Give an Uchiha girl a home

Late at night.

Genya lay on the tatami in his room, cold moonlight casting light and shadow across his face.

His fingers brushed the corner of his eye. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan...

His strength was steadily growing. The improvements brought by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan were immense: motion tracking, perception, copying abilities, resistance to genjutsu...

All of this had opened a gulf between him and ordinary ninja.

Yet he felt no relief whatsoever.

His father, Sosuke Uchiha, went out late at night. It had almost become a nightly routine: clan meetings.

The meetings were growing more frequent and lasting longer.

The invisible rift between the clan compound and the village was widening and deepening at a visible pace.

"Time... is passing too quickly."

Genya stared at the ceiling.

Several years had passed since he arrived in this world, taking him from an oblivious infant to a "genius" who now possessed three tomoe.

It seemed like a long time, but against the tide of history, it was no more than an instant.

Shisui Uchiha... the tragic figure who tried to change his clan's fate single-handedly, only to have one of his Mangekyō Sharingan stolen and end up jumping off a cliff in "suicide."

His death was the pivotal turning point that sent the Uchiha Clan sliding into the abyss. It was also a crucial catalyst that awakened Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan and ultimately hardened his resolve to "massacre the clan."

That moment was already close at hand.

And with Genya's current strength...

Even though he possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and his Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and chakra control far surpassed those of his peers and even many adult ninja...

He still felt so powerless before the impending massacre, plotted by Danzo, carried out by Obito, and with Itachi wielding the blade.

He was still nowhere near strong enough to prevent the entire Uchiha Clan's destruction!

"The Mangekyō Sharingan..."

Genya murmured, his expression both fervent and grave.

It represented a fundamental transformation in an Uchiha's power, the key to joining the ranks of the strongest. It was also the fastest way he could currently think of to dramatically increase his strength and give himself more leverage!

Based on his understanding of the Uchiha bloodline and the original story, the key to awakening the Mangekyō was "intense emotional stimulation."

Especially overwhelming pain, grief, or loss involving those one loved most.

That stimulation needed to be powerful enough to break through the limits of an ordinary Sharingan, drawing out the stronger Yin Release power buried deep within the bloodline.

"Yin power... mental strength..."

Genya pondered.

Thanks to the system's rewards and his own training, his mental strength already far exceeded that of ordinary people. That was his foundation.

But a powerful "vessel" alone was not enough. He also needed sufficiently intense, pure "fuel" to ignite it.

His gaze grew dark and inscrutable.

At present, the people with whom he shared the deepest bonds, and who could theoretically provoke the strongest emotional response, were undoubtedly Nami and Hinata.

Both of their affection ratings exceeded 90.

If... if I used those feelings to create some illusion or situation involving "loss" or "shock"...

The moment that thought arose, Genya forcibly suppressed it, a cold sense of disgust stirring within him.

If he pursued power by any means necessary, even hurting people who genuinely cared for him, how would he be any different from the likes of Danzo and Obito?

That crossed his bottom line.

"No. There has to be another way..."

Genya closed his eyes and cleared away the distracting thoughts.

"Intense emotional stimulation doesn't necessarily have to come from negative feelings. The will to protect, an unyielding conviction unleashed in the face of despair, or..."

He recalled the circumstances of the awakenings in the original story.

Obito had witnessed Rin's death, and Itachi had witnessed Shisui's.

Sasuke had learned the "truth" about Itachi... all of them seemed closely tied to "loss" and "pain."

But perhaps there was more than one path?

Sarada... love?

That was too ridiculous...

System, are there any hints or methods for safely awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Genya tried communicating with the system in his mind.

[Ding! The host lacks sufficient authorization, or the relevant conditions have not been met. Hint: deep bonds are a source of power and may also be a key. Please explore on your own.]

The system's answer was ambiguous.

"I can't keep taking things one step at a time."

Genya sat up, three tomoe appearing in his eyes and gleaming red in the moonlight.

"I have to take the initiative, gather more intelligence, and gain more control over the situation. Shisui... might be a starting point. And I have to improve my standard combat abilities faster, so I'm ready for any conflict that might come."

He made up his mind.

Starting tomorrow, besides his regular training and maintaining his bonds...

He would gather information more discreetly, particularly about Shisui, the clan meetings, and the village's movements.

Strength was his only means of surviving and changing things.

And for now, he could only rely on the system to reach greater heights!

Genya's plans grew ever clearer in his mind.

Relying on regular training or waiting for some elusive "opportunity" to awaken the Mangekyō was too risky. There might not be enough time, either.

The system was currently his clearest path to becoming stronger.

"Deep bonds are a source of power and may also be a key..."

If he wanted greater improvements, especially in the "yin power" and "fundamental mental transformation" that awakening the Mangekyō might require...

Perhaps... he needed more, deeper "bonds" to serve as a catalyst together?

"I should make some time, find an opportunity... see whether Nami has any particularly close friends, sisters, or anyone like that..."

Genya's fingers unconsciously tapped the edge of the tatami.

"If I can form new bonds through Nami... would bonds on a mental level help me break through the barrier to the Mangekyō?"

He was exploiting someone else's feelings, even planning to extend that exploitation to an innocent third party, solely to gain power.

His gaze turned toward the night outside his window, over the Uchiha Clan Compound.

It was as though he could see through the walls to that cozy little courtyard, to the unreserved trust and dependence in Nami's eyes when she looked at him.

I'm sorry, Nami...

Genya whispered inwardly.

Right now, this is the relatively safe method I can think of that's most likely to increase my strength quickly. Forgive me...

He took a deep breath, as though trying to convince himself, or perhaps constructing a grand-sounding justification.

All of this is so I can have enough strength. So that when that night comes, I can protect you, protect my father and mother, protect everyone I care about...

So I can fight for a beautiful, happy future for you-for us!

So I can give a lovely Uchiha girl a home...

However that excuse sounded, he knew it was merely a near-shameless attempt to absolve himself for the sake of achieving his goal.

"I really am... getting more and more accustomed to this world's rules of survival."

Genya gave a self-mocking smile. To stay alive, to change that despairing future.

You evil Shimura Danzō, I'll be the one to protect the lovely Uchiha girls!