Main World.
Konoha Year 30, autumn.
Heavenly Court.
A pale golden veil of light slowly swirled overhead, enveloping the entire void in a warm, sacred glow. There was no sky, no earth, only endless emptiness and the Devil Fruit Tree standing at its center.
The door to the Soul-Searching Illusionary Realm-that dark gray door with no handle and pale golden light along its edges-stood quietly in the void. Toyotomi Shining Sand stood before it with a small bundle on his back. His stance was steady. He neither adjusted his posture because he was about to enter a space where time flowed differently from the outside world nor repeatedly checked the size of the entrance. Pakura stood a few steps behind him, holding nothing, simply standing there.
Toyotomi Yinglang stood beside the door, his hands behind his back. Toyotomi Shining Sand turned to look at him, his voice quiet, as though confirming something already decided. "Father, I will definitely awaken the Mangekyō." Toyotomi Yinglang's tone was just as level, as though stating a measurement he had already taken. "One day outside is one year in the Soul-Searching Illusionary Realm. I've prepared a year's worth of daily necessities for you. See you tomorrow."
Toyotomi Shining Sand nodded, turned, and pushed the door open, crossing the threshold without looking back. The door closed behind him with a low, muffled thud, then became still again. The pale golden light along its edges stopped flowing, as though it had entered standby mode. Pakura stood beside the door. After confirming that it had closed, she turned and left the way she had come. Her footsteps gradually receded through the void, absorbed by Heavenly Court's veil of light, never returning.
Toyotomi Yinglang did not leave immediately. He stood before the door a while longer, confirmed that its