Under the dark, windy night, Senju Tatsuhiko took his last breath and left the world.
And Uchiha Natsu, who had watched his lifelong comrade, his captain, who had trained him and taken care of him for ten years, die with a blank expression.
His mind was in turmoil.
After his parents left him, Senju Tatsuhiko, who had taken care of him from his Genin days, was one of the closest people in his life.
To Natsu, he was like a mentor, a guide, and a warm big brother figure.
For Natsu, a Uchiha with amplified emotions, watching Tatsuhiko die in front of his eyes was as painful as having his heart stabbed by a kunai.
Why did many experienced and battle-hardened Uchiha ninjas have a stoic expression on their faces?
They did it to mask their emotions.
A Uchiha always felt human emotions more deeply than an average human.
When they liked someone, they liked them wholeheartedly.
When they loved someone, they loved them with deep affection.
When they experienced happiness, their souls shone brighter than the most glittering gems.
But at the same time, they also felt the emotions of grief, sadness, and hatred just as intensely.
Uchiha was a clan of love. But when they lost that love, they often lost their way.
Some went mad. Some bloomed with deep-seated hatred for the enemy or the thing that took their loved ones away.
But most Uchiha ninjas just went numb from experiencing losses and heart-wrenching pain again and again.
To mask their pain, they hid their emotions behind their stoic faces.
But even the most stoic Uchiha would never find peace until they destroyed the people or things that made them feel the loss, the heart-wrenching pain.
Revenge!
Only revenge could soothe their souls and quell the hatred in their hearts.
And that hatred, the pain, the drive for revenge, also gave them power.
The awakening and evolution of their Sharingan.
It gave them the power to jump ninja ranks. A miracle of the chakra and bloodline power that made Uchiha formidable.
The evolution of the crimson eyes, which some called cursed, while others referred to as the power granted to the Uchiha to prevent the same tragedy from happening again.
At that moment, the same power of evolution, the power to change destiny, the power of Sharingan manifested in another Uchiha, Uchiha Natsu, once again.
Crackle! Boom!
Thunder and lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating the dark valley.
Under that crackling thunder, the two pitch-black tomoe in Uchiha Natsu's red irises rotated continuously. The speed of their rotation in his Sharingan got faster and faster with every passing moment.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Drops of water began to fall from the sky. One drop. Two drops. And countless more.
Drip-drop! Pitter-pitter! Rat-a-tat!
Drops of water fell one by one for a few moments before it began to rain heavily, reducing the visibility of the night by several notches at once.
The sound of raindrops hitting the hard, rocky surface continuously and relentlessly echoed across the valley.
"Ugh!"
At that moment, under the flashing thunder and heavy rain, Uchiha Natsu let out a painful grunt while covering his eyes.
He felt as if his eyes were on fire.
However, the pain eventually subsided.
He opened his eyes again and looked around.
He could see things more clearly. He could feel his dynamic vision increase by several notches. When he focused his eyes on the raindrops, he realized that he could easily count them individually without much strain.
His ocular power surged rapidly, giving him unmatched clarity and sharpness. The chakra in his body boiled as well, crossing the threshold of a full-fledged Jonin.
By the time his chakra capacity settled, it was already several times higher than that of an average Jonin of Konoha.
Unfortunately, due to his injuries, he still felt somewhat weakened.
Then, as if realizing something, he unsheathed his sword and used the sword's reflection to check his eyes.
And sure enough.
The sword reflected a pair of glowing red eyes with three pitch-black magatama in his irises, positioned symmetrically, creating an air of mystery.
His Sharingan had evolved.
His chakra capacity and strength that had stagnated for a long time had now reached the realm of a full-fledged Jonin.
But he didn't feel any happiness.
Only sadness for the loss of his comrade.
Only bitterness at his fate.
Only deep hatred for the enemies that caused the tragedy.
Uchiha Natsu gazed at Senju Tatsuhiko's cold body before looking up.
His body began to shake.
"Ha!"
"Hahaha!"
"Ahahahahahahahahaha…!!"
"Hahahahahaha…hehe…ahahahahahaah!"
"Hahahahahahahahahaha…hah…hah…hahahahahahaha"
His laughter, which sounded borderline hysterical, echoed in the valley.
Sadness, pain, hatred, anger, bitterness—every one of these emotions was mixed in his hysterical laughter.
Yet his face twisted in a grimace.
Water slid from the corner of his eyes, flowing down his cheeks that had been distorted due to the uncontrollable laughter.
No one could determine whether these were rainwater or his tears.
His eyes were filled with madness.
After a while, his laughter stopped.
A shred of rationality returned to his eyes. "I wanted to grow stronger. But not this way."
He placed one of his hands on his eyes and murmured, "Is this the price for attaining power?"
Suddenly, the memories of one of his shadow clones that he placed approximately one kilometer away from his current location flooded into his mind.
Once he processed the new memories, his eyes glowed with a dangerous light. The three magatama in his Sharinhan spun furiously.
"I see. Those spies and traitorous scums are already closing in."
"It no longer matters. I can't completely escape them anyway. Either they will die or I will."
"I will make them pay. Even if I die, I will at least take out a few of them. I will drag them to hell with my very soul if I have to."
"They…will pay!"
Then, he shifted his gaze toward the dead body of Senju Tatsuhiko. "But before that, let's give you a proper burial, Senpai. May your soul rest in peace."
With that, he stored Senju Tatsuhiko's body in a storage scroll before flickering away.
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At the same time, Natsu's summoning partner, the black cat Kuro, summoned itself back to the hidden village of ninja cats.
It touched the pouch in its belly that contained the letter and the intel it got from Natsu before shifting the pouch toward its back.
After that, it left the hidden village of ninja cats and sprinted toward Konoha.
"The sooner I deliver this intel, the sooner Konoha can organize and send reinforcements."
"Hold on, Uchiha Natsu. You have to hold on."
The cat ran so fast that it almost turned into a streak of black light. This was the highest speed it could muster.
It now only had one goal.
Even if it collapsed from fatigue later, it had to deliver the intel to Konoha in less than two hours.
"You must hold on."
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