"You don't know your own background? Did you really think the clan rejected you just because your hair was a different color?"
Watanabe Ichiro's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wasn't that why? I don't know. No one ever told me."
"Right, heh. You have no idea. Every child in the Uchiha Clan was told from an early age not to associate with you, the descendant of a traitor."
"The descendant of a traitor? My parents...?"
Watanabe Ichiro couldn't help taking half a step forward.
"Who were they?"
"They were..."
A shuriken flew at him the instant his question distracted him. Watanabe Ichiro seemed so absorbed in the revelation that he failed to dodge. The shuriken sank deep into his shoulder, and blood streamed down his arm.
While Uchiha A stood to one side and distracted him with conversation, Uchiha B and Uchiha C seized the chance to attack. The moment their strike landed, they closed in, launching a disgraceful two-on-one beating.
This time, Watanabe Ichiro didn't have such an easy time handling them.
"Your father betrayed the honor of the Uchiha Clan. He murdered his own teammates and eloped with a woman from the Senju Clan."
"Half the blood flowing through your body is the filthy blood of the Senju Clan!"
"No one in the Uchiha Clan considers you one of us!"
"How could that be...?"
Under the guidance of ["coincidence"], the three Uchiha fought ruthlessly, risking their lives just to wound him and aiming every strike at a vital point.
Watanabe Ichiro didn't want to kill them. He held back, struggling to fend them off.
The wounds on his body multiplied. Finally, after a kunai plunged deep into his abdomen, he erupted in desperation. The three tomoe in his Sharingan rotated slowly, showing faint signs of linking together. The emerging pattern actually resembled the Rinnegan.
He brutally overwhelmed all three in their genjutsu clash, regardless of the cost. The instant their bodies froze, he closed in with the Body Flicker Technique, held his fingers together like a blade, and struck the backs of their necks, knocking them unconscious.
Then he leaned against the training ground's fence and slowly slid down, landing in a miserable heap on the ground. His eyes were vacant as he muttered to himself.
"So... I was never accepted at all... Everyone kept it from me. I was the only one who didn't know. Heh... What the hell is this?"
He ignored his wounds, letting the blood gush freely. The three tomoe in his eyes began linking more slowly, then finally reverted to three separate tomoe amid Black Zetsu's silent internal screams.
Aaaaaah, Uchiha Ichiro!!!!
Hatred! Hurry up and think about something you hate!
Don't stop! Don't stop!
That pattern! There's no way I was mistaken! It was incredibly close to the Rinnegan's pattern, a phenomenon unlike anything seen throughout history!
His beady eyes gleamed with madness. Could a descendant of the Senju and Uchiha Clans skip the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan stage and evolve straight to the Rinnegan?
Could being the reincarnations of Indra and Asura be unnecessary?
I've never found an example before, but it's worth a try. I can make Uchiha Ichiro my plan B for the Rinnegan!
If it works, I can use the hatred in his heart to evolve his eyes into the Rinnegan, summon the God Tree, and unleash [Infinite Tsukuyomi].
If it fails, I can still have him help Madara Uchiha and guide this generation's reincarnation of Indra toward completing the plan.
Even if both fail, that's fine. There's still plenty of time. I can wait until the next suitable person appears.
So Uchiha Ichiro is worth winning over!
Black Zetsu approached Uchiha Ichiro and grew anxious at the sight of his blank, unresponsive face.
Does this guy have a death wish? He's bled all over the ground. Why isn't he bandaging himself?
He poked his head out from behind Watanabe Ichiro, pitch-black and resembling a puddle of slime.
"Ichiro..."
Having someone approach so closely triggered Watanabe Ichiro's defensive instincts. He tried to dodge reflexively, but his injuries left him too weak to manage it.
He watched in silence as Black Zetsu squirmed over and adhered to the wound on his abdomen.
"Aren't you going to ask who I am?"
A gentle warmth enveloped his abdomen, slowly healing it.
