Chapter 27

Uchiha Yi glanced at him and chuckled. "Lord Jiraiya, don't get worked up. Let me explain slowly."

"As the eldest son of the goddess, the Sage of Six Paths was no pushover either. He had two sons himself: one named Asura, the other Indra..."

Uchiha Yi then launched into a long explanation, spilling the whole messy story of the brothers Asura and Indra—their love, hatred, and endless conflict.

He even directly stated that the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan were descendants of those two ancestors. "What? You're saying the Uchiha and Senju both descended from the Sage of Six Paths?"

The old Third Hokage could no longer sit still. His face was full of shock. "Are you certain?"

"I am."

Uchiha Yi nodded, finally getting to the main point.

He pulled out a scroll and undid its seal on the spot.

A massive stone tablet suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Hokage's office.

Uchiha Yi poured chakra into the tablet, and dense lines of writing immediately surfaced across its face.

The tablet clearly recorded everything he had just said, even explaining the origins of the Rinnegan in unmistakable detail.

Of course, by "detail," it merely meant that once the Sharingan evolved to its limit, it could become the Rinnegan.

But upon seeing that, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya could no longer remain calm. "The Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan?"

The Third Hokage's heart pounded. Jiraiya was the first to shake his head. "Impossible. The Rinnegan absolutely cannot evolve from the Sharingan."

Of course, Uchiha Yi knew why Jiraiya was so certain—it was all because of Nagato. "Not necessarily. I evolved my Mangekyo Sharingan according to the method recorded on that tablet. And my Mangekyo is Eternal-level."

What?

Uchiha Yi possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?

The Third Hokage and Jiraiya both sucked in a sharp breath.

Seeing their expressions, Uchiha Yi's lips curled upward.

Telling stories was his specialty.

The Sharingan could evolve from three tomoe into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

But the Mangekyo Sharingan had a fatal flaw—it would blind its user if used too much.

However, if the Mangekyo evolved further into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, that problem would be completely resolved.

All of that information was carved onto the stone tablet.

The Third Hokage and Jiraiya had seen it with their own eyes. It was not fake.

Yet Jiraiya refused to believe it.

He insisted that the tablet had been forged.

However, the tablet Uchiha Yi had altered through special means showed no flaws whatsoever.

As for where the tablet had come from, Uchiha Yi had actually dug it out of Doto's private warehouse.

The thing had been strange from the start. As long as chakra was poured into it, it would react.

Uchiha Yi had taken advantage of that trait to create this fake tablet.

More importantly, after carving the writing onto it, he had reinforced it with his ability.

Now, let alone forging it, even if someone wanted to carve words onto it, they would not be able to.

The Third Hokage had tried earlier and failed to leave even a mark.

That only made it seem even more credible.

The Sharingan could evolve from three tomoe into the Mangekyo Sharingan. But the Mangekyo had a fatal flaw—using it too much would cause blindness.

However, if it could evolve into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, that flaw would disappear.

All of this was carved onto the enormous stone tablet before them. The Third Hokage and Jiraiya saw it clearly.

Yet Jiraiya still refused to believe it, stubbornly insisting that the tablet was fake.

Unfortunately, this stone had been specially modified by Uchiha Yi. Combined with the tablet's natural material, it simply did not look like something that could be forged.

Speaking of which, Uchiha Yi had actually rummaged this tablet out of Doto's private warehouse. The thing was rather eerie—it reacted whenever chakra was poured into it. Uchiha Yi had used that reaction to forcibly make this tablet.

And after finishing the inscription, he had reinforced it as well. Now, even if someone wanted to carve words onto it, they could not.

The Third Hokage had tried just now, but failed.

That sent its credibility soaring.

But Jiraiya still would not accept it. After hesitating for several seconds, he said, "What's written on this is unreliable. I've seen the Rinnegan."

"Hm? Jiraiya, you've seen the Rinnegan?"

This time, it was the Third Hokage's turn to be stunned. "Yes. Teacher, you know that I once took in three orphans in the Rain Country. One of them possessed the legendary Sage Eyes—the Rinnegan."

"So with that fact alone, the records on this tablet cannot possibly be true."

This...

The Third Hokage fell silent.

But Uchiha Yi did not panic at all. He had prepared for this long ago. "Lord Jiraiya, the Rinnegan does not simply appear naturally. Even the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan only emerged after a major change."

"I don't know where that person you mentioned came from, but I can tell you with certainty—unless that person possessed the Uchiha Clan's bloodline limit, had extraordinary talent, awakened the Sharingan at an extremely fast rate, and then evolved it into the Rinnegan..."

"Otherwise, those Rinnegan do not belong to him."

"Don't belong to him? Explain yourself." Jiraiya suddenly turned and stared at Uchiha Yi.

"I don't mean anything else by it. I'm merely telling you a fact—someone outside the Uchiha Clan would suffer enough just from carrying a Sharingan."

"Everyone knows that. Look at how much trouble Kakashi-sensei has had because of that Sharingan."

The moment Uchiha Yi said that, Jiraiya fell silent.

"That's true. Kakashi's talent could have shone even brighter, but after transplanting Obito's Sharingan, it became a burden instead."

