Uchiha Tetsu knelt in the pool of blood at the abandoned camp, both hands braced against the ground, his whole body still trembling slightly.
Yet the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably curling upward bit by bit.
His laughter was restrained at first, squeezed out from deep in his throat.
Then it grew louder and wilder, until it completely tore through the night.
"Haha... Hahaha... Ahahahahaha!"
He threw his head back and laughed, his eyes blood-red as the Mangekyo slowly turned.
Left eye: three black sickle-shaped patterns intertwined, as if cutting through time in the void.
Right eye: six irregular black petals contracted inward, with an extremely fine point of void at the center.
He could clearly sense the powers of these two eyes.
Left eye: [Instant].
It could briefly freeze the "flow of time" within three meters around himself, lasting at most three breaths.
During the freeze, he could move freely, but the consumption was enormous.
Right eye: [Falsehood].
It could create a "Shadow Clone" that completely replicated his own chakra and appearance, but the true core of the ability was this: any target touched by the Shadow Clone would be forced to "forget" everything that had happened within the previous ten seconds.
Including the pain, including everything they had witnessed with their own eyes.
When both eyes were activated at the same time, they would produce a brief synergy. He could freeze time while having the Shadow Clone complete a fatal strike for him, and afterward, the target would only remember that they had "somehow fallen."
"...Enough."
Uchiha Tetsu's laughter gradually died down, his voice hoarse and cold.
"With these two eyes, it's already enough to survive in this era... and enough to climb upward over everyone's corpses."
Uchiha Tetsu stood up, letting the blood drip from his fingertips.
First, he dragged Maki's body to a nearby cliff and pushed it down.
The explanation given to outsiders was simple: they had encountered an elite squad sent by Sarutobi while patrolling at night. Maki had suffered severe injuries and fallen off the cliff while covering him, leaving no remains behind.
He himself returned to the clan grounds "after escaping" with injuries. He deliberately left a deep knife wound exposing the bone on his left arm and smeared enough blood and mud across his face.
The clan members had no suspicions.
Border conflicts were becoming more and more frequent, and deaths had long since become an everyday occurrence.
Several young members of the pro-war faction even patted him on the shoulder and said, "Maki died like a real man. Don't be too sad. We'll avenge him together in the future."
Uchiha Tetsu lowered his head and acknowledged them, but his eyes were frighteningly calm.
———
[Three Months Passed]
Uchiha Tetsu completely began to reveal his talent and entered the clan's upper ranks.
At the same time, he began intentionally approaching the intelligence nodes within the clan.
The core figure of the pro-war faction, Uchiha Hitoshi, was the most radical member of Indra's direct collateral line.
He was in his early forties, possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, had a violent temperament, and hated the Shinobi Sect led by Sarutobi to the bone.
Through several "accidental" collaborations along the border, Uchiha Tetsu gradually entered Uchiha Hitoshi's field of vision.
"You've been working pretty hard lately, kid."
After one operation, Uchiha Hitoshi handed him a jug of strong liquor, his eyes sharp.
"You seem like a different person since Maki died.", Uchiha Hitoshi said.
Uchiha Tetsu accepted the wine and said quietly, "Maki died. Kira also died. I have no other path to take."
Uchiha Hitoshi fell silent for a moment before patting him on the shoulder.
"Good. From today onward, follow me. I'll give you more opportunities on the border."
Uchiha Tetsu lowered his head. "Yes."
———
[Half A Year Later]
The border conflict completely spiraled out of control.
The elite squads sent by Sarutobi began actively penetrating the edges of Uchiha territory, attempting to assassinate the core figures of the pro-war faction.
During a night encounter, Uchiha Hitoshi led his team and clashed head-on with the enemy.
When the battle reached its fiercest point, Uchiha Tetsu suddenly "made a mistake." He was forced back several steps by the Fire Release of an elite Sarutobi shinobi, directly crashing into Uchiha Hitoshi's blind spot.
At that instant, his left eye turned slightly.
[Instant].
The flow of time within three meters suddenly froze.
