Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

In the small courtyard of the Uchiha Patriarch’s Mansion

Standing quietly, Sasuke lowered his head and clenched his fists. His body shook with anger and rage, and his chest heaved heavily, rising and falling with each breath. Despite his efforts to suppress it, Sasuke’s emotions were clearly under strong tribulation.

Observing Sasuke from a distance with his Byakugan, Kuroto could accurately see Sasuke’s chakra growing colder with each breath, a result of strong emotional fluctuations and rage.

Itachi was also surprised, an occurrence one wouldn’t expect often. Undoubtedly, Itachi had noticed Sasuke’s chakra becoming colder. He hadn’t expected to witness such a significant change in Sasuke’s chakra in such a short time.

As someone who has awakened a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi understands the significance of the changes in Sasuke’s chakra quite well. After all, the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan is a physical manifestation of their strong Yin-chakra and their Uchiha DNA. Ignoring the DNA aspect, the stronger the Yin Chakra, the more potent the Visual Prowess, and correspondingly, the stronger the Sharingan.

“Of course, unlike Yang chakra, which imparts warmth and sunny traits, Yin chakra—generally, not always—bestows a cold and indifferent personality. The stronger the Yin chakra, the colder and more indifferent a person appears to be. This dichotomy is one of the reasons why the Senjus and Uzumakis often don’t get along with the Uchihas; the two sides embody opposing personality traits.

Anyway, as Sasuke’s chakra became colder, the intensity of Yin chakra also grew more potent within him. This clearly meant that Sasuke’s Visual Prowess should have increased, evident from the marks of tears on his face and his guilty expression. It’s safe to say that Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto must have done what Kuroto had requested from them.

As Sasuke limped back to his room, Kuroto spoke to Itachi, “Did you see that? The concentration of Yin chakra in his body improved so much at once.”

Itachi nodded lightly, “Yes,” and added, “This method does seem to work on Sasuke.”

Since awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi understands that only under strong emotional fluctuations can the true power of the Sharingan be awakened. Although Itachi had speculated on methods that might work for his younger brother, he lacked a determined plan, and the certainty of success remained uncertain. However, the form of emotional stimulation proposed by Kuroto did seem to work on Sasuke.

Kuroto smiled, “Hmm.”

In reality, the person deserving credit is Itachi. Kuroto chose to adopt this method based on his knowledge of the Canon, where Itachi made numerous attempts to stimulate Sasuke’s Mangekyou Sharingan awakening, using various methods.

Sasuke endured Tsukuyomi’s torture for seventy-two hours, forced to witness the deaths of his parents and the annihilation of the Uchiha clan over a million times. Such an experience shattered Sasuke’s already fragile mental state, turning him into an emotional wreck seeking nothing but revenge. However, even this extreme torment was insufficient to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. He couldn’t even unlock the three-tomoe Sharingan from this ordeal.

Based on this understanding, Kuroto is clear that inducing despair in Sasuke doesn’t lie in the deaths of his father or family; rather, it’s about making him ‘see’ their suffering while being powerless to ‘do’ anything about it.

Each Uchiha’s experience of despair is unique, evident in how they react to it. In the canon, Itachi faced despair as he watched Shisui commit suicide, feeling helpless to intervene. The village and Uchiha were on the brink of war, and Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami offered the only glimmer of hope Itachi had to resolve the situation. Even if it wasn’t a permanent solution, it was still better than nothing. When that solution, that hope, was taken away, Itachi felt despair, leading to the awakening of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Similarly, Obito’s experience of despair differed. For Obito, Rin was his light, his hope. When that light was abruptly extinguished, especially by his best friend, Obito felt despair and awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The way Itachi and Obito experienced despair differed, and this divergence extends to other Uchiha members like Shinichi, Hideki, and Ryota. Even though Hideki and Ryota, being twins with similar personalities, may have felt despair in similar ways, the unique experiences of Itachi, Obito, and others underscore that each Uchiha Clansman perceives despair differently. In Sasuke’s case, it manifests as he ‘watches’ the people he deeply loves suffer without being able to intervene.

In essence, killing Fugaku would have been far less effective in stimulating Sasuke compared to making him witness the suffering of his father. The emotional impact of his father’s humiliation and shame, coupled with Sasuke’s inability to alleviate it, is more likely to trigger Sasuke.

These dynamics are evident from the chakra fluctuations in Sasuke’s body, noticeable after the brief interaction he had with Fugaku moments ago.

Observing Sasuke go through this, Itachi also felt guilt and asked Kuroto, “Kuroto-San, how long do you think it will take for Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?”

Kuroto shrugged, “I really have no idea,” and added, “As long as he experiences despair, and his Yin-chakra is potent enough, it should do the job, but how long that would take is hard to say.”

“I see,” muttered Itachi lightly as he looked at Sasuke in the distance. Although he knows that this is for Sasuke’s own good, it is still too much, and he wants to stop this as soon as possible. The sooner Sasuke awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan, the sooner they can cease stimulating him in such a manner.

At this time, Kuroto asked, “How did Neji do?”

Thinking of Neji, Itachi smiled lightly and praised, “Neji’s talent… It is quite unique. Whether it’s the on-the-spot judgment of things, Taijutsu skills, or insight and understanding of the overall situation, he is exceptional.”

Kuroto asked, “I often think that his talent and personality are quite similar to yours. What do you think?”

“I can’t say for certain, but maybe that’s indeed the case,” answered Itachi with a thoughtful expression.

After a while, Kuroto said, “I am unable to spare time to guide Neji, so I will leave him under your care. Teaching him Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, as well as providing battle experience is fine, but please focus on conditioning his mindset. That boy has too many doubts and lacks confidence.”

“Rest assured, Kuroto-san, I will guide Neji-kun to the best of my abilities,” nodded Itachi with a solemn expression.

Entrusting Itachi with Neji’s training, Kuroto made this decision after careful consideration. Whether it’s Itachi or Shisui, both of them dote on Sasuke, which is not conducive to his development. Although Shinichi is a good solution in this regard, Shinichi’s fighting style centers around his Mangekyou Sharingan abilities.

Since Shinichi can make checkpoints and return back to those checkpoints, he fights aggressively without much concern about injuries. If Shinichi were to teach Sasuke, Sasuke might adopt a similarly risky fighting style. Therefore, Kakashi is a much better choice to train Sasuke.

Concerning Neji, his talent lies in preciseness. Itachi excels in planning fights, laying the groundwork, and other strategic aspects, making him an ideal mentor for Neji to refine his precision.

Teaching powerful ninjutsu wouldn’t be as beneficial for Neji. While it might allow him to dominate his peers temporarily, in the long run, he may struggle to reach the level of strength attained by individuals like Naruto and Sasuke, given their unique status as the reincarnations of Indra and Asura. Kuroto is actively working towards achieving that level of strength and providing external assistance.

Until Kuroto attains that level, Neji needs to focus on developing his mindset. This ensures that when he reaches the desired strength level, his mindset aligns with the demands of that strength. Kuroto believes that Itachi can lay the foundation for this mindset in Neji, making him the best choice for Neji’s training.