Before long, Yashiro Uchiha, his identity disguised, met the likewise-disguised Uchiha Feng in the inner courtyard.
The two exchanged a glance, and Feng spoke first. "Uncle Yashiro?"
Yashiro Uchiha frowned slightly at that, then asked uncertainly, "Feng? Uchiha Feng?!"
"Hehe, it's me, Uncle Yashiro."
Feng smiled and nodded in confirmation, dispelling his Transformation Technique and disguise at the same time.
Seeing this, Yashiro Uchiha removed his disguise as well.
Then, he said with great sternness and indignation:
"You brat, you snuck away from Konoha without even saying a word.
Do you know that because of you, the clan and the village had a huge conflict last year? Do you know how many people died?!"
As he spoke, he knocked Feng on the head several times.
Feng politely endured two hits before slightly shifting aside to avoid the rest.
"Uncle Yashiro, there's no point in talking about that.
The relationship between the clan and the village is what it is. Even without me, many people would have died sooner or later."
"Hmph. What happens sooner or later can wait until then, but that doesn't excuse you from leaving without a word and getting clan members killed."
"Then what about this? If I say this was my reason for fleeing Konoha, what would you say, Uncle Yashiro?"
After arguing for a few exchanges, Feng directly revealed his Susanoo. Enormous crimson chakra arms and ribs surrounded his body.
"Divine Power Susanoo?!
What? You awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?!
How is that possible? I must be seeing things..."
Yashiro Uchiha was instantly dumbfounded, exclaiming with a stammer.
Ever since their ancestor Madara Uchiha had left the clan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, said to possess divine power, had never appeared within the clan again.
After several decades, the Mangekyō Sharingan had nearly become a legend within the clan, one whose truth was uncertain.
Yet now, it had suddenly appeared before him, and its owner was Uchiha Feng, who had nearly been expelled from the clan.
The impact was too great for Yashiro Uchiha. His usually analytical mind had completely frozen.
"Yes and no," Feng answered.
"???"
Yashiro Uchiha's mind grew even more confused.
What did he mean, yes and no? Was there such a thing with the Mangekyō??
He had read all the clan's records and legends concerning the Mangekyō Sharingan. He had never heard of anything like this...
"Uncle Yashiro, it's a long story. Why don't we sit down and talk slowly?"
Feng made an inviting gesture and led Yashiro Uchiha to sit nearby.
Then, he continued:
"Uncle Yashiro should know very well how the Sharingan awakens.
Actually, during Nine-Tails Night, what I awakened wasn't the One-Tomoe Sharingan reported to the clan, but the Mangekyō."
"Impossible. The clan records state very clearly that the Mangekyō Sharingan cannot be awakened directly."
"I never said I awakened the Mangekyō directly.
That night, when Grandma and Father shielded me beneath them.
I first watched Grandma die before my eyes and awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Then, not long after, Father died before my eyes too. In my breakdown, I awakened the Mangekyō."
"This... still doesn't seem possible. Can the Sharingan evolve continuously in such a short time?
There are no records of that in the clan."
"How is it impossible? Wouldn't I know how my own eyes came about?"
Feng casually made up lies to fool Yashiro Uchiha.
But it was not entirely fabricated. At least, the Sharingan evolving continuously in a short period was true.
In the anime, Obito Uchiha's awakening process had been just like that.
"Then... can you show me your Mangekyō?"
Yashiro Uchiha was momentarily speechless, but then asked to see the Mangekyō Sharingan from the clan's legends.
"..."
After he finished speaking, it was Feng's turn to be speechless.
However, after a few seconds of silence, Feng revealed his Sharingan.
Yes, a One-Tomoe Sharingan.
"...No, Little Feng.
Your Uncle Yashiro may never have seen a Mangekyō Sharingan, but I still recognize a One-Tomoe Sharingan."
Seeing the Sharingan Feng had revealed, Yashiro Uchiha finally felt as though he was being fooled.