The Third Hokage nodded, his eyes filled with agreement.

Even Jiraiya began to have doubts.

After all, when he had been with Nagato, he had noticed something was wrong—the Rinnegan were completely beyond Nagato's control.

Whenever the Rinnegan appeared, Nagato would lose parts of his memory afterward, and his body would remain weak for quite some time.

Thinking back on it now, it was obvious that Nagato simply could not bear the burden of those eyes. The side effects came from forcing himself to use them.

Damn it, who was pulling strings behind the scenes?

Jiraiya's anger flared. He raised his head and stared hard at Uchiha Yi. "Then who do you think those Rinnegan belong to?"

"Hard to say."

Uchiha Yi waved a hand. "There are ways to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, but the Rinnegan is not something one can develop through one's own efforts. Still..."

He deliberately paused before slowly adding, "Based on the paths taken by the Uchiha Clan's greatest figures throughout history, the one most likely to awaken the Rinnegan should be Madara Uchiha."

Madara Uchiha?!

The moment those words fell, both Jiraiya and the Third Hokage's expressions changed.

The Third Hokage knew perfectly well just how powerful that man had been.

But if Nagato's Rinnegan truly belonged to Madara Uchiha, could there really be no scheme behind it?

Suddenly, the Third Hokage remembered the year of the Nine-Tails attack.

The state of the Nine-Tails back then looked exactly like the methods Madara had once used to control tailed beasts.

The Third Hokage was one of Konoha's old guard. He had witnessed everything Madara had done in those days.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan could indeed suppress tailed beasts, but over all these years, the Third Hokage only knew of Madara Uchiha being capable of doing so to that extent.

It was precisely because of Madara's actions back then that people had speculated an Uchiha clansman had secretly controlled the Nine-Tails.

But now, it seemed that might not have been the case after all.

Could it really have been Madara Uchiha?

The Third Hokage's expression kept shifting. He already believed ninety percent of what Uchiha Yi had said.

If he had not always been so cautious, he would likely have believed it completely by now.

Seeing the Third Hokage's expression, Uchiha Yi knew perfectly well that this deception had succeeded for the most part.

But Jiraiya was clearly not ready to accept it. "Impossible! There has to be something wrong with this. How old would Madara Uchiha be by now? Nagato is still so young. How could Madara have lived until Nagato was born?"

"Actually..."

Uchiha Yi deliberately put on a thoughtful expression, as though he had considered it for a long time before finally revealing a secret. "Beneath one of our Uchiha Clan's hidden strongholds, there is an underground chamber. Inside is a tablet personally carved by the Sage of Six Paths."

Uchiha Yi deliberately paused again, as though weighing his words, before finally dropping another bombshell. "The Uchiha Clan has a secret chamber containing a stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths."

The old Third Hokage's expression changed on the spot.

Even he had never heard anyone mention such a thing. "Yi, are you sure that thing exists?"

"I'm sure."

Uchiha Yi nodded and continued, "There is quite a lot written on that tablet, including records of ninjutsu. I went to see it after awakening my three-tomoe Sharingan. Without the Sharingan, it is impossible to make out the writing on it."

"To be honest, if not for the confidence that our clan's tablet gave me, I would not have believed this one either."

Jiraiya interjected, "Does that tablet say how to awaken the Rinnegan?"

"Well... I haven't verified that yet. I had only just awakened my Mangekyo when I came straight here, so I have not had time to go back and take another look."

Jiraiya said nothing. He looked up at the Third Hokage, his eyes asking a question.

The Third Hokage frowned and made a decision. "Yi, I'll have Jiraiya bring that tablet here."

"Alright."

Uchiha Yi agreed, then added, "Lord Jiraiya, bring Kakashi-sensei along as well. Some of the content on it concerns the Mangekyo and could be useful to him. Of course, that depends on whether Lord Third approves."

A flash of approval crossed the Third Hokage's eyes.

Kakashi also had a Mangekyo. According to Uchiha Yi, that boy should be able to read the tablet's writing as well.

Calling Kakashi over was, plainly put, an open and aboveboard move. There was nothing being hidden.

That attitude greatly reassured the old man.

He gave Jiraiya a meaningful look.

Jiraiya understood at once.

When Kakashi was summoned, the Third Hokage felt that Uchiha Yi was being entirely open and had nothing to hide.

The old man let out a breath of relief and nodded to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya asked no further questions. Following the address Uchiha Yi had given him, he went to find the underground chamber.

A few minutes later, he returned.

Kakashi had arrived as well.

After hearing the situation, Kakashi's bewildered expression instantly tightened, becoming deadly serious.

He opened his Sharingan and stared at the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet.

Previously, that eye could only shift between three tomoe and the Mangekyo. Kakashi had never truly understood how to use it.

But after being tortured by Itachi's Tsukuyomi last time, he had instead figured out a few things.

He first used the three-tomoe Sharingan to read one layer of the content, then switched to the Mangekyo. This time, he saw something even more shocking—the method for evolving into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The method was for blood relatives to exchange eyes.

It matched exactly with the method recorded on the tablet Uchiha Yi had brought back.

With that comparison, every clue lined up. It proved that Uchiha Yi had not lied.