"We're only missing bloodline samples from the families of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, those freaks with horns on their heads who ate Tailed Beasts raw."
"All five basic chakra natures have awakened."
"This is what it means to be reborn!"
The Main God's healing light descended, and a genetic euphoria surged through him.
Uchiha Xiu clearly sensed every cell in his body rejoicing, while his mind began to fluctuate violently, beyond his control.
So, still seated cross-legged where he was, he raised a hand to his forehead, his shoulders seeming to shake against his will.
"Ahahahaha! Hahaha!"
At that moment, if a visitor had entered this private space and approached Uchiha Xiu, they would have seen, just as Kaguya-hime had, three Tomoe spinning rapidly in each of Xiu's eyes through the gaps between his fingers.
Then they would have settled into a fixed, windmill-like pattern of diamond-shaped blades.
The natural Mangekyō Sharingan had officially awakened!
This was momentous.
And in the very next instant, two enormous skeletal arms wreathed in pale golden flames appeared!
Fortunately, Uchiha Xiu had altered the terrain in time and expanded the island. Otherwise, everything would have been overturned.
The initial form of Susanoo appeared, casually pushing aside the dense, cloudlike canopy of the tropical rainforest, as if some humanoid behemoth were announcing its arrival.
Because this was only the beginning!
A more complete skeletal body rose slowly from the dazzling golden light, standing on the earth like a mountain.
Second Stage: entered.
Even then, it wasn't over.
When ordinary Uchiha first awakened the Mangekyō, they could usually manifest only arms and ribs, which served various purposes: attacking, defending, protecting, and restraining.
Their bodies weren't fully enclosed by Susanoo, leaving considerable gaps—though its defense was already enough to withstand most attacks.
Only after adapting to this power, or releasing divine power regardless of the cost, could they smoothly activate the First Form:
Its shape resembled a skeleton. Yin Release Chakra completely enveloped the body, further increasing its defensive power, though gaps remained beneath the feet, and sufficiently fierce attacks could still break through its defenses.
At this stage, Susanoo could wield simple chakra weapons, taking the form of blades, swords, and the like.
But now, the surface of the Susanoo Uchiha Xiu had summoned was visibly growing meridians and flesh at an astonishing speed. They clung to its bones, giving its form greater fullness...
"Susanoo, Second Form."
"In terms of balance, it's perfect. In the Naruto story, Madara and Sasuke often used this form before obtaining Six Paths Power."
Next, golden light woven from immense chakra continued to form a thin layer of Chinese-style armor.
He wasn't particularly fond of Japanese-style Tengu Armor.
And since Yin Release was fundamentally based on spiritual energy and could create forms out of nothing, Uchiha Xiu could shape it however he wanted!
"Xiao Sun."
His voice rang through the enclosed world.
"I'm here~"
The thoroughly tamed Four-Tails cooperated with all its might, releasing vast quantities of Lava Release chakra through the gap in its opened seal.
A shoulder guard shaped like a lava beast took form at once.
"Fourth Form."
The lower body and legs were completed.
At the same time, its size increased dramatically. Kaguya-hime blinked her lovely eyes and gazed up at Uchiha Xiu, the one casting the technique.
He was currently positioned in the space between Susanoo's brows.
"A form between the Second Form and the Complete Body. It retains the Second Form's balance and all its abilities while gaining excellent mobility, making up for the defensive gap beneath its feet."
"Susanoo in this form can be worn as armor by a Tailed Beast, allowing the user to wield Majestic Attire: Susanoo."
In the blink of an eye, the armored giant, like a divine general from the celestial court, vanished. The enormous shadow it had cast over the rainforest below disappeared as well.
Uchiha Xiu deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and his scarlet eyes quietly returned to their usual Three Tomoe state.
He let out a breath...
His expression wasn't bad, of course.
All the groundwork he had laid earlier had now paid off.
"If I don't care about the cost, I can briefly enter the Complete Body state, easily cleaving mountains and meteorites. It can also fly, and I can form Hand Seals to use the techniques I'm best at, greatly increasing their range and power."
"And the so-called cost is nothing in the face of the Main God's healing. I just need to avoid collapsing before I return..."
The wild laughter brought on by his agitated spirit faded. Uchiha Xiu regained his composure and thought silently:
"My Mangekyō-level ocular power is abundant, and its consumption is low. The simple Sage Body also gives me powerful regenerative abilities, so I can sustain an intense battle and perform no worse than someone with Eternal Eyes."
"Besides, my eyes aren't the only thing I can rely on."
This was fast progress.
The team had only just been formed, and the second Reincarnation Trial hadn't even begun.
Aside from that, Susanoo's giant-mecha mode was undeniably powerful, but the unique ocular techniques of each Mangekyō Sharingan were even harder to underestimate. Their abilities varied so wildly that outsiders could hardly fathom them—
They were crucial intelligence in a team battle, leaving the enemy team guessing and wary.
