When Uchiha Akira returned home, he had barely stepped one foot inside the door before he froze.
Well, this was quite the scene—his living room was packed with people, all sitting stiffly and attentively!
There was Uchiha Fugaku, the Fifth Hokage; his grandfather, Uchiha Tai; Sasuke; and a few of the other Uchiha elders.
It looked like the top brass of the Uchiha clan had all gathered!
As soon as he set foot inside, every single pair of eyes in the room turned to stare at him, giving him the uncomfortable feeling of being on trial.
"Akira, have some water!" Luckily, Keiko was there to help. Seeing that Akira must have been busy and tired, she brought him a cup of water.
Akira took the cup and drank it all in one go, then handed it back to her.
"How's Hinata?" his grandfather asked, breaking the silence. He was more concerned about Hinata's condition than Akira's newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan, which showed that he already considered Hinata part of the family.
"Her life's not in danger anymore, but her recovery is going to be tricky. Lady Tsunade and Orochimar are working together, so there's a good chance she'll make a full recovery," Akira replied.
"That's good to hear!" his grandfather said with a sigh of relief. He then added, "Listen, Akira, the Akatsuki's target was you. Hinata got hurt because of her connection to you, so you'd better take good care of her from now on!"
"That's not fair!" Before Akira could respond, the Second Elder spoke up. "Hinata isn't the only one who got injured because of Akira, you know. Are we saying the other fallen and injured Konoha shinobi don't count?"
"As Konoha shinobi, it's the duty of everyone, including Hinata, to protect the village!" the Second Elder insisted.
"He's right," the Third Elder chimed in. "You can't blame Akira for her getting hurt."
Akira remained silent as the elders discussed the matter. His grandfather wasn't wrong, but neither were the other elders. They simply had different perspectives on the situation.
"All right, enough of that," Fugaku, as both clan head and Hokage, finally spoke, and the elders immediately quieted down.
Turning to Akira, Fugaku continued, "Whatever the case, Akira, you've unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan, and that's certainly not a bad thing."
"Also, Sasuke unlocked his Mangekyō as well, and we have you to thank for that."
"Hmph!" Sasuke, standing nearby, didn't seem happy at all. He let out a proud huff, refusing to meet his father's gaze.
It was awkward. During the fight at the exam grounds, when Akira had been impaled through the chest by a black rod, Sasuke had believed his cousin was going to die, and the emotional shock had triggered the awakening of his Mangekyō.
But it turned out Akira wasn't dead at all. In fact, he was perfectly fine.
Sure, unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan was supposed to be a big deal, something worth celebrating.
But now, Sasuke could feel the stares from the clan members—like they were looking at him as if he were an idiot.
Even Naruto had teased him earlier, saying Sasuke had unlocked the Mangekyō the easiest of anyone in Uchiha history.
He had joked that Sasuke must be really lucky, that only a "fool" would awaken the Mangekyō so effortlessly.
Sasuke, of course, hadn't taken that well and had ended up brawling with Naruto over it.
Originally, Sasuke thought Naruto was the fool. But now, being called one by Naruto himself? That was something he couldn't let slide.
So yeah, his Mangekyō Sharingan awakening was a bit anticlimactic, and honestly, a little embarrassing. He couldn't help but wonder if people now thought he was an idiot.
"Haha…" Fugaku's words seemed to hang in the air as the elders glanced at Sasuke, some with amused smiles.
Indeed, Sasuke's Mangekyō awakening was almost comical. Of course, Akira's brilliant acting didn't help matters.
But no one could have predicted that Akira's body would have such absurd regenerative powers.
Even after being impaled through the heart, Akira was still alive and kicking. It wasn't really surprising that Sasuke had been tricked. Who wouldn't be?
Even though the smiles weren't meant to be mocking, Sasuke felt like they were.
Flushed with embarrassment, he stood up abruptly, ready to leave. He couldn't stand being here any longer—if he stayed, he'd die of shame.
