The tiny child was only five—still confused and innocent—but those naïve eyes, still carrying a hint of clear, foolish purity, were slowly overtaken by a glaring scarlet…
"It's the Sharingan!"
"It really is the Sharingan!"
"The young clan head… he can really help everyone awaken it!"
No one knew who screamed it first!
The quiet shrine exploded into a roaring wave of noise—shock, excitement, trembling joy—emotions tangled together and surged like a storm, drowning everyone inside.
Uchiha Setsuna's raised cane froze in midair. This time, he didn't need to stop anyone—nobody could move.
Behind him, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes were wide as he silently watched Roy focus, steadily pouring negative emotion into Shisui's heart. Images from Roy's childhood flashed through Fugaku's mind—his son had grown up so much without him noticing… and some things, it seemed, Roy didn't want his father to know.
"Buzz…"
The blood-red spread and condensed, gradually forming the shape of a tomoe. An invisible ripple spread outward…
In the main hall, people like Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Tekka held their breath, not blinking as they stared. Near the doorway, Obito wore a slack-jawed, dazed expression—his mouth hanging open, drool sliding from the corner without him noticing. His heart churned as he stared at Shisui like he was staring at himself—
If only it were me…
No one wanted to be dead last. No one wanted to be dead last. Every time Obito trained with Rin and Kakashi under Minato, and got beaten senseless by Kakashi, he'd imagined it:
If one day I awakened the Sharingan… I'd crush Kakashi and make Rin look at me differently.
Just once—beating Kakashi even once—would be enough.
And now… it felt like the chance was finally here.
Obito stared straight into Shisui's scarlet eyes as that bright tomoe slowly solidified… and then a second one began to appear—
His butt scooted forward. Sitting cross-legged, he edged closer toward the front of the hall.
[Prompt… detected a "potential follower"…]
[Driven by a craving for power, Uchiha Obito is racking his brain to get on the host's good side… Loyalty +10…]
The "negative emotion" flowed like clear glue—slow, steady, unstoppable…
Roy stabilized Shisui's mind again with the sun's trait, and at the same time he flicked his gaze toward the doorway. Right on cue—
Obito split into a huge grin and bared his big teeth at him clearly.
[Prompt… detected a "potential follower"…]
[Driven by a craving for power, Uchiha Inabi is racking his brain to get on the host's good side… Loyalty +10…]
[Prompt… detected a "potential follower"…]
[Driven by a craving for power, Uchiha Tekka is racking his brain to get on the host's good side… Loyalty +10…]
[Prompt… prompt… prompt…]
At the corner of the shrine roof, the wind chime rang ding-dong…
At the same time, the notifications poured into Roy's ears without end…
And when Roy wasn't satisfied with giving Shisui only one tomoe—when he pushed more "negative emotion" in, trying to force the second, the third—
It sounded like cognition itself was cracking, again and again, echoing through the hall.
Setsuna's cane finally lowered. His white beard trembled—he wanted to ask Roy if he could awaken more tomoe for people—
But he was terrified of disrupting Roy, so he just stood there, breathing, forcibly calming himself.
Behind Setsuna, Fugaku's tightly furrowed brow slowly eased… eased further… and then curled into a smile. He didn't say a word. He just swept his eyes over the clan… and then looked at Roy, and something inside him finally loosened.
Right… whether he hid things or held back, he's still my son.
Just that. Just that is enough.
[Negative emotion infusion: 50%… Remaining: 220%…]
The instant the third tomoe appeared in Shisui's pupils, Roy released his grip and tapped the boy's shoulders lightly.
[Prompt: "Investiture ritual" complete…]
[Faith Power +1]
Shisui's follower panel immediately appeared before Roy's eyes.
[Follower: Uchiha Shisui]
[Physique: 78 (Note: pores not opened)]
[Manifest aura: C-: 10,000/100,000 (Note: benchmarked to full-power Kakashi, ~0.1 "Kakashi")]
[Potential aura: B+: 78/1,000,000 (Note: benchmarked to full-power Kakashi, ~7.8 "Kakashi")]
[Evaluation: C (Needs pores opened to fix chakra deficit; near–Ant King level. As an adult, can match the Ant King)]
Roy's gaze shifted. He let out a quiet breath.
"Whew…" The negative emotion was withdrawn… the bloodline shackle snapped…
As the three tomoe rotated slowly in Shisui's eyes, the boy looked up at Roy and softly said, "Nii-san."
Roy patted his back and smiled warmly. "Congratulations, Shisui."
In the next instant, the shrine—stifled by everyone holding their breath—came alive again.
Swallowing sounds echoed everywhere.
At that moment, two withered hands lunged in and clamped onto Roy's shoulders—Setsuna's eyes blazing as he grabbed him. He threw his cane aside with a clatter.
"Kid… you really did it…"
His eyes glistened with tears. Setsuna choked on his words, shaking with emotion. The rest of the Uchiha—Yashiro, Inabi, Tekka, and all the clan members who'd lost brothers, parents, lovers, friends—stepped forward and crowded in.
Roy looked past the sea of heads and met Fugaku's eyes. Fugaku nodded at him, smiling—so proud it almost hurt.
"Mission accomplished," Roy said with a gentle smile.
"Ren… Young clan head… you're too humble…"
Joy rose in the hall. With Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan now undeniable, the clan meeting's earlier gloom was washed away. Everyone's face filled with genuine smiles.
At the very back, Obito squeezed forward again, tiptoeing just to catch sight of Roy's outline through the crowd.
