"Main God, heal everyone."
"Deduct it from my account."
The absurd crash never happened. The aircraft took off safely, and the East Sea Team returned without a hitch.
Two columns of light descended.
One on either side, the two weakened figures Uchiha Xiu had carried were suspended in the air.
Within the Main God's healing radiance, Kobayashi Yoshito clearly felt his body recovering and his genes being repaired.
The pallor drained from Kitagawa Nacai's face, and color quickly returned to her cheeks.
According to the captain, no matter how severe the injuries, they would never worsen once they returned to the Great Light Sphere, and they would soon wake up.
[Request accepted. East Sea Team captain Uchiha Xiu, 351 reward points deducted...]
A little pricey, but worth it.
It wasn't about winning their loyalty. Since he had accepted these two rookies and they had shown enough potential, Uchiha Xiu would absolutely keep his promise and be a capable captain, not a miser.
Right now, he had more than twenty thousand points in his account!
He could splurge to his heart's content.
"Congratulations. The first time you unlock the Gene Lock, you'll suffer severe side effects, but every time you endure them, your physical abilities will improve."
"As you unlock it more often, the side effects will gradually fade until only the positive effect of improving your physical abilities remains."
"With an A-rank enhancement, you can bring it to twenty to thirty percent of its full potential."
Kobayashi Yoshito's feet touched the ground, and he immediately heard the captain's thoughtful explanation.
The more he learned, the more devoted he became!
"Thank you for looking after me..."
Instinctively, the ingrained code of a Neon citizen kicked in, and the office worker bowed deeply.
If Uchiha Xiu needed it, he would prostrate himself on the ground.
"That's not necessary. I told you... the East Sea Team has only one goal under my leadership: to support each other until we reach the end of the cycle and clear the ultimate team battle."
"There's no need for teammates to keep bowing to each other or repeating those empty pleasantries. Just work hard to get stronger."
"Yes!" Kobayashi Yoshito said, straightening up.
At that point, Uchiha Xiu continued his advice:
"Make use of the resources available to strengthen the Soul Bender path you've chosen. The higher your enhancement level, the better you'll be able to adapt to the Gene Lock."
"..." Kitagawa Nacai looked utterly bewildered.
Am I useless? The healer sank into deep self-doubt.
The captain had said before that unlocking the Gene Lock was difficult, yet that carefree fellow Kobayashi had just unlocked it.
Was it because the pressure on a support player wasn't enough?
Or was I lacking in talent?
"Even among those at the first level, there's a difference. Some people have a strong foundation. Take the assassin Zhao Yingkong, for example. Without any enhancements from the Space, her fingernails can cut through steel, and she can sever someone's limbs with a single unarmed strike. With her reflexes and intuition, she can even dodge a silenced pistol shot the instant a gunman pulls the trigger."
"Meanwhile, a shut-in who unlocks the Gene Lock can at most measure up to a special forces soldier."
Uchiha Xiu's thoughts raced as he looked at the team's healer. He keenly sensed her disappointment, set aside his train of thought, and reassured her in a solemn voice, "Don't rush to write yourself off. You'll unlock it sooner or later."
"Whether it happens a little earlier or later doesn't make much difference. It all comes down to a split-second between life and death."
Since he didn't want his teammates to become dependent on a particular path, he chose not to mention the two shortcuts for now: the T-Virus and dragon blood essence.
"Thank you, Captain. I'll do my best in the next mission, when we enter The Mummy world!"
Trusting him without reservation and taking his words to heart, Kitagawa Nacai felt much better. She began looking through the next tier of Saint enhancements and choosing suitable skills to learn.
Everyone immersed themselves in their mental connections with the Great Light Sphere.
"Main God, list my earnings."
"East Sea Team captain Uchiha Xiu currently holds 2 B-rank side-story plots, 2 C-rank side-story plots, and 21,641 reward points."
The numbers had ballooned!
What a haul~
"Show me the dual B-rank exchange most beneficial to the evolution of my Sharingan and compatible with Hashirama Cells."
The answer came instantly:
Intermediate Indra Power, rated 92 points. After the exchange, the recipient will gain a portion of Indra-level pure Yin Release power, greatly increase their spiritual energy and cellular vitality, and evolve their Sharingan.
Note 1: The Sharingan is the eye that reflects the heart. Without intense emotional guidance, the awakened ocular technique is random. This enhancement makes it respond to the user's innermost fixation instead.
Note 2: The recipient must possess Uchiha Bloodline and have awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
[Uchiha Xiu meets the prerequisites for this enhancement.]
His fixation would determine his awakened power?
When it came to romance, Uchiha Xiu considered himself quite open-minded.
Before he transmigrated, he'd come across countless girls on short-video apps whom he'd wanted to protect. He couldn't even remember them all. They were no more than acquaintances he'd liked online. In real life, thanks to his 3D modeling skills, he'd dated plenty of beautiful women in all sorts of styles.
Sure, he felt down whenever a relationship ended, but nowhere near as badly as Uchiha Obito—
I'm going to create a world where only Rin exists.
A Zheng Xingxing-style childhood sweetheart loli, his unattainable first love?
He didn't have one of those either.
Family?
Sorry, he grew up in an orphanage.
One thing worth mentioning: when Uchiha Xiu was hit by a truck, his phone browser history was completely clean. After all, he didn't need to watch adult videos to satisfy his physical needs, nor did he have a habit of filming intimate videos with his girlfriends.
"But everyone has desires and emotions. Indra Power must be able to bring some emotion to the surface, turn it into a Mangekyo technique, and make up for some regret."
The Kamui Dimension had formed when Obito saw the girl he loved most in the world get her heart pierced by his close friend Kakashi. In an instant, both his love and his friendship collapsed. Deep in his subconscious, he wanted to escape and leave a world full of lies and deception.
Itachi's Amaterasu stemmed from anger.
Kotoamatsukami came about because idealist Shisui had tried to find a balance between his clan and the village. But old grudges ran deep, and reality wouldn't bend to any one person's wishes. It wasn't until his Mangekyo emerged that he gained the strongest genjutsu of all, one capable of altering another's will!
"My fixation is, first, on the Uchiha Clan. I want to protect those innocent elders and children, as well as the more moderate clan members."
"Second, I want to become stronger. I've longed for power in the twisted Ninja World, and even more so in the Main God Space."
"But can the Indra Power, which costs two B-rank side-story plots and eight thousand points, push my Two Tomoe straight across the threshold to the Mangekyo?"
Clearly, Uchiha Xiu was tempted.
The only thing that could match the improved Hashirama Cells in his body was Indra!
The Main God was also considerate enough to ensure this exchange wouldn't let Indra's Six Paths-level will overwrite his thoughts and drag him onto some so-called path of destiny. Nor would it attract the attention of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.
That shut off every back door through which anyone could pry into his secrets after he returned to the Ninja World.
"Main God..."
"Exchange one portion of Intermediate Indra Power."
Uchiha Xiu, well versed in the art of going all in, closed his eyes.
A dazzling column of light descended!
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the other two. Naicai instinctively wondered what rank of enhancement could shine so brightly.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Xiu sat cross-legged and entered a state of internal observation. He saw what was happening inside his body: deep within his genes, a pair of blood-red eyes seemed to emerge, while a cold, black six-pointed pattern slowly rotated.
Yin Release energy erupted. It seemed to have developed a will of its own, desperately seeking to correct the imbalance between Yin and Yang!
As before, this bloodline evolution wasn't violent—the price was right, and the Main God, who never shortchanged anyone, had provided the requested option without side effects.
Inside his pupils, his Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun faster and faster...
Before you continue