Chapter 90: The Altered Stone Tablet, The Legend of Tenjin, The Ultimate Weapon
Neji-kun glanced at Shisui and stated plainly, "These eyes are called the Tenseigan. They surpass the Byakugan and possess powerful dōjutsu comparable to the Mangekyō. That's why I can also decipher the text on the tablet."
Shisui's eyes narrowed. 'Tenseigan? Can the Byakugan also evolve?'
Historically, although the Hyūga and Uchiha were called the two great dōjutsu clans, that was mostly political propaganda spread by those with ulterior motives. While the Byakugan held extraordinary strategic value, the Uchiha had never considered the Hyūga true rivals. But if the Byakugan could evolve... then the Hyūga could indeed stand alongside the Uchiha.
Shisui collected his thoughts and nodded. "As expected of the Star of the Cloud. Now I understand why Lord Raikage values you so highly."
Neji-kun smiled but turned his full attention to the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Under the powerful gaze of his Tenseigan, the contents gradually revealed themselves.
Based on the amount of chakra required and the differences in the text, the content could be divided into four main sections, corresponding precisely to the four levels of dōjutsu representing Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's lineage of Yin Release: Sharingan, Mangekyō Sharingan, Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and Rinnegan.
Neji-kun's Tenseigan, representing the pinnacle of Hamura Ōtsutsuki's Yin Release dōjutsu lineage and equivalent to the Rinnegan, allowed him to read all four sections.
Part One: Recorded Kaguya Ōtsutsuki consuming the Chakra Fruit, becoming the progenitor of chakra, unifying the world, and eventually being blessed by her people, giving birth to Hagoromo and Hamura. This section was highly mythical, and the Uchiha themselves likely treated it as legend. Notably, the Sage of Six Paths had omitted the truth about his conflict with his mother and how he and his brother had sealed her away. His intention was likely to prevent future generations from breaking the seal on the moon and releasing Kaguya.
Part Two: Skipped Kaguya entirely, chronicling the Sage of Six Paths subduing the Ten-Tails, becoming its Jinchuriki, spreading chakra, founding Ninshū, and ending with the falling out between his two sons, Indra and Asura. The tablet explicitly stated that the Uchiha and Senju were the descendants of Indra and Asura, respectively. Black Zetsu had cunningly grafted the "Eye of the Moon Plan" (Infinite Tsukuyomi) onto the end of this section, using the Indra/Asura conflict as justification, presenting the plan as if it came from the Sage himself.
Setting aside Black Zetsu's alterations, the ingrained arrogance of the Uchiha likely stemmed partly from their powerful bloodline and partly from the influence of this tablet. Anyone learning they were descended from the Sage of Six Paths would find it hard not to feel superior.
Part Three: This section was brief. One part contained the Sage's final words: "When two opposing forces cooperate, all things in creation are possible." The other part detailed the specific steps for implementing the Eye of the Moon Plan. Like his brother Hamura, the Sage of Six Paths was fond of riddles. His vague words led to misunderstandings and tragedy.
Neji-kun surmised the Sage likely meant two things. First, he was telling the Uchiha how to awaken the Rinnegan: combine the Uchiha's Yin Power with the Senju's Yang Power to achieve one aspect of the "Shinra Banshō" All Things in Creation, namely the Rinnegan. Madara Uchiha later deduced this method by combining this text with the history of the Indra/Asura conflict. He then went to great lengths to obtain Hashirama Senju's flesh during their battle at the Valley of the End, successfully awakening the Rinnegan.
The second meaning was that "All Things in Creation" referred not just to the Rinnegan, but to peace. The Sage hoped the Uchiha and Senju would reconcile and work together to bring lasting peace to the world. But Black Zetsu had conflated the concepts, inserting the steps for the Eye of the Moon Plan right after the Sage's words. This created the false impression that achieving the power of Shinra Banshō through Yin-Yang fusion was ultimately for the purpose of enacting the Infinite Tsukuyomi, implying it was the only path to true peace.
Part Four: Recorded the Sage's prophecy, roughly stating that 'After a thousand years, a great catastrophe will befall the world, and a child of prophecy will save it.' This catastrophe could refer to Madara and Obito's Eye of the Moon Plan, or perhaps the arrival of other Ōtsutsuki from space. Even the Sage couldn't precisely predict events a millennium into the future.
