"Where are we going?" Li Shang asked as he followed Sasuke through the devastated Uchiha complex. The ruined houses and silent streets were a constant reminder of the tragedy that befell that place.
Sasuke did not answer. His gaze remained fixed ahead, guiding the way like someone who had walked that path countless times. With each step, the air seemed heavier, more laden with memories and resentment.
After a few minutes, they arrived before a small wooden shrine, its roof partially collapsed. The Uchiha clan symbol was still visible on the main wall — worn, but unmistakable. Sasuke entered without hesitation, walking to the center of the room and kneeling on the dust-covered tatami.
With precise gestures, he removed some of the floorboards and exposed a narrow staircase descending into the depths. A cold draft rose from the ground, carrying the smell of ancient stone and dampness.
"This way."
Li Shang descended in silence, attentive to every detail.
Sasuke stopped before a stone and crossed his arms. "This tablet is an inheritance from an ancestor of the Uchiha clan, Hagoromo Otsutsuki."
Li Shang approached slowly, observing the carved marks. 'Hagoromo... so even here the name of the Sage of Six Paths appears. The fate of this world truly revolves around the same blood.'
"I understand," he said in a low voice. "This stone teaches the basics about your clan's heritage—"
But before he finished, Sasuke interrupted him without taking his eyes off the tablet. "In fact, the more the Sharingan evolves, the more you can read."
Li Shang took a step forward. The silence of the underground was almost oppressive, interrupted only by the light sound of his breathing. He wanted to see with his own eyes what the Uchiha called their heritage — and what Itachi and Sasuke saw when they faced that stone.
The inscriptions seemed to move, forming elegant phrases laden with an ancestral weight. Even without the Sharingan, Li Shang felt the dense chakra emanating from the tablet, as if it were alive.
— Through pain, love awakens the eye of truth.
— He who contemplates the death of his mirror will open the path to the Mangekyo.
— With two eyes that merge, the cycle of Samsara will be completed — and the power of the god of six paths will awaken again.
He read in silence, his eyes narrowing as the words etched themselves into his mind.
'Here are the instructions... on how to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan... and even the Rinnegan.'
Li Shang turned to Sasuke.
"Have you already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
The boy stared at him, confused, his voice firm but laden with doubt.
"Mangekyo Sharingan... it must be the power of Itachi's eyes."
He remembered their last encounter, the pain burning inside — the weight of hatred and helplessness.
The following lines on the stone seemed to breathe, describing the process with an almost cruel precision: the sacrifice of love, the awakening through suffering, the fusion of eyes in search of divine power. A cycle of pain, hatred, and ascension — as if the very essence of the clan had been molded to consume itself.
'So this was what the Uchiha followed for centuries... a path of destruction masked as evolution.'
But something bothered him. The stone's energy was not pure. The chakra embedded in the inscriptions vibrated dissonantly, a dark echo that contrasted with natural harmony.
He took a deep breath and let the Yuan Qi flow into the Tenseigan. The bright blue took over his eyes, and the world changed.
The inscriptions began to pulse in silver-blue, and a new layer of text appeared over the old — hidden lines, buried under centuries of deception. The letters glowed from within the rock, pushing the corrupted text outwards, revealing completely different words.
— Seeking stability, a God was divided into yin and yang, not to dominate, but to protect.
— The all-seeing eye must understand, not subjugate; for controlling chaos is to generate new chaos.
— The moon is the seal of calamity, not the mirror of promise.
— He who reflects his will in it will unleash the Goddess's hunger.
— The eternal dream is not salvation, it is imprisonment.
The phrases resonated in Li Shang's mind, and the bluish glow began to consume the ancient words. He felt his heart race — the truth was there, before him.
The visible version taught how to ascend through hatred, how to dominate the bijuus, and how to revive the power of a God through the fusion of eyes. But the true one... warned against it.
— Those who sacrifice love in search of power destroy balance.
— He who tries to control life loses the right to be reborn.
The stone's chakra oscillated violently, as if two forces collided — one cold and cruel, the other serene and protective. Li Shang saw the contrast clearly: the false inscriptions trembled, covered by a dark energy that twisted like living mud.
'Someone distorted everything...' He clenched his fists. 'The true author tried to leave a warning — but someone turned it into a temptation.'
The blue light slowly faded, and the shrine returned to its usual silence. The stone now seemed harmless, but Li Shang knew better.
The Uchiha's secret was not the path to power. It was a warning. And someone, at some point in history, had turned it into a curse disguised as a legacy.
"What did you see? And why does it seem like you changed something?" Sasuke asked, his voice laden with suspicion. The glow of the Sharingan in his eyes reflected the slight flicker of the torch that illuminated them.
Li Shang slowly turned, his gaze distant, still digesting what he had witnessed. "I changed... hehehe. Do you really think I have the power to change something like that? You're overestimating me."
The calm tone hid the weight of something he didn't fully comprehend. The Tenseigan still pulsed in his eyes, remnants of the chakra that had awakened the hidden writing.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, observing every movement of the Hyuga. "Don't mess with me, Neji. I saw the light change, I saw you touching the stone. So what happened?"
Li Shang crossed his arms and took a deep breath, turning to face the tablet again. "Sasuke... this stone, in fact, tells two things. But what those who came before me saw was the adulterated version."
The young Uchiha frowned, confused. "You mean to tell me that all the Uchihas before you didn't realize this, but you did?"
The incredulity in his voice echoed through the empty shrine. For a moment, Sasuke seemed about to laugh at the idea — until logic itself silenced him. Li Shang couldn't have altered a sacred relic like that. It was impossible.
He looked away, feeling an inexplicable discomfort. "I understand..." he murmured.
Li Shang observed Sasuke's hesitation and, without bothering to convince him, continued. "But I'll tell you both versions, and I don't care if you believe me or not."
Sasuke remained silent.
Li Shang approached the stone, touching its cold surface with his fingertips. "The version you all read teaches the path of power through hatred. It talks about losing what you love, awakening through pain, merging eyes, and achieving something close to a god. It's the same cycle that repeated among the Uchihas for generations."
Sasuke listened with growing attention. That sounded... too familiar.
Li Shang continued, his voice firm. "But the true version... doesn't talk about power. It talks about balance. About how Hagoromo divided his power into yin and yang to keep the world stable. It says that the moon was a seal, not a promise — and that whoever tries to reflect their will in it will unleash a hungry goddess."
Sasuke's gaze wavered. "Goddess?"
"Yes. An ancient power, sealed when the world was still being molded." Li Shang stepped back and looked at him. "The true author left a warning. A reminder that seeking power through pain brings only destruction, not salvation. But someone — at some point in history — distorted everything. Turned the warning into temptation."
Sasuke remained silent for long seconds, trying to absorb those words. The air seemed denser in there, as if even the shrine was watching.
"Are you saying that... the path we followed for centuries was a lie?"
"Not a lie," Li Shang replied. "A trap."