The Only One Would Be Me

In truth, Kitahara had overestimated his little one's stubbornness. He had not fully mastered Sage Mode at all. After barely managing to spread a pair of wings, black feathers gradually began covering his entire body.

Uchiha Itachi's expression shifted slightly... So close... Even so, the little one's progress was indeed remarkable. At the very least, Jiraiya could not absorb enough natural energy within a single second.

Though Kitahara had no idea what tantrum he was throwing this time, he could only send a powerful stream of senjutsu Chakra into Itachi's body. "Caw..."

Sage Mode!

The wings behind Uchiha Itachi slowly flapped. The surging senjutsu Chakra gave him an imposing aura, and Sasuke, beside him, ran in panic toward Mikoto's embrace...

"Is this the result of your training with Lord Jiraiya?" Fugaku Uchiha stepped back into the room, calmly shut the door, and looked at his beloved eldest son. "Itachi, you're still young..."

"Dad!" Uchiha Itachi interrupted his father and said quietly, "Because I'm still young, I wouldn't notice anything strange when my friends died in front of me, right?"

"It was just someone talking nonsense..." Fugaku Uchiha waved a hand listlessly and sat back down at the table. "You can't tell anyone about this."

As Itachi lowered his head, his black wings drooped as well. "Does that include Shisui? Killing Shisui's companions in front of him and forcing him to increase his Sharingan's ocular power..."

"Itachi, if you want to condemn me, there's no need to do it at home." Fugaku Uchiha did not directly answer the boy's question. Instead, he turned to his wife. "You and Sasuke, leave first..."

This reunion dinner was destined not to continue. Kitahara had just figured out why Uchiha Itachi and Fugaku had come into direct conflict... Because of Shisui?

Before Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, it had been inevitable that members of the Uchiha clan would suggest something so cruel.

The younger one was, the simpler one's feelings were, and the more likely one was to act impulsively... So when faced with facts they could not accept, they would not suppress their emotional outbursts. This was the fastest and simplest way to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fugaku Uchiha clearly remembered everything surrounding his own awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan. His friend had died during the Shinobi World War, and at that time, he had been unable to accept it as well...

But as time passed, he had silently accepted that this was the price of power.

At today's clan meeting at Naka Shrine, Shisui had been unable to attend because he was on a mission to the Land of Grass. Then someone suddenly proposed killing Shisui's companion to help Uchiha Shisui awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan...

The Mangekyō Sharingan was the Uchiha clan's greatest secret...

It was not as though no one had guessed how to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. The problem was that things like love and hatred... sounded far too vague.

Some clan members awakened their Sharingan after witnessing the deaths of close friends. Slowly, they grew accustomed to death. They had long since seen life and death so often that they remained unmoved... They could not even add a single tomoe to their eyes.

To put it bluntly, their talent was simply too poor. And as members of the Uchiha clan, after abandoning emotions... how could they possibly improve their Sharingan's ocular power?

"Itachi, you're only six years old. There are many things you can't accept..."

"No matter how old I get, I could never accept something like this!" Uchiha Itachi suddenly looked at his father, then abruptly changed the subject. "Didn't someone in the clan also suggest that I use this method to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Itachi..."

"It seems no one objected. Who do they want to die in front of me?" Empowered by Sage Mode, Uchiha Itachi's eyes glowed a brilliant red, making him look especially terrifying...

Fugaku's spirits gradually sank. "That won't happen, Itachi..."

"If I hadn't heard you discussing Shisui..." Uchiha Itachi slowly lowered his head. "Dad, how long would you have kept it from me?"

Listening in, Kitahara thought he had understood the whole story. Just as he was about to say a few words to Itachi, Fugaku pressed his head onto the table...

It seemed the actual situation was far more complicated than he had understood.

Even though Uchiha Itachi had become Jiraiya's disciple, the rift between the Uchiha and the village had continued to widen over everyday matters. Some people wanted a higher status... or rather, the status they believed they deserved.

Konoha had suffered the appearance of two S-rank rogue ninja in succession, greatly weakening the village's top-level combat strength... They had begun entertaining other thoughts. At a time like this, they needed greater power.

Uchiha Shisui, whom the Uchiha clan universally believed would surely awaken the Mangekyō, had remained at the Three-Tomoe Sharingan stage for two years... They wanted to make one final gamble.

According to historical observations, the older one became and the more experience one gained, the lower the chance of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan... Shisui was ten this year and had just entered adolescence. Though it was not as reliable as before true adulthood, it was still a good time.

Logically, the fewer people who knew of something this filthy, the better... Yet someone had openly proposed it at the clan meeting, and many had echoed the suggestion. Fugaku Uchiha himself had experience awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.

After considering it, he believed the plan had a high chance of success...

And if the clan possessed two pairs of Mangekyō now, the Uchiha would hold the advantage when negotiating with the village.

The clan head neither approved nor opposed it. Uchiha Shisui had a good relationship with both him and his family, and unless it became absolutely necessary, he had no intention of carrying out the plan.

Then someone suddenly brought up the clan head's foolish son, who now possessed a Three-Tomoe Sharingan as well... Fugaku did not even know how that information had leaked.

Those clan members laughed and proposed that if Shisui truly awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, they could use the same method to help Itachi become the youngest Mangekyō wielder.

As the clan head, Fugaku could only nod along helplessly.

His clansmen truly were... beyond saving... They had actually placed all their hopes on the Mangekyō Sharingan Shisui might awaken.

After the meeting ended, Fugaku Uchiha saw Itachi returning, expressionlessly holding his younger brother with red-rimmed eyes... It seemed he had heard everything that had happened inside.

After returning home, Fugaku had wanted to talk about it as they always had before, but Uchiha Itachi remained perfectly calm... as though he knew nothing at all...

Unfortunately, aside from fooling his little brother, he could not fool anyone in this life.

No one understood their son better than Fugaku and Mikoto. Of course, perhaps a crow that was not human had learned about him through other channels...

If he kept suppressing his emotions like this and shouldering all his worries alone, the child's mind would sooner or later suffer. Fugaku could only find a way to console him... Or rather, force Uchiha Itachi to let it all out...

The only unexpected thing was, when had his son developed the habit of entering Sage Mode at the drop of a hat? Looking at Uchiha Itachi in this state, Fugaku really wanted to say what he had said before...

As expected of my son...

The little boy looked at his still-silent father. The tears pooled in his eyes finally slowly fell. He stepped forward, took Kitahara from Fugaku's side, and strode outside.

After watching his son leave completely, Fugaku smiled and suddenly said softly, "Itachi, if I believed this method could help you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, then the person who died in front of you would only be me."

The old father, who did not understand just how powerful Sage Mode's sensory abilities were, would never know that his son outside had already wept tears of blood...

Second update. That's all for now. And please send some recommendation votes my way—tomorrow, this story might lose its featured placement.