The Power of the Dragon Vein, the Stirring Mangekyō Sharingan

With the help of Loulan's Queen Sara, he arrived at the Dragon Vein's sealing site—a deep valley.

He leaped down into the valley, following the tugging sensation in his eyes.

In Uchiha Makoto's perception, the oppressive aura radiating from the Dragon Vein grew increasingly intense and distinct.

Uchiha Makoto looked at the narrow passage before him and performed several Earth Release ninjutsu, slowly shifting the rocks aside.

Within the suddenly open underground space, pale violet energy flowed freely through the air like liquid, visible to the naked eye.

Uchiha Makoto examined the Dragon Vein before him, and the three tomoe in his eyes silently transformed into a Mangekyō Sharingan.

In traditional Japanese mythology, Ōkuninushi-no-Kami was not only the god of the netherworld, but also the ruler of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. There was no doubt that he possessed a domain of his own.

And so, his right eye's ocular technique evolved—Ōkuninushi-no-Kami: Netherworld.

This would become his netherworld!

A world composed of his chakra!

Drawn by the ocular technique in his left eye, Ōkuninushi-no-Kami: Control, that vast power of space-time continuously poured into his right eye.

Gradually, it seemed as though his right eye had been covered by a purple eyelid, and the scenery before his "eye" changed along with it.

Before his "eye" lay a special space saturated in purple. With a thought, he turned it into bricks and tiles. As his spiritual power and the Dragon Vein's power were consumed, a familiar courtyard appeared within this unknown space.

Looking at the "home" before him, identical to the one in the clan compound, Uchiha Makoto could not help but smile in satisfaction.

He could feel his spiritual power weakening, while both his eyes grew sore and swollen.

The Dragon Vein truly deserved its reputation as an infinite source of energy. The chakra Uchiha Makoto had absorbed so far was already no less than his own reserves, yet the Dragon Vein had only shrunk by a tiny amount.

"I wonder how much is left..."

At that moment, he was both suffering and delighted. The more Dragon Vein power he absorbed, the stronger his ocular techniques would become. However, his spiritual power could not keep up with the expenditure, so he could only store the Dragon Vein's power for now and slowly build his "Netherworld" later.

Finally, after continuously increasing the intensity of his absorption, the Dragon Vein visibly shrank by a full circle, and its color was no longer as dazzling as when he had first seen it.

Meanwhile, within the "Netherworld," the Dragon Vein's power had nearly condensed into a tangible form. Fragments of the Dragon Vein glowing with purple light flickered through the air from time to time.

Only when they collided did a different sort of spectacle appear.

Just like the two fragments Uchiha Makoto was drawing together now.

Boom!

As if an explosion had gone off, the purple "mist" was swept away, and bizarre fragments of imagery surged into the air from nowhere.

They showed figures clad in layered armor from the Warring States era, flickering and shifting rapidly like a revolving lantern. Those figures even seemed to be progressing toward the present era!

Uchiha Makoto forced his eyes open as wide as possible, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Then he saw a fleeting white-haired figure floating in the air like a god, looking down upon the land below.

In only an instant, the images vanished completely, but Uchiha Makoto suddenly understood.

"First the past, then the future?"

"Kaguya? Six Paths Madara? Someone on the moon? Or some Ōtsutsuki I don't know?"

Uchiha Makoto frowned deeply. He had thought he could finally take it easy, but he had not expected such unknown trouble to remain.

He was no match for someone at the Six Paths level.

"Forget it. No point dwelling on it. I'll deal with whatever comes."

As Uchiha Makoto pondered this, the soreness in his eyes suddenly surged, forcibly interrupting his attempt to gather the Dragon Vein's power.

Yet he could feel his ocular power growing stronger, evolving toward the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!

Although his eyes were not an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, in practical terms, they were nearly the same.

After all, the greatest significance of the Eternal Mangekyō was its inexhaustible ocular power.

At this moment, his eyes were changing toward that very state.

His existing ocular techniques, ocular power, and chakra would all undergo another transformation.

Especially the ocular technique his eyes had conceived anew after Uchiha Makoto absorbed the Dragon Vein's power.

Feeling the new power, Uchiha Makoto pressed two fingers together and formed the Monkey hand seal before his lips. The purple glow in his eyes immediately intensified.

"Domain expansion... pfft, Ocular Technique: Umasiashikabi!"

An invisible force spread outward from Uchiha Makoto in all directions.

Everything became "slow."

Umasiashikabi, one of the Kotoamatsukami, was a great god born at the dawn of creation in mythology and ruled one region of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.

After being nourished by the Dragon Vein's power, it granted him the ability to affect time—when activated, in less than one second of normal space-time, the caster's perception could equal several ordinary minutes!

Opposite this slowing of time was his rapidly vanishing chakra.

And the consumption was continuing to increase!

At the same time, a faint wave of exhaustion washed over him, as though he were an ordinary person who had not rested properly.

"Maybe I should rename it Bullet Time."

Uchiha Makoto could not help thinking so. After all, Umasiashikabi was rather hard to say.

The ocular technique abruptly dissipated at that moment. A light sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, while two trails of bloody tears slowly flowed from his eyes.

"The ocular technique is still developing. Using it now is too taxing. Once it fully develops, I might become an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan user!"

He wiped away the bloody tears, adjusted his condition, then "looked" toward the Dragon Vein fragments floating in the air.

"The power contained in these Dragon Vein fragments is truly formidable, but mastering it will require more practice."

He carefully stored the Dragon Vein fragments away. His consciousness gradually withdrew from that space, leaving behind only the courtyard formed from Dragon Vein power as proof of everything that had just happened.

At the edge of the area, Sara had witnessed Uchiha Makoto shed two trails of bloody tears. She was so terrified that she nearly dropped the Dragon Vein sealing jar in her hands.

Uchiha Makoto opened his eyes and found that he had returned to reality.

"The Dragon Vein's power truly is extraordinary."

Uchiha Makoto muttered to himself.

He looked at Sara beside him, a trace of mischief flashing through his eyes.

"The Dragon Vein is too dangerous. To prevent it from harming people, we should seal it away!"

Uchiha Makoto said with a sincere expression, paying tribute to Senju Hashirama on the spot.

Sara froze for a moment, then nodded repeatedly. "This is what I should do."

Uchiha Makoto nodded in satisfaction. After sealing the Dragon Vein together with Sara, they headed outside.

Everything outside was proceeding according to the "script."

While Uchiha Makoto was absorbing the Dragon Vein's power, Loulan's guards sensed the Dragon Vein's abnormal chakra fluctuations and swiftly rushed to the scene.

When they arrived, they saw An Lushan, his disguise already stripped away to reveal his emaciated appearance, surrounded by a pile of scrapped puppets, launching one last mad attack on the fields.

Now, the witnesses and physical evidence against An Lushan were all in place.

Without a doubt, An Lushan was a ninja from the Sand Village. Coveting the Dragon Vein's power, he had been discovered by the Queen of Loulan's guard during his infiltration. Enraged with shame, he used the Dragon Vein's power to control puppets in an attempt to overthrow Loulan!

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he had turned his final attack toward Loulan's winter wheat and successfully destroyed most of it!

Even if someone pulled An Lushan out of the Pure Land in the future, this was all he would know. This was the truth.

There was absolutely no Mangekyō Sharingan, Fearful Reverence, or any other such reason.

He would guarantee it with the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan!