"He noticed me?!"
A blazing sun leaves no room for sneaking around…
With that gut warning surging up, inside the shrine—doors tightly shut—starting with Uchiha Yashiro, every Uchiha stepped forward one by one to receive the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal seal. The caster was none other than Roy's father: Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Setsuna was old—he didn't have many years left. Leaning on his cane, he stood off to the side with his eyes closed, resting like a silent stone statue—wordless, but radiating authority.
It was only when Roy suddenly lifted his head and stared hard in a certain direction that Setsuna turned slightly to look, and asked with concern, "What is it, child?"
Behind the curtain of Roy's bangs, his pupils flared—pfh!—two suns flickering.
Earlier, something had felt wrong. Just now he cast [En], expanding its radius outward in a pulse that instantly covered the entire shrine—only then did he realize: at some point, an external gaze had entered the hall.
Unfortunately, it was too far—he couldn't send a Heart-Worm along the causal branch to invade the watcher's heart. Roy simply activated [Eye That Shatters Illusion], shattered the illusion, and fired off a warning.
When he looked away again, he already had a suspicion. Apart from the Third Hokage—who loved peeping with the Telescope Technique—and Orochimaru, who was extremely good at hiding and obsessed with immortality through research, there was also that lecherous sage who couldn't go a day without spying on women's baths.
But considering the distance—even Heart-Worm couldn't latch onto the causal thread…
It had to be the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen, without a doubt.
And since today was the Uchiha clan meeting, his attempt wasn't surprising.
"It's nothing—just spotted a rat by accident."
The En-formed aura dome—like a massive bowl inverted over the shrine—covered everything outside. Roy spoke casually, then with a thought he repeatedly snatched and shoved away Hiruzen's chakra-projected gaze, driving it off without mercy.
…
Hokage Tower.
Behind the desk that symbolized Konoha's supreme authority…
Hiruzen closed his eyes, opened them, closed, opened again—probe after probe—each one was blocked.
The old man, just past fifty, faint trench-like wrinkles at his temples, fell silent.
After a moment, he leaned back in his chair and stopped feeding chakra into the crystal ball altogether. He closed his eyes one last time, then opened them again ten-plus seconds later—
His pupils had double images, like someone who'd stared directly at the sun. The darkest spot drifted from center toward the edge of his vision.
His eyes were burned out.
How long had it been? Hiruzen couldn't even remember anymore. Ever since he developed the Telescope Technique to monitor Konoha, he had never failed—not once. Even the Hyūga, famed for perception and distance sight, couldn't match how far and how widely his Telescope could see.
But if you shoot at geese long enough, one day a goose pecks your eyes.
Hiruzen took a long time to recover. He recalled the boy's young face—still sharing seven parts resemblance with Uchiha Fugaku. Once his focus returned, he pulled out a blank scroll, dipped his brush in ink, and after a pause wrote four characters:
Uchiha Ren.
[Note: suspected to be another young Uchiha prodigy who has awakened the Sharingan. Dōjutsu: suspected "ultra-strong perception" / pseudo-genjutsu rejection-type ability… highly aware of counter-surveillance… strength?]
Hiruzen hesitated, then waved in an Anbu. Not long after, they brought a file—Roy's academy records. Hiruzen examined it frame by frame, line by line.
Comparing that with the boy's clean, one-blade-per-kill battlefield performance, he drew a heavy circle and wrote after the name:
"Key focus."
Usually, "key focus" meant Anbu shadowing and recording. But once he realized the boy's counter-surveillance instincts and tools were unusually strong…
Hiruzen crossed out "key focus," stood up slowly, and walked to the window. Gazing out toward the Uchiha district, he decided—
He would have to do it himself.
It happened to be graduation season.
As Academy Headmaster (and Hokage), it was time for him to visit the school, check on the young shinobi, and inspect their Will of Fire.
This time, the question was—
Would the Uchiha boy "get it"?
Hiruzen pushed open the window, pinched a falling leaf between his fingers, then released it. It spun away on the wind—like flame.
Wherever leaves danced in Konoha, fire would continue to burn.
…
[Prompt… "potential follower" Uchiha Inabi, grateful for your eye-awakening, investiture completed. Loyalty +20… now formal follower…]
[Follower: Uchiha Inabi… one tomoe → three tomoe…]
[Faith Power +1]
…
[Prompt… "potential follower" Uchiha Tekka, grateful for your eye-awakening, investiture completed. Loyalty +20… now formal follower…]
[Follower: Uchiha Tekka… one tomoe → three tomoe…]
[Faith Power +1]
…
[Prompt… "potential followers" Uchiha Takuya… Uchiha Ryosuke, grateful for your eye-awakening, investiture completed… now formal followers…]
[Follower: Uchiha Takuya, Ryosuke… no Sharingan → one tomoe…]
[Faith Power +1 +1]
After everyone received the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, Fugaku led Setsuna, Yashiro, Inabi, Tekka, and the rest into discussion, deciding several "eye-awakening slots," based on things like merit, losses, potential, and stabilization. They finalized the list and passed it to Roy.
Roy stood quietly to the side, Shisui equally quiet beside him—while other Uchiha, including Obito, watched him with burning, hopeful eyes.
A moment later, Roy injected "negative emotion" into Inabi, Tekka, and others to awaken or advance their eyes. With each panel prompt, as the stored negativity was drained away, Roy's understanding of how to develop his dōjutsu became clearer and clearer.
Like Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu for Itachi… Kagutsuchi for Sasuke… Kotoamatsukami for Shisui…
Before the Mangekyō, the Sharingan's core was insight, copying, and genjutsu.
For Roy, he already had insight via [En], copying was inherent to the Sharingan—so what remained was genjutsu.
And because every person's worldview, personality, and cognition differed, genjutsu would manifest differently too.
