Chapter 42: Uchiha Tajima’s Self-Directed Performance

"No, his eyes told me he was betrayed."

Uchiha Yao said those words almost through gritted teeth.

"And the one who betrayed him was his most trusted brother-in-law, Uchiha Tajima!"

His own father had been murdered by his maternal cousin? This revelation was even more explosive than discovering his old man was a super genius, causing him to gasp sharply.

"If I hadn't later discovered the footage recorded in Jin's eyes before his death, I never would have believed that Uchiha Tajima, who wept almost to the point of fainting at the funeral, could be such a despicable villain!"

Uchiha Yao said with bitter hatred.

"When you were eight years old, your parents led a small squad to execute a decapitation mission. Little did they know the enemy was already prepared and had set an inescapable trap. In the end, your father, your mother, and Uchiha Tajima carved out a bloody path. Just as they were about to escape to safety, Uchiha Tajima launched a vicious sneak attack on your father, causing him to be overtaken by the enemy. Your mother refused to abandon your father, and in the end, they both perished together."

Uchiha Yao slowly revealed the truth behind the original owner's parents' death.

"These images were preserved within Jin's eyes."

Uchiha Jin's body was recovered later, and the one who performed the autopsy was none other than his father, Uchiha Yao.

Uchiha Yao sensed something was wrong from the lingering pupil power remaining in his son's eyes, so he忍 pain (endured the pain) to temporarily remove both eyes and bring them back to the laboratory for research.

One day, many years later, he finally witnessed the aforementioned scenes through his son's Sharingan.

"My son was a genius! And you, my grandson, are a peerless genius whose aptitude far surpasses even your father's."

Uchiha Yao shifted his gaze. After a slight struggle in the corner of his eye, his single black eye gleamed with an inexplicable light as he stared directly at Uchiha Gin, speaking with absolute certainty.

"Huh?"

Abruptly mentioned, Uchiha Gin was somewhat bewildered. Didn't he know how incompetent the original owner was? A peerless genius? A peerless fool, more like it. Had this old fogey recognized the wrong person?

Seeing the disbelief written all over his grandson's face, Uchiha Yao continued.

"When Uchiha Tajima informed you of the news of your parents' death in battle, you, at the tender age of eight, awakened the Sharingan."

"???"

Uchiha Gin felt his brain wasn't processing fast enough. Wasn't the original owner's Sharingan awakened by himself?

"Furthermore, it was the most powerful Dojutsu of the Uchiha clan—the Mangekyo Sharingan."

Uchiha Yao dropped a bombshell.

"?????????"

Uchiha Gin's brain directly crashed. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself a few times and ask where his massive Mangekyo had gone.

"Uchiha Tajima witnessed the birth of your Mangekyo Sharingan with his own eyes. From that moment on, he set his sights on you."

Uchiha Yao ignored Uchiha Gin's changing expressions and pressed on.

"Moreover, you weren't the only Mangekyo at that time."

Uchiha Yao wore a nostalgic expression. "There was another child, just like you."

"Who?"

A flash of that hidden photograph crossed Uchiha Gin's mind.

"It was the child of your next-door neighbor. Her parents were members of the squad that fell alongside your parents."

"That child became extremely unstable emotionally after awakening the Mangekyo, and the people in the laboratory called her Nameless."

Uchiha Yao did not know much about the other child's family.

"Because the two of you were too young to control the power of the Mangekyo, the elderly clan head at the time appointed me to take care of you both, while simultaneously conducting research on the Mangekyo pupil techniques."

As if recalling happy times, Uchiha Yao's cold lips even curved into a slight smile.

"Originally, the two of you lived very happily in the laboratory, but two years later—"

Uchiha Yao's tone shifted abruptly, and his expression turned icy.

"The old clan head passed away due to illness, leaving the clan without a leader. At that time, Uchiha Yan, the leader of the radical faction, and Uchiha淼 (Miao), the second-in-command of the laboratory, openly pushed for Uchiha Tajima to succeed as clan head, while also advocating for Uchiha Tajima to marry the former clan head's daughter. Unaware of the truth, I also cast a vote in favor."

"Little did I expect that the very first thing Uchiha Tajima did upon taking office was to have Uchiha Miao replace me, demoting me to conduct research in other departments."