"Don't be in such a hurry, Uncle Yashiro.
You should know the saying that the Sharingan is the Eye of Reflection of the Heart, right?"
"Mm... I don't know, but I think I've heard something like that."
"Ah, the Eye of Reflection of the Heart means this.
When the Mangekyō awakens, the eyes respond to the deepest desire in one's heart at that moment and grant ocular techniques capable of resolving that desire.
At the time, what I wanted most was to save Grandma and Father, and to find a way to save them.
Therefore, I obtained one ocular technique that could see the future and another that could reverse body state.
Then, I found a way to save them, but I also saw a future of despair.
The clan was destroyed by Konoha! Aside from two Uchiha who became Hiruzen Sarutobi's dogs, every other clansman... was exterminated!!"
Feng sighed deeply, as though he had fallen into sorrow.
But as he spoke, his fists clenched tighter and tighter, and he became filled with anger and unwillingness once more.
"Impossible!! How could the mighty Uchiha be exterminated!!"
Yashiro Uchiha slapped the table and rose to his feet, crying out in disbelief.
"I couldn't believe it at first either, so I saw the future many times.
But... every result was more or less the same.
After seeing the clan's destruction countless times and struggling to find countless solutions.
I finally found a way to save the clan.
Mm, it's what I mentioned in the letter I gave you, and what I'm doing now."
"Whew...
Feng, I can't believe what you're saying.
And I haven't seen your Mangekyō, so it's even more impossible for me to believe you."
Yashiro Uchiha shook his head, firmly refusing to believe the clan would be exterminated.
Especially when Feng had only spoken empty words the entire time and could produce no evidence.
"Uncle Yashiro, do you know the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan??"
Feng spoke again.
"..." But Yashiro Uchiha ignored him. The clan's destruction? He did not want to hear any more such baseless nonsense.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan has an extremely severe side effect: every time it is used, one's eyesight declines somewhat.
In the end, when both eyes can no longer see, the Mangekyō becomes useless.
My other ocular technique, Body State Reversal, could originally avoid that side effect.
But in order to find the clan a correct path forward.
I used my ocular technique too many times and overused it.
In the end, I found the solution, but the Mangekyō Sharingan was reversed back to the One-Tomoe state.
As for whether Uncle Yashiro believes me, I truly cannot provide proof for what I've said so far.
But I have another way to prove it to you, Uncle Yashiro."
Feng slowly explained.
The words he used to fool Yashiro Uchiha were precisely the words he had used to fool the Nine-Tails some time ago.
Feng was clearly planning to repeat his lies over and over until they became truth.
"What way!!"
Yashiro Uchiha immediately asked.
The survival of the clan was at stake. Even if he did not believe it, as long as there was a possibility, he still had to verify it.
"At the border between the Lands of Fire and Water, among the Konoha ninja stationed there is an Uchiha genius named Shisui.
Uncle Yashiro, do you know him?"
"Hey, brat, don't you dare get any ideas about Shisui, or I won't spare you."
The moment Shisui was mentioned, Yashiro Uchiha bristled.
He was the clan's universally recognized genius. Whether in strength, ability, conduct, or how he treated others, he was flawless.
Furthermore, his grandfather had been a disciple of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage.
The entire Uchiha Clan was counting on Shisui to break into the Hokage's upper ranks and even seek the position of Fifth Hokage, allowing the clan to rise again.
Therefore, if anyone intended harm toward Shisui, no Uchiha would let it go. (Except the weasel.)
"I have no intentions toward him, nor will I do anything to him.
The ones who will harm Shisui are the Konoha he loves most."
Feng spread his hands and curled his lips.
"What do you mean by that!"
With Shisui involved, Yashiro Uchiha could not help pressing for an answer.
"Exactly what it means. I told you, I saw countless futures.
And every time, Shisui died at the hands of Konoha's upper ranks, whether Root or Anbu."
