Tetsuma was one of the first to leave the room after he had managed to pull the kunai free from his palm. I watched as Kanna wrapped the wound tightly enough to stop most of the bleeding, and nobody said anything to me while departing. However, I noticed that Tetsuma's Sharingan remained active until he reached the door, and I knew that the hatred in his eyes meant our little disagreement was far from being over.
Oh well. Can't make everyone into a friend.
Shunpei followed shortly after him, offering Fugaku a stiff bow before departing. He avoided looking directly at me, so whether he was angry on Tetsuma's behalf or simply reconsidering where the balance of power lay at the moment, I couldn't tell. We will see later.
Then, Kanna left after helping clean up the blood, though not before giving me a long look, scanning me head to toe. The old one was maybe the most open with his thoughts because he stopped beside me on the way out, rubbing his beard with a thoughtful look, while I just stared at him without blinking. He also said nothing and just left in the end, leaving Mikoto to depart last.
"Renjiro-kun." She was the first to talk to me.
"Mikoto-sama." I nodded, bowing my head just a bit.
"You should visit during the day sometime."
"I appreciate the invitation." I smiled, hiding my surprise.
"I would also like to speak with your mother as well."
"I'll let her know." I inclined my head a second time, wondering what that meant, but I felt confident that it wasn't any kind of warning. After everyone had left, there were only two of us, and just standing there, all silent and brooding, I was getting bored. "So…" I spoke up, and his eyes moved toward me, without showing any anger. "Is this about Tetsuma? Am I going to be spanked?"
"No."
"I appreciate that, but..." I raised a brow at him, "You have no opinion on what I just did?"
"I have several."
"Aaaand... Are you going to share any of them?"
"No."
"Right." I sighed, because apparently everyone around here needs to be tortured before divulging what they are thinking of. Great shinobi of the great Konoha! Ugh. "Of course not," I added as a mutter.
Without acknowledging anything about my complaints, Fugaku turned toward the tablet.
"Tetsuma challenged you, without consulting with me first, so I let you answer him in kind. What follows between you two will be determined by how each of you conducts yourselves."
"That sounds suspiciously neutral." I chortled, and watched as he shook his head.
"It is not... in fact. Because if I were neutral, I would be disciplining you after what you did. The fact I'm not should be saying enough. Tetsuma has been out of line more than once lately, so... Anyway, that is a matter for another day." Then, he stepped closer to the tablet, stopping directly before it, "The reason why I kept you here is different now."
"Oh?" I followed, though I kept a respectful distance, waiting for him to continue.
The Stone Tablet of the Uchiha clan... I wonder how much Fugaku knows about it. Does he know that it was left behind by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki? Probably not. I guess he knows that it can be read by the Sharingan and maybe the Mangekyō Sharingan. I don't think he knows about the Rinnegan, though. Not to mention that Black Zetsu had altered the contents. How should I go about this...? Haaah, this won't be easy.
"Do you know what this is?" He asked suddenly.
"The Uchiha tablet." I answered, "I assume it is some kind of ancient record."
"It is."
"That was easy!" I grinned, but he ignored it.
"It is also more than that. This is the oldest surviving tradition of our clan; it claims that the tablet predates Konohagakure, the era of hidden villages, and even the greatest records of the warring clans." He said, with a serious tone, still looking at its surface, "It is said to contain the history of the Uchiha."
"Not much history we have then, because I don't think you can fit all of that on there," I said that as a half-joke, but once again, he ignored it.
"It has the description of our eyes and the path of their growth..." He whispered, finally looking at me, "Along with warnings left to our bloodline, and a prophecy concerning the fate of those who inherit the Sharingan."
Right again... With a sigh, I moved closer, studying the visible markings without activating my eyes.
"Who made it?" I asked, without really listening to the answer.
"We do not know. Some claim it was the first Uchiha, the founder from whom our blood descends. Others believe it was left by something or somebody older."
"Everyone has to have a parent, so..." I said carefully before I would blurt out something weird, but looking at me, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"If you have a thought, you can speak it freely now."
"I have many, in fact," I smiled, giving back his own words, while looking at the tablet, "But I won't dare to speak of them before I hear what you already learned from it. I would just make a fool of myself if I do so."
"So, sometimes, even you don't want to act as a fool. I see." He said, finally smiling, before wiping it off his face, "The tablet speaks of a cycle, about how love gives birth to loss, loss giving birth to hatred, and that hatred strengthening the eyes... How those eyes grant the power to the Uchiha to change the world."
