Holding the bloodstained Kusanagi sword, Wen Lan walked step by step toward Sasuke.
"Sasuke… it's time for you to go."
The blade rose high into the air—
then slashed downward.
At the entrance of the Uchiha district, Sasuke suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream.
In the next instant—
his eyes transformed into swirling crimson.
Two tomoe appeared at once.
One in the left eye.
Two in the right.
Wen Lan frowned slightly when he noticed the left eye.
Even after such overwhelming psychological shock, it was still only a single tomoe.
"Ha—ha—ha—"
Sasuke collapsed to the ground, gasping violently.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably from fear.
From a distance, Fugaku watched everything unfold, his expression complicated.
But years of being a stern father restrained him from comforting the boy. Instead, he strode forward and barked:
"Stand up!
If a mere genjutsu can scare you into this state, what right do you have to stand in the Uchiha clan?"
Hearing the familiar stern voice, Sasuke suddenly lifted his head.
When he saw his father's recognizable, severe face—
the terror inside him instantly gave way to overwhelming relief and grievance.
If Fugaku had spoken like this before, Sasuke would have shrunk in fear.
But now—
"Father!"
He rushed forward and hugged Fugaku tightly around the waist.
The tears he had been holding back burst out all at once.
Fugaku originally intended to scold him again.
But seeing Sasuke trembling like that, even his strict demeanor softened.
He slowly raised a hand and patted his son's back.
"It's alright now."
His voice was low—
and unusually gentle.
Sasuke buried his face into his father's clothing, gripping the fabric tightly, as if trying to compress all his fear and grievance into that single embrace.
After crying for a while, he finally calmed down.
He released his grip, wiped his face, his eyes still red—but no longer shaking.
"Wow."
A sarcastic clicking sound broke the moment.
"Your whole clan gets wiped out, and your left eye still only has one tomoe."
Wen Lan leaned casually against the wall, tapping the Kusanagi sword with his finger, shaking his head with a cold smile.
Sasuke turned and saw him.
Fear surged again.
He instinctively pressed closer to Fugaku, clutching the hem of his clothes.
"Don't be afraid," Itachi said gently.
"This was to help you awaken your Sharingan. Look—you've succeeded."
He took out a mirror, crouched down, and held it in front of Sasuke.
Sasuke saw the reflection—
his Sharingan activated.
Joy flashed across his face.
He was just about to speak—
when Wen Lan cut him off.
"So what if you awakened it? It's still only one tomoe. What's there to celebrate?
Your brother awakened with two tomoe in both eyes from the start."
Because of the extreme terror he had just experienced, Sasuke's emotions were still unstable.
The mention of Itachi instantly triggered the memory of watching his brother die in front of him moments earlier.
People often say—
when fear reaches its limit, it turns into anger.
That was exactly what happened.
"You have no right to talk about me!"
Sasuke shouted at Wen Lan, rage burning in his eyes.
"My brother is a genius! In this clan, only he can achieve that level!"
Wen Lan raised an eyebrow.
At that moment, he noticed someone approaching the gate.
He waved.
"Izumi, come here for a second."
Uchiha Izumi, now a member of the Konoha Police Force, jogged over quickly.
Her talent was widely recognized—on par with Itachi. She had awakened with two tomoe from the beginning, and now possessed three-tomoe Sharingan at the chunin level.
The only reason she wasn't a jonin yet was her lack of combat experience.
She stopped in front of Wen Lan, cheeks slightly flushed, and bowed.
"Third Elder, did you need something?"
"Tell this kid how many tomoe you had when you first awakened."
"Me?"
Izumi blinked, glancing at the angry Sasuke.
Then she answered softly:
"I… awakened with two tomoe."
Sasuke froze.
His clenched fists trembled slightly.
Two tomoe.
Just like his brother.
Wen Lan looked straight at him.
"You carry the excellent bloodline of Clan Leader Fugaku and Aunt Mikoto.
Izumi's father isn't even an Uchiha—yet she achieved what you couldn't."
Sasuke bit down hard.
His fingernails dug into his palm, blood seeping between his fingers and dripping onto the ground.
"Damn it!"
He roared at Wen Lan.
"I swear—within one month, I'll reach two tomoe!
I, Uchiha Sasuke, will keep my word!"
With that, he turned and ran.
"Sasuke—!"
Itachi reached out to stop him.
But Wen Lan immediately blocked him.
"Your little brother needs pressure-based training.
If you don't push him down a bit, believe me—by tomorrow he'll be bragging about awakening his Sharingan to the whole world."
Itachi opened his mouth to argue—
but no words came out.
He could only watch Sasuke disappear into the distance.
If anyone in the Uchiha clan truly understood Sasuke, Wen Lan would be first.
Itachi would be second.
And Itachi knew perfectly well what kind of person his younger brother was.
Wen Lan turned to Izumi with a relaxed smile.
"How's the Police Force treating you?"
"Very well. The seniors take good care of me," she replied with a bright expression.
Their relationship wasn't particularly close. They had only met a few times.
But when she was younger, she had been bullied—and Wen Lan had once spoken up for her.
After that day, the bullying stopped completely.
Later she learned it was because of his influence.
"Good. Keep training hard," Wen Lan said.
"Yes!" Izumi nodded energetically.
Wen Lan then looked toward the direction Sasuke had run, his gaze turning thoughtful.
Days passed.
Every day, Sasuke trained relentlessly in the mountains behind the village.
True to his word—
within one month, both eyes reached two tomoe.
Excited, he ran to show Wen Lan his progress.
But Wen Lan merely glanced at him once and turned away, leaving a single sentence behind:
"Three tomoe counts as passing. Don't get complacent."
Sasuke stood frozen.
His breathing hitched.
Flames of determination flickered in his eyes—then settled into stubborn resolve.
He clenched his fists again, nails digging into his palms.
"One day… I'll make you acknowledge me!"
From that day on, he began training before sunrise, pushing himself until collapse.
At first, Mikoto complained that Wen Lan was putting too much pressure on him.
But when she saw Sasuke's strength improving at an astonishing rate, she finally understood his intention.
When Naruto learned Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan, he doubled his own training efforts.
He began pestering Minato constantly.
Eventually, Minato had no choice but to summon Jiraiya back from his travels—
where he had been secretly searching for the "Child of Destiny"—to personally train Naruto.
Jiraiya was immediately overwhelmed by Naruto's persistence.
But seeing the boy's stubborn determination reminded him of his younger self.
In the end, he agreed.
Time continued to pass.
Until one day—
Wen Lan sat in the Hokage's office reviewing documents.
Shikaku worked beside him.
Minato slept nearby, as usual.
Suddenly—
an ANBU operative burst into the room, dropping to one knee.
"Emergency report!
Uchiha Biliang has been killed during an external mission!"
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