Feng added a little embellishment as he revealed Shisui's original future.
"Hmph, more baseless nonsense about the future.
How could Shisui die in Konoha? We Uchiha are not decorations in the village."
Yashiro Uchiha snorted disdainfully.
"Hehe, I know Uncle Yashiro doesn't believe me.
That's fine. Just remember what I'm about to say.
In a few years, you'll know whether I spoke the truth or not."
Feng revealed a slightly mocking smile. After a pause, he spoke again:
"It is now Konoha Year 53. By Konoha Year 57, Shisui will be murdered by Konoha's upper ranks.
And at that time, you will not know the cause of his death or who the murderer is.
But in fact, I already told you who the murderer was.
There are three reasons for his death.
First, Shisui was too strong. Four years from now, he would become famous throughout the Ninja World as Body Flicker Shisui. Outside the village, he would even receive the same treatment as the Fourth Hokage: ninja from other villages who encountered him during missions could abandon their missions without punishment.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō would want to eliminate the Uchiha Clan then, so they would ambush and murder Shisui in advance.
Second, Shisui would also awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in the future.
But he would not reveal it publicly. Instead, he would tell Hiruzen Sarutobi. Then Shimura Danzō, who had always coveted Uchiha bloodlines and was in league with Hiruzen Sarutobi, would naturally learn of it as well.
After that, there was nothing more to say. The two of them killed Shisui, and Danzo obtained the Mangekyō.
Third, and most importantly, Shisui was too stupid..."
"Bastard, Shisui has been smart since he was little. He's a genius. How could he possibly be stupid?"
When Feng said Shisui was too stupid, Yashiro Uchiha interrupted him before he could finish.
"Hehe, really? But in the countless futures I saw, he was stupid beyond salvation.
Do you know? Shisui deeply believed in the Will of Fire and was willing to give his life for it.
Uncle Yashiro, do you think someone who believes in that nonsense can be smart?
Is someone willing to give his life for that kind of lying drivel not stupid?"
At that point, Feng's face was full of mockery.
"Uchiha Feng! You are not allowed to slander the Will of Fire!"
Yashiro Uchiha flared up again, this time even drawing a weapon and pointing it at Feng.
He actually agreed with what Feng said: anyone who believed in the Will of Fire was stupid.
Yet somehow, he seemed to acknowledge the Will of Fire in his heart.
After all, it was the belief Konoha ninja had been taught from childhood, engraved into their minds, and upheld all their lives.
Yashiro did not truly believe in it, but after being brainwashed for over thirty years, even if he did not believe, some part of it had still left its mark on his heart.
At this moment, Feng's denigration of the Will of Fire made him feel as though it applied to himself.
"Only the current Konoha, with Hiruzen Sarutobi and those upper ranks, is bad. The Will of Fire itself is not wrong.
As long as we wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others to step down, we Uchiha can coexist with the village."
Realizing that he had become angry out of embarrassment, Yashiro Uchiha closed his eyes and calmed himself before defending it.
"Is that so? Hehe, whatever makes you happy."
Feng smiled even more happily, looking at Yashiro Uchiha as though he were an idiot.
Wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others to step down?
The entire Uchiha Clan could be buried and turned to ash, and they still would not live to see that day.
He remembered that even in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, those two old fossils, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, were still Konoha's senior advisors.
"...""Whoosh!"
Yashiro Uchiha completely lost it, slashing his kunai at Feng.
"Clang!"
Swordsmanship: Iaijutsu
Feng swiftly drew his blade and blocked.
But then he instantly retreated.
"I knew it. Words alone would never make an Uchiha obediently listen.
So, Uncle Yashiro, let's change locations. I don't want to tear down the City Lord's Manor."
As Feng retreated from the rooftops toward the outskirts of the city, he spoke.
Yashiro Uchiha said nothing. He merely put away his weapon and silently followed Feng.
Before you continue