"Akira, tell us more about your situation," Fugaku said, shifting the topic from his son. "You went to Ryuuchi Cave to train in Sage Mode, but after seven years, it seems you've changed in ways we can't quite grasp."
"What exactly is your Mangekyō ability?"
"And what's the deal with your insane healing abilities?"
"Finally, how in the world did you gain Wood Release?"
With that, the focus was back on Akira.
Hearing his father's questions, Sasuke paused mid-step, caught between leaving and staying. His curiosity got the better of him, and after a moment's hesitation, he shamelessly turned around and sat back down.
"Weren't you just about to leave, Sasuke?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I never said I was leaving. I was just… going to the bathroom, but then I realized I didn't need to go after all," Sasuke lied, as he sat back down.
Akira gave him a look, but decided not to press the issue. "Fine. Let's get to the questions."
The atmosphere in the Uchiha clan was generally good, and Akira didn't feel the need to hide anything.
"My left eye's Mangekyō ability is called Extraction. It lets me temporarily steal someone else's ability—completely at random."
"My right eye's ability is Bestow, which allows me to lend my abilities to others for a short time. That's about it."
"I see. So, you stole that masked man's power during the battle, huh?" Fugaku and the elders nodded in understanding.
They had originally assumed that Akira's ability was the same as Kamui, but it turned out he had temporarily extracted it from the masked man instead.
While his abilities weren't direct offensive or defensive techniques, they were incredibly versatile.
The stronger the opponent, the more valuable the ability he could extract.
"As for my Wood Release and my body's healing powers, well, I guess you could say I got lucky."
"I worked with Orochimaru on researching the First Hokage's cells, and after my transformation into a dragon, I successfully merged with the First's cells."
"So, now I have Wood Release, and my healing factor became insanely strong."
Akira answered the second and third questions in one go.
"You actually managed to fuse with Hashirama's cells? Does that mean you've perfected the method?" The Second and Third Elders both stared at Akira, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
If Akira could do it, did that mean others could as well?
The Wood Release of the First Hokage was a legendary power in the shinobi world!
"Don't even think about it," Fugaku cut in before Akira could respond. "I've seen the reports about Orochimaru's defection. The First Hokage's cells are incredibly invasive."
"Orochimaru spent years trying, and all he managed was Yamato, and even then, it wasn't a perfect success."
"Akira succeeded because his body has already undergone a transformation—his body is practically in Sage Mode all the time."
Fugaku's explanation disappointed the elders, but they couldn't argue with it.
It was true. Orochimaru had worked on the project for years and only managed to create Yamato, whose abilities didn't match the lofty expectations.
Yamato was strong, no doubt, but he was nowhere near the level people had hoped for.
It was like expecting someone to get into an elite school like Harvard, but they barely scraped by with a pass to a decent college.
Sure, it's not bad, but it's far from what people anticipated.
So, even if you could acquire Wood Release, the success rate was low, and the results weren't guaranteed to be as powerful.
"That's correct," Akira nodded, agreeing with Fugaku's assessment. There wasn't much else to say on the matter.
As he spoke, Akira's eyes briefly flicked to Sasuke.
He was the reincarnation of Indra, so theoretically, Sasuke might also be capable of fusing with Hashirama's cells.
And when Sasuke grew stronger—perhaps even surpassing the level of Kage—he might even awaken the powers of the Sage of Six Paths and unlock the Rinnegan.
But that was a topic for the future. For now, Sasuke had only just reached the level of a Kage, so those things were still a ways off.
"Our Uchiha clan is truly flourishing!" Fugaku's face lit up with a smile, and the other elders nodded in agreement.
Indeed, with three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan now in the clan, it was clear the Uchiha were thriving.
If you counted Itachi, who had left Konoha, there were now four pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan. It was a rare sight in the history of the Uchiha clan… one that signaled a time of great prosperity.
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 250+ at patreon.com/Emik01.