It's a simplified Infinite Tsukuyomi!
Nameless, as Yachihoko's wielder, could dominate minds and endlessly drain chakra from those marked with her seal.
"Wouldn't that make you invincible?" Uchiha Gin asked, puzzled. "With such powerful 'weapons,' why did Tajima fail?"
"Heh, he schemed exhaustively but never foresaw I'd seen through his plot," Uchiha Yao said, stroking his gray-white beard, smug.
"I cracked the seal in Kin's Sharingan, revealing footage of Tajima's betrayal," Yao said, his tone heavy with grief. "When I saw Kin's death, my anguish peaked, and I…"
"Awakened these eyes filled with resentment."
As Yao spoke, his lone eye reddened, its black tomoe morphing into a hollow equilateral triangle.
Uchiha Yao had awakened Mangekyo Sharingan.
Eyeing the unfamiliar pattern, Uchiha Gin cautiously asked, "Your Mangekyo's ability is…?"
"It's called Wangliang," Yao said openly. "It creates a 'shadow clone,' an embodiment of my will with partial autonomy. Being shadow-based, it's intangible. I call it a shadow clone."
The more Uchiha Gin heard, the stranger it felt, though he couldn't pinpoint why. His head itched, as if a revelation was dawning.
"The old guard?" he asked.
"Exactly," Yao confirmed.
No wonder the guard could slip into shadows and ignore physical attacks—he wasn't human but a product of Yao's Mangekyo.
As Yao spoke, the eerie guard reappeared from the darkness, his chilling grin and gray-white eyes fixed on Uchiha Gin.
For some reason, Uchiha Gin sensed a deep, hidden malice from the guard.
"Wangliang can conceal its presence, infiltrate stealthily, and attach to someone, partially controlling their body," Yao explained.
The ability's implications grew odder. Uchiha Gin scrutinized the guard from head to toe, but it remained impassive, like an obedient puppet.
"After awakening my Mangekyo, I used Wangliang to lurk near Tajima, searching for you while leaking his schemes," Yao said. "By then, you and Nameless were brainwashed. I couldn't reach you, only watch from afar as they ran experiments on you."
Yao's voice trembled with pain.
"One day, Wangliang, monitoring the institute, brought news about you."
"?" Uchiha Gin's curiosity peaked. Brainwashed, what trouble could he have caused?
"When Mio checked your health, he found your body deteriorating, especially your eyesight, which plummeted," Yao said.
The Mangekyo's curse—pure attack types like his, used frequently and long, wore the body down. In the original story, Itachi, using his sparingly, was riddled with illness by twenty-one, dying in his own jutsu's flood.
"Mio reported this to Tajima, who decided to wait until your body hit its limit, then extract your Sharingan and transplant its techniques to Nameless, whose compatibility with you was near-perfect," Yao said, nearly grinding his teeth.
The original owner's life was tragic: parents killed, Mangekyo awakened, brainwashed by his enemy, exploited, and slated for eye theft—a true suffering protagonist.
"I couldn't let them succeed. When they weren't looking, I had Wangliang attach to you, waiting for the right moment to give Tajima a nasty surprise," Yao said, his eyes blazing with manic fury.
Uchiha Gin frowned. He'd been possessed by the guard?
He remained skeptical of Yao, who claimed to be his grandfather but seemed less straightforward than he let on.
"When the Kaguya were lured to the clan grounds and Tajima unleashed you for slaughter, I activated Wangliang to control your body, breaking the seal on your mind, and turned you against Tajima's forces," Yao said softly.
"You didn't succeed, did you?" Uchiha Gin sighed. If Yao had, Tajima wouldn't be alive, and Yao wouldn't be locked in this hidden dungeon.
"I underestimated Tajima. I never imagined there were four Mangekyo pairs present," Yao said, regretful.
"I failed. Tajima's Sharingan can alter cognition, turning foes into allies. It rewrote your memories. Powerless against three Mangekyo, I was defeated and imprisoned here."
Yao recounted the past like a storyteller, sighing, his eyes lowered, expression unreadable.
---
In Tajima's office, Yan and Mio had left to prepare their tasks.
Tajima sat alone in the clan leader's chair, eyes closed, as if asleep.
"Father! I overheard Brother's meeting with that person at the river in three days!" Uchiha Izuna burst in, shattering Tajima's thoughts.
"Got it. I'll bring men in three days," Tajima said, opening his eyes. His stern gaze softened with paternal warmth for his lively son. Including the adopted Uchiha Gin, he had six children.
At night, closing his eyes brought visions of his wife and children slaughtered, the clan grounds' devastation haunting him, fueling a mysterious brain ailment.
Unsure how long he had, Tajima aimed to leave a strong, united Uchiha clan to his sons.
Thus, the sealed "weapon" had to be secured by the Uchiha.
Years ago, the old clan leader entrusted two Mangekyo-awakened children to Tajima, the designated heir, to nurture and strengthen the clan.
Tajima cared deeply for them, especially Uchiha Gin, son of his close clansister. Gin's father, Uchiha Kin, was his senior apprentice.
Both were disciples of the formidable Uchiha Yao, Tajima's mentor.
Thinking of Yao, Tajima frowned. Yao was not only powerful but a peerless Sharingan researcher, though eccentric.
Yao and his son, Kin, clashed often over ideals, parting ways after a research dispute, until Kin and his wife died.
Soon after, the old clan leader's death forced Tajima, newly married, to reluctantly assume leadership.
"Ugh!" His headache flared. Tajima massaged his temples, thoughts drifting back decades.
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