"It wasn't. His eyes told me he was betrayed," Uchiha Yao said through gritted teeth. "By the brother-in-law he trusted most—Uchiha Tajima!"
My father, killed by my uncle? The revelation hit Uchiha Gin harder than learning his father was a prodigy.
"If I hadn't later seen the footage recorded in Kin's eyes before his death, I wouldn't believe the Uchiha Tajima, weeping near collapse at the funeral, was such a despicable coward!" Uchiha Yao spat, seething.
"When you were eight, your parents led a squad on a decapitation mission. The enemy was prepared, laying a trap. Your father, mother, and Tajima fought through, nearly escaping. But at the last moment, Tajima gravely wounded your father, leaving him to be overtaken. Your mother refused to abandon him, and both perished."
Uchiha Yao revealed the truth of the original owner's parents' deaths.
"Those scenes were stored in Kin's eyes."
Kin's body was recovered, and Yao, conducting the autopsy, sensed lingering pupil power. Painfully, he removed his son's eyes for study at the research institute, uncovering the truth years later.
"My son was a genius! And you, my grandson, are an even greater prodigy," Yao said, his single black eye gleaming with conviction, fixing on Uchiha Gin.
"Huh?" Uchiha Gin blinked, dumbfounded. The original owner, a prodigy? More like a prodigious failure. Did you mistake me for someone else, old man?
Seeing his grandson's disbelief, Yao pressed on. "When Tajima told you of your parents' deaths at eight, you awakened your Sharingan."
"???" Uchiha Gin's mind reeled. Didn't I awaken the original owner's Sharingan?
"And it was the Uchiha clan's mightiest—the Mangekyo Sharingan," Yao declared.
"?????" Uchiha Gin's brain crashed. He wanted to slap himself and ask where that Mangekyo went.
"Tajima witnessed your Mangekyo awaken and set his sights on you from then on," Yao continued, ignoring Uchiha Gin's shock.
"And you weren't the only one with Mangekyo."
Yao's face softened with nostalgia. "Another child awakened it too, like you."
"Who?" Uchiha Gin's mind flashed to the hidden photo.
"Your neighbor's child. Her parents died with yours in that squad."
"She was unstable after awakening her Mangekyo. The institute called her 'Nameless,'" Yao said, knowing little of her family.
"Being so young, you two couldn't control the Mangekyo's power. The aging clan leader tasked me with your care and researching your pupil techniques."
Yao's lips curved faintly, recalling happier times.
"You two were content at the institute, but two years later…" His tone darkened. "The old clan leader died of illness, leaving the clan leaderless. The martial faction's head, Uchiha Yan, and the institute's deputy, Uchiha Mio, backed Tajima for clan leader, urging him to marry the late leader's daughter. Unaware of the truth, I voted for him."
"Tajima's first act as leader was to replace me with Mio, demoting me to another department."
"I didn't see you two for a long time. I asked Mio, but he stonewalled me, saying you were in secret experiments, barred from leaving."
Uchiha Gin shivered, realizing the original owner's memories held no trace of the institute—only Tajima raising him like a son.
He couldn't tell who lied or spoke truth.
"You think I'm deceiving you?" Yao said, reading Uchiha Gin's confusion.
"If you're right, why do my memories only show Tajima raising me?" Uchiha Gin asked.
"Because your memories—even your cognition—were altered," Yao said, shaking his head. "By Tajima's pupil technique."
Shintenshin? The Mangekyo's ultimate genjutsu, dubbed the "strongest illusion," could invade a mind undetected, rewriting will and memory. It ensured victory without conflict but required a decades-long cooldown.
Feigning confusion, Uchiha Gin prompted Yao to explain. "Tajima, somehow, awakened his Mangekyo. His technique alters memory and will. He used it on you, causing your memory gaps."
The original owner was hit by Shintenshin? Uchiha Gin reeled. The future-hyped genjutsu existed now.
It made sense. In the Warring States era, many Uchiha awakened Mangekyo. Shintenshin, later famed as the ultimate genjutsu, was likely documented, known to figures like the Third Hokage.
"What happened to me at the institute?" Uchiha Gin pressed.
"When I was there, we studied why you and Nameless awakened Mangekyo simultaneously," Yao said. "Your Sharingan had high compatibility, likely due to mutual pupil power resonance, tied to your deep bond."
"What happened to me and Nameless after?" Uchiha Gin asked, curious about Mio's experiments after Yao's ousting.
"I don't know. I tried contacting you during your confinement, but Tajima and others blocked me. Later, I saw you at Tajima's home, but Nameless was gone."
"Until six years ago, when that clan incident happened."
Yao finally touched on the clan grounds massacre.
"Was it the Kaguya clan's ambush?" Uchiha Gin asked, recalling the original owner's fragmented memories.
"Heh, as if the Kaguya could pull that off," Yao scoffed. "Those brainless fools were merely pawns."
"What do you mean?" Uchiha Gin's curiosity spiked at "pawns."
"Tajima sent agents posing as rogue ninjas to the Kaguya, exiled in the Land of Water, with intel," Yao said.
"What intel?"
"'The Uchiha clan grounds are vulnerable. Strike now!'"
Yao's chilling words sent shivers down Uchiha Gin's spine.
"Tajima, for prestige, lured the Kaguya to attack our home, planning to swoop in as a savior, rescuing the clan from peril."
"Was Tajima strong enough?" The Kaguya's kekkei genkai countered the Uchiha's weaker taijutsu. Could a not-yet-peak Tajima handle their full assault?
"Two 'weapons' were his greatest trump cards," Yao said, his icy tone frosting the air, making Uchiha Gin tremble.
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