THE UCHIHA ASCENSION

It had been several days since Uchiha Kiyo awakened his Sharingan, yet he hadn't found the time to study it in detail.

On one hand, researching the Sharingan wasn't something that could be completed in a short period. On the other hand, using and analyzing the Sharingan required him to keep it activated, which consumed a significant amount of chakra. Given the intensity of his recent training, he had no choice but to put it aside temporarily.

It wasn't until he successfully grasped Yin Release with relative ease that he turned his focus back to the Sharingan.

Activating the Sharingan was not a simple matter—it required a considerable amount of chakra.

For an average Uchiha shinobi with a moderate talent level and chakra reserves, maintaining the Sharingan was a significant burden. Once the initial chakra boost from awakening the Sharingan stabilized, these individuals found it difficult to keep their eyes activated indefinitely, even when doing nothing strenuous.

Simply keeping the Sharingan active consumed chakra at a staggering rate.

This was true even for a single tomoe. As the Sharingan evolved to two tomoe and then three tomoe, the chakra consumption increased disproportionately to the growth in chakra reserves.

Even at the jōnin level, very few Uchiha could maintain their three-tomoe Sharingan for extended periods without suffering from chakra exhaustion.

Yet, there was someone who had worn a three-tomoe Sharingan for over a decade, relying solely on his own chakra without deactivating it.

That person was Kakashi Hatake.

The sheer amount of chakra required to sustain such a feat was immense!

Kakashi had been a ninja at five years old and a chūnin by six.

Without sufficient chakra reserves, how could he have performed ninjutsu effectively? It wasn't as if he had reached chūnin rank purely through kenjutsu or hand-to-hand combat.

This meant that at six years old, Kakashi's chakra levels had already reached the threshold of a chūnin!

By comparison, Uchiha Kiyo was far from reaching that level.

"Sigh…"

"Sure enough, nothing can be taken at face value."

Uchiha Kiyo let out a self-deprecating chuckle, pushing those thoughts aside before focusing on his own Sharingan.

The black-and-white hues of his normal vision faded as his irises turned crimson, and a single tomoe rotated slowly around the small black pupil at the center.

The moment his Sharingan activated, his vision sharpened dramatically.

Every detail before him became clearer than ever—the intricate patterns of the kanji in the book he held were suddenly distinct, their fine lines standing out as if etched with precision.

Lowering his gaze, he observed his own hand as he flexed his fingers.

It felt as though someone had pressed a slow-motion button—his hand moved at normal speed, yet his Sharingan's perception made it seem slower. With concentration, he found that he could adjust the degree of slowdown at will.

"This is incredible. I can analyze movements from a slowed-down perspective in real time!"

"So this is the enhanced perception of the Sharingan?"

Even with just a single tomoe, the difference was astonishing. He couldn't help but wonder how much more powerful it would become upon evolving to two tomoe, three tomoe, or even beyond—to the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.

Despite being mesmerized by his newfound ability, Kiyo knew that the Sharingan's advantages weren't entirely straightforward.

An opponent's movements might appear slower, but the actual distance between them didn't change. If his reflexes couldn't keep up, he might miscalculate and fail to react in time.

This was a subtle but crucial flaw—one that could lead to fatal misjudgments.

"Just because I perceive an enemy moving slower doesn't mean I have more time to react. If I fail to synchronize my reflexes with my enhanced vision, I could be caught off guard before I even realize it."

Such mistakes weren't common among skilled Uchiha, but they weren't unheard of either.

"I need to add another layer to my training—getting accustomed to the Sharingan's visual perception and learning how to convert observed speed into appropriate reaction timing."

With this in mind, Kiyo spent the rest of the day experimenting with his new abilities, analyzing their effects, and adjusting his combat instincts accordingly.

---

The next morning, Uchiha Kiyo woke up early, had a simple breakfast, and headed to the forest behind the Uchiha compound to continue his training.

There, he encountered Uchiha Fugaku, who was also practicing.

Kiyo had mixed feelings about Fugaku.

On one hand, he respected the man's talent—Fugaku possessed the potential to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and was a powerful shinobi in his own right. More importantly, he leaned toward a moderate stance within the Uchiha clan.

On the other hand, in Kiyo's past-life knowledge, Fugaku had ultimately chosen to remain passive when his own son, Uchiha Itachi, was ordered to massacre their clan. Some might call it wisdom, others might call it cowardice.

That being said, the real world of Naruto differed from the anime. Human nature was complex, and circumstances could drive people to drastic changes.

Kiyo chose not to judge Fugaku solely based on what he had known in his past life. Instead, he would observe and assess him in real-time.

As far as he could tell, the current Uchiha Fugaku was a dedicated shinobi, disciplined in his training, and generally fair in his interactions.

"He's not bad… for now."

What puzzled Kiyo, however, was why Fugaku had chosen to bring his young son, Itachi, to observe a battlefield at the mere age of four.

Sure, Itachi was a genius. But precocious or not, was exposing a four-year-old to war truly necessary?

"Itachi is not me. I came from another world with a mature mind. No matter how intelligent he is, Itachi was still just a child at that stage."

Just then, Fugaku noticed Kiyo approaching.

"Kiyo? Are you here to train as well?"

"Yeah, Fugaku. Just some basic exercises," Kiyo replied casually.

"I heard you awakened your Sharingan on your last mission. Is today's training to get used to it?"

Kiyo's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Fugaku.

"Haha, don't be surprised. I also awakened mine a while ago, so I know how it feels—you need time to adjust to the changes in perception."

Kiyo nodded in acknowledgment.

"So he already has his Sharingan as well."

He wasn't entirely surprised, but it was interesting to have it confirmed.

"Yeah, I was fortunate on my last mission," Kiyo admitted.

Fugaku's expression brightened with interest.

"That's great! Actually, I wanted to spar with you before, but since you didn't have the Sharingan then, I didn't want to take an unfair advantage. Now that we both have it, things will be much more even!"

Kiyo raised an eyebrow at Fugaku's challenge.

He was older, more experienced, and undoubtedly talented. Did he truly believe the difference between them had been reduced to fairness just because they both had a single tomoe Sharingan?

Perhaps sensing Kiyo's skepticism, Fugaku continued, "I've had my Sharingan for a little longer, so I have a slight edge. But that compensates for the year-long gap between us, making it a fair fight."

Kiyo found himself smirking.

"He's confident."

It made sense that Fugaku knew about his Sharingan. Even though he wasn't yet the clan leader, he was the nephew of the current Uchiha patriarch, which meant he had access to valuable clan intelligence.

"Interesting. He's ambitious, and from what I recall, he later becomes clan head through his own merits, not just through bloodline inheritance."

Kiyo thought for a moment before replying, "Alright, I'll accept. But give me a few days—I need time to stabilize my body and fully adapt to my new perception."

Fugaku grinned. "Of course. That actually makes it better."

With that, they parted ways.

Kiyo continued deeper into the training ground, pulling out a kunai. He began practicing precision throws, focusing on synchronizing his Sharingan-enhanced vision with his reaction speed.

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