"Jiren?"
Seimei stopped in his tracks, gazing at the figure standing at the street corner with a puzzled expression.
"It's me."
Uchiha Jiren replied and stepped out of the shadows, his face displaying a mix of emotions as he looked at Seimei.
Seimei chose not to dwell on Jiren's expression. What mattered more to him was why Jiren had sought him out.
He was sure Jiren had been waiting specifically for him.
After all, who would be wandering around at this hour without a reason?
So, without beating around the bush, Seimei directly asked the question on his mind:
"You need something from me?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Jiren didn't mince words. He first nodded, then shook his head and said, "It's not me who needs you. The Grand Elder wants to see you."
"The Grand Elder?"
Seimei grew even more confused.
Over the past two years, he had only ever interacted with one Uchiha elder: Uchiha Hokasen.
But Hokasen was not the clan's Grand Elder.
In other words, Seimei had no connection whatsoever with this so-called Grand Elder.
'What could this person possibly want from me?'
'Could it be something related to Danzo again?'
As Seimei speculated internally, he heard Jiren continue, "Yes, the Grand Elder. He specifically asked to meet you."
'Ah, so it is about Danzo.'
The moment Seimei heard this familiar request, he knew he'd guessed correctly.
Since the waters were already this murky, Seimei decided not to decline. He agreed on the spot.
The two then changed direction and headed straight for the Grand Elder's residence.
Unlike Uchiha Fugaku's place, the Grand Elder's home was more secluded, situated in the deepest part of the Uchiha clan's territory.
The residence itself, though spacious, exuded a tranquil atmosphere, with far fewer servants than one might expect.
The quiet environment, coupled with the fact that it was the dead of night, gave the place an eerie, somewhat foreboding feel.
"We're here."
Just as Seimei's mind began to wander, Jiren's voice snapped him back to reality.
He watched as Jiren tidied up his clothing before respectfully knocking on the door in front of them.
Knock, knock, knock.
A raspy, elderly voice came from inside almost immediately.
"Come in."
Jiren glanced at Seimei, nodded, and then pushed open the door.
Creaaak.
The door opened.
Jiren entered first, with Seimei following closely behind.
The room was a study. Besides several bookshelves filled to capacity, there was only a desk and a few chairs.
Seated behind the desk was an elderly man who appeared to be extraordinarily aged. His eyes were closed, and his brow furrowed as though he was deep in thought.
As the two approached the desk, Jiren carefully spoke up:
"Grand Elder, he's here."
At these words, the old man opened his eyes.
In that instant, Seimei felt an invisible pressure settle on him. It wasn't chakra or spiritual energy but rather an aura of authority, born from years of commanding respect.
Fortunately, having spent over two years surviving on the battlefield, Seimei had weathered life-and-death experiences. He wasn't so easily intimidated.
The Grand Elder scrutinized him for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad," he said.
After this, the Grand Elder turned to Jiren and said, "Alright, you're dismissed. This doesn't concern you anymore."
"Yes, Grand Elder!"
Jiren, who obeyed the Grand Elder without question, nodded and left without saying another word.
Once the door was shut again, the Grand Elder refocused on Seimei.
"Seimei, you're a remarkable young man!"
He offered another compliment before continuing, "Did you know that I've been watching you for quite some time? I've always thought of you as a child with a deep reservoir of emotion."
"When your parents passed away, I even assigned someone to keep an eye on you—Jiren, the one who just left. I wanted to see if their deaths would awaken your Sharingan."
"Unfortunately, even after delivering your parents' compensation to you, your Sharingan remained dormant. I must admit, I was quite disappointed."
At this, Seimei couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
Back then, he hadn't noticed anything unusual at all.
Thankfully, the Grand Elder had lost interest early on. If a Jonin had kept constant surveillance on him, Seimei doubted he could have kept his secret hidden.
While others wouldn't have noticed his proficiency panel, they certainly would have found his rapid strength progression suspicious.
And who knows what might have happened then?
Perhaps he would have been hailed as a prodigy and received special training, or perhaps his memories would have been probed to see if something was amiss.
One thing was certain: his fate would no longer have been his to control.
He felt lucky.
Lucky that he had crossed into this world later rather than sooner. Lucky that his proficiency panel improved his abilities gradually.
Otherwise, who could say what his situation would be today?
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Seimei kept his expression calm and composed.
At that moment, the Grand Elder's tone shifted, becoming more animated:
"Fortunately, you didn't disappoint me. In the end, you awakened your Sharingan—and not just that, but you've grown immeasurably stronger!"
"Do you know how proud I felt when I heard about your successive breakthroughs on the battlefield? In just one year, your Sharingan reached the level of three tomoe. It proved that my judgment was correct!"
'No, your judgment was completely off. If it weren't for the proficiency panel, the original owner of this body would be lucky to awaken even a single-tomoe Sharingan.'
"And now, Seimei, tell me: have you awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
'Huh? Why are we suddenly talking about the Mangekyo Sharingan?'
The abrupt shift in topic caught Seimei off guard.
