Autumn, Year 44 of Konoha.
Above Naka Shrine, in the Uchiha compound.
The rain had been falling without pause. Fine threads of drizzle pattered softly against the wall along the street, the one carved with the flame fan crest, leaving behind a faint sheen of dampness.
Last month, something major had happened within the Uchiha Clan.
During a mission, they had found an Uchiha who had not been born in Konoha.
As the saying went, if you found one cockroach, there was probably a whole nest hiding nearby.
No one knew whether there were still other Uchiha bloodlines scattered across the ninja world like Seiji.
To prevent the clan's bloodline from being lost, or coveted by other ninja clans, the Uchiha who had discovered Seiji immediately brought him back.
"But why has he only awakened one Sharingan?"
"Yeah. Has anything like that ever happened in the clan before?"
The members of the Uchiha discussed it among themselves. A situation like this had never happened before, so the stir it caused was only natural.
From time to time, eyes turned toward Seiji, who was seated at the very back.
Seiji ignored them all.
"When you were in the Land of Lightning, did you ever meet anyone else with eyes like yours? We are all one clan. You can tell me, and I will have our people bring them back."
From the seat at the very front, Fugaku tested him carefully.
How exactly Uchiha Seiji had lived in the Land of Lightning for the past few years, and what had happened to him there, was difficult to investigate clearly.
After a full month of looking into him, the only thing they had managed to confirm was that his background was clean.
He had learned some crude chakra refinement, but there were no signs that he had undergone formal training.
Still, the games played between ninja villages had always been cruel.
As the newly appointed clan head, Fugaku could not afford to be careless.
"I never met anyone else with eyes like mine, Lord Fugaku."
Seiji raised his head, his tone calm.
He was a transmigrator, and had been one for several years already.
From the moment he was born, he had awakened the memories of his previous life and regained full awareness.
His mother had died giving birth to him.
As for his father, he had been nowhere to be seen after Seiji was born.
It was not until Seiji turned two and could take care of himself that he finally met the man.
Unfortunately, his father died on the battlefield not long afterward.
That was nothing unusual. In the ninja world, starting out as an orphan was practically normal.
Naruto, Sasuke, Konan, Itachi, Orochimaru... which one of them had not lost both parents?
Before this, his name had been Yotsuki Seiji, a distant offshoot of the Yotsuki Clan living in a remote little town.
Then, after he awakened the Sharingan, he happened to run into Uchiha Yakumi, who was passing through on a mission, and was brought back to Konoha.
"That's good. No matter what, as long as Uchiha blood flows in your veins, then you are one of the Uchiha. After this, I will arrange for you to enter the Ninja Academy."
Fugaku's scarlet eyes stayed fixed on Seiji for a long time.
The Uchiha clan records did mention that Uchiha had once gone to the Land of Lightning. In fact, it was even possible that some Uchiha had once lived there.
According to legend, that had happened in an age even earlier than the time when Hashirama and Madara fought their fierce battles.
In the region that was now the Land of Lightning, the wife of a certain lord had once hired the Uchiha Clan to drive out the Blood Prison Clan.
But later, because of the war with the Senju, much of that information was lost to history.
Even Fugaku had no way of knowing the full details anymore.
He did not release any eye power. He was simply staring.
And yet it felt as if the air itself had thickened into something sticky, something that made breathing difficult.
Seiji remained perfectly composed.
He knew what Fugaku was thinking.
Nothing more than whether his identity had a legitimate origin.
Too bad for him, the Uchiha really had once been connected to the Land of Lightning.
In the end, Fugaku withdrew his gaze.
At the end of the day, this was only a child a few years old.
How could a child possibly maintain a sense of self under the pressure of his Sharingan?
If he really could, would that not be far too terrifying?
Even the genius son of Sakumo, who had recently begun making a name for himself, might not have this kind of mental fortitude.
"Lord Fugaku, being able to find out that I am part of the Uchiha Clan... I... I'm so happy. In the future, I definitely won't disgrace the name of the Uchiha!"
Seiji spoke in a voice that seemed utterly sincere.
At that moment, a mechanical female voice rang out, cold and emotionless.
"You have comprehended the trait: Silver Tongue [White]."
[Trait: Silver Tongue [White]]
[Requirement: Tell false words before a person of high status without changing expression. Required number of times: 5.]
[Progress: Completed.]
[Effect: The things you say will become somewhat easier for others to believe. Those of lower status than you are are more easily influenced by this effect.]
[Note: This trait can continue to evolve.]
"So it finally worked."
The corners of Seiji's lips curled very slightly.
If he wanted to survive in the ninja world without becoming some miserable beggar, then he needed strength.
Everyone knew that in the Naruto world, true power was passed down through birth, mentorship, and blood.
Either you had a good bloodline, or you had a good teacher and inherited all the connections that came with them.
And if neither of those worked, then like blood itself, power had to be passed on through very close contact. Your so-called Will of Fire had to burn deep enough before you could learn even one or two ninja arts.
But Seiji just so happened to possess something beyond all three of those things.
His own effort.
And a crude trait system.
It recorded the names of the traits he acquired, the conditions needed to obtain them, their effects, and everything else.
But none of those were gifts. Seiji had to fulfill the conditions himself.
Like this Silver Tongue. He had said at least five things against his true feelings right in front of Uchiha Fugaku.
Happy to be born into the Uchiha?
How was that supposed to make anyone happy?
All Seiji felt was pressure.
The night of the clan massacre. The two great ninja wars after that...
His life had basically already entered countdown mode.
Forget the distant future. In a little over ten years, your precious son Itachi is going to wipe out your entire clan!
"Excellent."
Fugaku nodded. Hearing Seiji's heartfelt declaration made him feel much better. The boy had potential.
Those pure, honest words made it easy to feel the emotions hidden beneath them.
This Seiji's awareness was even higher than that of some ordinary Uchiha clansmen.
After that, he signaled for Seiji to leave first.
Once Seiji had gone, Yashiro looked at Fugaku, whose expression remained unreadable and imposing even without anger, and said,
"Seiji is a descendant Yakumi and the others brought back from the Land of Lightning. I heard he also has characteristics of the Yotsuki Clan. Could he be a spy planted among us?"
"That still needs further investigation. But his bloodline is undoubtedly that of our Uchiha Clan. If an outsider transplanted a Sharingan, they would not be able to deactivate it. It would place an enormous burden on the body."
Fugaku shook his head, then continued, "Tsunade will come later to examine the condition of Seiji's Sharingan."
"Fugaku, I'll make the arrangements for the child."
Rising from the tatami inside Naka Shrine, Mikoto stood up.
(End of Chapter)
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