"So what about me?" Roy wondered as his hand covered Inabi's crown and the negativity flowed. "What form will my genjutsu take?"
He remembered Itachi's crows—Itachi's battles against Kakashi and Sasuke—and anchored on a single word:
"Worldview."
Genjutsu was the Sharingan forcing your worldview—your cognition—onto the target, trapping them in a world they couldn't escape.
And right now, with a single thought, Roy could drop the Sun's protection and let the negative emotion crush Inabi, Tekka, and the others into collapse.
His eyes—clear and scarlet interwoven—already had an answer.
[Prompt… "potential follower" Uchiha Yashiro, grateful for your eye-awakening, investiture completed. Loyalty +20… now formal follower…]
[Follower: Uchiha Yashiro… two tomoe → three tomoe…]
[Faith Power +1]
[Host's current "negative emotion" reduced to zero]
The last trace of "negative emotion" was spent on the final person—Uchiha Yashiro, the old veteran who had spent most of his life running himself ragged for the clan as Vice Chief of the Police Force, and also the elder whom Fugaku and Setsuna relied on as an arm and a leg.
"Buzz…"
An unseen ripple spread. Three tomoe rotated slowly inside his scarlet eyes…
Yashiro steadied his breathing, held down the surging joy, and bowed to Roy. "Thank you, Young Clan Head!"
Beside him, Inabi, Tekka, Takuya, Ryosuke bowed as well. Behind them, the Uchiha who hadn't been chosen couldn't hide their envy.
Was Obito disappointed? Of course.
He lowered his eyes and—hand on heart—admitted it. As an orphan, he hadn't lost family. And he'd spent most of his time chasing Rin instead of clan work. He'd dodged responsibilities with excuses.
Of course he didn't qualify.
But still…
He wanted it. He wanted it so badly.
The clan meeting ended in warm, buoyant harmony.
"Creak—" the shrine doors opened.
Obito hadn't heard a word in the second half. He just stared at the boy—half-held between Fugaku and Setsuna—as if he couldn't look away. Even when Fugaku announced dismissal, Obito stood there like a wooden post, eyes following Fugaku and Roy until they vanished behind greenery.
Only then did he snap out of it.
"Let's go."
"Yeah… let's go."
Some were happy, some troubled, some regretful, some fired up—faces and hearts all different.
Roy walked home with Fugaku. [En] was up—he saw Obito perfectly.
Then Fugaku's voice drifted over:
"Obito's a good kid. Just… his talent's a little lacking. If his teacher weren't Minato, with the clan's support for orphans, he should've been included this time."
Obito the "Dead Last"… Minato the Yellow Flash…
The elders' logic wasn't baseless: first talent, then political alignment.
But… the man who would one day awaken Kamui—was his talent really "lacking"?
It was only that this generation had monsters like Itachi and Shisui, making him look dull by comparison.
And honestly, compared to Itachi slaughtering the clan or Shisui trying to rewrite the entire clan with Kotoamatsukami…
Obito—who suffered, was manipulated, and later woke up—was the "tallest of the short ones." At least he kept a sliver of light.
"I actually think he's not bad," Roy said, smiling.
Fugaku turned, momentarily dazed—his son's profile carried both his and Mikoto's features, and for a breath it felt unreal.
He stopped and looked Roy up and down like he was seeing him for the first time.
"Like you?"
Fugaku stared hard. "Son. Tell me—what else are you hiding?"
Roy grinned and shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe… this is all there is."
Fugaku: "…"
His mouth twitched—then he actually laughed.
"Fine."
They kept walking—father and son, side by side.
Sunlight spilled down, dragging their shadows long—one big, one small—swaying gently in the breeze.
Then a crushing wave of fatigue hit Roy.
He realized the clone's dive into the Naruto world couldn't hold. The panel flashed:
[Reminder: less than one minute remaining…]
Roy stopped and turned his head to Fugaku.
"Dad. Sleepy."
Fugaku: "We're almost home. Sleep there."
"No. I want to sleep now."
Fugaku paused, then turned back.
He bent his knees and crouched, offering his back—straight and sturdy, not as broad as Silva's, but strong enough.
"You're impossible. Get on."
Roy flashed a bright smile, climbed up, wrapped his arms around Fugaku's neck, pressed his face into his father's back, listened to that steady heartbeat—
…and fell asleep.
A soft snore escaped him.
The two shadows merged into one.
In that cool, early-spring afternoon, Fugaku rose slowly, supported Roy's legs with both hands, and walked—steady and sure—toward home.
The familiar falling sensation returned…
Roy's consciousness returned through Deep Sleep, back into his cognitive world, then out through the dream tunnel, leaving the Naruto world behind and returning to the Hunter world.
Deep beneath the sea—10,000 meters down—in the gothic church ruin…
Roy's sleeping clone burst with a pop, turning into a stream of aura that poured a flood of information back into Roy's main body.
Roy stood with three blades—Sun, Water, Wind—forcing the fake "Ging" back. Each retreated a hundred meters.
And in that moment, Roy's clear eyes suddenly flooded with scarlet.
"Roy… is he seeing red?"
At Hunter Association HQ, in Netero's private volleyball gym—
The projected footage clearly showed Roy's eyes shifting from white to red.
Wing pushed up his glasses, catching the change instantly, voice full of disbelief.
He was getting numb from being shocked over and over.
"Rage doesn't make your whole eyes red," Bisky muttered, narrowing her eyes. "That looks more like… the Scarlet Eyes."
"Old man, he's not a Kurta, is he?!"
She cut Netero a look.
Netero stayed silent.
Then on the screen, the boy's eyes weren't just red—three tomoe began spinning.
His mouth moved—like he'd spoken a name.
"Genjutsu: Unlimited Void…"
~~~
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