A so-called team strategist could do little more than make guesses based on the Naruto World, drawing on the traditional four categories:
Genjutsu-type ocular techniques, such as Shisui's "Kotoamatsukami," which altered a person's will, and Itachi's "Tsukuyomi";
Ninjutsu-type ocular techniques, such as "Amaterasu," shared by the brothers Itachi and Sasuke;
Enhancement-type ocular techniques, such as Sasuke's "Kagutsuchi."
And, the equivalent of hitting the jackpot, space-time ocular techniques!
Such as the dual Kamui.
Uchiha Xiu could eventually incorporate all of these into his own eyes, misleading members of other teams who were Reincarnators like him but belonged to enemy factions.
And without any negative emotional stimulus, Uchiha Xiu had used his convictions as a catalyst to randomly awaken two ocular techniques that increased his combat power.
One was time-based, and the other was enhancement-based.
Left eye: Wakahime.
Its mythological inspiration was Wakahirume—the goddess of time and protection, guardian of dawn and dusk, who governed the passage of time and the preservation and protection of all things.
His Mangekyō ocular power bound to a "designated target," bringing local time to a halt to protect it.
"First, I can instantly freeze the local time around a target, causing all attacks, ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu to become completely motionless and ineffective for the duration, placing the target in a state of absolute protection."
"Second, by spending ocular power and consuming Yin Release, I can enter a temporal barrier state, slowing the consumption of Yang Release vitality and chakra of other natures."
Right eye: Takemikazuchi.
Its inspiration was the god of thunder and martial combat.
"Like Kagutsuchi, it can enhance all lightning-related ninjutsu and freely transform into various forms, such as shields, blades, and arrows, serving both offensive and defensive functions. It can also be attached to Susanoo's skeleton to strengthen its defenses."
"It can also increase the ocular power of Yin Release by slaying souls, complementing the left eye to a certain extent."
Then there was the Gene Lock.
It wasn't a particularly impressive system, but as a Reincarnator, he had to take it seriously and learn to rely on it.
Based on Uchiha Xiu's experience, the Gene Lock was mediocre on its own. Its worth depended on the system it was paired with and the level of enhancement involved.
Zheng Zha of the Central Continent Team had unlocked the Third Stage of the Gene Lock and possessed both C-rank Vampire and C-rank internal energy enhancements. He had punched a brown bear so hard it crashed through countless buildings.
In the third generation of Infinite Dawn, the comedic Zhang Heng had unlocked the Third Stage of the Gene Lock and possessed at least an A-rank Saint Seiya enhancement. He had beaten a Thunder Eagle to death with his bare hands—a creature whose combat strength rivaled that of a modern military division that wasn't among the top tier.
The difference was enormous.
The sea breeze flowed past Uchiha Xiu's ears.
After overcoming the bottleneck related to the loosening of his Yin Seal, he had also broken through to the Third Stage of the Gene Lock. In essence, it involved developing the brain, strengthening the spirit, and unlocking computational power, making it easier to create new techniques.
As for the outward manifestations, they were mental simulation and perception.
He could simulate by reading brain waves—simulate an enemy to predict their actions, simulate a teammate to acquire their talent, or simulate a strategist to plan and scheme. But each simulation would shift his personality somewhat toward that of the person being simulated. The more steadfast his mind, the smaller the change over a given period—but it could never be reduced to nothing.
"First, I'll simulate myself and perceive myself."
"I'll explore this new territory bit by bit."
And so, under Kaguya-hime's intent gaze, he deeply explored his own heart for the first time—
He understood why he had awakened those two ocular techniques.
He yearned to protect.
He hoped to grow stronger.
And the Reincarnation Worlds changed in an instant. As someone with foreknowledge, he was always thinking about how to reap benefits within the permitted limits. Later, he could use his computational power to learn from the Sage of Six Paths, deduce the seven chakra natures to their utmost limits, and awaken a net-level power.
Of course, it would be better to pursue both paths at once.
The Ten-Tails and the Otsutsuki bloodline could both accelerate his progress and strengthen his final combat power.
There was no need to be confined to a single method.
Nor did he have to stick to the Naruto system. Once he had built up his resources again, he should explore things beyond it.
"But why can't I sense the Fourth Stage? What about the Inner Demon?"
"The Mangekyō is called the embryonic form of Heart Light."
Uchiha Xiu didn't know. He had no clear answer to this question, which he had buried deep inside.
Perhaps it was the butterfly effect.
The more this Reincarnator from the Naruto World changed, the more the Main God adjusted things.
The story had changed drastically the moment he let that right-wing extremist from the original Infinite Terror timeline die, despite his contempt for the Chinese and his delusional self-confidence, and took over the East Sea Team.
On top of that, the Main God Space was itself something that was constantly being patched.
The original Z kept adding new settings and strengthening it.
The other high-dimensional narrators did the same.
"Zheng Zha at the peak of the initial Fourth Stage, after unlocking Destruction, could casually deflect the force that would destroy a medieval town. His punches could shatter a hundred-meter-wide platform with their aftershock, and his kicks could smash a pillar a kilometer tall and forty meters wide."
