Chapter 224: The Mangekyō Sharingan! The Crevice Between Fantasy and Reality!
After enjoying dinner prepared using the unique steam of Hell Valley,
Uchiha Ci followed the guidance of a middle-aged man with a gentle demeanor, Uchiha Kagami, and left the camp.
Climbing up the steep slope to the cliff surrounding Hell Valley,
he saw Uchiha Setsuna, who had been waiting there for a long time.
At that moment, Uchiha Setsuna was clad in a short-collared kimono. His long gray-white hair was tied in the middle, sitting silently cross-legged at the cliff's edge.
He overlooked the billowing clouds and mist rolling in the valley below under the night sky,
the abyss appearing bottomless, with no trace of human activity in sight.
"Great Elder, I'm here."
Uchiha Ci approached, glancing downward as he did.
Just then, a bird flew past the cliff's edge.
But the next moment—
Swish!
A shadow suddenly shot up from Hell Valley, piercing through the bird at an astonishing speed and bringing it down.
Upon closer inspection, the shadow turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary pebble.
Witnessing this, Uchiha Ci was slightly surprised.
Judging from the speed at which the pebble shot up and the sound it made, the vertical drop of Hell Valley was at least 800 meters.
To hit a flying bird at such a distance, such a throwing skill surpassed ordinary techniques.
However, Uchiha Setsuna, sitting cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, remained unmoved. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:
"This is how those trapped in Hell Valley survive."
"Falsely accused, imprisoned by the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning under fabricated charges.
They survive by drinking the scalding hot water in the valley, catching birds to make clothing from their feathers, and gnawing on wild grass to live."
"Practically living like savages!"
"And yet, who would have thought that sixty years ago, these people were aristocrats, enjoying wealth and privilege?"
Uchiha Setsuna paused, speaking in a calm voice without turning his head:
"Ci,"
"Do you understand what led to such a tragedy?"
Uchiha Ci fell silent for a moment before replying:
"This must be the disparity of fate."
"Abandoning their strength, forsaking their identity as shinobi, and giving up the skills their clan had passed down for centuries—"
"They chose to become aristocrats, to enter a field they were not skilled in, and to merge into a power struggle that was not their own."
"In the end, they met a crushing defeat."
Hearing Ci's answer, Uchiha Setsuna nodded in satisfaction.
"Correct!"
"That is why I chose you instead of Fugaku!"
Uchiha Setsuna gestured for Uchiha Ci to come closer.
He sat at the very edge of the cliff, where one step forward would send him plummeting to his death, his legs dangling in the air.
He gazed at the bright full moon and the swirling mist in the sky,
listening to the eerie wailing echoing from the valley. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said:
"Uchiha Fugaku undoubtedly possesses power, strategy, and ambition that ordinary members of the Uchiha clan cannot hope to match."
"I even believe that one day, he will awaken those forbidden eyes and obtain power that transcends everything—a divine might unattainable by mere mortals."
"By all logic, I should support such a person as clan head."
Uchiha Setsuna paused, his tone turning somber:
"But Fugaku lacks one thing."
"And that is—"
"Courage!"
"Since becoming the head of the Police Force, this man has carried the trust of countless clansmen,
and this has made every step he takes overly cautious. He is futilely running for a goal that is nowhere in sight."
"In doing so, he is gradually losing himself!"
Uchiha Setsuna stared coldly at the swirling white mist below Hell Valley and murmured:
"Because I've witnessed it, I fear it."
"I fear that Fugaku will, like this Blood Pool, forsake the meaning of Uchiha's existence and lead the clan into an irrecoverable state."
Uchiha Ci furrowed his brows slightly, turning to the old man beside him. He asked, puzzled:
"The meaning of Uchiha's existence?"
"What is it?"
Uchiha Setsuna turned his head slightly, his single crimson eye glowing ominously as he replied:
"To pursue power—this is the meaning of Uchiha's existence!"
"These eyes, capable of seeing through everything and learning all, have long charted the path we should take."
"Listen—"
"Uchiha Ci, I am about to tell you secrets known to no one else!"
"Only someone like me, who has used the forbidden technique Izanagi and glimpsed the mysterious world connecting fantasy and reality, can uncover the hidden truths of this world!"
Uchiha Ci froze for a moment, not because of the old man's seemingly esoteric ramblings, but because Uchiha Setsuna's crimson Sharingan suddenly underwent a peculiar transformation.
The three tomoe in his scarlet eye began to rotate rapidly, elongating and forming an entirely new pattern.
Black curves spiraled into the pupil like a vortex, with three thick black lines surrounding the curves, resembling a film reel.
The pattern looked like the most exquisite work of art—
The Mangekyō Sharingan!
"This... this is—"
Uchiha Ci's breath hitched as he stared in disbelief at the pattern in Uchiha Setsuna's crimson eye.
"This is the ultimate power pursued by the Uchiha for generations!"
Uchiha Setsuna sighed softly, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Uchiha Ci gulped, feeling as though a herd of wild horses was stampeding through his mind.
The old man's spontaneous Mangekyō awakening was so absurd it left him stunned in place.
The moment Uchiha Setsuna activated the Mangekyō Sharingan, he immediately clutched his eye, letting out a stifled cry of pain as blood tears streamed through his fingers, dripping into the night.
Seizing this fleeting moment, the old man struggled to raise his blood-stained fingers, pressing them against Uchiha Ci's wide-open right eye.
With his other hand, he formed the "Hitsuji" (Ram) hand sign.
Then, Uchiha Ci heard the old man shout deeply:
"Transfer Seal! Seal!"
A warmth spread through his right eye, as if a peculiar power was being infused into it.
A tingling sensation overtook his eyeball, causing Uchiha Ci to unconsciously activate his Sharingan.
In his two-tomoe Sharingan, his right eye silently transformed into the shape of Uchiha Setsuna's Mangekyō pattern.
But the next moment, the pattern faded into nothing, leaving no trace behind.
After completing this process, Uchiha Setsuna immediately deactivated his Sharingan,
as if the act had drained him greatly. The old man gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.
"Hey, old man, you—"
Uchiha Ci hurriedly supported him, worried the elder might accidentally tumble off the cliff.
Pulling him back to a safer position, Uchiha Ci watched as Uchiha Setsuna lay on the ground, gasping for air.
After a long pause, Uchiha Setsuna finally recovered, his gaze momentarily dazed. He looked up at Uchiha Ci and asked:
"Just now, what was I saying?"
Uchiha Ci froze, only to see the old man's eyes suddenly light up.
As if recalling something, Uchiha Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan reappeared, and he raised his hand, aiming to press it against Uchiha Ci's eye again.
"Right, I need to place a transfer seal on you. Hold still."
Uchiha Ci felt his scalp go numb. Was this old man suffering from dementia?
How could he forget what he had just done?
He quickly swatted away the trembling hand reaching toward his eye and interrupted,
"You already did it—once is enough!"
"Did I?" The old man finally came to his senses, nodding as he took a small notebook from his robe and glanced at it.
He coughed twice before solemnly warning,
"One more thing—"
"I must warn you, Izanagi is no benevolent technique. The crevice linking fantasy and reality is perilous!"
"Forbidden techniques must not be abused!"