Chapter 53: Uchiha Akihiko: Are you a ghost or something?

  Seeing Uchiha Ryo roll up the st volume of the Bamboo Carving Book, Uchiha Akihiko couldn't help but ask, "Finished reading?"

  "Ah, yeah. It's truly an alluring strength," Uchiha Ryo put down the Bamboo Carving Book. "But it's also a rather troublesome strength - and there are far too many doubts in it.

  The origin of the Mangekyo's powerful pupil power, the way the Eternal Mangekyo is born, and how to achieve the so - called [Fairness] that Indra pursued - although the st one is really absurd. There isn't a single mention of the things I want to know in it.

  On the contrary, the records in the third volume about obtaining strength by harming cn members are extremely detailed. If we really look at it this way, rather than saying the Sharingan is the pride of the Uchiha cn, it's more fitting to say that the Uchiha are tools for cultivating the Sharingan - and this is actually the important news recorded on the cn stele that we've been preserving. It's simply ridiculous."

  "But we do obtain strength through the death of important people, just as it's written there..." Uchiha Akihiko lowered his head. "And you know the personalities of the cn members.

  If it can allow the people they value to obtain strength, the cn members will do anything - even if this action will hurt the people they value or sacrifice themselves.

  The reason this isn't obvious now is simply due to this endless war... Uchiha Ryo, you can't expect everyone to be as open - minded as you."

  "Open - minded..." Uchiha Ryo ughed. "I'm not as generous as you think. Rather, I'm quite petty."

  Uchiha Akihiko couldn't help but smile. "You're petty? There's no more tolerant Uchiha in the cn than you."

  "That's not tolerance. It's just that I want to do my best for those I care about and those who care about me within my capabilities and make efforts for it.

  If it's a friend, I'll protect him, guide him, and let him grow. If it's an enemy, I'll frame him, deceive him, and kill him. I don't want my friends to be sad, so I have to strive to survive. I don't want my enemies to ugh, so I have to become stronger - these are just my duties as an Uchiha."

  The smile on Uchiha Ryo's face faded a little. "So I'm a bit angry now - all the things I cherish were treated like useless garbage by those ancient folks... Hey, Akihiko, do you think I should wear the cn uniforms and go to the Senju side to buy some low - grade incense at a high price for the sacrifice next time? Anyway, we're the [useless descendants], so it's okay to use low - grade incense during the sacrifice, right?"

  "No... There's no need to get so angry even if you see that. After all, they're all the Departed. You know the principle of respecting the dead - "

  Uchiha Ryo's smile remained unchanged. "That's exactly why they're dead that I should buy low - grade incense to express my dissatisfaction. I can't go down there myself to reason with them, right?"

  Uchiha Akihiko: ... You're really not afraid of divine retribution for being disrespectful to your ancestors.

  Letting out a soft sigh, Uchiha Akihiko changed the subject. "Let's continue discussing the Mangekyo Sharingan... Now that you've finished reading, what do you think?"

  "Hmm... There are indeed some points that caught my attention," Uchiha Ryo said, tapping the table with his finger. "Regardless of how the Mangekyo Sharingan awakens, the eye jutsu that manifests when it awakens is what interests me the most.

  "Even I, myself, think that the Uchiha cn is an aggressive one, but less than one-fifth of the recorded eye jutsu have active offensive capabilities. The rest are more for protection than attack..."

  "I saw an eye jutsu in your records called Izangnuo. It says it can foresee the impending death of all living beings within sight in the next ten seconds. I guess you can use it for Future Telling—anticipate danger. What about the other one? Is it also a defensive ability?"

  "Yes, you're right," Uchiha Akihiko didn't try to hide it. "My other eye jutsu is called Izangran. By making eye contact, I can project my Mangekyo pupil power onto the target, allowing them to use Susanoo in battle.

  "However, the target can't be too far away from me. Otherwise, the connection of the pupil power will be lost, and Susanoo will dissipate. Also, when using this jutsu, I can still use Susanoo myself—though the pupil power consumption will double."

  "Hmm, Future Telling and lending Strength..." Uchiha Ryo frowned slightly. "Based on your example and the experiences of the predecessors, we can conclude this. The abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan stem from the strongest desire of the person at the moment of awakening, or the ability they believe can save them from a hopeless situation.

  "More specifically, what stimutes us to awaken his Sharingan might not be despair, but a strong longing for something. If we try to guide it from this aspect... Hmm, I can't think of anything worth getting that excited about."

  "Isn't the most important thing that feeling happy itself is fulfilling the desire in our hearts?" Uchiha Akihiko sighed. "In this hellish era, unless the Senju cn is wiped out by a Heavenly Advent Meteorite, I can't think of anything worth getting that excited about."

  "Then can we find a way to awaken his Sharingan based on the personality of each cn member?" Uchiha Ryo stroked his chin. "Take Masaki for example. That guy is such a dies' man. We could knock him unconscious and then, the moment he regains consciousness, impnt the thought that [the surgery was a success and he's now a girl]. Then we can lift the genjutsu after he comes to terms with it...

  "No, no, no. Forget it. That guy in women's clothes would be kind of gross—with his muscur body under that pretty face. Even the Senju people would have nightmares if they saw him. If it were Kenji, it might be more acceptable. That guy is strong but has a rather slender build... But Kenji probably wouldn't fall for this, would he?

  "Who else could we try this on... Hiro? Like telling him he's number one and then suddenly waking him up. Would the shock be too much for him?"

  However, the feasibility of [Korega] should be retively high...”

  “...Hey, Uchiha Ryo, are you a ghost?”

  “Huh? What's wrong? Why are you saying this all of a sudden...”

  Looking at Uchiha Ryo's innocent expression, Uchiha Akihiko twitched the corner of his mouth. “You'll definitely go to hell after you die. Definitely.”

  “Wow, that's so harsh. Although I know I'm not a good person and deserve to go to hell, it still hurts to hear it from you.”

  “No, you're underestimating yourself. Even the King of Hell would give up his throne to you for a couple of days if he saw what you've done.” Uchiha Akihiko was a bit at a loss for words. “Moreover, your act of directly scripting the cn members' fates is no different from what's recorded on the stele.”

  “Well, I'm just making an assumption. An assumption—when it comes to actual implementation, I'll still consult the parties involved first and then use [genjutsu] (illusion - based techniques) to overwrite their memories...”

  “After all, isn't this kind of dramatic twist better than blindly accepting tragedy? But then again...” Uchiha Ryo looked a bit more serious. “Can your [eye jutsu] really only be used through eye contact?”

  Uchiha Akihiko immediately understood what Uchiha Ryo meant and couldn't help but feel even more speechless. “Yeah, that's right. It can only be used through eye contact. Don't even think about it, and actually, you're the st person who should be causing trouble right now, okay?”

  “Well, you're right. After all, from a certain perspective, I'm directly immune to visual [genjutsu] now~” Uchiha Ryo ughed heartily. “And it's already enough that I can survive and continue to write my story and experience more battles. I shouldn't be too demanding.”