Akira felt as though he had entered a world of absolute darkness.
He couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face.
Nothing was visible.
A strange sound echoed from every direction.
“What is this?”
Akira frowned deeply.
Suddenly, an icy wind swept past him.
His body involuntarily trembled.
Then he felt something utterly revolting.
It was deeply uncomfortable, as though something were being poured directly into his body.
Powerful emotions emerged beyond his control.
Anger, jealousy, hatred…
All kinds of complicated emotions intertwined within him.
“Haah!”
Akira abruptly opened his eyes.
Three tomoe slowly revolved within each of them.
He immediately sensed the change.
“The three-tomoe Sharingan!”
Akira was somewhat surprised.
He retrieved a mirror and confirmed the change before setting it down.
“I never expected to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan this way.”
Akira had originally predicted that he would awaken it two months later.
He had established that goal based on the talent of his current body.
That rate of progression was already much faster than that of countless other Uchiha.
It was only natural for Fugaku to be astonished by his talent.
Uchiha Itachi, Fugaku himself, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Kagami, and even Uchiha Izuna…
Fugaku had never encountered anyone with talent as extraordinary as Akira’s.
Based on his talent and the effort he devoted to training, Akira had predicted every stage of his progress before awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Until today, everything had proceeded according to his predictions.
However, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan was different.
Besides possessing sufficient chakra and physical strength, he would need far more intense emotional stimulation.
He would need to personally witness the death of someone precious to him.
That wouldn’t be easy for Akira.
It had to be someone he genuinely loved.
In other words, Akira currently resented and disapproved of Itachi.
Even if Akira personally killed Itachi, he still wouldn’t awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Only Fugaku, Mikoto, and Sasuke fulfilled the necessary conditions.
However, Akira would never kill any of them.
Otherwise, there would be no meaningful difference between him and Itachi.
Yet his three-tomoe Sharingan had awakened earlier than expected.
It had awakened because of that mysterious dream.
Akira knew what kinds of powers existed within the Naruto world.
There was chakra originating from the Ōtsutsuki clan.
There was also senjutsu originating from the sacred lands of the summoning beasts.
These were the two primary supernatural power systems within the Naruto world.
However, several unusual entities also existed.
There was Jashin, the god worshipped by Hidan.
There was also the Shinigami summoned by the Uzumaki clan’s sealing technique, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Those beings didn’t appear to belong to the chakra system or originate from the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Akira suspected that the entity within his dream might be something similar.
“But it wasn’t Jashin or the Shinigami.”
“It was something else.”
Akira didn’t dwell upon it for long.
For his present situation, awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan ahead of schedule was beneficial.
It gave him more time to determine how he could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He also needed to decide how he would resolve the Uchiha clan’s predicament after awakening it.
How should he confront Konoha’s leadership?
Should he assassinate them?
Should he lead the Uchiha clan away from Konoha?
Or should he confront them directly and fight to the death?
Akira didn’t have enough time or energy to investigate the mysterious dream.
Elsewhere, Fugaku released a heavy sigh, worry covering his face.
“Fugaku, what’s wrong?”
Mikoto looked at him with concern.
He had visibly grown haggard during this period.
It was as though several years had passed for him in the span of only a few months.
“The Uchiha clan cannot obtain support from anyone…”
“What Akira did unintentionally last time created an opportunity for us, but the Hyūga still chose to wait and observe.
They don’t dare take the risk.”
“As for the other clans, they’re even less willing…”
Mikoto took Fugaku’s hand.
“Has the situation between the clan and the village deteriorated again?”
“Yes.”
Fugaku nodded.
“I don’t know when this conflict will finally erupt.
Konoha’s leadership is placing greater and greater pressure upon the Uchiha.”
“The clan members are also becoming increasingly dissatisfied.
I can no longer keep them under control.”
“But more importantly…”
Mikoto frowned.
“What is it?”
Fugaku sighed again.
“I’m afraid I cannot change Itachi’s beliefs.”
“If the Uchiha clan and the village completely break with one another and become enemies, Itachi will most likely stand with the village.”
“Not with his family.”
Mikoto’s face turned pale.
As shinobi, they might not fear death quite as much as ordinary people.
But the thought of father and son becoming enemies was something Mikoto could never bear to witness.
“Then what should we do?”
“I don’t know…”