Plan B begins: The Mangekyo lie

There was a hint of resignation in Jin's voice as he spoke.

Ever since the day he had crossed over, he had been wholly focused on figuring out how to keep himself hidden.

He wished nobody would notice him at all.

He had imagined quietly growing stronger, then making a stunning entrance one day and sweeping away all those monsters and schemers.

With the Third Shinobi World War underway, he had originally planned to keep coasting.

But who could have expected the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to show up and throw all his plans into disarray?

At this point, his only choice was to activate Plan B.

He let out a long breath, unable to keep himself from sighing.

"Good thing I'm an Uchiha."

"Unlike the other ninja clans, the Uchiha's Sharingan simply defies reason."

"Even a clansman who hasn't awakened his eyes can double or triple his fighting strength the moment he does, never mind the Mangekyo."

"A few members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? They're not even worth mentioning before the Mangekyo!"

Exactly.

Jin Uchiha figured that since he could no longer play the meek nobody, he might as well get on with it.

Being weak certainly had its advantages.

Not only could he avoid all the leadership's nonsense, but he could also stay in the background and slowly make his arrangements.

Still, being strong came with its own advantages.

Although he would inevitably become the center of attention and get dragged into the struggle between the leadership and the Uchiha, he would certainly have far more freedom than before.

He would also face much less resistance when handling certain matters.

Overall, the advantages and disadvantages balanced out.

Of course, given the choice, he would still have preferred to keep hiding.

Well, what choice did I have?

But that was fine. Even if he was forced to reveal his strength, nobody should expect that to stop him from continuing to lie low.

At most, he would change how he did it.

"Will this really work?" Shisui couldn't help asking. "The Mangekyo Sharingan sounds plausible enough, but what if someone exposes the lie?"

"After all, the Mangekyo is the pride of the Uchiha. The clan head and elders are bound to investigate this thoroughly afterward."

"Yan, have you thought about that too?"

Kazama Nara and Aya Hyuga frowned, both silently beginning to weigh things up.

Without realizing it, their little group had already banded together.

None of them wanted to report him. They were all thinking about how to help him cover this up.

"I think we should use a different explanation," Kazama Nara said. "Why not give Shisui all the credit for killing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"

Aya Hyuga nodded along.

She also thought that would be more reliable. After all, Shisui's reputation as a genius had long since spread throughout the Hidden Leaf Village.

People would find it easier to believe that he had suddenly unleashed his full potential.

"No, absolutely not." Jin Uchiha shook his head immediately. "I don't care about that bit of credit. The problem is that doing this would put Shisui in far too much danger afterward."

Shisui was too softhearted. If someone asked him for help, he would almost certainly agree.

If this were pinned on him, then in the future, not just the Uchiha but even the Third Hokage would work Shisui the way they had once worked Sakumo Hatake.

Could Shisui's slight frame bear that burden?

Everyone fell silent.

The more they thought about Jin Uchiha's concerns, the more sense they made.

Even Shisui, who had been about to nod in agreement, fell quiet after hearing him out.

Seeing their reactions, Jin Uchiha chuckled softly.

"Everyone, rest easy."

"I can feel that my Sharingan is already on the verge of a breakthrough."

Before long, he would fully awaken the Mangekyo.

There was no lie in that statement.

With the system's stats panel right there, everything was perfectly clear.

Even on the battlefield these past few days, he had actually still been coasting, and his experience points had naturally kept shooting upward.

The Mangekyo Sharingan?

He figured that as long as he kept lying low for a few more days, his eyes would evolve naturally.

No emotional stimulus needed!

Everyone present sucked in a sharp breath at his words.

Even Shisui was no exception.

In fact, Shisui had the same feeling himself. With just a little more stimulation, he would be able to awaken his own Mangekyo.

Yet he had never imagined that before a genius like himself even reached the final threshold, Jin, whom everyone regarded as the disgrace of the Uchiha, would be about to awaken the Mangekyo ahead of him.

"That's great!" Shisui laughed, finally able to relax.

Aya Hyuga and Kazama Nara also let out long breaths of relief.

Only after everyone had agreed did Jin Uchiha call out to them.

"Even after awakening the Mangekyo, the strain it puts on the body is terrifying."

"Especially for someone like me, awakening it for the first time. There's no way I could kill the Seven Ninja Swordsmen effortlessly."

"I'll have to drain all my chakra and make myself pass out."

"As for what happens next..."

"I'm counting on all of you to explain things to the Frontline Camp!"

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

As his words fell, Jin Uchiha formed hand seals and unleashed Fire Release once more.

Unlike other Fire Release techniques, Great Fire Annihilation might only be B-rank ninjutsu, but its power depended entirely on the user's ability.

Even if a genin learned it, they could only spit out a few little sparks.

In Madara Uchiha's hands, however, it could instantly produce an entire sea of flames. He could even destroy a small ninja village with this technique alone.

During the earlier battle, Jin had been forced to conserve his strength when using it.

Now, there was no need.

To completely drain the chakra inside him, he pushed it straight to maximum output.

Almost instantly, a sea of flames surged upward.

Shisui: "..."

Kazama: "..."

Aya: "..."

Looking at the sea of flames before them, all three were too shocked to speak.

Who could possibly call this B-rank ninjutsu?

Even those legendary forbidden techniques probably weren't much more powerful than this, were they?

A little over ten minutes later.

With his chakra exhausted, he went rigid and passed out.

Shisui reached out to catch him and was just about to speak when a large group of Hidden Leaf ninja arrived.

Seeing the scorched ruins before them, Fugaku Uchiha, who was leading the group, was the first to ask a question.

"Shisui, what exactly happened?"

At Fugaku's call, everyone else naturally turned their eyes toward Shisui.

Shisui said nothing.

This was his first time making up a lie, and he felt rather awkward.

He steadied himself and composed his emotions a little before slowly speaking.

"We ran into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

"Just as we were about to be wiped out, Jin suddenly awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, evolving straight from a two-tomoe Sharingan."

"Then he unleashed Susanoo and slaughtered all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

What?

The moment Shisui said that, every Hidden Leaf jonin who had rushed over froze.

The Uchiha in particular couldn't help looking again and again at the unconscious Jin Uchiha when they heard the words "Mangekyo Sharingan."

Not a single person present was willing to believe it.

Fugaku sucked in a deep breath and asked, his face full of disbelief.

"Shisui, could you say that again?"

"You're saying Jin Uchiha awakened the Mangekyo, then used Susanoo to kill all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"

"Are you sure you're not talking nonsense?"

"..."