"Changing the world with power means we have to go against everyone else, because all living beings have their own idea of how it should be changed. Doing it forcefully will end up being a... nasty business."
"That is true..." He muttered, nodding his head, thinking about it a little, "But it also says that one day, an Uchiha would awaken eyes capable of ending the clan's suffering."
"Ending suffering?" I chortled, "Really? I didn't know we were suffering. Does it specify what suffering it is? Or how to free ourselves? Because as far as I'm concerned, we are perfectly fine."
"The tablet is not clear on that." He began, but I interrupted him with my chortle.
"Hmph! How convenient."
"You are still too young to get it," he said, facing the tablet again. "The visible writing can be read by any member of the clan familiar with the older script. But the true record is hidden from view, and only the Sharingan can reveal it."
"Hidden with genjutsu?" I asked, already knowing the answer but playing along.
"Not precisely. The inscriptions contain microscopic chakra patterns, and without the Sharingan, the deeper lines appear incomplete or meaningless." Which explained the gibberish I was seeing.
"Do I understand it right that you want me to read it?"
"Yes. I want to hear your opinions about it, precisely because of your age and... The unique way you see the world."
That was either praise or... Let's categorize it as praise. I stepped toward the stone until I was near enough to trace the carved lines with my fingers, though I didn't touch it. Taking a deep breath, I activated my Sharingan, and what had appeared to be shallow scratches became layered like thin sheets of copy paper stacked on each other, see-through yet not really. The earliest section spoke of two forces arising from a single source, opposing powers that could be joined to produce something closer to the whole. It did not use names I recognized clearly, at least not at this level, and the wording was archaic and fractured. I could barely understand it myself, but I knew what it referred to.
Indra and Asura, or, later on, Uchiha and Senju. Sharingan and the Sage's body... I should probably ask Jiraiya-sensei to take us to the frogs' mountain next. As I kept looking, further down, there were passages about the nature of the Sharingan, speaking about emotion and the feeling of loss. Yeah... it was like reading an angsty teenager's diary.
"What do you see?" Fugaku asked, making me draw my gaze back.
"Only fragments."
"Read them out loud." He told me, and as I did, I began also touching it with a finger.
Most of the tablet's carved network bore the same ancient signature, even visible to my basic eyes. So, I don't think Fugaku would have missed something so obviously tampered with, especially when, if you knew where to look, several later characters were differently written. It was clearly a later modification, and while others may think it was a restoration effort by subsequent Uchihas, I knew those had to be Black Zetsu's doing.
"Something is wrong," I spoke up, deciding to try and nudge the truth forward without sounding crazy. "The writing doesn't match."
"Renjiro... I told you already. Speak freely."
"Well," I reached toward the stone, stopping my finger just above one line. "These characters are different."
"..." His eyes followed where I pointed. "I see no difference."
"You're not using your Sharingan." I pouted, and his gaze shifted to me as his eyes turned red and then looked back at the text.
"That means nothing, as this is an ancient relic that needs restoration as time wears it down."
I knew that would be the excuse, but I wasn't going to let it go. At least, I was willing to plant the seeds of doubt.
"The shape may be the same, yet not," I continued. "But more than that, the chakra used in it just doesn't match."
"The chakra has faded, Renjiro. Time destroys everything."
"Really?" I asked, squinting, "Then... Why are these sections clearly older yet feel stronger? These haven't faded." I moved my finger to another altered passage next, "And here. How is it that the restored parts are less vibrant than the old ones, hm?"
Fugaku examined each one I pointed out, and his face remained stoic, but I could catch his eyes twitching. If not for my cheat-like knowledge, I wouldn't have noticed and known what to look for. I would have already written it up as indeed parts of restoration works by later generations, and moved on. Maybe Fugaku had already noticed the same things? He just wanted someone to confirm it for him? If that is the case, I could be the perfect test subject for it, as I am not conditioned by previous Uchiha's ideas about the tablet.
"You believe the tablet was changed?" He asked suddenly, which I had never mentioned, confirming to me that I was thinking just right.
"I don't know," I shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe these parts were added later."
"That is impossible."
"Why?"
"The tablet has remained guarded by the clan for generations." He said simply, but I just smiled.