"From that day on, I didn't see either of you for a very long time. During that period, I asked Uchiha Miao about you, but was met with a closed door. He told me you were undergoing secret experiments and could not leave easily."

Faced with Uchiha Yao's account, Uchiha Gin made a chilling discovery: there was not a single trace of the so-called laboratory in the original owner's memories. There were only memories of Uchiha Tajima adopting him in his childhood and treating him like his own flesh and blood.

For a moment, he could not distinguish who was lying and who was telling the truth.

"Do you think I'm deceiving you?"

Noticing Uchiha Gin's confusion, Uchiha Yao said indifferently.

"That's right. If what you say is true, why do my memories only contain images of Uchiha Tajima accompanying me as I grew up?" Uchiha Gin asked.

"That's because your memories, and even your perception, have been tampered with."

Uchiha Yao shook his head and said,

"By Uchiha Tajima's pupil technique."

Kotoamatsukami?! The exclusive genjutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan, known as the "Ultimate Genjutsu."

It allows the user to directly infiltrate the target's brain without their knowledge and rewrite their will.

The effect of the technique is extraordinarily powerful, enabling the user to manipulate the opponent subconsciously and achieve victory without conflict, though each use requires a cooldown period of over a decade.

Showing a fitting look of bewilderment, Uchiha Yao explained,

"Uchiha Tajima awakened the Mangekyo at some unknown point as well. His pupil technique can alter a person's memories and even their will. He used that technique on you, which is why distortions appeared in your memories."

The original owner had actually been hit by a Kotoamatsukami?! Uchiha Gin was inwardly shocked. This genjutsu, hyped to the heavens in the future, already existed in this era.

Still, it made sense. During the Warring States period, Uchiha clan members who awakened the Mangekyo were ten a penny. The "Ultimate Genjutsu" passed down in the ninja world of the future would inevitably have been recorded in archives for the Third Hokage and others to know about.

"What on earth happened to me in the laboratory?"

Uchiha Gin couldn't help asking.

"Back when I was there, we were merely researching why you both awakened the Mangekyo simultaneously," Uchiha Yao replied.

"I discovered that the compatibility between your Sharingan and Nameless's was extremely high. I deduced that it was caused by mutual attraction when your pupil powers pulsated, and it was also deeply connected to the profound emotional bond between the two of you."

"What happened to me and that Nameless person afterward?"

What Uchiha Gin cared more about was what kind of research Uchiha Miao had subjected them to after Uchiha Yao was kicked out of the team.

"I have no knowledge of that. I tried to contact you during your imprisonment, but I was blocked by Uchiha Tajima and the others. Shortly after, I saw you appear in Uchiha Tajima's household, but Nameless was nowhere to be seen."

"Until six years ago, when that incident occurred within the clan."

Having spoken for so long, Uchiha Yao finally brought up the tragic incident in the clan compound from six years ago.

"Was it a sneak attack on the compound by the Kaguya clan?"

Uchiha Gin recalled the original owner's memories and voiced his own guess.

"Heh, how could that be? A mere Kaguya clan." Uchiha Yao held the Kaguya clan in utter disdain.

"Brainless as they are, they were merely being manipulated and deceived."

"What do you mean?"

Hearing about manipulation and deception, Uchiha Gin's curiosity was piqued once again.

"Uchiha Tajima sent people disguised as wandering ninja to deliver a piece of intelligence to the Kaguya clan, who had fled to the Land of Water."

"What intelligence?"

"The Uchiha compound is undefended, strike quickly!"

Uchiha Yao said in a deep, bone-chilling tone.

"For the sake of prestige, Uchiha Tajima actually lured the Kaguya clan to attack his own ancestral home, planning to make a divine descent and rescue his clansmen from fire and water when the time came."

"Was Uchiha Tajima's strength enough for that?"

The Kaguya clan's Bloodline Limit to a certain extent countered the Uchiha clan, whose physical prowess was relatively weak. How could Uchiha Tajima, who had not yet grown to his peak at the time, cope with the full force of the Kaguya clan eyeing them covetously?

"Two pieces of 'weaponry' under his control were his greatest source of confidence at the time."

Uchiha Yao's chilling tone frosted the surrounding air, making Uchiha Gin shiver slightly.