Heavenly Dao's apartment.
As an Anbu, Yūgao was always on call. She had barely returned to the village when she was sent out again, leaving Heavenly Dao to his solitary routines.
At his invitation, Shizune supported a still-unsteady Tsunade as they entered.
Inside, both Tsunade and Shizune blinked in surprise. Contrary to the cliché image of a bachelor's quarters, the apartment was spotless.
The wooden floors gleamed like polished mirrors. Scrolls and old texts lined the shelves, and several pots of vibrant medicinal herbs caught the sunlight filtering through the paper screens, scattering soft golden patterns across the tatami. A faint scent of tea and incense lingered in the air—quiet, calming, and steady.
"Lady Tsunade, please sit." Heavenly Dao's tone was composed, as though the heart-stopping clash earlier had never occurred. He moved to the corner stove and set water to boil.
Shizune sat gingerly, her eyes darting around the room. She now understood the full story: Tsunade had acted without reason, and she herself had spoken harshly to him.
Each stolen glance she cast at Heavenly Dao carried a hint of guilt.
Tsunade tried to outlast him in silence, but Heavenly Dao was in no hurry. Whoever spoke first would lose the upper hand.
He listened to the kettle's low hum, admired the pale beauty seated before him, and was a breath away from humming a tune.
Tsunade broke first.
Her arms crossed, her gaze sharp as a hawk's. "Enough games," she said coldly. "You claimed you had a secret that would convince me. What is it?"
The kettle released a puff of steam. Instead of answering, Heavenly Dao poured hot water into three clay cups, the aroma of tea deepening the atmosphere.
He placed one cup before Tsunade, handed another to Shizune, then lifted his own and gently blew across the surface.
"Lady Tsunade," he began calmly, "have you ever wondered why my great-grandfather ultimately chose to settle here in Konoha?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you say this was his hometown?"
"It was," Heavenly Dao nodded, a faintly enigmatic smile touching his lips. "What I did not mention is that my great-grandfather's surname was Uchiha."
"What?!" Tsunade shot to her feet, nearly knocking over her cup. Shizune's eyes widened in shock. "That's impossible!"
Heavenly Dao didn't argue. He simply lowered his cup, let his eyelids droop, then snapped his eyes open.
In the next instant—
Shhk.
His pupils transformed into crimson, two pitch-black tomoe revolving within each iris, deep as blood and commanding in their eerie presence.
The Sharingan.
Since receiving the System's reward, this was the first time he had revealed it.
This was his trump card—his decisive move to win Tsunade over with a single overwhelming truth.
Once the Sharingan was proven real, every earlier inconsistency would naturally be buried beneath its impact.
A new Sharingan user appearing in Konoha and a second Shikkotsu Forest contract emerging in the ninja world seemed unrelated at first glance. Yet once the former was accepted, the mind instinctively accepted the latter.
It was manipulation at its finest—an information blitz worthy of Zhongli's feigned death.
Heavenly Dao felt a flicker of pride.
Tsunade's breath caught, her thoughts racing.
For a brief moment, she considered whether this was an elaborate deception. But she quickly dismissed the idea—who could fake both a summoning contract and the Sharingan just to deceive her?
"You… are really an Uchiha?" she asked slowly.
He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the crimson had vanished, replaced by calm black pupils.
"The proof is before you, Lady Tsunade."
"My great-grandfather abandoned the Uchiha name due to a clash of ideals," he continued quietly. "After returning to these lands, he met my great-grandmother—a civilian."
He met Tsunade's gaze directly. "To avoid future trouble, he sealed the Shikkotsu Forest contract. Only a descendant who awakens the Sharingan can break that seal."
"So…" Shizune murmured, finally regaining her composure, "Tendo-kun wasn't lying after all."
"I have no reason to lie," Heavenly Dao replied evenly. "The Sharingan is a burning coal in my pocket."
"You know the climate within the village, Lady Tsunade."
"It's the reason you left—and the reason I dared to unseal my ancestor's legacy."
The words were soft, but they painted a vivid picture of the storms hidden beneath Konoha's bright exterior.
Revealing the Sharingan was only the opening move. His true objective was to present himself as talented, threatened, and burdened by fate.
And the story rang true.
Konoha's history was far from spotless. The long-standing suppression of the Uchiha during Tobirama Senju's era. The tragic suicide of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. The night the Uchiha clan vanished. The early death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Could the village truly claim its hands were clean?
Silence filled the room as steam curled upward and the scent of tea lingered.
Tsunade slowly sank back onto her cushion, her fingers absently tracing the rim of her cup. Shock, doubt, and empathy warred across her face.
She harbored no particular hatred toward the Uchiha. In fact, she sometimes admired their blunt honesty.
Her philosophy had always been pragmatic: maintain peace and she would leave them be; cause trouble and she would deal with it personally.
Now, both the Uchiha and their old rivals, the Senju, were gone.
How had Konoha's two founding clans come to this?
They had survived the blood-soaked Sengoku era, only to fall within the very village they had built to end the carnage.
In that moment, Heavenly Dao was no longer just himself. Through him, Tsunade saw her younger brother, her lover, and even a reflection of her own past.
At last, she lifted her head. "Fine. You've convinced me."
A glint of mischief flashed in her eyes. "So, what are you willing to offer to keep me quiet?"
Heavenly Dao feigned dismay, pondered theatrically, then delivered the line he had prepared in advance.
"The Sharingan is also known as the Eye that Reflects the Heart."
"Would you be interested in using it to cure hemophobia, Lady Tsunade?"
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