Konoha Year 44, Autumn.
Above the Nanga Shrine in the Uchiha settlement.
A steady drizzle fell like silk threads, pattering against the street-side walls carved with flame-shaped fans, leaving a faint, barely visible sheen of water.
Last month, a major event shook the Uchiha clan.
During a mission, they discovered an Uchiha not born in Konoha!
As the saying goes, spot one cockroach, and there's a nest hiding in the shadows.
No one knew if more Uchiha bloodlines, like Kiyoshi's, lingered in the ninja world.
To prevent further loss of their bloodline and prying eyes from rival clans, the Uchiha who found Kiyoshi brought him back immediately.
"But why has his Sharingan only awakened in one eye?"
"Is there anyone else in the clan like this?"
The Uchiha clansmen buzzed with discussion. Such a case was unprecedented, and the uproar was predictable.
Glances occasionally darted toward Kiyoshi, seated at the back.
Kiyoshi ignored them.
"When you were in the Land of Lightning, did you meet anyone else with red eyes like yours? We're family—you can tell me, and I'll send clansmen to bring them back," Fugaku, seated at the head, probed.
Uchiha Kiyoshi had lived in the Land of Lightning for years; what happened there was hard to verify.
After a month's investigation, the only certainty was that Kiyoshi's background was clean.
He'd learned some crude chakra refinement but showed no signs of formal training.
Yet ninja village rivalries were brutal, and the newly appointed clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, couldn't afford to be careless.
"I haven't seen anyone with eyes like mine, Lord Fugaku," Kiyoshi replied calmly, lifting his gaze.
He was a transmigrator, reborn here for several years.
From birth, he'd unraveled the mystery of the womb, awakening past-life memories and innate wisdom.
His mother died giving birth to him. His father was absent from the start, only appearing when Kiyoshi was two and self-sufficient. But soon after, his father died in battle.
No matter—being an orphan was standard in the ninja world. Naruto, Sasuke, Konan, Itachi, Orochimaru—who wasn't parentless?
His former name was Yozuki Kiyoshi, a distant relative of the Yozuki clan, living in a remote town.
Until he awakened his Sharingan and was spotted by Uchiha Yakumi on a mission, who brought him to Konoha.
"Good. No matter what, as long as Uchiha blood flows in you, you're one of us. I'll arrange for you to enroll in the ninja academy," Fugaku said, his scarlet eyes fixed on Kiyoshi for a long moment.
Uchiha records noted clansmen visiting the Land of Lightning, possibly even settling there, long before the fierce battles between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
In what is now the Land of Lightning, a lord's wife once hired the Uchiha to eliminate the Blood Pool clan. But wars with the Senju later erased much of this history.
Even Fugaku couldn't uncover the details.
He didn't use his Sharingan's power, just stared, yet the air grew thick, suffocating.
Kiyoshi remained composed.
He knew Fugaku's concern: was his origin legitimate?
Unfortunately for Fugaku, the Uchiha did have ties to the Land of Lightning, as recorded in the official novel Sasuke Shinden: Raikō-hen.
Finally, Fugaku looked away.
This was just a child, after all. How could he stay calm under a Sharingan's pressure? If he could, that'd be terrifying—beyond even the mental fortitude of the recently famed Sakumo Hatake's genius son.
"Lord Fugaku, discovering I'm part of the Uchiha clan… I'm so happy. I'll never disgrace our name!" Kiyoshi said, his tone brimming with sincerity.
A mechanical female voice sounded, devoid of emotion: "You have unlocked the trait: [Art of Speech (White)]."
[Trait: Art of Speech (White)][Achievement Requirement: Speak false words unflinchingly before someone of high status, 5 times.][Progress: (Completed).][Effect: Your words are more convincing, especially to those of lower status.][Note: Can be upgraded further.]
"Finally," Kiyoshi thought, a faint smile curling his lips.
To avoid scraping by in the ninja world, you needed strength. In the Naruto world, power came through birth, mentorship, or bloodline. You needed good genes, a great teacher (and their network), or, at the least, deep "Will of Fire" to learn a few techniques through close ties.
But Kiyoshi had something beyond these: his own effort and a basic trait system.
It logged his traits, their conditions, and effects, but they weren't free—he had to earn them.
For [Art of Speech], he'd told at least five white lies to Fugaku's face.
Happy to be an Uchiha? Hardly. His heart was heavy with pressure.
The clan massacre, the upcoming ninja world wars—his life was on a countdown.
Forget the distant future; in just over a decade, Fugaku's dear son Itachi would wipe out the clan!
"Not bad," Fugaku nodded, pleased by Kiyoshi's earnest words. This kid was promising.
His sincere tone carried hidden conviction, surpassing even some ordinary Uchiha.
He gestured for Kiyoshi to leave.
After Kiyoshi exited, Uchiha Yashiro addressed the stern yet composed Fugaku: "Kiyoshi was found in the Land of Lightning by Yakumi's team. He shows Yozuki traits—could he be a spy?"
"It needs further investigation, but his blood is undeniably Uchiha. Outsiders with transplanted Sharingan can't deactivate it, which burdens the body," Fugaku replied, shaking his head. "Tsunade will come soon to examine his Sharingan."
"I'll make arrangements for the boy," Mikoto said, rising from the tatami in the Nanga Shrine.