Fading

Fugaku's Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan retreated into the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the two-thousand-meter-tall Susanoo began to shrink from its edges. The bright gold patterns on its armor faded back to dark gold, and the giant body retreated 1,500 meters, then another 1,000 meters, finally turning into sky-blue Chakra fragments that dissipated in the sea breeze.

Qi, Setsuna, Yaoyu, Yakumi, Tekka, Taoho, Yashiro, Killing Hall —everyone's Sharingan were regressing from six Tomoe to Mangekyo Sharingan. Those Night Owl Guard members who had just awakened their Mangekyo Sharingan also had their eyes regress to Three Tomoe.

The battlefield fell silent for a few moments.

A young Night Owl Guard looked down at his hands, clenched his fist, then relaxed it, then clenched it again.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun around in its socket, then he turned his head to look at his companion beside him.

His companions were also watching him.

Neither of them spoke, their eyes holding something indescribable.

"Susanoo..." the young Night Owl Guard murmured.

He raised his right hand, trying to activate the remaining Chakra within his body.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowed slightly, and a thin, blurry, almost transparent outline of Chakra rose behind it.

Its outline is small, only two or three meters high, and from a distance it looks like a stretched human-shaped cloud of mist, but it is definitely there.

The Susanoo he had forcibly activated with the Mangekyo Sharingan was still able to be activated even after the Mangekyo Sharingan reverted to Three Tomoe.

It's just that its form has weakened considerably, and it won't last long.

"It still works!" He widened his eyes and turned to his companion, "My Sharingan has regressed, but my Susanoo still works!"

Several Night Owl Guard nearby also tried it out.

One after another, blurry outlines emerged behind them, all small and faint, like a flock of fledglings just learning to stand.

But that was indeed the prototype of Susanoo.

"Not just Susanoo," Fugaku said.

He stood on the reef, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning quietly, his voice steady, "My body feels lighter than before. Chakra flows more smoothly, and my eye power recovers faster."

He paused, as if carefully sensing the changes within his body, "At this rate, with more time to accumulate experience, I might be able to awaken the Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan on my own."

Killing Hall sheathed his sword and glanced down at his palm.

"I feel it too. My eyes have regressed, but the underlying structure of my eyes is thicker than before. If I were to re-improve my Mangekyo Sharingan now, it would be much faster than before."

The Night Owl Guard, who had just felt a little empty due to their waning power, changed their expressions one after another upon hearing these words.

Some clenched their fists, some grinned, and some exchanged punches with their companions.

A young Night Owl Guard raised his fist and whispered towards the sky, "One day, I'll be able to fly one myself."

"Then you'll stand next to Lord Natsu," someone chimed in.

No one spoke again, but everyone's expression was similar—a suppressed tension, waiting for the next opportunity.

Above the sky, Ban hovered in the void, feeling the power within his body fading away.

The Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan has reverted to six Tomoe, the surge of the Six Paths Chakra has calmed down again, and the number of Truth-Seeking Orb has decreased from nine to six.

He looked down at his palm, clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

The Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan slowly rotated in its eye socket.

"That's really interesting." There was something unusual, almost curiosity, in his tone. "Even I could activate Sage Mode in that field, and completely enter the Six Paths Sage Mode."

He paused, then said, "This power is truly amazing."

He turned his head to look at Natsu.

Natsu stood several hundred meters away, her pale purple robe fluttering gently in the breeze, her Mangekyō Sharingan spinning quietly.

He was looking down at his hands.

He looked at it for a while, then spread his fingers open and closed them again, repeating this twice.

Then he looked up and met Ban's gaze.

The two exchanged a glance across the void, hundreds of meters apart.

Ban's brow furrowed slightly.

He noticed that Natsu's eyes had recovered somewhat, but the recovery was slower than he had expected.

There was a faint emptiness in those eyes, as if something had been taken away and hadn't been filled in.

Ban didn't speak immediately; he simply kept this observation in mind.

Natsu first withdrew her gaze.

He turned his head to look down at the Night Owl Guard who were patting each other on the shoulder and whispering to each other, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The arc wasn't large, but it was definitely there.

"Let's go," Natsu said. "We'll talk about it when we get back."

On the way back, Ban and Natsu lagged behind the group.

Ahead lay Fugaku leading the Night Owl Guard, their grey and white uniforms blending seamlessly into the Dusk as their footsteps echoed rhythmically across the sea.

Killing Hall was walking in the middle of the group, whispering something to Taki. En interrupted from the side, and Killing Hall glanced at him. En shrugged.

Behind them were several young Night Owl Guard, still whispering about what Susanoo, their voices filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Ban and Natsu walked at the back, a few steps apart from each other.

"I just don't know what the price will be," Ban spoke, his voice low, just loud enough for Natsu to hear. "Natsu."

Natsu did not answer immediately. He lowered his head and looked at the sea at his feet.

The sea was a dark blue in the Dusk, and the broken waves spread out silently at my feet, then closed up again.

He took a few steps before raising his head.

"It's alright. It's just the first time using it." His tone was flat. "Before activating the Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan, the power of Takamagahara is borrowed, not mine."

It will more or less deprive me of my human emotions and humanity.

The power of the Origin will push me toward divinity, gradually making me... full of so-called divinity.

His expression was calm and even as he spoke.

But Ban noticed that when he said the words "human emotions and humanity," he spoke a little slower than usual.

Ban remained silent for a moment.

How are you feeling right now?

"It's a bit better than before," Natsu said. "When it first subsided, everything seemed a bit far away. You were standing in front of me, and I knew you were Senior Ban, but that 'knowing' Taichi usual. It was like looking at you through a pane of glass."

He paused.

"The glass is a little thinner now. I estimate it will return to normal after walking a while."

Ban didn't reply.

He walked on, his gaze fixed on the sea ahead.

After a while, he turned his head and glanced at Natsu's profile.

That face was no different from usual—aloof, distant, and with a touch of habitual calm.

But Ban felt something was off.