"I didn't say it was that recent of a change. What do we know? Was it guarded just as well before Konoha? Was it guarded every hour during the Warring States period? During battles? During evacuations? When Madara got to rule the clan, or what about when he left? Even before Madara? Do we even know how old it actually is?" As I asked more and more, I saw how Fugaku's Sharingan spun once, opening his mouth to speak.
"You are speculating, Renjiro."
"Of course, but you said to speak freely." I shrugged, "I'm not a time traveler to verify it. But this is why you asked me for my opinion, no? The changes, or if they are changes at all, are old, but not as old as some of the other lines." I continued. "And even more than that! No matter if they feel as ancient as the tablet, they clearly don't belong to the same hand."
"How can you know?"
"I don't. I have no evidence either," I raised my hands, "But look at the structure." I said, pointing again, "The original writing simply feels different, and the calligraphy doesn't match the 'restoration,' and I mean, it doesn't match the intent behind the original brushstrokes. Just look at this part... What I can read mentions ending conflict by bringing minds together. Then why do some parts totally contradict that notion? Anyway..." I shrugged, rubbing my eyes. "I can't really read it all. Apparently my eyes aren't strong enough."
"..." Seeing him remain silent, I decided to risk it, so... I acted as if I was thinking hard.
"Or..." I said silently, "Maybe it needs... Different eyes."
His Sharingan snapped at me at once. Hah! Gotcha! Seeing it happen, I turned toward him fully, raising my brows.
"Three tomoe are supposed to be the completed Sharingan. Yes...?"
"They are." He said flatly.
"So... Then why does the tablet have writing designed so three tomoe can't read it?" I asked with a growing smile, "There is more to it, I can already tell. At first, I thought it may be the Byakugan, but why would that be the case? Are we related? Cousins? Tell me I'm wrong, Fugaku-sensei... or I will continue to speculate." I added, acting like a good little student, but he said nothing. "Okay then! So... If the tablet was written for the Uchiha," I continued, my grin widening, "and part of it is hidden even from a mature Sharingan, then either the writer was an idiot or three tomoe aren't the final stage."
"..." Right now, he was staring directly at me, and not at the tablet. He was shocked. Actually shocked, so I decided to strike again.
"The Sharingan grows under emotional stress," I said, turning back to the tablet. "I awoke mine the same way, so... Why would it stop simply because we decided three looks complete?"
"The clan records state—" He finally spoke up, but I was already rolling the ball into the net.
"Maybe there is another form," I continued without listening to him, "A fourth stage. Maybe not another tomoe," I added thoughtfully. "But a way to merge them, where the pattern would probably change completely. The chakra requirement here isn't simply stronger; it's also more complex, and that outcome, a merger, would make sense as the next step. It would explain that when visiting the Uzumakis, I saw Madara's carving have a differently patterned Sharingan. I thought it was an artistic mistake, but right now, I guess not, huh?"
Right after that, Fugaku's expression had become unreadable again, but his hand had balled up into a fist, so I knew I was pushing the right buttons, so I kept going.
"Maybe it awakens through even stronger emotions... As for what, I don't know, but the next stage might require something beyond anything regular. Death? Near-death experience?" At that, I looked at him, "Have you ever heard of anything like that, Fugaku-sensei?"
He did not answer me; he just took a deep, calming breath as his eyes slowly returned to black, and for several seconds, he simply stood there. Then, without warning, he began speaking, closing his eyes.
"When the Sharingan reaches three tomoe, most Uchiha believe their eyes have fully matured. However... The clan possesses scattered accounts and stories that are not shared outside its highest circles. They describe eyes that came to be when an Uchiha suffers a loss so great that ordinary grief cannot contain it."
Oh yes... Here we go!
"The chakra changes when that happens," he continued, "The three tomoe pattern no longer remains separate as it can't contain the new signals. They are then prompted by your chakra and body to form a new pattern unique to the wielder." My heartbeat accelerated, even though I already knew it all, because hearing it here was different. "When that happens, from that day on... you have awakened a new stage of our gift. It is called the Mangekyō Sharingan."
It was then that Fugaku opened his eyes, and the ordinary three tomoe were gone, replaced by a completely different pattern. His own Mangekyō Sharingan. Seeing it, I stopped breathing for a moment... Damn... That looks wicked!
Wait...
"I know this all," he said quietly, noticing my surprise and mild shock, "because I have read it."