Black Zetsu hadn't altered much, but his changes were all in critical places, blurring truth and falsehood.
Back then, Madara Uchiha, grieving the death of his brother Izuna and reeling from his overwhelming defeat by Hashirama in the Hokage election, was emotionally vulnerable. Reading the tablet, he believed he had discovered a new world. The Sage of Six Paths, with his divine power, would have no reason to lie to the Uchiha. It seemed plausible that the Uchiha, as his descendants, bore the mission of saving the world. The fact that the tablet revealed more content based on the strength of one's Sharingan further convinced Madara of the Eye of the Moon Plan's legitimacy.
Later, after his final break with Hashirama, Madara intended to lead his clan away from Konoha, but they rejected him, and he left alone. At that time, consumed by the pain of losing his brother and being betrayed by his clan, Madara began meticulously planning the Eye of the Moon Plan from scratch, walking a solitary path toward salvation.
During the battle at the Valley of the End, Madara, possessing Izanagi and surely more than one spare Sharingan, could have revived himself multiple times. It wasn't impossible for him to have eventually defeated Hashirama. But by then, Madara no longer cared about winning the fight. His conflict with Hashirama stemmed from differing ideologies. Only by completing the Eye of the Moon Plan and achieving true peace could he truly defeat Hashirama.
Neji-kun slowly closed his eyes, rubbing his temples, his mind turbulent. The tablet's contents matched his deductions almost perfectly. There were no clues about the Totsuka Blade or Yata Mirror.
One thing puzzled him, however. Black Zetsu's own power was mediocre. How could he read the stone tablet? And how could he alter its contents without leaving a trace—something even Neji-kun, with his Tenseigan, couldn't do?
After much thought, Neji-kun speculated that Black Zetsu must have inherited a portion of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's chakra, specifically Kekkei Mōra-level chakra. If the chakra of the Sage, Indra, and Asura could persist for a thousand years, it wasn't a stretch for Kaguya to leave some of her power within Black Zetsu.
In the original story, Six Paths Madara had regenerated instantly after being grievously wounded by Guy, stabbed through the chest by Sasuke, and even cut in half. He seemed unkillable. Yet Black Zetsu had effortlessly bypassed his defenses and killed him with a single strike. Although it was a sneak attack, anyone else wouldn't have been able to harm Madara even with the same opportunity.
This proved Black Zetsu possessed a trump card capable of killing Six Paths-level beings. The question was how many times he could use it. Neji-kun mentally elevated Black Zetsu's threat level to maximum.
He then turned to Shisui and asked probingly, "What are your thoughts on the Sage of Six Paths' Eye of the Moon Plan, as recorded here?"
Shisui shook his head firmly. "It's false."
"Oh?" Neji-kun looked at the serious Shisui, intrigued. "Why do you say that?"
Shisui touched his eye socket. "Peace obtained by manipulating the will of others through genjutsu is not true peace. False is false. No matter how real it seems, it's still not real."
"Clan Head Shisui, you're too arrogant. The Eye of the Moon Plan is the Sage's own prescription for salvation. Do you think he would deceive his descendants?"
Shisui thought for a moment, then countered, "Then let me ask you: if the plan is so wonderful, why didn't the Sage implement it himself? With his power, no one could have stopped him. What was he hesitant about?"
...Neji-kun mentally gave Shisui a thumbs-up. His logic was impeccable.
While Neji-kun had suspected Shisui wouldn't buy into the plan, his absolute certainty was somewhat surprising. Of course, it likely had something to do with Shisui having awakened Kotoamatsukami, the ultimate genjutsu. His understanding of illusions surpassed even Madara's, allowing him to see the plan's flaws immediately. Neither Madara nor Obito were primarily genjutsu users, which was why they had blindly believed Black Zetsu's description.
Collecting himself, Neji-kun asked, "Clan Head Shisui, where are the clan records?"
Shisui gently rotated the stone tablet. With a series of clicks, a section of the wall slid open, revealing rows of yellowed scrolls and books.
Neji-kun formed hand seals and created ten shadow clones, who immediately began reading.
