Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The corners of Uchiha Itachi's mouth curled up slightly. The curve was so small it was almost imperceptible, but Uchiha Shisui, standing opposite him, could clearly sense that he was smiling.

"What's wrong, Shisui? You seem surprised by these eyes."

His voice was as calm as ever, but beneath that tranquility lay something else, as if he were asking a question to which he already knew the answer.

Uchiha Shisui did not answer. His expression was complex—a mix of shock, confusion, and an indescribable bitterness.

His eyes remained fixed on the three-bladed shuriken pattern in Itachi's eyes for a long time, his pupils slightly contracting.

Observing his expression, Uchiha Itachi spoke again.

"I suppose it makes sense."

His tone sounded like he was muttering to himself, yet also explaining it to Shisui.

"When you awakened these eyes, you must have experienced a pain you'd rather not recall. You probably think I went through the same thing, don't you?"

He spoke softly and slowly. Every word felt like a probe, yet also a simple statement of fact.

The corner of Uchiha Shisui's eye twitched, a detail Itachi clearly caught. It was an instinctive physical reaction to having his thoughts read perfectly.

Uchiha Itachi smiled, and this time, it was obvious.

It was the first time he had truly smiled so far, even showing a bit of his teeth. However, there was no joy in his smile; instead, it carried an indescribable mix of bitterness and relief.

"I might have to disappoint you, Shisui."

Uchiha Itachi's tone was light, as if he were discussing something entirely mundane.

"Aside from the initial pain I experienced when awakening the One-Tomoe Sharingan, the addition of the other tomoe—and even reaching the Mangekyo Sharingan now—has been a very smooth process."

After saying this, he fell silent. He simply stood there, watching Shisui and waiting for his reaction.

Uchiha Shisui slowly shook his head.

"That's impossible."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a heavy weight.

Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi's smile did not fade.

"I figured as much."

He spoke up.

"I knew no one would believe me if I said this. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I probably would have doubted it too."

He looked at Uchiha Shisui, the smile slowly fading from his lips as his expression turned serious.

"So tell me, Shisui."

He lowered his voice until it was just a whisper between the two of them.

"If I told you that I was able to awaken these eyes because of Taiga's help, what would you think?"

Uchiha Shisui's expression shifted. As if a sudden realization struck him, his body swayed slightly.

"Him!"

His voice grew tight.

"Did he return to the village?"

Uchiha Itachi shook his head.

"No, he hasn't."

Hearing this, Uchiha Shisui breathed a small sigh of relief. He didn't even know why that answer relaxed him, but it felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted from his chest.

Uchiha Itachi paid no mind to his reaction. Instead, he paused, as if organizing his thoughts.

"Since Taiga left, I haven't seen him even once."

He shifted his gaze away from Shisui's face, looking up at the patches of sky obscured by the canopy of leaves, as if staring into the distant horizon.

"But there is something none of you know."

He brought his gaze back, focusing on Shisui once more.

"He actually left behind a treasure for the Uchiha clan—a treasure capable of elevating the clan's overall strength by several levels."

Uchiha Shisui's face twitched. He stared intently at Uchiha Itachi, a premonition warning him that whatever came next would be shocking.

Consequently, Uchiha Shisui couldn't stop his heart from beating a little faster.

He was reluctant to admit it, but his subconscious told him that Uchiha Itachi was likely telling the truth.

After all, this was Uchiha Taiga—the most terrifying genius in the history of the Uchiha clan, a fact acknowledged by the entire ninja world.

"What kind of treasure?"

He asked, his voice a bit dry.

Uchiha Itachi smiled again. The smile was wider this time, the corners of his mouth lifting higher.

"It's a manuscript, or rather, a journal. It contains some of Taiga's thoughts."

Uchiha Shisui furrowed his brows, his mind racing as he recalled the various items that had circulated within the Uchiha clan over the past ten years. Suddenly, his expression shifted from a frown to one of sudden realization, tinged with astonishment.

"You mean that journal filled with profanity?"

His voice rose significantly.

Uchiha Itachi's cheek twitched, and the corners of his mouth dipped slightly, resembling a child whose embarrassing secret had just been exposed. The expression lingered on his face for only a split second before vanishing.

He nodded.

"Yes."

He paused. "It seems you've read that journal too, Shisui."

Uchiha Shisui nodded but remained silent, waiting for Itachi to continue.

