47. Long Lost Memories 3

"You old man, let go of Hikari now!"

Uchiha Gin, sensing something off with Uchiha Igaku's strange behavior, didn't bother addressing him as "grandfather."

The boy's eyes, filled with fury, stared directly at him, and his sharingan awaited orders.

Uchiha Igaku looked at the boy, contemplating for a moment before stepping aside.

"It was just a simple stress test. You can take her back now," Igaku said calmly.

Surprised by how easily Igaku agreed, Gin frowned but withdrew his sharingan, returning his eyes to normal.

Cautiously watching Igaku, he stepped into the lab.

Gin immediately saw Hikari unconscious on the lab bed, her hands and feet bound tightly with belts.

The bruises on her joints, caused by struggling, left him heartbroken.

Her face bore a deep look of pain—something Gin had never seen before. Her eyebrows furrowed, her breathing irregular, and her lips tightly clenched as if trapped in a nightmare.

"What did you do to her?" Gin's voice was filled with anger.

"There was merely some emotional guidance," Igaku replied coldly, his stiff gaze locking onto Gin.

"Tomorrow, it's your turn. You'd better cooperate, and don't make unnecessary resistance," Igaku continued indifferently.

Ignoring him, Gin cut through the belts holding Hikari and carried her out without looking back.

Behind him, Uchiha Igaku slowly blended into the shadows of the lab, his face expressionless.

A brief moment of clarity flashed in Igaku's eye, but as the shadows engulfed him, the light faded entirely.

Carrying Hikari, Gin moved as gently as he could, listening to her heavy breaths.

She hadn't regained consciousness, despite the passage of time, and Gin wondered what sort of torment she had endured.

Regret gnawed at him. If only he had been stronger, if he could control his sharingan fully, he could have protected her better. But his body was too weak to unleash the full potential of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Clenching his fists tightly, Gin felt his nails digging into his palms, and a small trickle of blood escaped from his hands.

The previous day...

Deep within the clan's archives, Uchiha Haru raised his head.

Something about Uchiha Igaku felt off today. As someone who had memorized all the clan's records, Igaku would never forget a single detail from any document.

The idea that Igaku could overlook something was simply absurd.

Moreover, he remembered that Uchiha Hiro had also been sent off on a mission early that morning. These events sparked Haru's suspicions.

"I need to return tomorrow!"

As the archive was far from the research facility and night had fallen, Haru had no choice but to wait until morning to set off.

The next morning, Haru rushed back to the research facility, only to be handed a pre-prepared experiment report from Igaku—the so-called "war weapon" plan.

Grasping the report, Haru went straight to Uchiha Tajima, seeking his judgment on the matter.

Back in the present...

Gin had spent the entire night by Hikari's side, but she still showed no signs of waking up. Even after trying every possible method, Gin couldn't rouse her. He was desperate to know what Igaku had done to her.

"Come with us if you want to know," said one of the men at the door coldly.

Gin, knowing that both Haru and Hiro were unavailable to help, looked back at Hikari, still lying in bed in distress.

With no other option, he decided to follow the men, determined to uncover the truth.

As Gin entered the lab, he saw Igaku busily writing at his desk.

The old man wasn't surprised by his arrival, continuing to write before nodding in satisfaction.

After a few more strokes, Igaku handed the document to one of his subordinates and had them take it away.

"What did you do to Hikari?" Gin asked, teeth clenched, feeling ignored.

"I merely showed her the true nature of fate," Igaku replied cryptically, leaving Gin baffled.

"Don't play games with me!" Gin growled, his anger rising. His sharingan started to glow crimson, filling the room with a chilling energy.

Igaku remained unfazed by Gin's anger, his expression calm. He studied Gin's eyes carefully before speaking again.

"Don't rush. Tell me, have you noticed a decline in your vision lately?"

Gin paused, caught off guard by the question. Frowning, he responded, "Yeah, so what?"

Ever since the battle tests had begun, each use of the Mangekyō Sharingan left Gin feeling that his eyesight was deteriorating, although it wasn't nearly as severe as what he expected in the future.

"As I thought," Uchiha Igaku muttered to himself after hearing Uchiha Gin's response. He waved his hand and said, "Lie down on the bed."

"Hey, don't act like you're in charge!" Uchiha Gin's Sharingan tomoe began to rotate slowly in response to his irritation.

"If you want to know what happened to Nameless, it's best you cooperate," the old man replied, hitting a nerve. Gin's defiance deflated, and with his head lowered, he went over to lie down on the same bed where the girl had lain the day before.

After all, Uchiha Igaku was his biological grandfather. At the very least, he wouldn't go so far as to harm him, right?

A strange man standing by the bed pulled out a syringe.

Before Gin could react, he injected a full dose of unknown medication into him.

Just as Gin was about to resist, a strong wave of drowsiness washed over him.

His raised hand fell limply, and within moments, he was sound asleep.

Several researchers came in, equipped with various testing devices they attached to Gin, beginning a comprehensive examination of his bodily data. Before starting the experiment, they needed to thoroughly record his physical condition, just as they had done with Uchiha Nameless the day before.

To be safe, they first secured his limbs with leather straps, then activated the devices to begin the tests.

After about an hour, the lead researcher approached Uchiha Yao.

"The subject's physical examination is complete, with no abnormal indicators."

"All right, you can leave now. I'll handle the next part of the experiment myself."

Without looking back, the old man entered the room.

"Understood."

The other researchers quickly packed up their equipment and left.

Uchiha Igaku walked to the bedside, looking at the boy's sleeping face. A hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes, but as a dark aura flickered across them, his gaze returned to its previous coldness.

"Uchiha Gin's Mangekyo is too taxing on his eyesight. He hasn't developed it much, yet his vision has already started to deteriorate."

A strange voice echoed from the shadows. The old man didn't turn around; he seemed to know the speaker well.

"Indeed, his eyes won't last until the day I have planned."

"Hehehe, that little girl from yesterday has a much more intact pair of eyes, and her abilities are far stronger than this boy's. Use her instead!"

From a pool of dark ink in the shadows, a purely black figure began to take shape.

"Spectre, even if you are my shadow, don't make decisions for me. I'll make my own judgments."

Uchiha Igaku's voice was cold as he responded to the suggestion from the darkness.

"Hehehe, as your manifestation, I naturally know the true thoughts in the depths of your heart," the shadow's eyes gleamed with an eerie light as it spoke with a tone of earnestness.

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