"What, are you going to tell me why you're here? Or perhaps there's someone backing you?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
If Tengen had allies, Tsunade or Jiraiya were the likely candidates. But Orochimaru's senses detected no one nearby, ruling them out.
The notion of someone evading his detection was unthinkable. This was his stronghold, rigged with sensory ninjutsu. His awareness here was unparalleled.
"There's no one behind me, and I have nothing to tell you, Sensei." Tengen said, shaking his head.
"Still joking with your sensei?" Orochimaru's smile turned eerie.
"Not at all, Sensei. I want to show you something you might find familiar." Tengen said, closing his eyes. Under Orochimaru's puzzled gaze, he opened them again, revealing blood-red pupils with a single spinning tomoe.
"Sharingan." Orochimaru gasped, his mind reeling. He knew of the Uchiha clan's famed kekkei genkai, but Tengen possessing it was unthinkable.
"Are you an Uchiha?" Orochimaru's gaze bore into Tengen. "Perfect. I've been eager to study your bloodline limit."
"An Uchiha, loosely speaking. But no one knows I've awakened the Sharingan. You're the first, Sensei." Tengen said with a smile.
"Then I'm honored." Orochimaru said, his eyes glinting. "At your age, awakening a single-tomoe Sharingan is impressive."
"That's not quite it, Sensei." Tengen said, shaking his head. His pupils shifted, now displaying two spinning tomoe.
The Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Two-Tomoe Sharingan." Orochimaru said, stunned.
A nine-year-old with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan was unprecedented in Uchiha history. Could Tengen be a lost prodigy of the clan, a genius on par with Hashirama or Madara?
But Tengen's eyes continued to evolve. The two tomoe morphed into three.
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan." Orochimaru said, his voice almost a groan.
Only elite Uchiha, Jonin-level ninja, achieved the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Its rarity was immense, yet here it was, in a nine-year-old. This wasn't just genius, it was monstrous.
"Are you really Tengen?" Orochimaru said, drawing a sharp breath.
"Of course I'm Tengen, Sensei." Tengen replied calmly.
"I never imagined the greatest Sharingan prodigy would be you. Compared to you, Shisui is nothing." Orochimaru said softly. "I'm very interested in you, Tengen. Come to your sensei obediently."
"Even with Jonin-level strength, you're no match for me." Orochimaru added, his tone soothing, as if coaxing a child.
"Sensei, do you know about the legendary eyes of the Uchiha?" Tengen asked abruptly.
"The legendary eyes… Madara's?" Orochimaru hesitated, recalling distant tales.
With Shisui yet to awaken his Mangekyo, the Mangekyo Sharingan was a fading legend, whispered to wield apocalyptic power.
"I've heard the Three-Tomoe Sharingan can evolve further, into the Mangekyo Sharingan." Orochimaru said. "Tengen, you can't possibly…"
He trailed off, shock creeping into his voice. The Mangekyo was a myth, unseen in the Uchiha clan for over two decades. For it to manifest in a nine-year-old was beyond terrifying.
"Yes, Sensei. As the first to see my Sharingan and know my secret, let me show you the Mangekyo." Tengen said, his eyes shifting once more.
The tomoe reshaped, forming a central circle surrounded by four hollow rings, linked by semicircles, spinning ominously in his blood-red pupils.
A palpable sense of danger radiated from them, chilling the air.
Orochimaru felt the hair-raising aura, his composure faltering.
"This is the Mangekyo." He said, his face grim.
Legend held that the Mangekyo granted supreme power, allowing Madara to rival Hashirama. If true, Orochimaru might not only fail to defeat Tengen, he could be overpowered.
"Tengen, are you truly Tengen?" Orochimaru repeated, disbelief etched in his voice.
He couldn't fathom such eyes in a child. A seasoned Jonin wielding them might be conceivable, but Tengen's clear Konoha origins, unmarred by war or mystery, made this surreal. Orochimaru half-wondered if Tengen was some ancient spirit reborn.
"Sensei, I'm Tengen." Tengen affirmed.
Orochimaru exhaled heavily. "Tengen, why reveal your Mangekyo? To prove you're my equal?"
"Not at all, Sensei. I just don't want to end up as a corpse in your lab. I had no choice." Tengen said evenly.
"Then let me test the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan." Orochimaru said, steeling himself.
Tengen's discovery of the lab and his hidden abilities hardened Orochimaru's resolve to capture him. Only if he was certain he couldn't would he relent, a bitter humiliation, defeated by his own young student.
"My apologies, Sensei." Tengen said.
Tsukuyomi.
***
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