He watched as the Grand Elder, much like Uchiha Fugaku earlier, activated his three-tomoe Sharingan mid-sentence.
It seemed he wanted to provoke Seimei into revealing his true strength.
Seimei sighed internally.
'You Uchihas really are alike—even your methods are identical.'
In his perception, the elderly man, though somewhat weakened by age and lacking the stamina to sustain high-level ocular abilities for long, could still unleash a power that surpassed Fugaku's—albeit briefly.
Unfortunately for the elder, it was all for nothing. Without awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to gauge the true gap between them.
Seimei effortlessly withstood the pressure the Grand Elder emitted, matching it with his own ocular power.
As before with Fugaku, he revealed just enough strength to stay a hair's breadth above his opponent.
At first, the Great Elder sensed that Seimei's ocular power surpassed his own and even revealed a hint of joy. However, when he saw that Seimei's Sharingan still only had three tomoe, he froze in place.
"What's going on? Impossible! You haven't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan? Then how did you kill Danzō?"
"I didn't kill Danzō."
Although there were no outsiders nearby, and judging from the Great Elder's attitude, he clearly belonged to the clan's radical faction, meaning he would keep the truth a secret even if he heard it—Seimei had already made up his mind. Once a decision was made, he wouldn't change it easily.
Thus, he firmly stuck to his story: he hadn't killed Danzō.
However, the Great Elder didn't believe him at all. Still, this wasn't his primary concern at the moment.
He wanted to continue enhancing his ocular power to test Seimei's limits.
Unfortunately, he was already old and couldn't maintain an intense burst of power for too long.
In the end, after just a few breaths, his aura rapidly declined as his ocular power weakened.
Thud—
Leaning back in his chair, the Great Elder stared at Seimei, looking at his three-tomoe Sharingan with unwillingness in his eyes.
"You really haven't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?" he asked, unwilling to accept it.
"No."
Seimei answered decisively.
Hearing this, the Great Elder's face showed clear disappointment.
Previously, when comparing Seimei's strength to Danzō's, he had assumed that Seimei must have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan to be able to kill Danzō and his large group of subordinates.
Otherwise, it simply didn't make sense.
But now, he wasn't so sure. Because at this very moment, Seimei's ocular power had already surpassed his peak level, and he seemed completely at ease.
Just how strong was Seimei in this state? The Great Elder couldn't estimate it. Perhaps Seimei really could have taken down Danzō and his subordinates without unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan.
After a brief silence, the Great Elder decided not to dwell on it.
Seimei was still very young. Whether or not he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, there was still plenty of time ahead.
So, there was no need to rush.
"Phew~~~"
The Great Elder let out a long breath.
Looking at Seimei, he said, "Alright, if you say you haven't, then you haven't. You don't need to respond to the Hokage's summons—our clan will handle it for you. Just focus on your training. Also..."
As he spoke, he pulled open a drawer under the table and took out a handwritten document, which he handed to Seimei.
"This is a pass personally signed by me. With this, the clan's secret archives will be fully open to you. You may browse and study them as you wish."
"This…"
Seimei accepted the document, feeling as if fortune had struck him unexpectedly.
He had originally been thinking about how to gain access to the clan's secret archives again to study the exclusive techniques of the Uchiha.
If nothing else, he absolutely had to learn the "Transcription Seal"—a divine ability.
This technique allowed the Sharingan user to seal a jutsu into their own or someone else's eyes. When certain conditions were met, the seal would automatically activate, unleashing the jutsu against the target.
What did this mean? It was basically like programming—set the right conditions, and it would execute automatically.
With the right selection of jutsu and conditions, this technique could accomplish many things, making it something Seimei would never pass up.
He had originally thought he would need to put in quite a bit of effort to obtain this ocular technique.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity had just landed in his hands.
And not just a single-use opportunity—an unlimited one.
There was no way he could refuse. His attitude toward the Great Elder instantly became much more favorable.
Seimei didn't care whether the Great Elder was from the radical faction. As long as he could benefit from it, he didn't mind aligning himself with him.
Compared to this, Uchiha Fugaku had summoned him in the middle of the night, only to offer nothing beyond some initial pleasantries and small talk.
Perhaps Fugaku thought shielding him from the Hokage faction's pressure was already a significant favor. But compared to what the Great Elder was offering, it felt somewhat stingy.
With that in mind, Seimei sincerely thanked the Great Elder.
"Thank you, Great Elder!"
Hearing this, the Great Elder simply waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."
Yawning, he continued, "Alright, it's getting late. Go get some rest. And remember to train diligently!"
"Yes, Great Elder!"
Seimei responded one last time. After receiving a nod of acknowledgment, he turned and left.
Creak—
Thud—
The door opened and then closed.
Once again, only the Great Elder remained in the study.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, he muttered to himself,
"Mangekyō… Mangekyō…"
As someone who had followed Uchiha Madara since the Warring States Period, he understood the importance of the Mangekyō Sharingan to the Uchiha clan.
If the Uchiha could awaken just one pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, many things would become much easier.
"What a pity…"
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