Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha Sasuke could not wait to find out more about Uchiha Taiga.

He leaned forward slightly, hands planted on the table with his fingers curled. His entire body was like a taut bowstring. He stared unblinkingly at the old man, the two tomoe in his pupils spinning slowly.

The old man sat down shakily at the table.

His movements were incredibly slow. Supporting himself with one hand on the table, he lowered his body bit by bit, as if performing a highly strenuous task.

Once seated, he let out a long exhale. His shoulders slumped, and his whole demeanor relaxed slightly.

The old man didn't speak immediately; instead, he chuckled softly.

"Kid."

He looked at Sasuke, a faint glimmer appearing in his cloudy eyes.

"Do you know of the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Sasuke froze.

He furrowed his brows. "What is that?"

The old man chuckled again, a bit louder this time.

"It is the curse of the Uchiha clan, the ultimate visual prowess that surpasses the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

He raised a wrinkled finger and tapped the air.

"Any Uchiha who possesses the Mangekyo stands at the very pinnacle of the ninja world."

He withdrew his finger and tapped the table lightly.

"Uchiha Madara had those eyes."

He tapped the table once.

"Uchiha Obito had those eyes."

He tapped it again.

"And perhaps, Uchiha Itachi has those eyes too."

He raised his head, his cloudy eyes locking onto Sasuke.

In that instant, those eyes changed. They shifted from cloudy to clear, from dull to bright, as three black tomoe materialized in his pupils, spinning slowly.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke's body stiffened slightly. For some reason, being stared at by those eyes made his skin crawl.

Those were not the eyes of an old man. They were the eyes of a shinobi—eyes that had experienced battle, seen blood, and taken lives.

There was no elderly cloudiness or kindness in them, only a bottomless, chilling cold.

Fortunately, the old man merely chuckled and lowered his head again. The three tomoe vanished from his eyes, returning them to their cloudy, dull state.

"Those eyes are truly extraordinary."

He gently rubbed the surface of the table, his skin rough and his nails yellowed.

"They require extreme agony to awaken."

He paused.

"If you need a standard to measure it by, it would be losing your closest loved ones—or killing them with your own hands."

Sasuke abruptly shot up from his seat, slamming his hands onto the table. He leaned forward, his eyes wide, the two tomoe in his pupils spinning frantically.

"That's impossible!"

His voice was loud, echoing through the quiet shrine.

The old man's smile remained unchanged. "That is why I said, it is the curse of the Uchiha clan."

His voice was calm, as if he were discussing something entirely mundane.

Sasuke's expression shifted rapidly.

The old man chuckled again, the sound distinct in the silent shrine.

"I am only telling you this to let you know... the person you are looking for awakened the Mangekyo at your exact age."

Sasuke's face paled further. His mind conjured the image of a twelve-year-old boy, the same age as him, possessing eyes that required unimaginable agony to awaken.

He couldn't fathom what kind of power that was, nor could he imagine the sheer depth of that pain.

"You want information on Uchiha Taiga."

The old man's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

"You won't find it here."

He raised a hand, pointing at the scrolls and books on the shelves.

"Because all intelligence regarding that kid, both within the village and the clan, has been completely sealed away."

He looked at Sasuke, his cloudy eyes holding a sly glint unique to the elderly.

"I have guarded this shrine for decades. There is very little within the clan that I do not know."

Hope reignited within Sasuke.

"Do you want to know about Uchiha Taiga?"

The corners of the old man's mouth curled up into a smiling arc.

"Go."

He reached into his robes and pulled a scroll from an inner pocket.

The scroll was small, only about the length of a palm. The paper was a pale yellow with frayed edges, tied together by a black string. The old man placed it on the table and pushed it toward Sasuke.

"I have left everything I know in one place."

His voice dropped to a whisper, as if sharing a deep secret.

"Go find it there."

Sasuke's eyelids twitched.

He shifted his gaze from the old man's face to the scroll on the table, staring at it for a couple of seconds. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

Sasuke picked up the scroll and tucked it into his clothes, choosing not to open it right then and there.

