Apprenticeship

In the room, Uchiha Yu had already been standing before the mirror for over half an hour.

He was not looking at the bloody scratch Yakushi Nonō had left by the corner of his eye.

Nor was he admiring himself.

He was looking at his eyes!

His gaze was no longer the ordinary look it had once been. It now carried a new sharpness and depth.

Within his pupils, the once-normal black irises were now overlaid with a tiny tomoe-shaped pattern. The tomoe was a deep crimson, like a gemstone embedded in his eyes, radiating a mysterious gleam.

This was the One-Tomoe Sharingan!

The Uchiha Clan's unique Kekkei Genkai!

It signified that his eyes had entered the initial stage of awakening the Sharingan.

The tomoe's shape was simple yet elegant. It was not merely decoration, but a symbol of power.

The One-Tomoe Sharingan granted Uchiha Yu insight beyond that of ordinary people. He could catch the tiniest movements, predict an opponent's next move, and even copy basic ninjutsu and Taijutsu.

His eyes had become sharper, allowing him to perceive an opponent's Chakra Flow and giving him a prophetic advantage in battle.

Every blink seemed to let him feel the Chakra particles dancing in the air, and every stare seemed to let him see through the essence of things.

In Uchiha Yu's eyes, the world had become clearer. He could see details he had never noticed before and sense the subtle shifts in Chakra.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the changes brought by his new eyes.

Meanwhile, in the restroom behind a burger joint in New York, Stephen Fang was also studying himself in the mirror.

Sharingan (Single-Tomoe): Grants Uchiha clan members enhanced basic dynamic vision, allowing them to accurately capture rapidly moving objects and providing an initial advantage in insight and reaction during battle. It also offers a certain boost to genjutsu.

"These eyes look so damn cool!" Stephen Fang said, touching his eyelids. "Will we be able to use Amaterasu someday too?"

Pirate World Fang Yu held a bowl of freshly received Hiramishi and shook his head. "Don't even think about eyes on the Mangekyo Sharingan level for now."

Gulp, gulp.

The sticky sludge slid down his throat and into his stomach. Pirate World Fang Yu continued:

"Ninja World Fang Yu already did an excellent job. That reminds me of a 'genius' boy named Uchiha Sasuke, who watched his entire clan get slaughtered and awakened a Single-Tomoe Sharingan in a fit of rage."

"That's true! I was being too greedy!" Stephen Fang nodded. "Right now, it feels like time itself has slowed down! I can clearly see the flight path of a fly! This is amazing!"

"Go ahead and play with it. You'll get dizzy in less than a minute," Pirate World Fang Yu warned. "Compared to Japanese Manga World, the ability conversions gained in American Comic World are far inferior to what I get here."

Before he had even finished speaking, Stephen Fang suddenly felt the world spin!

The Sharingan's side effects made him vomit up the slices of beef he had just stolen.

"Blegh! That's disgusting!"

"That's what happens when you overuse your eyes. Don't keep them activated unless you have to," Pirate World Fang Yu reminded him.

"Yeah."

After tutoring his alt, Pirate World Fang Yu immediately started talking with Ninja World Fang Yu. "You awakened your eyes much faster than I expected."

Uchiha Yu stepped away from the mirror. "Yeah, it should be related to the Gene Lock."

Pirate World Fang Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think Itachi also had something to do with it. The survival instinct from nearly dying isn't much weaker than losing someone important."

"But that alone is still far from enough."

Uchiha Yu nodded. "But at least I have a foot in the door now."

According to incomplete statistics.

The Uchiha Clan had a total of eight hundred members.

Of them, only around seventy had awakened their eyes.

Most of them only had a Single-Tomoe Sharingan.

A "genius" like Uchiha Yu, who had awakened his eyes before even graduating from the Ninja Academy, was as rare as a phoenix feather.

The Uchiha Clan treated such eye-awakening geniuses quite well.

You only had to look at Obito, that Dead Last, to know.

Before Obito went to war, he had been an ordinary ninja who had not awakened his eyes.

Yet the Uchiha still gave him plenty of privileges.

For example, Uchiha-exclusive ninjutsu such as the Great Fireball Technique could only be accessed by civilian children after graduating from the Ninja Academy.

But any Uchiha ninja could learn it first.

"Someone like Itachi probably won't pay attention to you, but you'd better be careful anyway. Who knows whether he remembered your build," Pirate World Fang Yu warned.

"I can only take the risk. If I don't show some strength and gain the clan's attention, I'll still be doomed ten months from now."

At that moment, Stephen Fang, who had remained silent for a long time, interjected, "If that's the case, why can't you flee Konoha?"

"Heh. Flee?" Pirate World Fang Yu answered disdainfully. "Escaping Konoha would mean certain death."

Uchiha Yu patiently explained, "The Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai coveted by every village in the ninja world."

"Unlike other Kekkei Genkai, it isn't difficult to study. A simple eye transplant is enough to make the Sharingan your own."

"After the night of the clan massacre, if there were still the only two pairs of Sharingan left in the world outside Konoha—"

"One pair would be with Itachi."

"The other pair would be in my eye sockets."

"Then guess what my fate would be?"

Stephen Fang shrank his neck. "I won't give any more bad advice."

Uchiha Yu shrugged. "It's fine. People raised in a happy educational environment and people like us, raised in worlds where we licked blood off knife edges, are still somewhat different when it comes to crisis awareness."

The night passed without incident.

At daybreak the next morning, Uchiha Yu got up early.

Today, all the students in the Ninja Academy Training Class had an assessment.

Uchiha Yu had deliberately scheduled his assessment for the afternoon.

Because he had something extremely important to do that morning.

An hour later, the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, the Uchiha Clan Leader, and the father of both Itachi Uchiha and Uchiha Sasuke—Uchiha Fugaku—nodded solemnly.

"A genius among geniuses."

He said to his wife, Uchiha Mikoto, who was pouring tea beside him, "A peerless genius the Uchiha Clan sees only once in a century. Our son Itachi awakened his eyes at eight."

"Most clan members, meanwhile, only have a chance to awaken their eyes after the age of ten."

"This boy has only studied at the Ninja Academy for two years, yet he awakened his eyes at nine."

"Rare! Exceptionally rare!"

After pouring the tea, Uchiha Mikoto handed a cup to Uchiha Yu. Uchiha Yu hurriedly nodded in thanks. "Thank you, Clan Leader's wife."

Though he was polite, Uchiha Mikoto did not look kindly on him.

"Awakening early doesn't prove anything. Madara Uchiha awakened his eyes at fifteen, yet aside from the First Hokage, no one could match his achievements."

"That may be true," Uchiha Fugaku said with displeasure, "but can't you offer this child a little encouragement?"

"I'm afraid he'll become too proud." Uchiha Mikoto spoke with the corners of her mouth turned down, but her gaze drifted toward her younger son, Uchiha Sasuke, who was eavesdropping behind the folding screen.

Uchiha Yu finally understood why Uchiha Mikoto held such hostility toward him.

She felt that her seven-year-old son had ordinary talent and was far inferior to Itachi. She was afraid he might not even be as gifted as a civilian orphan.

Uchiha Yu thought of a joke and shared it with the other two Fang Yus.

"Why is she in such a hurry? Ten months from now, when she gets killed by her precious eldest son, Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, who witnesses everything, will awaken his eyes at seven and become the greatest in history."

Marvel Fang Yu: "That's truly hellish."

Pirate World Fang Yu: "You're not getting into heaven."