"Why must pain be the price of power? Can I not simulate sorrow?"
Sōgen's room was dark, scrolls tacked to every surface like an obsessionist's crypt.
A single question repeated, hundreds of times:
"How do I evolve my Sharingan without loss?"
Normally, to reach the Mangekyō, an Uchiha needed trauma.
A death. A betrayal. A heartbreak so deep it split the soul.
But what if you could fake it?
What if you could simulate the neurological profile of grief… through others?
The Network didn't just transmit skills anymore.
It now held:
Memories of regret
Emotional logs
Stress patterns
Dream fragments
All passive. All available.
---
> "If I can feel 3% of 400 people's grief simultaneously… is that enough?"
Sōgen began syncing to uploaded memories with high emotional charge.
He used temporal blending — letting sadness from multiple users overlap in his own mind for controlled periods.
He didn't cry.
But his chakra signature changed.
His Sharingan burned brighter for hours.
His depth perception sharpened.
His genjutsu range increased by 18%.
Not Mangekyō… not yet.
But he was climbing.