Uchiha Shaoyu's fingertips still remembered the delicate, faint sensation of touching skin. Every inch of this body, which belonged to "Uchiha Shaoyu," pulsed with unfamiliar, searing chakra.
Chakra really was a miraculous kind of energy. This was the first time Uchiha Shaoyu had ever felt it—something he could never have encountered in his previous life.
He was trying to control this power, letting the chakra flow slowly along his pathways and feeling the rhythm of life, so different from the one he'd known in his previous life. But just then, a sudden dizziness slammed into his brain, as if someone had struck his skull with a heavy hammer.
The scene before him twisted and blurred. The once-clear courtyard of the Uchiha Compound suddenly seemed to ripple with layer upon layer of overlapping images.
"Ugh..."
He groaned and instinctively raised a hand to his temple, but the dizziness didn't ease. Instead, it grew more violent, as if another consciousness were surging into his mind through his nerves.
It wasn't an aggressive attempt to take him over, but more like a "remnant" infused with an overwhelming obsession. It was the original owner's consciousness.
Uchiha Shaoyu immediately understood. He hadn't simply taken over this body out of nowhere when he crossed into it. Though the original owner was dead, his lingering obsession had become fragments of consciousness, firmly rooted in the body's mental space.
The next second, countless images burst through his mind like floodwaters breaking through a dam.
They were fragments from the original owner's brief but blood-soaked life.
As a child, beneath the cherry trees in the compound, he held the hand of a little boy half a head shorter than himself. The boy had the same black hair and eyes as him, and timidly clutched his sleeve, calling him "big brother."
A little older, he followed the clan's elders in learning ninjutsu. Even when a shuriken cut his finger, he didn't make a sound. He only wanted to grow stronger as soon as possible and protect his younger brother.
Later, the atmosphere in the clan grew ever more oppressive. The familiar faces of his fellow clan members were now marked by wariness and distance. Rumors wound around the entire Uchiha Clan like poisonous vines. Some said they were plotting a rebellion; others said Lord Hokage had long been wary of them.
The scene suddenly turned bloody.
Flames soared into the sky as the buildings of the Uchiha Compound collapsed in the blaze. The pungent smell of smoke mingled with the stench of blood and swept over him. The original owner held a kunai, his back against a wall. His body was already covered in wounds, and blood had soaked through his clothes, which bore the Uchiha Clan Crest.
The original owner was grievously wounded in an attack by the One-Tail Jinchuriki, and eventually died in his own home.
"Revenge..."
A faint but unmistakably clear voice rang out in Uchiha Shaoyu's mind, filled with hatred mingled with tears.
"Take revenge for me... and... my little brother... protect him..."
It was as if the original owner had used the last of his soul's strength to make this plea. Every word struck Uchiha Shaoyu's heart.
He could clearly feel the original owner's resentment, anger, and despair, as well as his heavy sense of responsibility toward his younger brother.
He wasn't the original owner, but as those memories and emotions surged into his consciousness with such vivid reality, he felt an intense resonance with them.
He had crossed into this world and taken over this body. Perhaps the original owner's obsession was now a responsibility he had to shoulder.
Uchiha Shaoyu took a deep breath. His head was still spinning, but his gaze gradually grew resolute.
In his heart, he slowly nodded to the remnant consciousness.
"Fine. I promise. I'll avenge you. I'll kill Danzo, and I'll do everything in my power to protect your younger brother."
The moment he finished speaking, the dizziness in his mind abruptly eased. The surging images began to fade, vanishing little by little like the receding tide.
The voice, burdened by obsession, seemed finally comforted. It became a warm sensation that gently brushed against Uchiha Shaoyu's consciousness, then disappeared without a trace.
The scene around him came back into focus. The cherry trees in the courtyard still stood tall, and a breeze sent pink petals drifting down onto Uchiha Shaoyu's shoulders.
He raised a hand and touched his chest. The heart there was beating steadily and strongly.
It was the original owner's heart, but now it carried his will.
He raised his hand and flexed his fingers. He could clearly feel every muscle contracting and relaxing. The chakra inside him no longer flowed in a disorderly rush. Instead, it moved smoothly through his pathways like a tamed stream, gentle yet holding hidden power.
At that moment, he was absolutely certain: he had completely taken control of this body named "Uchiha Shaoyu."
