“Sasuke… the Sharingan…” Itachi, seeing Sasuke collapse, hurriedly supported him, activating his own Sharingan to examine Sasuke's condition.

“Thank goodness, it’s just an overexertion of mental energy.” Relieved that Sasuke wasn’t seriously harmed, Itachi breathed easier. However, when he observed Sasuke’s dantian with his Sharingan, he was taken aback—Sasuke had succeeded. His chakra had transformed from a gaseous to a liquid state.

“Ugh, my head hurts…”

An hour later, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, rubbing his throbbing head.

“The pain is due to your mental energy not yet recovering. It’ll take at least a week to fully heal. Will you still dare to be so reckless in the future?”

Noticing Sasuke awake, lying on the grass, Itachi rushed over, both concerned and reproachful. The memory of Sasuke’s recent reckless actions still sent shivers down his spine.

“As long as I succeed, even if it takes a month to recover, it’s worth it.”

Sasuke focused his mind on his dantian, and seeing the faint blue droplets of liquid chakra, he felt a surge of excitement. Though there were only a few drops, Sasuke believed that if he filled his entire dantian, his chakra would surpass that of a Chunin by four or five times. As it stood, Sasuke’s chakra had already reached the level of a Chunin.

“What’s going on? Why is this happening?”

Gazing into the distance, Sasuke noticed that his vision was unusually sharp, as if he were perpetually wearing a telescope.

“Sasuke, your eyes…”

Itachi, standing beside Sasuke, stared at his eyes in astonishment, but before he could finish speaking, Sasuke interrupted him.

“What’s wrong with my eyes?”

Sasuke asked anxiously. After all, his future strength largely depended on these eyes—nothing must go wrong.

“Sasuke, your Sharingan has awakened.”

“What?”

Sasuke jumped up immediately. “Sharingan?”

He thought to himself, “In the original story, why didn’t Sasuke faint when his Sharingan awakened?”

“I never expected you to awaken the Sharingan so early—you truly are a prodigy!”

Itachi’s face lit up with a smile.

“Sasuke, now that you’ve awakened the Sharingan, there are some things you must know.”

Itachi’s smile faded as he spoke with a serious tone.

“What?”

Still immersed in the joy of awakening his Sharingan, Sasuke barely registered what Itachi had said earlier.

“The Sharingan is a unique bloodline limit of our Uchiha clan. To awaken the Sharingan, first, one must inherit the Uchiha bloodline; second, one requires a sufficient amount of chakra—Sharingan is a type of ocular jutsu, and it demands at least Chunin-level chakra to activate; the third condition is a severe emotional stimulus, usually something related to life and death. When the Sharingan awakens, the eyes turn red, and a single tomoe appears in each, with the tomoe in both eyes forming a symmetrical pattern. This is the initial form of the Sharingan. Once awakened, the Sharingan can be used at will, without needing to undergo the awakening process again.”

Itachi explained.

“So, the Sharingan requires three conditions to awaken, and I just happened to meet all three: my parents are both Uchiha, my chakra has just reached the Chunin level, and I was indeed on the brink of life and death while compressing my chakra just now.”

Sasuke pondered silently, realizing that what he once thought was a sign of unparalleled genius was actually a natural outcome.

“Furthermore, the Sharingan grants powerful insight: it allows the user to perceive high-speed movements and predict an opponent’s actions, including taijutsu maneuvers and the hand seals for ninjutsu, creating opportunities to counter and defeat the enemy. It can also see through a considerable degree of genjutsu. The Sharingan also has hypnotic capabilities: it can cast ocular genjutsu, trapping the opponent in an illusion with just eye contact, and as the Sharingan matures, its genjutsu power grows. Lastly, the Sharingan possesses the ability to copy: it can perfectly replicate ninjutsu and taijutsu observed by the user. With practice, the user can master these skills, and a mature Sharingan can nearly synchronize with and instantly grasp them. However, the Sharingan cannot copy or perfectly replicate certain jutsu: first, those with a bloodline limit, as they are determined by genetics, which the Sharingan cannot alter; second, summoning jutsu, because they require a contract with a summoning beast, something the Sharingan cannot duplicate; and third, specific taijutsu, such as Might Guy’s Eight Gates, which are linked to the body’s internal energy pathways.”

Itachi continued, though he omitted any mention of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

“Is it that he doesn’t know, or does he just not want to tell me?”

Sasuke wondered quietly.

“Now that you’ve awakened the Sharingan, you can start learning genjutsu.”

Itachi retrieved a scroll and a pen from his ninja pouch and began writing.

“I wonder what genjutsu Itachi will teach me. Not that it matters much—genjutsu is all the same to me.”

Sasuke thought nonchalantly. Among all the genjutsu, Sasuke only cared about learning “Izanagi, Darkness Technique, and Tsukuyomi,” but he knew he couldn’t learn them yet. “Izanagi” and “Tsukuyomi” required higher conditions, and the “Darkness Technique” was still sealed by the First Hokage’s barrier jutsu, making it inaccessible to him. Other than these three, Sasuke found little interest in other genjutsu.

“These two genjutsu are ‘Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (C-Rank)’ and ‘Mist Servant Technique (C-Rank).’”

After finishing, Itachi handed the scroll to Sasuke.

“Hell Viewing Technique: This jutsu causes the opponent to see their greatest fear, striking at their psyche. Mist Servant Technique: This creates multiple phantom copies of the user to confuse the enemy.”

Itachi explained as Sasuke accepted the scroll.

“Let’s go! You can study these later. If you have any questions, come find me.”

Itachi glanced at the sky, noting the encroaching dusk.

“Brother, could you promise me one thing?”

As they left the training ground, Sasuke asked Itachi earnestly.

“What is it? If it’s anything like what happened today, there’s no way I’ll agree.”

Itachi’s face was tense, clearly still shaken by Sasuke’s earlier reckless actions.

“No, it’s not that! I just don’t want anyone to know that I’ve awakened the Sharingan. Could you promise not to tell anyone about it?”

Sasuke asked, feeling dejected.

“Why?”

Itachi looked at Sasuke with confusion.

“It’s nothing. I just don’t want to be seen as a genius. Life as a genius is tough.”

Sasuke recalled the miserable life Itachi led after being branded a genius, and he shuddered at the thought.

“A genius…”

Itachi reflected on his own childhood, being hailed as a prodigy, but it had left him friendless. It was precisely because of his genius that the clan pushed him into the Anbu, forcing him to choose between his clan and the village, leading to a life of unbearable pain.

“Alright, I won’t tell anyone.”

Itachi didn’t want Sasuke to endure the same lonely and painful existence.

“Yes, it’s just our secret—no one else can know.”