To be honest—
Kyoichi wasn’t entirely sure whether Madara or Black Zetsu had stationed anyone nearby.
This was the place closest to Uchiha Madara’s secret.
The words inscribed on the stone tablet were directly tied to the Uchiha’s greatest mysteries. Madara and Black Zetsu were well aware that the tablet was now in his possession, and with Nagato’s Rinnegan, it was entirely possible to decipher what was written there.
However...
Even if he could sense Black Zetsu, there was nothing he could really do about it.
Given his current strength, Black Zetsu’s abilities...
He had no ans of sealing or countering them.
"Up ahead."
Fugaku pointed toward the distance, where the old Naka Shrine stood.
The Naka Shrine, located beside the Naka River, was part of the Uchiha’s ancient ancestral lands. Long before the Uchiha and Senju united to form Konoha, the Uchiha had lived here for generations.
The shrine itself was the clan’s ancestral hall.
And at the sa ti...
It was also the place where the Uchiha held their most secret gatherings.
Were it not absolutely necessary, Fugaku would never have brought Kyoichi here, let alone allowed them inside to view the stone tablet hidden within.
After all—
Even many clansn had no idea that beneath the Naka Shrine lay a stone tablet inscribed with strange characters.
"Clan Head Fugaku, please lead the way."
"...I can only hope this truly works."
Nagato muttered softly.
If the Rinnegan really could read the tablet, it would prove beyond doubt that the Rinnegan and the Sharingan were fundantally the sa lineage of eyes.
Perhaps—
The stone tablet might even confirm what Kyoichi had hinted at, unlocking the mystery behind how he had received the Rinnegan in the first place.
Kyoichi and Nagato followed Fugaku into the shrine.
Fugaku moved as if he knew the place by heart, leading them directly to where the tablet was kept. Nagato’s heart was unsettled, a touch of nervousness on his face—but truthfully...
As the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku was even more tense than he was.
What Madara was truly plotting—he needed to know. Nagato’s Rinnegan and the tablet could be the key to unraveling that secret. This was his last chance.
Drawing a deep breath, Fugaku finally brought them before the tablet.
"This tablet bears words that only the Sharingan can reveal. With my current ability, I can only interpret a small portion. Please, Nagato-sama, take a look."
"Mm..."
Nagato stepped forward and raised his eyes to the tablet.
At once, shock flickered across his face. He studied the tablet intently for several monts, unable to hide his astonishnt.
"How is it?"
Kyoichi already had a rough idea of the outco.
The contents of the tablet—he knew them far better than Nagato did. But he naturally couldn’t reveal that now. Instead, he asked while quietly focusing his attention on their surroundings.
Black Zetsu’s concealnt was far more frightening than White Zetsu’s.
At least White Zetsu had a physical form; Black Zetsu was purely a creation of Yin-Yang Release. It could rge into anything, making it virtually impossible to detect.
Unless—
Its emotions spiked uncontrollably.
And the tablet’s contents might just provide such a chance. After all, the stone tablet had already been tampered with by Black Zetsu. If Black Zetsu really knew what they were doing now, it might even laugh aloud in the shadows.
In any case—throwing out a baited line was worth a try.
Nagato fell silent for a ti, before finally speaking:
"There are a few lines I can’t make sense of, but most of it... yes, the Rinnegan can indeed decipher the words. This tablet records so of the Uchiha’s deepest secrets."
"That’s right. Even the thod of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan is recorded on this stone."
Fugaku sighed.
"Losing a loved one..."
Nagato’s thoughts turned to his own family, and silence swallowed him.
That kind of pain...
It was hard to believe such a twisted Kekkei Genkai could exist in this world.
"The Sharingan is an eye that reflects the soul. Awakening it doesn’t necessarily require the death of a loved one—it is the emotions born from that loss. For example, Nagato—if you had Uchiha blood in your veins..."
"Hm?"
"You were left wandering from childhood, utterly alone, never even knowing who your parents were. Even if one day you discovered they had been killed horribly, would that grief be enough to open your eyes?"
Nagato froze at the question, then slowly shook his head.
No...
Without ever knowing them, they were strangers to him. Their deaths might stir so faint sadness, so disbelief—
But nothing strong enough to truly wound his heart.
And that would never be enough to awaken the eye.
"...What do you an?"
Fugaku looked thoughtful. This line of reasoning...
It was intriguing.
"The prerequisite for opening the eye is genuine love for what you’ve lost. That’s why the Second Hokage once said—the Uchiha are the clan that understands love the most... but are also the clan most prone to falling into hatred."
"Uh..."
Fugaku was struck speechless, staring blankly at Kyoichi. After a long pause—
He said, with a complicated expression, "This truth... many within the Uchiha don’t even understand. I never expected an outsider to see more clearly than our own people."
"I’ve studied the records of those test subjects. Nearly all of them had missing relatives, and when I asked around, many shared the sa pattern: the ones who gouged out their eyes, the ones who hurt them most... were their own kin."
"Regret... grief... rage."
Nagato blurted it out.
That was the formula Madara sought to use—to trigger the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Kyoichi nodded.
"So it’s true... Madara really did want to cultivate Mangekyō eyes."
"I don’t believe Madara has obtained a Mangekyō yet," Kyoichi added with a faint smile.
When faced with coercion, many people instinctively numb themselves, soothe their pain, and force themselves to forget. And those test subjects were all devoted followers of Madara.
Perhaps so could reach the level of the three tomoe, but Mangekyō...
That required emotions from the deepest core of the heart. A simple example was Sasuke.
On the surface, he claid to hate Itachi. But deep inside, he still leaned on him.
Because of that... his hatred alone could never awaken the Mangekyō. In fact, even his three tomoe were awakened not from hatred of Itachi, but from his bond with Naruto.
The Sharingan could see through the lies people told themselves.
Fugaku’s eyes narrowed in thought.
This man...
His words carried hidden aning!
Nagato hesitated, then continued:
"The later passages are about Uchiha history. The most suspicious part speaks of a god who, in search of peace, divided Yin and Yang, and when the two opposing forces were united, they would yield all creation."
"I’ve never seen that section. Is it visible only to higher-level eyes? A god... could that be the Sage of Six Paths?"
Fugaku muttered excitedly.
In the shinobi world, the only being worthy of the title "god" was the Sage of Six Paths.
"The Sage of Six Paths... opposing forces... now I understand."
Kyoichi exhaled slowly.
Both Nagato and Fugaku looked sharply at him, sensing he had reached a revelation.
"The one thing we can now confirm: the Rinnegan is indeed an evolution of the Sharingan. And if it ties back to Madara, then it’s no stretch to explain..."
"What did Madara obtain that allowed him to awaken the Rinnegan?"
"The Mangekyō Sharingan... and the cells of the First Hokage!"
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