The Uchihas weren’t mean, but they weren’t welcoming either. They were a little rigid, easily offended, and always on the defensive. It didn’t help Jun fit in. He mostly talked to his family, and it was tense. He wasn’t as close to his mother as before. Izumi was still a child. The relationship with his grandparents wasn’t good either. Therefore, he avoided being at home whenever he could.

He hardly associated with children his age within the clan, contrary to Izumi who made friends last year. Jun had stayed away. And now, he felt alone. He still had his friends from the Academy, but they didn’t hang out together after class anymore. He missed it.

Fortunately, the library survived Kyubi’s rampage. Jun went back to his good old habits and began to borrow a bunch of books. Everyone healed from their wounds as time passed. Iruka still acted up, and Yugao continued to train alone. However, the explosive trio still shared precious bonding moments. Jun started to work on his Ninjutsu again. It was knowledge passed on to him by his father.

Izumi was also doing well. She didn’t hide her admiration for Itachi. Especially when the latter was so talented, and he had advanced three classes at once. Their mother began to spend more time at home. She smiled more often. Jun realized it had been four months since the Nine-Tails' assault on the village. The school year was nearing its end.

“I’m going to take the final exam,” Yugao announced to her friends.

It was no surprise. She and Jun had thought about taking the exam together at the beginning of the year, and now… that wasn’t certain. Jun had a decent level, but his grades had gone down. He wasn’t confident about the exam. He could pass it t or fail beautifully.

“You should. I will wait until next year.” Jun said with a faint smile.

Iruka nodded.

“I’m waiting too. We might be on the same team.” He said.

Jun hoped so. Yugao nodded.

“I’ll probably end up on the same team as Ise or Fujitaro. They’re also taking the exam. They have a good chance of passing it. What a pain!” Yugao complained.

“You could end up with the first of the other class. I believe his name is Takao Uchiha.” Jun said.

“Another Uchiha… They are everywhere. No offense to you.” Yugao replied.

“None taken. It’s weird for me too. I’m not used to it.”

Jun was having a hard time adapting to his new name. He was Jun Uchiha now.

“I don’t know this Takao. If he’s a year above us, he must be eleven or twelve years old. He shouldn’t be worse than Fujitaro.”

Jun shrugged his shoulders

“I never saw it, but the rumors say he has already awakened his Sharingan. So, he probably thinks he’s a big deal.”

“Sharingan… I think it’s overrated.”

Jun’s smile froze a little, but he expertly hid it. He hadn’t activated the Dojutsu since the attack. In fact, he hadn’t told anyone he had awakened the Sharingan. He never thought he would be able to do it since he was only half-Uchiha. He hadn’t thought about it after his father’s death. He had placed the matter in the back of his mind. There were some instances where he felt like the special eyes would appear again.

In his moments of rage or stress, he felt his chakra circulating in his skull and converging towards his eyes. He had to make a conscious effort to disrupt the flow of energy. He did not want the Sharingan to activate. However, he knew that sooner or later, he would have to give in. How else was he to learn to utilize it?

Jun wasn’t sure if he should tell anyone about his new power. On one hand, it would be useful to have some guidance from an Uchiha. On the other hand, it would draw attention to him. The more he thought about it, the more he believed that remaining silent was the best move. Moreover, he had no friends among the Uchihas. Who knew how they would take the news.

Furthermore, he hadn’t forgotten about the upcoming massacre of the clan. He was part of the clan now, but he was determined to find a way to distance himself and his family from the Uchihas. If he revealed the fact that he possessed the Sharingan, the clan would never let him go.

But he couldn’t just ignore it. That evening, he decided to take the bull by its horns. No more delaying the inevitable. He closed the curtains, locked the door, and sat down in front of his mirror. He infused some chakra in his eyes. When he opened his eyelids, his reflection stared back at him. He saw two tomoes slowly swirling in his scarlet eyes.