After Uchiha Taiga left, many of his belongings had been confiscated by the clan. Perhaps out of fear of Taiga's existence, they didn't dare destroy them, opting to store them separately instead. However, the contents naturally had to be inventoried.

As a result, a journal filled to the brim with deep-seated resentment toward the Uchiha clan was naturally shelved and hidden away.

"Do you remember a certain hypothesis Taiga wrote in there?"

Uchiha Shisui thought for a moment, and a specific passage actually came to mind.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan is the product of the eyes being subjected to extreme stimulation by Yin Style chakra. However, if one were to constantly stimulate their eyes with Yin Style chakra on a daily basis, it might accelerate this process."

After reciting the passage, he looked at Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi nodded once more.

"Exactly. That's the passage."

He paused, as if reminiscing.

"Everyone said it was mere conjecture, absolute nonsense, a wild fantasy."

He looked at Shisui, his gaze dead serious.

"But I believed that Taiga wouldn't just leave a passage like that behind for no reason."

Uchiha Shisui's frown deepened. His lips parted as if hesitating to speak, but he ultimately voiced his thoughts.

"That's impossible. Many people in the clan tried it, myself included. But stimulating the eyes with Yin Style chakra is far too painful, and it provides absolutely no help in improving visual prowess. That theory was already proven false."

He spoke with absolute certainty because he had indeed tried it. Stimulating the eyes with Yin Style chakra felt like someone carving flesh out of the eyeballs with a knife—a level of agony no ordinary person could endure.

Uchiha Itachi looked at him and smiled.

"That's right."

His tone was soft, as if agreeing with him.

"Everyone else gave up, but I persevered. I've kept at it ever since I awakened my One-Tomoe Sharingan on the battlefield, all the way until now."

Uchiha Shisui's eyes widened slightly.

"Because of that, all it took was a minor incident to trigger an emotional fluctuation, and these eyes naturally manifested."

Uchiha Shisui's voice was a little dry.

"You kept it up until now?"

There was a profound sense of disbelief in his tone.

Uchiha Itachi nodded. The motion was slight, but incredibly resolute.

"Yes. For nearly eight years, I endured it."

His tone was flat, as if recounting something entirely ordinary. But when the words "eight years" left his mouth, Uchiha Shisui's expression completely changed.

Eight years. Stimulating his eyes with Yin Style chakra every single day, enduring that agonizing pain up until this very moment.

Not just for a day or two, nor a month or two, but for eight full years—nearly three thousand days and nights. Every day, he had to endure the excruciating sensation of his eyeballs being pierced by needles, scorched by fire, and torn open from the inside.

Experiencing that pain even once was enough to make most people quit, yet he had endured it for eight years.

Uchiha Shisui's expression shifted drastically.

His previously conflicted demeanor gave way to a deathly pallor, the color draining even from his lips.

He stared at Uchiha Itachi as if looking at a stranger—someone he had never truly understood.

"How did you endure it?"

Uchiha Itachi thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know. Perhaps it was just sheer willpower."

At that moment, the gaze Uchiha Shisui directed at him was incredibly complex—a mixture of gratification and unease.

"So, your Mangekyo awakened during this process?"

To his surprise, Uchiha Itachi shook his head.

"No, it didn't."

Uchiha Shisui's expression shifted again as he instinctively asked, "Then when did you awaken the Mangekyo?"

His voice was tight.

Uchiha Itachi smiled once more.

"Just now."

His voice was perfectly calm.

"That minor incident capable of triggering my emotions..."

He paused, looking into Shisui's eyes—staring directly at the four-bladed shuriken pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"...was seeing those eyes of yours."

Uchiha Shisui froze for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"I see. In that case, the journal Uchiha Taiga left behind truly is a treasure. It's a shame no one else believed in it. You were the only one who never doubted it, persevering all the way until now."

Uchiha Shisui looked at Uchiha Itachi. "You never cease to amaze me, Itachi."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head indifferently. "I'm not saying all this to prove anything. I just want to tell you, Shisui, that you can't make me stay. Please, step aside."

Uchiha Shisui also shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, but this is my duty."

"I understand."

The next moment, a surge of crimson chakra erupted from Uchiha Itachi, instantly condensing into a skeletal structure and flesh.

"Then come. Let us use these eyes to decide the victor."

Seeing him like this, Uchiha Shisui's expression grew complicated.

But in the following moment, green chakra surged from his own body, similarly condensing into bone and flesh.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. Forgive me."

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