While Sasuke lived months, years — alongside his family, Li Shang watched in silence, with a slight smile on his face.
'It seems the second part was true...' he thought, remembering the stone. 'But why would anyone want to awaken an evil god?'
He remained focused, his silver-blue eyes shining with an ethereal tone as he sustained the illusion. Sasuke was motionless, sitting in a meditative position, his body enveloped by a constant flow of chakra. A subtle aura emanated from him, dense, pure, vibrating in tune with something much deeper — his soul.
Li Shang could feel it clearly: a different, ancestral energy. The power was emerging from the depths of Sasuke's being, connecting to his eyes, his blood, and his essence. It was refined, harmonious, and, at the same time, terrifying in its purity.
He suppressed the urge to absorb it.
'This energy... It's too pure, as if it were a fragment of a primordial force. Perhaps that's why the text on the stone said that the power of these eyes was the power of a god.'
Li Shang crossed his legs, resting his hands on his knees, and kept his breathing steady.
The illusion he had created was not just a simple image or a common genjutsu. It was a complete projection in the sea of knowledge — a parallel world, reconstructed from Sasuke's soul. There, the boy relived his life with his family, walking among memories and possibilities that never existed.
'A direct mental attack in the sea of knowledge...' Li Shang reflected. 'It's much more than a genjutsu. It's a conscious invasion. If Sasuke had resisted at the moment of activation, both would have suffered irreversible damage to their souls.'
He knew he wasn't an expert in mental techniques. What he had done was the result of his experience as a cultivator — manipulation of raw spiritual energy, molding it within the other's internal space. Creating something like this required an environment of complete acceptance, and Sasuke, by trusting him, opened his soul's defenses.
Because of this, the illusion took shape perfectly.
But something bothered him.
'It's already been five years in there...' Li Shang closed his eyes for an instant, concentrating on the flow of chakra within the Uchiha's mind. Sasuke had gone through ups and downs in that illusory world — moments of joy, loss, love, and redemption. All genuine, all felt.
And yet, no reaction had awakened anything new. No spark of the divine power the stone described.
'I think something is missing...' he thought, observing the subtle waves of spiritual energy moving within Sasuke. 'Even with peace and fullness, he didn't awaken the Rinnegan... only Mangekyō Sharingan.'
A sigh escaped his lips. The chakra around him began to dissipate, and slowly, he left the sea of consciousness.
The transition was smooth — the connection between their souls dissolved like mist in the wind. Li Shang opened his eyes.
The air was dense, heavy. He watched Sasuke still motionless, breathing rhythmically, as if caught between dream and reality.
"Mom..."
The voice came out trembling, weak. Sasuke's eyes opened slowly, and the image before him dissolved like smoke. The living room, the breakfast table, Mikoto's gentle laugh — everything disappeared, swallowed by the void.
When his vision finally stabilized, he saw Li Shang sitting in front of him, watching him with serenity.
"How was it?"
The question sounded calm, but for Sasuke, it was like a blade piercing his chest.
"You..." The words barely came out. His throat burned, his heart felt like it was about to explode. "That..."
Tears began to fall before he could stop them. A muffled sound escaped his mouth, a mixture of rage and pain.
"YOU!"
The chakra around him began to vibrate violently. The wooden floor creaked. The air grew heavy.
"HOW DARE YOU PLAY WITH ME LIKE THIS?!"
The scream reverberated through the room, and at that instant, Sasuke's eyes transformed. His pupils contorted, the Sharingan spun in spirals and took on a new form — the Mangekyō pattern shining intensely.
Li Shang merely watched him, motionless, his lips forming a slight smile.
"So this is the Mangekyō Sharingan?" he asked, as if he were before a natural phenomenon.
Before he could say more, Sasuke lunged, his clenched fist heading straight for his face.
"Pow!"
The impact echoed, but Li Shang calmly raised his arm, intercepting the blow. His fingers wrapped firmly around Sasuke's wrist, and for a brief moment, everything stopped.
But then, something changed.
The force of the punch increased. The chakra around Sasuke expanded in a brutal surge, and a faint, purplish light began to manifest around his body. Ethereal lines formed an indistinct silhouette behind him — a gigantic, ancestral presence.
Li Shang narrowed his eyes. "This..." he murmured, surprised.
That energy was alive. Pure, yet wild. The manifestation of hatred and loss transformed into power.
'Incredible...' he thought. 'So this is what was dormant in the Uchiha's blood. The soul tries to balance trauma by creating power... there's nothing similar to this in my world.'
He slowly brought his other hand to his face, touching his eyes.
'Could my eyes...'
He didn't complete the thought. Instead, he looked up and, with a firm voice, cut through the turmoil that enveloped Sasuke.
"Control yourself."
The order resonated with authority.
"You knew very well what would happen."
The words were like hammers in the young man's mind.
"I still let you live with your family for years. You awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as soon as you saw them — alive!"
The calm, yet relentless tone, tore through Sasuke's fury like a blade. The boy trembled. The chakra that enveloped him began to dissipate, and the purple glow slowly faded.
He lowered his head, breathing with difficulty. His trembling fist unclenched, and his hands went to his face.
His shoulders shook. The tears returned, silent, dripping onto the floor.
"Thank you..." he murmured, his voice almost inaudible.
Li Shang watched him, motionless. The floor around Sasuke began to darken, soaked by the falling tears.
This was not the cry of a defeated boy, but the outpouring of someone who had experienced something they most longed for.
The weight of a dream that became reality — only to be torn away again.
Li Shang looked away and sighed softly. Sasuke remained motionless, his body trembling, his face hidden in his hands.
Li Shang closed his eyes for an instant. 'If the Uchiha's power is born from emotional shock... then perhaps the next step is not to train his eyes, but his soul.'
And, amidst the silence, the sound of tears continued.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
The soft echo filled the room — the only sound of an awakening that would never be forgotten.