Doujue: Kurenai, don't do this...

In the original timeline, Shinku Yuhi had died during the Nine-Tails' Attack. But in this life, Uchiha Douyang had dragged him out of the village to visit the pleasure district the night before the attack broke out, allowing him to escape that fate.

Shinku Yuhi's residence stood beside the Naka River in the village, in pleasant surroundings.

Uchiha Douyang carried two bottles of vodka. Under the sunlight, the colorless liquor shone with an alluring glow.

Shinku Yuhi had a particular fondness for vodka, and Douyang had bought these two bottles especially for him.

"Douyang, you're here."

The moment Uchiha Douyang entered the courtyard, Kurenai Yuhi's voice rang out, and he froze.

Kurenai Yuhi wore a black ninja outfit, her shapely, slender legs wrapped in fishnet stockings. Her red eyes surveyed Uchiha Douyang with the hint of a smile.

While Douyang stood stunned, Kurenai Yuhi walked over, deftly reached out, and cupped his cheeks.

Uchiha Douyang was a little flustered. "Kurenai, don't do this. I..."

Before he could finish, Kurenai Yuhi used both hands to pull his eyelids open and teased, "Still haven't awakened your eyes, huh? Douyang, you really are a little failure."

The corners of Uchiha Douyang's mouth twitched slightly.

He really wanted to say, Setting the facts aside, aren't you at fault too, Kurenai?

As a transmigrator who still hadn't awakened his Sharingan at seventeen, Uchiha Douyang felt helpless about it too.

Shisui had successfully awakened his Sharingan in his second year at the Ninja Academy, becoming the youngest Uchiha in history to awaken it.

For a long time afterward, the pets raised by the clan's children met with misfortune one after another. Some had their eyes cruelly gouged out, some disappeared mysteriously, and some died for no apparent reason.

Those pets, which had grown up alongside the children, also bore the mission of helping them awaken their eyes. The ones abusing them were those very children's parents and elders.

Trading worthless pets for the precious Sharingan was hardly objectionable.

Even so, Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan remained few and far between.

Awakening the Sharingan had little to do with exceptional talent. The key was psychological stimulation.

Generally speaking, experiencing a tragedy such as the death of a companion or parent gave one a high chance of awakening it.

Uchiha Itachi, for instance, had successfully awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan at eight after witnessing Obito Uchiha brutally murder his companion.

Another example was Uchiha Izumi, whose parents had died during the Nine-Tails' Attack. Overwhelming grief had awakened her Sharingan.

Uchiha Douyang was a transmigrator.

Thanks to the education he had received in his previous life, his horizons and way of thinking went beyond those of the Shinobi World.

On top of that, he had lived two lives and seen his share of storms.

This had given him a firm will. He could remain unshaken in the face of many misfortunes, making it harder for him to awaken his Sharingan than other Uchiha.

Uchiha Douyang wasn't a genius ninja like Kakashi, either. Aside from Medical Ninjutsu, his accomplishments in other areas could only be called mediocre.

Kurenai Yuhi, by contrast, came from a civilian family. After receiving her father Shinku Yuhi's teachings, she had become a jonin at fourteen and now served as a squad leader in the Anbu. Her future could be called limitless.

Although the Uchiha were Konoha's foremost ninja clan, an Uchiha who hadn't awakened the Sharingan had no particularly significant advantage over civilian ninja.

"The more you gain, the more you lose. Douyang is fine the way he is now."

Shinku Yuhi suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

He wore a black training outfit, a gentle smile resting on his sharply defined features. His red eyes were keen and deep, as though they could see through people's hearts.

As a veteran jonin of the Hokage faction, Shinku Yuhi had access to some core secrets, including the mechanism behind the Sharingan's evolution.

Awakening those eyes meant misfortune.

Misfortune for oneself, and for those nearby as well.

This was also one reason most people disliked the Uchiha.

Shinku Yuhi invited Douyang to sit beneath the cherry tree in the courtyard.

"Uncle Shinku, your favorite vodka." Uchiha Douyang handed over the vodka he was carrying.

As Shinku Yuhi looked at the two bottles Douyang had brought, an inscrutable expression appeared on his face.

He and Douyang could be considered friends despite their age difference, yet he had never been able to understand how someone like Douyang had emerged from the Uchiha.

It was rare to see an Uchiha visit someone bearing gifts.

They were accustomed to keeping to themselves and weren't good at socializing. More precisely, they disdained it.

Over the course of its development, the Uchiha Clan had ingrained arrogance into its very bones.

Uchiha Douyang was clearly an exception, however. Instead of the usual Uchiha haughtiness, he had an air of friendliness and tact.

And... he was also a little improper.

Remembering how Douyang had dragged him along to the pleasure district, Shinku Yuhi couldn't help blushing.

An honest, decent man like him had been led astray by that little brat Douyang.

After Uchiha Douyang sat down, the two began chatting.

Shinku Yuhi said that rumors had been spreading through the village lately, with some villagers believing the Uchiha were too harsh in enforcing the law.

Uchiha Douyang said he would recommend that Clan Head Fugaku crack down hard on the rumor-mongers!

The Uchiha placed great importance on friendly relations with the village. All reactionaries who sowed discord and spread statements undermining unity were paper tigers.

He also said the Uchiha would earnestly study and implement the Third Hokage's important speeches on the Will of Fire, strengthening communication between the Uchiha and the villagers.

Shinku Yuhi said the Third Hokage would formulate welfare policies for the Uchiha Clan to highlight the village's concern for them.

Douyang immediately declared that under the Third Hokage's leadership, and with the wholehearted support of the villagers, the village and the Uchiha would surely eliminate their estrangement and create a bright future together.

Once their conversation ended, Kurenai Yuhi, who had long since grown impatient, grabbed Uchiha Douyang and pulled him toward the gate.

After a few steps, Kurenai Yuhi stopped and turned to Shinku Yuhi. "Dad, I told Aunt Keiko to make one fewer portion for dinner. Tonight... I won't be coming home tonight."

At those words, excitement flickered in Douyang's eyes.

Five years. Was he finally going to get a taste?

He didn't notice that his brain was slowly secreting a special kind of chakra, which gradually flowed toward his eyes.

Hearing his beloved daughter's words, Shinku Yuhi's gaze instantly turned dangerous. Looking at Uchiha Douyang's back, he warned, "I'm telling you, brat, don't you try anything."

"Don't worry, Uncle Shinku. I definitely won't try anything." Uchiha Douyang waved a hand, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

If he said he wouldn't try anything, he wouldn't.

Of course, if Kurenai Yuhi tried something, he wouldn't resist.

After the two left, Shinku Yuhi let out a long sigh.

The conflict between the village and the Uchiha had existed for over forty years, and the Nine-Tails' Attack five years ago had pushed it straight to its peak. The Third Hokage and Uchiha Fugaku had struggled to hold things together ever since.

But Shinku Yuhi could see that neither the Third Hokage nor Uchiha Fugaku could eliminate the conflict at its root.

Shinku Yuhi raised his glass, drained it in one gulp, and murmured to himself, "Douyang, just how far can this wind of yours blow?"

He was a staunch member of the Hokage faction, absolutely loyal to the Hokage.

But who held the title of Hokage didn't matter.