**The essence of the Sharingan?**
This question feels a bit odd. The Sharingan is the Sharingan, right? Talking about its essence is like stopping a passerby on the street and asking, "Do you know the essence of humanity?" Most likely, you'd just get a bunch of strange looks or be called crazy.
Of course, this question coming from Sougen didn't make anyone think he was crazy. Instead, everyone present assumed there was deep meaning behind it. They each pondered, trying to unravel the mystery, hoping to discover why Sougen was so powerful.
**"Is it spiritual energy?"**
The name "genius" wasn't given to Shisui for nothing.
He was the first to grasp Sougen's point.
**"Exactly, spiritual energy, though I prefer to call it Yin Release,"** Sougen said as they traveled. He didn't mind sharing his research insights. As for what people could learn from it, that depended on their talent. **"Fire, wind, earth, lightning, water, plus yin and yang — these seven nature transformations encompass everything about a ninja's abilities."**
**"Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, secret techniques, kekkei genkai, and even advanced bloodline techniques all stem from these seven natures. For example, the Sharingan is a manifestation of Yin Release, the power of the mind. From a fundamental perspective, it's similar to the Yamanaka Clan's mental jutsu and the Nara Clan's shadow jutsu, all of which are forms of Yin Release."**
**"So, you're saying that training in spiritual energy, or Yin Release, would make the Sharingan stronger?"** Shisui asked skeptically.
**"It's not that simple, but you're on the right track. I once read in a clan journal: 'The ultimate form of the Sharingan is the ultimate form of Yin Release.' Conversely, the stronger one's Yin Release, the stronger the Sharingan becomes."**
Sougen wasn't making this up. It came from a real source. The Uchiha Clan, with its millennia of history, had plenty of hidden gems in its archives, including notes about the Sharingan. This particular insight came from the diary of a clan leader from over 300 years ago, which Sougen found in the public library, accessible to all clan members.
He suspected that this clan leader, like Uchiha Madara, might have been a reincarnation of Indra.
**"Yin Release... but how do you actually train it? Is focusing on genjutsu enough?"**
**"It can't be that easy, right? We Uchiha can all use genjutsu once we awaken the Sharingan."**
The Uchiha clansmen loyal to Fugaku debated.
Shisui thought for a moment and shook his head. What Sougen said made sense, but it was too vague, like telling someone to make an explosive tag by simply imbuing chakra into paper, without explaining the intricate steps involved.
**In short,**
**he told them what to do, but not how to do it.**
**"Don't think I'm holding back on purpose. The reason I've reached this point isn't due to some secret technique but thanks to Samehada,"** Sougen said. At the mention of its name, the blade on his back stirred slightly in response.
**"Samehada?"**
Not just Shisui, but everyone looked puzzled.
Sougen stopped speaking at that point, seeing no need to explain further. If he discovered any useful techniques, he wouldn't mind sharing them. But his mastery of Yin and Yang Release had largely been due to Samehada's help — not something he could teach others.
**"Killing the Fuguki Suikazan on the battlefield was one of the best decisions I've ever made!"** Sougen thought to himself.
If not for Samehada,
he might have gone down the path of collaborating with Orochimaru for cell transplant technology or sneaking into the Cloud Village to steal the Six Paths tools. Luckily, Samehada had helped him grasp the essence of Yin and Yang Release, allowing him to avoid such dark paths and find a righteous one to ultimate power!
Indra, the ancient ancestor of the Uchiha Clan, was the perfect example.
He inherited the powerful Yin Release (spiritual energy) of his father, the Sage of Six Paths, and was born with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. When he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he didn't face the risk of blindness. He achieved the Eternal Mangekyō directly — or rather, the true Mangekyō Sharingan.
In Sougen's view, today's Mangekyō Sharingan was only a half-finished product, a result of the clan's waning Yin Release power. The "eye transplant" process was essentially a fusion of Yin energies. The merging of two sets of Yin energy could create a true Mangekyō.
At its core, the power of the Sharingan came from the spiritual energy of Yin Release, which shaped form out of nothing. Susanoo, that divine power, was the perfect example of this.
**"Don't underestimate Samehada! It's a one-of-a-kind living weapon,"** Sougen said, noticing the puzzled and skeptical looks from the others. He felt the need to defend his beloved blade. **"Don't forget, even our clan's fan is just a dead object without consciousness. But Samehada is a masterpiece, combining the essence of both Yin and Yang Release."**
**"Yin Release? Yang Release?"** Fugaku furrowed his brow.
The former clan leader's expression was as controlled as ever, making it hard to gauge what he was thinking.
**"Is it really that extraordinary?"** Even Shisui's curiosity was piqued by Sougen's grand descriptions.
**"Giving life to a cold, lifeless weapon, allowing it to think and remember — isn't that extraordinary? Just because it exists now doesn't mean we should forget how remarkable it is to bring a weapon to life. Even the God of Shinobi never touched that domain."**
Sougen's words made Shisui fall into deep thought.
Creating life?
That's not hard. Humans and animals constantly reproduce, filling the world with living beings. But bringing a lifeless weapon to life? Could humans even do that?
**"What exactly is Samehada's origin?"** Shisui muttered.
Sougen didn't answer.
Samehada's origin?
It was simple!
In the thousand-year history of the ninja world, there was only one person capable of forging such a unique, unreplicable weapon — the Sage of Six Paths, whose influence lingered even in death. This wasn't something Sougen was guessing; he had unearthed this truth from Samehada's millennia-long memories.
Samehada could think like a human, so naturally, it could remember like one.
Though its thinking ability was comparable to that of a non-ninja child, it had excellent memory, especially regarding the aura and voice it sensed when it was first created.
That was from a man called **the Sage of Six Paths**, whose real name was **Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo**.
This man used Yin Release to create Samehada's form out of nothing and then used Yang Release to grant it life.
Thus,
Samehada was a masterpiece of Yin and Yang Release, combining the two at their highest levels.
The "Knight's Don't Die Empty-Handed" power Sougen possessed gave him complete control over Samehada, its strength, its will, its memories — everything fell under his command.
It was this mastery
that allowed Sougen to overpower his clan so effortlessly today.
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(End of Chapter)