Kitagawa turned to look at Obito. "You know about the Byakugan, right?"
Obito nodded.
Of course he did. Not only were there Hyūga clan members in his class, but the Hyūga were one of the great noble clans of the Leaf Village—they were always mentioned alongside the Uchiha as a comparison point.
"The Hyūga clan's Byakugan activates at nearly 100% among their members."
"But..."
Kitagawa's tone shifted. "According to what I know, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan has an activation threshold."
"In other words, not every Uchiha can awaken the Sharingan."
Obito immediately got excited. "I'm definitely going to awaken the Sharingan!"
Kitagawa smiled. "Of course. Your teacher believes in you too."
"But you still don't understand what your teacher means."
Obito looked confused.
Kitagawa pointed at Obito's eyes. "You're too focused on the Sharingan."
"Because deep down, you think that the moment you awaken the Sharingan, you'll instantly surpass everyone and become a genius, right?"
Obito's eyes went wide. "Teacher, how did you know?!"
Kitagawa smiled and turned to keep walking. "I told you, Obito. You care too much about your eyes."
Obito hurried to catch up. "Is that wrong?"
Kitagawa didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he said, "Because you care so much, those eyes will become your excuse."
"Written tests don't matter—once the Sharingan awakens, everything won't be a problem."
Obito went silent.
He'd definitely had that exact thought before.
Written tests meant nothing. They didn't affect anything real.
Before he knew it, the two of them had reached the entrance to the Uchiha district.
Kitagawa stopped and turned around. "If you just want to protect your eyes, you don't need goggles like that."
"Those goggles will become chains that bind your determination and courage."
He held out his hand. "Come on, Obito. Give your goggles to your teacher for safekeeping."
"Once you awaken the Sharingan, your teacher will give them back. That's when your eyes will really need protection!"
Obito froze. Then he took off his goggles and handed them to Kitagawa.
Just then, the wind picked up.
Obito's eyes narrowed, and he cried out. "Teacher, I think sand got in my eye!"
Kitagawa barked, "Obito, can't you even handle a little wind like this?"
"Open your eyes!"
Obito was startled and quickly dropped his hand from his face.
Clearly, there was no sand in his eyes at all.
Kitagawa spoke earnestly. "Obito, becoming a true strong ninja doesn't just require chakra and jutsu. You need willpower, courage, and determination."
"You might not understand that right now, but you will eventually."
"Alright, go home. Get some rest tonight."
"Of course, don't forget your homework!"
Obito reluctantly tore his gaze away from his goggles and waved goodbye. "See you, Teacher Kitagawa!"
Kitagawa smiled warmly and gave a thumbs up. "Work hard! Your teacher believes in you!"
Obito glanced back three times as he gradually disappeared down the road. Kitagawa then vanished with Body Flicker.
Back at home, Kitagawa looked at the goggles in his hand and felt a wave of emotion.
Didn't expect it to be this easy.
Kids really are easy to fool!
Wait, no—that's not fooling. That's proper education!
I really am a good teacher, Kitagawa thought, so moved by himself that tears started flowing again.
After wiping his tears and composing himself, Kitagawa placed the goggles in his equipment inventory.
Equipment: Obito Uchiha's Goggles
Trait: Uchiha Bloodline - Sharingan
Note: Three times stronger when corrupted. Are you ready?
Just like when he'd equipped Gai's leg wraps, Kitagawa didn't feel anything. The Sharingan didn't just activate because he had the bloodline trait. Awakening it required his own effort.
And that was clearly not simple.
Based on what Kitagawa knew, awakening the Sharingan required extreme emotional trauma to cause a chakra mutation in the brain, which then affected the optic nerves.
And that kind of emotion usually came from love—and loss.
Obito had awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan when Kakashi lost his eye to the Rock Ninja.
He'd awakened his Mangekyo when he witnessed Rin's death.
Sasuke Uchiha had awoken his single-tomoe when his entire clan was slaughtered.
Itachi Uchiha had awakened his two-tomoe when his comrade was killed by Obito, and his Mangekyo when Shisui committed suicide.
This is going to be difficult for me. And besides... I don't want to lose anything.
A useless trait?
Kitagawa lowered his eyes.
This body had also participated in the Second Great Ninja War and received severe injuries. Afterwards, when he heard that both his parents had died in combat, the acute grief had triggered his innate talent awakening—and thus his current existence.
He'd experienced that grief back then, right after waking up.
Could I do it now?
Kitagawa took a sharp breath and tried to guide back that old sorrow.
Soon, that familiar ache surfaced. Sadness washed over his heart.
Before he knew it, tears were pouring down.
When Kitagawa opened his tear-blurred eyes, he felt the difference.
It awakened!
After taking several deep breaths to suppress the involuntary sorrow washing through his body, Kitagawa wiped away his tears and quickly headed to the bathroom to look in the mirror.
Two-tomoe Sharingan!
"Always one step behind, somehow," Kitagawa sighed with slight regret.
Two tomoe was still a bit short of perfection.
As for whether having a Sharingan would cause problems—he wasn't worried at all.
Who said his ancestors couldn't have had Uchiha blood?
If anyone dared to question him, he'd go to the Leaf Village Hospital and get DNA testing done.
Even the Sage of Six Paths would have to accept it!
In the future, I should observe the Uchiha clan more closely. Maybe I can get some equipment that upgrades the Sharingan.
Kitagawa definitely wasn't going to rely on his own trauma to upgrade it—that would be a waste of his cheat code.
With the Sharingan awakened, Kitagawa felt a surge of confidence.
Then he took Obito's goggles back out of his equipment inventory.
"They don't disappear, like I thought."
Kitagawa smiled.
The Sharingan didn't vanish just because he unequipped the goggles.
That meant the equipment traits fused into his body the moment they went into the inventory, and it was permanent.
The same applied to the bloodline trait—just like with Gai's memories and knowledge, and the Iron Body.
So if I'm bold enough...
A dark thought crept into Kitagawa's mind.
I could steal equipment with valuable traits, equip it, and give it back.
Or even take it by force.
All sorts of wicked ideas bubbled up. When Kitagawa caught his reflection in the mirror—saw his own dark smile—he froze, then frowned. "Is this... corruption?"
Hm.
Kitagawa wasn't under any delusion that he was a good person.
But facing a bunch of kids, he obviously couldn't bring himself to steal or rob them.
As for Tsunade's necklace, he couldn't beat her anyway, so those thoughts wouldn't even occur.
"Three times stronger when corrupted... if you disregard morals, how could you not get stronger?"
Kitagawa mentally warned himself.
He wasn't a good person, but he had principles.
Flexible principles.
Taking a deep breath, he put the goggles back in his equipment inventory. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Kitagawa flashed a harmless, warm smile. "That's right. This is the real me!"