He raised his hand to his eyes.

Two tomoes… I thought there was only one that appeared at first. Were there some exceptions?

Jun didn’t know what it took to unlock the next tomoe. Everything had happened so fast when he first awakened the Sharingan. He remembered seeing and discerning things clearly. The sensation got stronger and his vision got better. Maybe, it was another tomoe forming. The situation was so chaotic and so intense back then that he had apparently drained his chakra.

He frowned; a strange suspicion was sprouting in his mind. He had used up his chakra. According to what he recalled from Naruto, it only happened when one cast Jutsu after Jutsu or utilized a big technique consuming an insane amount of chakra. But he could tell now that the Sharingan’s chakra cost wasn’t that severe. He could keep it on for a while without suffering from a lack of chakra. Therefore, the Sharingan couldn’t have used up all his energy. It hadn’t been activated long enough for that.

Jun tried to recall that night again. He merely felt that his strength was leaving him when… No! It couldn’t be. His suspicion turned into certainty. His breathing quickened. He swallowed with difficulty. Then, he gradually increased the amount of chakra flowing through his eyes.

The two tomoes grew and expanded. They became black bands that crossed and joined, forming a four-pointed symbol resembling a stylized cyclone that was slowly spinning on itself. His chakra expenditure immediately skyrocketed. Jun, alarmed, shut his eyes and stopped infusing his chakra into them. No more energy was consumed.

He kept his eyes closed for several seconds as a precaution. It was also a way for him to process what had just happened. Then, he exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyelids. In the mirror, his eyes were now normal. It was as if he had imagined the whole thing. But he knew better. He had clearly seen it before closing his eyes. The image was burned to his mind. He had seen the reflection…The reflection of his Mangekyo Sharingan.

“Damn…” He sighed.

The end of the year arrived with the normal exam. He was satisfied when he saw his results. His grades went up. However, he decided not to take the Academy’s final exam for early graduation. That decision led to some outcomes. Yugao passed him, as did a handful of others from his class. To everyone’s surprise, Itachi Uchiha passed the final exam as well and became genin as seven years old. He was as tall as Izumi. Jun thought it was crazy to allow him to graduate. The boy was only seven!

Yes, he was probably excellent at killing people, but that shouldn’t be all. Jun kept his indignation to himself. Sharing it with his family was a bad idea. Izumi was impressed by Itachi. Seichi and Nao were also happy. Jun suspected it was more because of Izumi’s interest in Itachi. Moreover, his mother was glad that Izumi got to spend some time with the young Uchiha at the Academy.

Jun did share his concerns with his two friends. They did not react as strongly as he, so the teenager dropped the matter. They promised to spend more time together in the future. Yugao had graduated, but Iruka and Jun still had a year left. Well, it could potentially be more if they failed the exam. But the chances of that occurring were slim.

The explosive trio was separated. Yugao needed to spend time with her team, consisting of two other genins older than her and a jonin who would lead, guide, and train them. Iruka and Jun spent more time together. They made more explosive tags; Iruka was planning to utilize some for a few of his pranks. Jun politely declined his invitation to join him. .

He decided to read and train instead. He was discreetly trying to acquire books about the Sharingan. Unfortunately for him, the Uchihas didn’t leave such manuals in the library. He only found basic information everyone knew. Jun kept up with his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. He didn’t use the Sharingan during his training.

As for the Mangekyo Sharingan, he limited himself to one use monthly with the conditions that his chakra reserve was full and to never exceed two minutes with it activated. Jun didn’t really want to use his Dojutsu. But it was there, and he must do something with it.

He also knew little about the Mangekyo Sharingan. Each one has its own shape. Itachi’s Mangekyo would resemble a three-pronged shuriken. Sasuke’s one would look like a flower or a star with six points. Shisui’s Dojutsu was the only one he knew that had four prongs, like his. But it didn’t mean that their ocular abilities were the same. That being said, they could be related.