"Destroying a city, wiping out a small country—I wouldn't have much trouble recreating those feats now."
"Stopping there would be far too dull."
Like a soft-bodied butler cleaning up trash, Uchiha Xiu cleared the distracting thoughts and negative emotions from his mind, feeling refreshed and confident.
[The body is like a bodhi tree, the mind like a bright mirror. Always wipe it clean, and let no dust alight.]
The formless verse that had become famous through its association with the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, who defeated Master Shenxiu, surfaced in his mind. Uchiha Xiu had never studied Zen philosophy before; at most, he had seen the verse somewhere on the internet in his previous life.
"Still, it's a good thing. I'm not confident I could overcome the Inner Demon right now."
"Besides, my soul is whole. I don't have the same predicament as someone who was artificially created, where getting stuck at the Third Stage makes it difficult to advance."
Time passed.
Two beams of light suddenly descended in the Main God Plaza.
"How could someone in the real world unlock the Gene Lock?!"
"Is this really the Earth I've known for over twenty years?"
Kobayashi, a Soul Bender enhancement holder, was covered in rags. Even the sharp Kodachi he carried with him, supplied by the Main God, was riddled with notches. As for the healer Kitagawa Nacai, she had no visible injuries, only a pale face that made it look as though she had overused her Holy Light.
"You two, what happened to you?"
Uchiha Xiu, who had mastered Flying Thunder God and various advanced Sealing Jutsu, had brought Kaguya to the plaza to sit for a while. He looked up at them and asked.
He was holding a copy of the Six Storehouse Thief manual.
—It came from the world of The Outcast. The technique used the body's six organs to build a perfect digestive system, instantly breaking down anything consumed into qi. The manual itself cost only one D-rank side plot and four hundred reward points, though it didn't directly grant mastery.
The remaining D-rank side plot had to be left unused, since the reward points needed for his own treatment had exceeded his budget.
Their injuries weren't serious, and their life levels weren't particularly extraordinary, so Kobayashi and Nacai landed shortly afterward.
"Captain, didn't I push my stats as high as I could within the free limit for creating a person?"
As he spoke, the eager-to-unburden-himself Kobayashi Yoshito couldn't help glancing at Kaguya-hime. "Then, with that whole suicide bomber setup, we needed high-quality explosives, so I went to buy some in the real world. I got miniature nuclear bombs."
"..." Uchiha Xiu.
He'd forgotten to tell them that the real world in Infinite Terror wasn't so simple.
There was Major Chu, a man-made human.
There was a clan of assassins...
There was nothing wrong with visiting family or pretending to be an ordinary person and enjoying life.
But if they went looking for trouble, they were asking for death.
Even in a purely nonmagical world without supernatural forces, its order wasn't something two superhumans with just one round of enhancements could challenge.
Forget the Five Permanent Members. Even a mid-sized regional power was equipped with supersonic missiles, a certain number of stealth fighters, and tanks—vehicles capable of leveling buildings.
"What happened after that?"
"I really did manage to buy them in America, but they reacted quickly and sent elite Delta Force teams and all kinds of extraordinary people to track me down."
"That Zhao Family was so stupid. It had nothing to do with them, but after they got wind of it, they got involved too. There was this female assassin who was terrifying. She chased Nacai and me all the way from international waters in the South Pacific to Neon."
"We hid all the way there, but we couldn't take it anymore, so we had to return early."
"Oh, and she unlocked the Gene Lock. She was even stronger than me, an enhancement holder with the Soul Bender system. Is there any justice in that?"
"..." Uchiha Xiu.
Had they really run into the clan of assassins?
You two really knew how to make trouble.
Well, the Zhao Family did have ties to the Main God Space. They had created the Empty Project and produced a batch of cloned bodies with Fourth Stage Gene Lock unlockers.
"Forget it. You're alive, and that's what matters."
After hearing the gist of their story, Uchiha Xiu didn't pay much attention to the minor incident. He felt the four backpack-sized micro-nukes they had brought back—
Each weighed thirty-five kilograms and had a yield equivalent to fifty tons of TNT.
"Used properly, four little suns could bring in quite a return. You two have a lot of initiative."
"Talented people."
Kobayashi scratched his head awkwardly, unable to tell whether that was praise or sarcasm. Either way, he wouldn't be returning to the real world so casually again.
Not unless the captain went with him.
He had to wipe out that Zhao Family!
And that cold-faced girl with the big chest. I stole a nuclear backpack from America. I was ten thousand li away from the Central Continent, and I had no intention of entering the country. You're a Xia Country citizen, so why were you running around getting involved? What the hell was your problem? Baka!
"I suspect it might not have been about the nuclear weapons. Maybe... certain factions have some idea that the Main God Space exists, and they've set their sights on us Reincarnators."
At that moment, Kitagawa Nacai, clad in heavy Paladin armor, had a sudden inspiration.
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