Konoha: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Can’t Be Bothered

"No. His eyes told me… he was betrayed."

Uchiha Yao practically spat the words out through gritted teeth.

"And the one who betrayed him… was the brother-in-law he trusted most — Uchiha Tajima!"

My father… was murdered by my uncle?

The revelation hit Gin like a thunderclap, even more shocking than finding out his father was once a prodigy. He couldn't help but take in a sharp breath.

"If I hadn't uncovered the images recorded in Kin's eyes at the moment of his death," Yao continued bitterly, "even I would never have believed it. At his funeral, Uchiha Tajima cried so hard he nearly collapsed — yet that man was nothing but a vile hypocrite!"

"The night you turned eight, your parents led a small squad on a decapitation mission. But the enemy had already laid a trap. At the critical moment, your father cut a bloody path through with your mother and Uchiha Tajima. Just as they were about to escape… Tajima struck your father down from behind. The enemy caught up, and your mother refused to abandon him. Together, they fell."

Yao's voice was heavy as he revealed the truth of the original's parents' deaths.

"All of it… was captured in Kin's eyes."

After his son's body was recovered, it had been Yao himself who conducted the autopsy.

And it was he who noticed something strange lingering in Kin's Sharingan — residual chakra that held the final moments of his life. With great pain, Yao had removed the eyes and brought them to his lab for study.

Years later, he finally discovered the truth recorded there.

"My son was a genius. And you, my grandson — you have even greater potential than he did," Yao said firmly, his dark eye flashing strangely as it locked onto Gin.

"Huh?"

Gin was stunned, blinking blankly at the old man. Me? A genius? Please… the original was a walking L. Maybe you've got the wrong guy.

Seeing his grandson's skeptical look, Yao pressed on:

"The day Tajima told you your parents had died… you awakened your Sharingan. At just eight years old."

"???"

Gin's head spun. Wasn't it me who awakened it later?

"And not just any Sharingan…" Yao's next words made Gin's scalp tingle.

"You awakened… the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"??????"

Gin felt his mind freeze completely. Where the hell is my Mangekyō now, huh? Where'd it go?

Yao ignored Gin's expression and continued, voice like iron:

"Tajima saw you awaken your Mangekyō with his own eyes. From that moment on… you became his next target."

"And you weren't the only Mangekyō that day," Yao added, his tone softening slightly as though recalling a memory. "There was another child… just like you."

"Who?"

Gin's mind flashed to the hidden photograph.

"She was the daughter of your neighbors. Her parents were also in that squad… and died alongside your mother and father."

Yao's voice grew distant.

"She awakened her Mangekyō too — but she couldn't control it. She became extremely unstable. In the lab… we called her 'Nameless'."

Gin frowned at the unfamiliar term.

"At that time you were both too young to control the Mangekyō. The aging clan head appointed me to look after you both and study your abilities."

For a moment, Yao's icy demeanor thawed, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"You two were happy at the lab… until two years later."

Yao's smile faded, his expression turning cold.

"The old clan head died of illness. With no leader, the clan fell into chaos. Uchiha En and Uchiha Myo publicly supported Tajima as the next clan head — and urged him to marry the old leader's daughter to cement his position. I… not knowing the truth, also voted in favor."

"But Tajima's first act as clan head was to replace me with Myo, demoting me to another department."

"After that, I didn't see either of you for a long time. When I asked Myo where you were, he shut me out, saying you two were involved in secret experiments and couldn't leave."

Gin's heart sank as he thought about his own fragmented memories — memories of being taken in by Tajima and raised as his own son, with nothing of the lab, nothing of Yao, nothing of 'Nameless'.

And that creeping feeling of wrongness chilled him to the bone.

"You think I'm lying to you, don't you?"

Yao's voice was quiet but sharp.

"That's right," Gin admitted. "If what you say is true, then why are all my memories of being raised by Tajima?"

"Because your very memories — your very perception — were altered."

Yao shook his head and spoke grimly:

"By his Mangekyō Sharingan."

…Kotoamatsukami?!

Gin's mind reeled. The Mangekyō's most insidious genjutsu — able to rewrite a person's will, implant false memories, all without them even realizing. The ultimate illusion, said to take more than a decade to recharge after each use.

Seeing Gin's confusion, Yao explained:

"Sometime after becoming clan head, Tajima awakened his Mangekyō. His ability allows him to rewrite a person's memories and even their very will. He used it on you — that's why your memories are fractured."

So I was hit with a Kotoamatsukami? Gin thought bitterly. No wonder the future calls it the strongest genjutsu.

Of course — during the Warring States era Mangekyō users were everywhere. That Kotoamatsukami was eventually recorded and known in the ninja world made sense.

"So what happened to me in the lab?"

Gin pressed.

"At that time, I was simply studying why you and Nameless had awakened Mangekyō at the same time," Yao replied. "I discovered your Sharingan resonated strongly with hers — likely because of the deep bond you shared."

Gin's chest tightened slightly at the mention of her.

"And what happened to her? To Nameless?"

Yao's one good eye darkened.

"I don't know. After I was removed from the project, Tajima and the others kept you both under lock and key. Later… I saw you living in his house, but she was nowhere to be found."

"Then… six years ago… the tragedy."

At last Yao's words came to the night of the massacre.

"It was the Kaguya clan who attacked the compound, wasn't it?" Gin asked, recalling his own broken memories.

"Heh… you really believe that?"

Yao sneered.

"Those brainless barbarians were just pawns."

"What do you mean?"

Gin's curiosity was piqued.

"Tajima sent a message to the Kaguya," Yao said coldly.

"What kind of message?"

"That the Uchiha compound was undefended. 'Come quickly.'"

Yao's tone sent a chill through Gin's heart.

"All for his own prestige… he lured the Kaguya here to slaughter our own people, planning to arrive at the last moment as the hero who saved the clan."

Gin's fists clenched. "But… was Tajima strong enough to face the full might of the Kaguya?"

"He didn't need to be," Yao said icily.

"He had two 'weapons' under his control. That was his trump card."

At those words, the air seemed to grow even colder. Gin's body shivered despite himself.

(End of Chapter)

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