And somehow, Obito sensed something—today's Uchiha felt different. He couldn't explain how. He just knew that if every clan meeting were like today…
He'd never have made excuses to skip again.
Thank goodness he came.
"Quiet!"
"Crowding in like this—what does it look like?!"
Thud!
Setsuna finally remembered his cane. With a flick of his foot, he snagged it back into his hand and slammed it down hard, forcing people back and opening space around Roy.
Then he turned sideways and politely invited Fugaku forward.
"Clan Head—who awakens first, who awakens last… you set the order, yes?"
Fugaku had no objection. But before anything else—
"Before that," Fugaku said, and gave Inabi and Tekka a look. He signaled them to close the main hall doors and stand guard on either side. Only then did he step out and address the entire clan, eyes narrowed.
"I want everyone here to keep this secret for my son."
The village leadership didn't want the Uchiha to gain more Sharingan—let alone more three-tomoe eyes. Everyone with a brain knew what would happen if this leaked.
If the whole village moved, they could wipe the Uchiha out.
At the very least…
If Hiruzen and the others found out, Roy would die.
"How do we keep it secret?"
"I say we brand everyone with Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal—that's the only way!"
Setsuna shot Yashiro a glance.
"Yashiro—start with you. Everyone here, one by one—every single one of you—gets the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal."
Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal: a secrecy technique. A curse mark is branded onto the tongue, combined with hand signs, cutting off the ability to leak secrets.
It was also Danzō's go-to method for controlling Root and preventing leaks.
As long as the caster lived, the seal wouldn't break.
Fugaku and Setsuna exchanged a look and silently finalized the decision…
But no matter how hard they tried, they would never imagine that Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal might stop their own people—
…and still wouldn't stop the Third Hokage, who loved watching Konoha from afar.
Somewhere, an invisible gaze drifted down, crossing distance, floating through the shrine gates…
…
Hokage Tower.
Two old men—one standing, one seated—separated by the desk that symbolized Konoha's authority.
On the desk lay a report:
"Uchiha Casualty List — Overview."
Shimura Danzō's head and right arm were wrapped tight in bandages, his narrow eyes fixed on the man behind the desk.
"Why did you agree to Uchiha Fugaku's request to reduce the quota?"
"Hiruzen—did you forget Sensei's warning?"
"The Uchiha are evil by nature. We must never let them grow!"
A village could produce strong ninja—jōnin were fine—
But it could not produce another Kage. It could not allow anyone to threaten the Hokage's position.
Senju Tobirama's teachings still rang in Danzō's mind like scripture.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing the white Hokage robes over red shinobi gear, the Hokage hat resting quietly on the desk, stared at the list without looking up.
"Hyūga can die. Inuzuka can die. Aburame can die. The Uchiha can die too."
"But," he added flatly, "they can't die too many, or die too obviously. It damages village unity."
Hiruzen lifted his eyes, glancing at Danzō.
"Do I really need to teach you what it means to boil a frog slowly?"
Danzō understood. He just hated that he wasn't the one sitting behind that desk.
He'd already planned with Orochimaru—he wanted more Uchiha dead, more Sharingan harvested.
But with a few words, Hiruzen cut that plan in half.
Danzō argued anyway, stubborn as ever.
"Don't feed me that unity crap."
"You think Fugaku doesn't know what's happening?"
"It's all on the table. Even if you refused, what could he do?"
"Because everyone knows, we have to restrain ourselves," Hiruzen said, closing the list.
He rose and walked to the window, pulled out his smoking pipe, lit it, and took a slow puff.
"Doing things can't be extreme. The Uchiha are still part of the village. You see them every day. Leave a way out."
"One way out is exactly the problem," Danzō snapped, gripping his cane. His hand itched as he stared at the Hokage Rock outside—three stone faces, with Hiruzen's most prominent among them.
He wanted to blast it clean off with a Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet.
Hiruzen calmly removed the pipe and blew smoke.
"Sensei never said that."
"You think I'll tell you what Sensei said?"
Hiruzen's eyes were half-hidden behind drifting smoke.
"Fine. If Sensei trusted you so much, why am I the Hokage and not you?"
"The door's behind you. Leave."
Danzō's eyes widened with rage.
"You'll regret this!"
BANG!
The Hokage office door slammed shut behind him.
His cane struck the floor in furious, hurried taps as he stormed away.
Hiruzen snorted, leaning by the window, admiring sunlight washing across the Hokage Rock and haloing his own stone face.
After finishing his smoke, he returned to the desk and stared at the closed casualty list.
Everything had gone exactly as he expected. The Uchiha lost dozens. What remained—Fugaku, Yashiro, Inabi, Tekka, and the worn-out old cat Setsuna—
A few big cats, a few small cats, and one old cat.
Nothing to fear.
He frowned, remembering Danzō's remark:
"They're holding a clan meeting."
Hiruzen reached for the crystal ball on the desk—normally just decoration—took it in his hand, and narrowed his eyes.
He pictured the Uchiha sacred ground, Naka Shrine, formed chakra in his hands, and cast—
The Telescope Technique.
Using the crystal ball as a medium and chakra as a conduit, he projected his gaze.
Fog swirled… the ball's surface cleared… and a scene appeared.
Inside the shrine, over a dozen coffins were lined up—exactly like the list said.
Fugaku. Setsuna. Yashiro. The younger elites—Inabi, Tekka—forming a circle, seemingly speaking about something.
Hiruzen's gaze moved…
Toward the center—
And in that instant—
He met a pair of eyes looking straight back at him.
Those eyes went pfh— as two suns ignited.
Pain stabbed Hiruzen's vision like a needle.
~~~
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