said, considering a different angle.

"There's no need to suspend his missions. These are extraordinary times." Uchiha Setsuna cast Uchiha Fugaku a dissatisfied glance. "Shisui only needs to avoid using this power whenever possible. Now is not the time to use it."

In truth, everyone could see that while Shisui had suffered, Uchiha Shingen had not come out of it much better.

The power of the Mangekyo Sharingan was beyond doubt.

Back then, if the Senju of the Forest had not produced a pair of freakish brothers as well, the Uchiha would have risen directly into an unbeatable era.

Uchiha Fugaku did not insist on his view.

He had only mentioned it casually.

Deep down, he did not think Shisui would have any real problems.

"Either way, both of you should rest properly for a few days." He set the tone. "As for everything else, we can discuss it after this period has passed."

Let's Form a Team

Uchiha Shingen discovered that he had gotten another pay raise.

He was very satisfied with this match.

Not only had he not lost face, but he also received an extra hundred thousand ryo in monthly spending money.

The plan could be adjusted. He still needed to enjoy tea, but once every half month would do.

Otherwise, that medicine-smelling uncle would keep getting more and more skilled. If he stopped going for too long, he might not be able to keep up with the man's style when he went back.

After resting in the clan compound for about a week, Uchiha Shingen began to clearly sense the changes in his clansmen.

When he had practiced Yang Release before, everyone around him had pretended not to see it. Now, things were different.

Especially Uchiha Shisui, who was likewise in a state of being left to his own devices. He often came to cultivate with him, and in just this week, he had spoken more than he had in all their previous time together.

Uchiha Shingen found this very unfamiliar.

It was not that he was uncomfortable with Shisui. The kid was a good person, and Uchiha Shingen was quite willing to be friends with him.

He just wasn't used to being treated like a human-shaped iron-eating beast by the entire clan, drawing crowds wherever he went.

"Look, look, it's little Shingen."

"Right, right, I heard it from my child too. They said he looked especially good practicing Yang Release! Hmm... did anyone in our family practice that before?"

"He's hitting a post. Is that practicing Yang Release? Isn't that ugly? What's so good-looking about it?"

They were all his so-called countless aunts—an old ninja clan, after all. As long as they shared the same surname, they could always trace some family connection.

Uchiha Shingen was merely unaccustomed to it, not annoyed by it. His aunts might chatter on endlessly, but they genuinely cared about him.

It was just that they always wanted to set him up with someone, and that made him uneasy.

What kind of third-rate trope was marriage? Even Senju Tobirama had said the Uchiha were a clan of love. With three thousand weak waters before him, if he didn't dive in and do the backstroke, was he even human?

As usual, he used his silver tongue to coax away the countless aunts who had "happened" to run into him at the training grounds. Uchiha Shingen then began his daily training, with taijutsu as the main focus for today.

A ninja might not know genjutsu or ninjutsu, but if they didn't know taijutsu, there was no point in being a ninja. This was what ninjas used most often.

Decades ago, the most famous taijutsu in the ninja world had been known as Senju Great Strength.

"Shisui, are you sure you want to practice Yang Release too?" After finishing with the post, Uchiha Shingen grabbed a millstone-sized rock and hurled it like a shot put while speaking to Uchiha Shisui beside him.

The day after their match, Shisui had come to his house to get friendly with him.

But Uchiha Shingen had always felt that the other boy hadn't really come for Yang Release.

Still, he was more than happy to spread the Senju-style Yang Release throughout the Uchiha clan.

He had tried promoting it himself when he first started practicing, but those idiots had all looked down on it and refused to train.

Used to their fast-paced ways, the Uchiha had not the slightest interest in something like building up strength over time before unleashing it all at once.

Uchiha Shisui was the first person to actively come to him to talk about Yang Release.