The air seemed to freeze as well.
Uchiha Tetsu stepped forward quickly, an extremely thin chakra blade already condensed in his right hand.
The blade pierced into the back of Uchiha Hitoshi, accurately penetrating his heart.
Time resumed.
Uchiha Hitoshi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes widening, yet he did not even have time to let out a cry of pain.
Uchiha Tetsu activated his right eye at the same time.
The Shadow Clone of [Falsehood] instantly took shape and reached out to press a hand against the shoulder of that elite Sarutobi shinobi.
Three seconds later... The man suddenly froze, his pupils becoming slightly unfocused. He had completely forgotten everything that had happened during the previous ten seconds, including seeing "Uchiha Tetsu suddenly make a move."
He only remembered that he seemed to have "hit" someone, and then everything around him had descended into chaos.
Uchiha Tetsu tore open the front of his clothes and deliberately carved a deep wound across his chest, shouting loudly at the same time, "Lord Hitoshi has been ambushed! Save him!"
The battlefield instantly descended into chaos.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the Sarutobi side quickly withdrew.
Uchiha Tetsu knelt beside Uchiha Hitoshi's corpse, pressing both hands tightly against the penetrating wound, his face filled with "grief and unwillingness."
Blood flowed down through the gaps between his fingers.
———
[Three Days Later]
Because of Uchiha Hitoshi's death, Uchiha Tetsu successfully rose to power and took Hitoshi's position.
Uchiha clan grounds, emergency elders' meeting.
Uchiha Hitoshi's death was classified as a "decapitation operation by Sarutobi's elite forces."
The pro-war faction was furious and demanded an immediate full-scale war.
The pro-peace faction advocated caution, believing that the difference in strength still remained and that a full-scale conflict should not be started lightly.
When the meeting reached its most heated point, Uchiha Tetsu suddenly stood up.
Everyone's eyes fell on him.
This young man from a collateral branch had hardly ever spoken at an elders' meeting before.
His voice was calm, yet carried a sharpness that made people feel cold, "Lord Hitoshi is dead. Maki is dead. Kira is dead. People are dying on the border every day."
"If we continue like this, all we'll be waiting for is more corpses."
"But if we start a full-scale war right now, with our current strength, we'll still only be dying."
"I have a suggestion."
"Let me lead a squad and infiltrate the rear mountain of the Shinobi Sect."
"Target: kill Sarutobi."
The meeting hall instantly fell silent.
A moment later, what erupted was not mockery, but a silence suppressed to the extreme.
Someone said in a low voice, "Are you crazy?"
Uchiha Tetsu merely smiled faintly.
What he wanted was a full-scale war, and then to rise through the ranks through that war.
If they maintained peace all the time, how could he rise to power?
"I'm not crazy."
"I just don't want to keep watching our clan members die one after another on the border."
"And..."
He paused, his voice growing lower and colder, "If we succeed, once Sarutobi dies, the Shinobi Sect will inevitably fall into chaos. Only then will we have a real chance to turn the tables."
The elders looked at one another.
In the end, several elders of the pro-war faction were the first to express their support.
Although the pro-peace faction had objections, they were unable to completely reject it. After all, what Uchiha Tetsu had proposed was a "life-for-life" decapitation operation.
If it succeeded, the merit would be enormous.
If it failed, only a member of a collateral branch would die.
When the meeting ended, Uchiha Tetsu walked out of the stone house. The night wind passed by, and he raised his hand and gently touched his left eye.
———
Arisu stood with his hands behind his back, Uchiha Tetsu's back reflected in the light screen.
He looked at those Mangekyo that had completely awakened, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Interesting."
"This transmigrator... is much more interesting than that previous Senju Yuan."
"Kill his family, kill his friends, kill his superior... step by step, climbing upward over blood."
"And he even wants to take the initiative and assassinate Sarutobi."
Arisu chuckled softly, "Then let me see... how far you can go."
"However, I have to go give Sarutobi a warning..."
The light screen slowly closed.
The night once again enveloped the earth.
And Uchiha Tetsu's plan had already begun.