Huh? Black Zetsu can do this too? Watanabe Ichiro had always thought only certain White Zetsu could.
"If you want to tell me, you will."
Watanabe Ichiro spoke wearily. This blow seemed to have hit him hard.
What a child.
Black Zetsu sneered inwardly. Did merely uncovering the secret of his origins warrant such despair?
I've been separated from Mom for nearly a thousand years. Aside from all this black pigment, I barely inherited anything good. I'm the one who's had it worst! My pain is far greater than yours!
(Pain: You there? Why are you stealing my lines?)
"You haven't earned the right to know who I am yet. Heh, child, once you've experienced this world's endless pain and despair, we will meet again..."
He dissolved like water.
He really knows how to put on a mysterious act.
Watanabe Ichiro watched him vanish into the ground. Yet he hadn't gone far at all, merely hiding in the shadows to observe his reaction.
Fine, fine. Want to put on an act with me? I'll screw you over someday.
He sat on the ground, pressing a hand to his freshly healed skin, his expression dazed.
"Endless pain and despair...?"
He rose and staggered back to his home in the Uchiha compound.
Ever since the incident involving Uchiha Izuna, most of Konoha's capable ninja had been assigned a search mission. That search had only ended after Madara Uchiha discovered traces of [Black Zetsu].
Meanwhile, to maintain [Black Zetsu]'s existence with a Wood Clone, Watanabe Ichiro had accepted several urgent A-rank missions that took him away. Counting it up, he hadn't returned in almost half a year. With no one tending the place, a thin layer of dust had settled over everything.
He stood in the doorway and let out a forlorn sigh, deliberately speaking for the benefit of Black Zetsu, who had followed him.
"I never realized before just how remote and cramped my home was."
He tidied up briefly, then left the clan compound.
Outside Tobirama Senju's laboratory.
"Lord Tobirama." A lowered voice came through the door, its tone subdued.
"Come in." Tobirama Senju straightened the sheets of writing on his desk and weighed them down one by one so the draft from the door wouldn't scatter them.
Watanabe Ichiro pushed the door open and entered, unusually without his Anbu mask.
Although his clothes were clean and neat, the fresh wounds on his exposed skin made it clear he had just been in a fight.
"Hmm?" Tobirama Senju raised an eyebrow, his red eyes studying the injuries. Sensing Ichiro's low spirits, he made a rare joke, amusement entering his voice. "What happened? Did some girl beat you up because you wouldn't return her feelings?"
"You're joking, teacher."
Watanabe Ichiro stood to one side, looking listless.
Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had taught him for a time during his Ninja Academy days, so he could be considered their student.
"These are the materials you needed. I collected some in the Land of Wind while carrying out my missions..."
He offered a scroll with both hands.
Noticing that something was wrong with him, Tobirama Senju made up his mind. Once Watanabe Ichiro finished his report, he handed him a Sealing Scroll.
"This is your payment: the [Flying Thunder God Technique], which I've recently refined. It consumes less chakra and allows for longer-distance teleportation, but the demands of learning it have also increased severalfold."
Huh? What's this? A freebie!
Watanabe Ichiro was genuinely stunned. He had coveted the [Flying Thunder God Technique] for ages, but redeeming it through the system cost far too many points. Besides, it was Tobirama Senju's signature technique. He had never imagined Tobirama Senju would actually pass it on to him.
"You've earned this, Ichiro, but don't celebrate too soon. This technique is extremely difficult to master. If you fail, losing your head is common, and getting lost in space-time is practically routine."
"So you may only practice under my supervision. You are absolutely forbidden from attempting it alone."
Tobirama Senju spoke sternly, pushing the documents in front of him a little farther away.
"So move in here for a while."
"Remember to bring your bedding. I don't have any spare."
Watanabe Ichiro's eyes softened with emotion. What a good man. I almost can't bear to make you a sacrifice for awakening my Mangekyō Sharingan.
He lowered his head, feeling a pang of conscience, and quietly agreed.
Before you continue