Just as he was savoring the sense of security that came with this control, a warm and immense spiritual force surged without warning from deep within his body. Like a dormant volcano erupting, it rushed straight toward his soul.
This spiritual force carried the original owner's final lingering trace, yet it didn't feel the least bit rejecting. Instead, it was like a dear friend reunited after a long separation, gently enveloping his soul before slowly merging with it.
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Shaoyu raised an eyebrow, making no attempt to resist the sudden influx of spiritual energy.
He could clearly feel that as this power merged with him, it was as if his soul had been given a shot of adrenaline. His already considerable spiritual energy surged at a visible rate.
The mental space in his mind expanded like a widening sea. What had once been able to hold only a small stream could now contain a rushing river.
"Is this... the original owner's spiritual energy, or something I brought with me when I crossed over...?"
The surge of spiritual energy struck him powerfully, and countless images flashed before his eyes.
There was the original owner playing beneath the cherry trees with his younger brother, Uchiha Shisui, as a child; the sweat he'd shed while training in ninjutsu; and his anxiety when faced with a crisis in the clan.
The images no longer surged chaotically as they had before. Instead, they passed slowly like scenes in a movie, every detail crystal clear, as if he'd experienced them himself.
"Did the original owner... turn his soul into pure spiritual energy and give it to me...?"
"He really was a good big brother."
Uchiha Shaoyu couldn't help but sigh.
As the memories merged, the spiritual energy flowing into his soul grew ever more immense. A searing pain suddenly flared in Uchiha Shaoyu's eyes, as if flames were burning beneath them.
He instinctively raised a hand to cover his eyes, but beneath his eyelids he could feel some kind of power rapidly awakening and transforming.
"The Sharingan..."
He murmured, already suspecting what was happening.
From the original owner's memories, he knew that this body had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. But because of the original owner's death and his own arrival, the Sharingan had remained dormant.
Now, as his spiritual energy surged and his memories fully merged, this Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan was finally about to undergo a new transformation.
This feels really good.
He slowly lowered his hand and opened his eyes. The scene before him had changed.
The world around him seemed to have slowed down. Every falling cherry blossom in the courtyard followed a clearly visible path.
He could precisely make out each step approaching from afar, down to its pace and weight.
In his eyes, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was spinning rapidly. The shapes of the tomoe began to twist and warp, as if being reshaped by an invisible force.
The three tomoe gradually merged, their edges growing sharper and their patterns increasingly intricate.
The tomoe, once purely black, now shimmered with a faint crimson glow. The contrast against the whites of his eyes made them look eerie and mysterious.
Uchiha Shaoyu could feel the power in his eyes growing exponentially. It wasn't just his perception and copying abilities improving; an entirely new and formidable power was taking shape.
He walked over to the well in the courtyard and looked down at the water.
His face was reflected on the surface, and his eyes had completely changed.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan was gone, replaced by a pair of uniquely shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.
At the center of his pupils was a swirling black pattern, like a blooming black mandala. Sharp red lines ringed its edges, each one like a drawn blade, radiating an unsettling aura.
"Is this... the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"This... it's already happened?"
Uchiha Shaoyu murmured to himself, his heart full of shock.
He knew that in the history of the Uchiha Clan, only those who experienced tremendous grief or obsession could awaken these eyes, symbols of both power and a curse.
The original owner's death, his obsession with protecting his younger brother, and the merging of souls caused by Uchiha Shaoyu's arrival—all these factors had combined to let him bypass the ordinary stages of the Sharingan and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He tried to summon the power in his eyes. In an instant, a tremendous spiritual force poured out of them, and the space around him seemed to ripple.
He could clearly sense that he could use these eyes to unleash powerful ocular techniques, though he would have to explore their specific abilities over time.
He slowly closed his eyes and felt the surging power within him.
The surge in his spiritual energy and the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan had brought about a qualitative leap in his strength.
His injuries had healed as well, though he had no idea how.
Now he had the means to survive in this perilous world, as well as the confidence to keep his promise.
With the Mangekyō Sharingan, he was undoubtedly a Kage Level powerhouse, already capable of protecting himself.
"Original owner, can you see this?"
Uchiha Shaoyu silently thought.
"Not only have I taken control of your body, I've also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"I'll avenge you, without fail. Your younger brother, your clan—I'll protect them with all my might, using these eyes and this tremendous power."
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