Mangekyo Sharingan - Eternal World!
In front of the mural, red light streamed down from the dome, casting Kou's figure onto the cold stone bricks, creating a long, lonely shadow.
He placed his hand on the mural, his fingers slightly spread, his palm pressed against the rough stone surface.
He could sense the "faint" Sealing Jutsu above.
The sealed patterns appeared to him like a thin net, seemingly fragile yet intricately intertwined, with each thread connecting to unseen depths.
Kou's expression became noticeably serious.
The usual nonchalance and teasing were gone from that handsome face; only a deep, solemn seriousness emanated from the depths of his soul remained.
He knew that behind this seemingly thin seal lay not only his greatest gain from this trip, but also potentially profound dangers.
Neither of these situations should be taken lightly.
Kou's eyes slowly opened in the dim light, and three Tomo quietly emerged on his originally black irises.
The three Tomo began to spin, their speed increasing, and power flowed through their eyes, seamlessly connecting to form the shape of Mangekyo.
Intricate patterns replaced the original three Tomo, slowly rotating within those scarlet eyes, magnifying every detail in this space dozens of times, making it clear and sharp.
Mangekyō Sharingan, awaken!
He circulated his Chakra, gathering power in his palm, and whispered:
"Untie."
"Buzz--"
Accompanied by a low hum, the "weak" seal flashed with a red light.
The light was faint, almost negligible against the dark red ceiling.
The "faint" seal slowly dissipated as the hand pressed close to the mural.
The seal was broken... but it was as if nothing had happened.
But in Kou's eyes, it was not so.
Even without absorbing the Byakugan's power, Kotori instantly found the "strange thing" in the face of the Mangekyō Sharingan's extreme insight.
He glanced at the mural out of the corner of his eye—
To be precise, it was aimed at the red, vengeful ghost in the mural that was confronting the old man.
The image of the vengeful ghost originally depicted a ferocious face turned towards the old man, with bloodshot eyes filled with murderous intent, bared fangs, and outstretched claws.
But the moment the seal was broken, Koko saw an extremely subtle change.
Those Red Eye, reminiscent of those in a painting, no longer looked at the old man ahead as they had originally, but slowly turned, finally fixing their gaze on the direction where Kou was.
Those eyes... were really looking at him.
"Boom!!!"
Before the dull, violent booming sound reached Kou's ears, the thing had already emerged from the mural.
Emerging from the vengeful ghost was a colossal, crimson hand.
The forearm was as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree, with gnarled and bulging muscles twisting together like countless red pythons writhing and tumbling under the skin.
The rough skin was covered with fine cracks, from which a more vibrant red glow surged, like the capillaries of some living thing.
His five fingers were bent like hooks, and his nails were sharp like five unsheathed long swords, each more than half a meter long, gleaming with a cold luster under the red light.
It lunged towards the direction where it had been knocking, with astonishing speed!
From the moment it appeared on the mural to the moment it broke through the painting and then pierced through the dome, casting a dark red light that struck Kou's head, it took less than a snap of the fingers.
Even if the opponent is at the Kage Level, they would have no time to dodge this attack if they were caught off guard.
But gazing upon that colossal, sky-covering red hand, the pair of eerie Mangekyō Sharingan remained as calm as a stagnant pool.
He showed neither surprise nor nervousness, nor even the slightest intention to look away.
He simply tilted his head back and quietly watched as the five ferocious claws pressed down from the direction of the dome.
The giant hand blocked the red light from the dome, shrouding Kou in shadow.
With the Mangekyō Sharingan's insight, the true nature of that demonic right arm was laid bare.
The layers upon layers of muscle definition, the sharp claws, the terrifying sense of oppression...
Everything became transparent, thin, and no longer what it appeared to be in his vision.
That wasn't a real body of flesh and blood at all; it was just a fake made of pure eye power!
Kou stared with scarlet eyes at the giant hand that had reached above his head and blocked the red light of the dome, and licked his lips.
His right Mangekyo spun slightly, his gaze filled with greed, excitement, and an undisguised anticipation.
"Inari God!"
Before the words were even finished, the enormous crimson hand was rapidly disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye, thanks to the extended time perception granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Starting with the five menacing hook-like claws, the entire arm shattered into countless tiny points of light in an instant.
Next came the hand, and finally the forearm, thick enough to sweep across an entire forest...
From bottom to top, from outside to inside, everything transformed into a vast expanse of fine, dazzling scarlet light spots in the same instant!
Those points of light hovered above Kou's head, like a starry sky that had been paused.
He walked slowly beneath the patch of light, looked up at the pupil power that appeared even purer and more magnificent after being deconstructed and suspended in mid-air, then looked away and returned his gaze to the mural.
"So this mural is also a result of the Mangekyo Dōjutsu?"
Gazing at the blank mural, he murmured to himself:
"Is sealing the source of your pupil power here both as the energy source for that Osmanthus Forest and as the last line of defense to protect this ruin...?"
He stared at the old man in the mural, the old man in black robes with white hair and the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes:
"Speaking of which, what exactly could make a reincarnation of Indra expend so much effort and do so many things?"
He murmured to himself, the light in his eyes deepening:
What exactly happened a thousand years ago?
Kou's gaze fell on the crimson pupil energy floating in the air, then glanced at the even more powerful "origin" surging deeper beneath the mural.
"... But none of that really matters. After all, compared to those superficial things, the eye power we actually possess is what truly matters."
As he spoke, he once again activated the power of his right eye.
Guided by the power of the Inari God, the crimson pupil energy floating low in the air, like an awakened fish, began to slowly surge into his right eye.
As he felt the pure eye power surging in, his breathing unconsciously slowed down by half a beat.
The Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated on the iris, greedily absorbing the eye power that had flowed for thousands of years and finally found its home with each rotation.
This is the first time I've absorbed ocular power from the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although I had experienced the power contained in Shisui's Mangekyo, it was only by truly absorbing the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan that I realized how powerful that power was!
Kou was certain that even if he didn't use this eye power to nourish his Mangekyo, but only used it as an output of eye power...
This eye power is absolutely enough to support me in activating Susanoo at least several times without any negative effects.
"This trip to the Land of Whirlpools was definitely worth the price of admission..."
Kō, feeling the immense power of his eyes being gradually transformed under the guidance of the "Inari God," concluded with satisfaction.
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, Kou's brows furrowed involuntarily.
In that scorching heat, Kou seemed to sense something as he absorbed the crimson pupil's power.
That pupil power... contained some information different from memory.
Kou carefully sensed the subtle information contained within those scarlet pupils, his gaze instantly sharpening.
"This, this is..."
While absorbing the source of the eye power, Kou also received information about the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities and the origin of this eye power.
"Kaleidoscope Sharingan Eye Technique - Tokoyo!"
The name of this Dōjutsu, along with related fragments of information, flooded into Kou's mind...