After about ten minutes, Neji-kun's brow furrowed. The volume he was reading was almost entirely battle records. While clues about the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror might be hidden within, as an outsider with limited knowledge of Uchiha history, finding useful information would be extremely difficult.
He stroked his chin, lost in thought. Clues about the weapons were most likely hidden in records related to Sharingan research, possibly even Mangekyō research. But glancing at the scrolls his clones were reading, his expression darkened. They were mostly clan histories and anecdotes. Any records specifically about the Sharingan were missing.
Seeing Neji-kun's expression, Shisui asked, "Neji-kun, can you tell me what you're looking for?"
"May I see the Uchiha records regarding Sharingan research?" Neji-kun asked flatly. "Preferably ones dating back to the Warring States period."
Shisui looked hesitant and embarrassed. He didn't understand why a Hyūga would be so interested in the Sharingan. As for the embarrassment...
He rubbed his nose and chuckled awkwardly. "Neji-kun, you might not know this, but all of our clan's Sharingan research records, and even all the spare three-tomoe Sharingan eyes, were taken by Madara when he left. The Sharingan techniques our clansmen learn now are all reconstructed from memory by the elders."
'Just as I thought.' Neji-kun sighed softly. Madara had taken many things when he left, including forbidden jutsu like Izanagi. If the Uchiha elite had possessed Izanagi, the chances of their coup succeeding would have increased significantly. Even Fugaku might not have hesitated for so long. After being ousted by his own clan, Madara likely saw them all as traitors and wouldn't have left them anything valuable. Neji-kun would have done the same.
His gaze returned to the scrolls. This complicated things. If Madara took the research notes, then clues about the weapons were likely hidden within these general histories. He suspected they might be located at one of the Uchiha's former strongholds. Over the past thousand years, the Uchiha had occupied more than a dozen different locations. He'd have to search them one by one. It was a time-consuming and laborious task. Neji-kun didn't have that kind of time. He'd have to trouble Mikoto-san with it.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, one of the shadow clones let out a cry of surprise, immediately drawing Neji-kun's attention. 'No way, did he actually find something?'
"What did you find?" Neji-kun asked excitedly, walking over.
"See for yourself," the clone said, handing him the scroll.
Neji-kun took it and began reading intently. To his disappointment, there was no mention of the Totsuka Blade. However, the content piqued his curiosity, and his excitement grew as he read on.
The Uchiha records were filled with tales of their glorious victories. Aside from their wars with the Senju, they rarely mentioned defeat. But this time, they had encountered a powerful enemy.
"Hyūga Tenjin is truly worthy of being called the strongest Hyūga in a century. Wielding a divine weapon, he wreaked havoc on the battlefield. Our clan suffered heavy losses. Even I, having awakened the Mangekyō, had to ally with the Senju clan head to barely repel him."
The records mentioned Hyūga Tenjin! Neji-kun hadn't expected this. But thinking about it, if Tenjin was a supreme master who dominated an entire era, he inevitably would have clashed with the Uchiha and Senju. The "divine weapon" he wielded was likely the Giant Tenseigan. It was surprising that the Uchiha and Senju, usually bitter enemies, had allied against him. Given the Uchiha's pride, they wouldn't stoop to falsifying records, so this account was likely true. Unfortunately, this was the only mention of Tenjin in the scroll.
He continued reading, his expression becoming increasingly intrigued.
"The Hyūga clan signed a treaty with the allied forces. The war is over."
"During this war, our clan suffered hundreds of casualties. But amidst the tragedy, something exciting happened. A young kunoichi named Uchiha Hikari, upon witnessing her parents' deaths, awakened the same Mangekyō Sharingan as I."
"The clan elders held an emergency meeting and unanimously approved a forbidden plan called the 'Ultimate Weapon.' The goal is to cultivate Uchiha Hikari into the clan's 'Ultimate Weapon,' ensuring our long-term prosperity."
"Weapons are but tools of misfortune."
"Uchiha Hikari no longer needs a name. The clan has revoked her given name, making her 'Nameless'."
"This is incredibly unfair to a young woman."
"However, the sin is committed in the present, but the merit will last for ages."
"For the clan's enduring prosperity, sacrificing her alone is undoubtedly worthwhile."