There was a knock at the door.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, having just finished tallying his Gains, Uchiha Feiyu stood up in mild confusion and opened it.
Outside stood a man with a serious, stern face, looking strict and rigid by nature. The Uchiha clan fan crest was on his clothes.
"You are…?"
"Hello. I'm Uchiha Fugaku, current head of the Uchiha clan."
The man at the door spoke, snapping Feiyu back to his senses.
So this was the famous tragic figure from Naruto.
Hesitant, indecisive, ultimately letting his own son wipe out the entire clan… that guy.
In the anime he even had a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, which only made his death seem more ridiculous—his trump card buried so deep he never even used it before getting killed. Hard to believe he was an Uchiha at all.
Leaving aside the stupid things Fugaku would do later, though… as a person, Fugaku wasn't actually that bad.
He'd awakened his Sharingan—and even his Mangekyō—because of a friend's death. That alone showed he was genuinely loyal and emotional.
Most importantly, even after awakening Mangekyō, he hadn't turned into a complete psycho. If anything, he'd become a hidden dove within the Uchiha—so even if he was still "mentally ill" by clan standards, he was much more decent than the usual Uchiha lunatics.
So facing this newly appointed clan head, Feiyu didn't feel any particular dislike. He was just curious, and asked:
"Not sure what brings the clan head to my place today? As far as I remember, my home's not exactly a spot other Uchiha like to visit."
Fugaku froze for a second, then spoke in his deep voice:
"Forgive us. Perhaps there were… some misunderstandings between you and other members of the clan before. But no matter what, you are an Uchiha…"
"Let's not talk about 'misunderstandings,'" Feiyu cut in casually.
"My personality was never compatible with the Uchiha in the first place. Being greedy for life and afraid of death, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, shameless and thick-skinned… those really are my flaws. It's perfectly normal that I don't get along with a clan of proud, heroic battle maniacs like the Uchiha."
Fugaku's mouth opened and closed silently. He was utterly stunned.
A weirdo like Uchiha Feiyu—forget the Uchiha, you could search the entire ninja world and probably never find a second one.
There were self-preserving ninja, but someone this shameless about it, who openly listed "greedy for life and afraid of death" as his "flaws"? Feiyu really was the first.
"Uh… mm… well… being afraid of death is… only human, really," Fugaku forced out.
"At the very least, the way you… admit it so frankly, Feiyu, is… let's call it refreshingly honest."
Watching Fugaku twist his brain into knots trying to comfort him, Feiyu almost laughed.
"All right, clan head, let's just be honest and cut to the chase," Feiyu said.
"You probably saw my current strength and reputation and decided you want to pull me back under the Uchiha umbrella."
"To be frank, I don't really feel any resentment toward the Uchiha," he went on.
"But I don't exactly feel any warmth either. Back then I was basically dragged in as a ninja, so at best I see the clan as 'familiar strangers.'"
"Still, having a surface-level relationship with the Uchiha isn't a problem for me. The key question is—
What benefits can the Uchiha offer me?"
"B–benefits?"
"Same setup as my relationship with Konoha," Feiyu said matter-of-factly.
"I do missions for Konoha, Konoha pays me and rewards me with jutsu. If the Uchiha wants me to do things, as long as the payment's good and the job's not too dangerous, of course I'll do it."
"That way, I'm still contributing to the clan, aren't I?"
Fugaku was completely shut down by that speech. After a moment, he sighed.
"Feiyu-kun… you really are… quite the character."
As he spoke, he pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to Feiyu.
"These are our Uchiha clan's research and methods on using the Sharingan. Think of it as compensation for forcing you into the clan back then."
"We share the same blood in the end. Beyond a simple employer–employee relationship, I hope you can develop some sense of belonging and affection for the Uchiha."
"And besides," Fugaku added, "if you don't want your next generation's bloodline to degrade, you'll end up looking for a partner within the Uchiha anyway, won't you?"
Feiyu blinked. He hadn't expected the clan head to be thinking that far ahead—already planning out his children?
Unfortunately, Feiyu was still young, and in his previous life he'd never had kids. He had no real concept of "next generation."
On top of that, with the Demonic Inheritance Tome in his soul, if things went well he could live for hundreds or thousands of years, maybe even become truly immortal. Thinking about his descendants now felt a bit premature.
Of course, he didn't say any of that out loud. He simply nodded with a serious expression, as if he were genuinely considering it. The man had come in person with gifts; he couldn't just let him walk away disappointed.
After chatting for a while more, Fugaku took his leave. Feiyu even cheerfully walked him out for a bit before heading back inside.
He opened the scroll about the Sharingan's secret techniques and read it through.
Most of what was recorded inside were Sharingan genjutsu.
The truly broken techniques like Izanagi and Izanami weren't there, of course.
But others—such as the basic Sharingan Genjutsu, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, Binding of the Golden Chains, and other Sharingan-specific techniques—were basically all included.
Feiyu only had a two-tomoe Sharingan, but after devouring a vast number of serpent souls and forcibly driving his eyes with their resentment, his Sharingan was far stronger than a normal two-tomoe.
His overall eye power was almost on par with a full three-tomoe.
He could practically learn all of these Sharingan genjutsu.
The Uchiha clan's eye-based illusion arts were famous for a reason, and integrated well with almost any combat style.
Combined with Feiyu's White Fang Sword Style, they would be terrifying.
Not everyone was like Might Guy, capable of fighting while only watching an opponent's feet.
White Fang's swordsmanship was already renowned for its speed. If his opponents also couldn't even look into his eyes, it really would turn into a one-sided slaughter.
Even opponents at the same level, facing this combination of Sharingan illusion and White Fang swordsmanship, could easily lose their heads from a single lapse of attention.
Feiyu had devoured a vast number of animal souls, giving him spiritual power far above the norm. He'd also repeatedly polished his fundamentals through spiritual possession training, including proficiency with genjutsu.
As a result, he almost fully mastered these Sharingan genjutsu after reading through the scroll once.
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