"**Rinnegan!**"
Thinking about the legendary Rinnegan, Fugaku Uchiha couldn't help but feel a surge of desire in his heart.
The Rinnegan, one of the most powerful dōjutsu, stands as an advanced ocular ability far beyond most others. Just look at Nagato in the original storyline—he obliterated Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, with a single devastating attack using a pair of transplanted Rinnegan. And yet, that wasn't even the full extent of the Rinnegan's power.
Because Nagato's Rinnegan was transplanted, it never fully harmonized with his body, limiting its potential compared to its original owner.
"Let's see what these Mangekyō Sharingan can do!"
Fugaku delved into the memories of his predecessor, eager to fully understand the capabilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan. These eyes were now his greatest asset, and mastering their power would be crucial for his survival.
"The right eye's ability is... real illusion!"
His eyes lit up. Real Illusion—an ability that worked similarly to Itachi's Tsukuyomi. Like Tsukuyomi, it could create an entire illusionary realm. However, there was one major difference: in Itachi's Tsukuyomi, time, space, and sensations could be controlled, but damage inflicted within the illusion stayed within the mind.
Real Illusion was on another level—it allowed the damage inflicted in the illusion to be transferred back into reality. For instance, if Fugaku sliced his enemy in the illusion, the same wound would manifest on their real body.
"A genjutsu even stronger than Tsukuyomi!"
In Fugaku's eyes, Real Illusion surpassed Tsukuyomi. Where Tsukuyomi could only inflict mental damage, Real Illusion had the capacity to harm both the mind and the body.
"And the left eye... Corpse Melting!"
After feeling the power of his right eye, Fugaku examined the left. His eyes burned with excitement. Corpse Melting was an extraordinary ability. It allowed Fugaku to absorb the abilities of a recently deceased person, incorporating their talents in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu into his own.
If the deceased person had a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit), he could even acquire that bloodline limit for himself. The value of this power was immense, far beyond what his right eye offered.
"You really had this treasure and never used it."
Fugaku's lips curled into a sneer as he reviewed his predecessor's memories of the Corpse Melting ability. His predecessor, the original Fugaku, had foolishly disregarded its potential. As the Uchiha clan leader, the previous Fugaku believed his clan's bloodline was supreme, rendering other kekkei genkai inferior.
Because of that arrogant mindset, he deemed the Corpse Melting technique useless and never used it. Fugaku couldn't help but scoff at the ignorance. The Uchiha clan's fall was, in large part, due to the original Fugaku's failure to fully utilize his abilities.
"With Corpse Melting, my chances of obtaining the Rinnegan are even greater!"
His heart raced at the thought. There were two primary conditions to evolve the Rinnegan: acquiring a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan from a closely related individual and transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells.
Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan was the perfect candidate. As a close blood relative, Itachi's eyes could unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan if transplanted. As for the father-son bond they shared... well, Itachi was already planning to kill him, so Fugaku saw no reason to hold back.
Sparing Itachi's life at all would be more than generous.
However, the Hashirama cells were a bigger problem. Transplanting them was extremely dangerous. If the process went wrong, the user could be consumed by the cells or even killed. Even if the transplant succeeded, the cells might not perfectly fuse with the body. Uchiha Madara had taken decades to evolve his Rinnegan after his own transplant of Hashirama's cells.
Fugaku suspected that this delay was due to the imperfect fusion of the cells.
But with the Corpse Melting technique, he could resolve this problem. If he could melt the body of someone who had already successfully integrated Hashirama's cells, he could not only gain Hashirama's power but also ensure a perfect fusion with his own body. This would drastically shorten the time required to evolve the Rinnegan.
"Not just the Rinnegan—what about the Tenseigan?"
His thoughts turned to another legendary ocular power, the Tenseigan, passed down from Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the brother of the Sage of Six Paths. Fugaku knew the secret to unlocking the Tenseigan—one would need the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan, combined with the power of Ōtsutsuki descendants, like Toneri.
Using Corpse Melting, Fugaku could merge the corpses of Hyūga clan members and Ōtsutsuki descendants, theoretically allowing him to unlock the Tenseigan as well.
"With both the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan, even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki wouldn't be out of reach!"
Fugaku's imagination ran wild. If he could master both of these divine ocular powers, his strength would be unrivaled. After all, the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura Ōtsutsuki had sealed away Kaguya together using these abilities. If they could do it, why couldn't he?
Once again, Fugaku cursed the ignorance of his predecessor, who had possessed such powerful abilities yet never truly tapped into their potential. Without foresight, the original Fugaku had never realized what treasures he held.
But now, Fugaku was in control. He knew the path forward, and with his knowledge, Corpse Melting would be the key to unlocking unimaginable power.
"Fugaku, it's time for dinner!"
A gentle knock on the door snapped him from his thoughts. Uchiha Mikoto's voice came from the other side.
"I'm coming," Fugaku called, opening the door and stepping out of his study.
With a plan in place, he was no longer consumed by the anxiety that had plagued him since arriving in this world. He had found the golden key to his survival—the power to change the future.
Ironically, this "golden finger" wasn't some new gift brought by his time travel. It was something his predecessor had all along but never used.
(End of this chapter)