He stood up, gave the old man a slight bow, and turned to leave the shrine.

His pace was brisk, almost breaking into a jog as he exited the doors.

The old man's gaze followed his retreating back until he disappeared through the doorway. Then, he began to chuckle softly.

"This kid actually awakened his eyes at a time like this."

His voice was faint, as if muttering to himself.

"Just in time to be of use."

As he spoke, the three tomoe in his eyes began to change.

The black tomoe merged together, forming a shape like a shuriken with four blades and a hollow center.

The Mangekyo Sharingan!

There was not a single trace of cloudiness left in them.

After leaving the shrine, Sasuke hurried to a deserted alleyway.

The alley was narrow, flanked by high walls that blocked out the sunlight. The ground was damp and covered in moss. Leaning against the wall, he pulled the scroll from his clothes.

He untied the string and unrolled it.

Inside was a hand-drawn map. The lines were fine, and though the ink had faded in some places, it was still legible.

The map marked a route starting from the Uchiha compound, passing through the village and the surrounding woods, stretching all the way into the depths of the Forest of Death.

The Forest of Death.

Without any hesitation, Sasuke rolled the scroll back up, shoved it into his pocket, and stepped out of the alley. He left the compound, traversed the woods on the village outskirts, and entered the Forest of Death.

The trees in the Forest of Death were far denser than those around the village. Their trunks were thicker, and their canopies were so tightly packed that they blotted out the sky, allowing almost no sunlight to reach the ground.

A thick layer of fallen leaves blanketed the forest floor, feeling soft and spongy underfoot. The air was thick with the scent of rotting foliage, mixed with the smell of damp earth.

Sasuke navigated through the woods, following the route on the map.

He didn't move too quickly, as the markings on the map were highly detailed. Every specific tree, path, and turn was clearly indicated. He constantly cross-referenced his surroundings with the map to ensure he didn't take a wrong turn.

After walking for about an hour, he arrived in front of a massive tree.

The tree was gargantuan—so large that ten people linking arms wouldn't be able to encircle it.

Its trunk was dark brown, covered in rough, deeply fissured bark. The canopy was immense, completely obscuring the sky above and blocking out every last ray of light. Its roots bulged from the ground, coiling over the dirt like giant pythons.

Sasuke came to a halt.

He didn't step any further, nor did he approach the giant tree. Standing a dozen paces away, his gaze swept over it—from the trunk to the canopy, down to the roots, and finally across the surrounding tall grass and bushes.

His Sharingan was still active, the two tomoe spinning slowly in his pupils. His senses were operating at maximum capacity, trying to catch even the slightest disturbance in the area.

Then, he picked up on another sound.

It wasn't a sound of nature. It was the sound of human breathing—faint and shallow, but it couldn't escape his ears.

"Who's there? Come out!"

His right hand reached for his ninja pouch, his fingers wrapping tightly around the hilt of a kunai.

A figure stepped out from behind the massive tree.

He wore light-colored clothing under an open-collared white robe.

His long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail. His features were refined, carrying a cold, stern aura around his brows and eyes.

But the most striking thing about him was his eyes.

They were pure white, like two freshly washed glass beads.

The Byakugan.

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, the two tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

"Hyuga Neji!"

His voice carried an irrepressible shock.

The person standing before him was indeed Hyuga Neji.

He stood there, leaning slightly against the giant tree with his arms resting at his sides, his expression perfectly calm. His eyes were fixed on Sasuke, the white pupils devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"I have been waiting for you Uchiha for a long time."

Sasuke's grip on his kunai didn't loosen. He furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Neji several times.

"Why are you here?" he asked. "And what do you mean, waiting for us Uchiha?"

His tone was laced with obvious caution.

Neji looked at him, not answering immediately. Instead, he pushed off the tree trunk and took two steps forward, closing the distance between them.

"Because I am also looking for someone."

His voice remained completely calm.

"Someone capable of changing the fate of the Hyuga clan."

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