Awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan

Faced with Hoshimi Saki's arrival, Lin Shuo found himself surprisingly calm.

Yes, calm.

After all, there had already been Lin You and Little Mu. Now there was one more, Hoshimi Saki...

It didn't seem like anything worth making a fuss over.

He even silently grumbled to himself: This damned system gives me a troublesome mission along with every daughter it sends.

This time probably wouldn't be an exception.

Sure enough-

[Ding! New family member "Hoshimi Saki" (Nine-Tails Jinchuriki) has been identified.]

[Long-term mission "Take Care of Your Daughters" updated: current number of daughters requiring care: 4 (Lin You, Lin Yue, Little Mu, Hoshimi Saki)]

[Linked mission "Tailed Beast Containment Plan" updated: Tailed Beasts currently subdued/linked: 6/9 (One-Tail, Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Nine-Tails)]

[Special mission "A Father's Responsibility" triggered: help Hoshimi Saki stabilize her Nine-Tails chakra and avoid the risk of going berserk.]

[Mission time limit: 30 days]

[Mission reward: issued in advance-Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (complete version, both eyes)]

[Note: due to the host's severely overdrawn ocular power, normal recovery would require at least three months.

The system has made an exception and issued the reward in advance to address the impending crisis.]

Lin Shuo's breathing stopped for a moment.

Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan? And... issued in advance?

The reward was so generous that it made him a little uneasy-since when had the system been this giving?

After all, it had previously put the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in the shop with an explicit price tag of six Ōtsutsuki Fragments.

But based on past experience, the richer the reward, the more dangerous the mission-or... the bigger the trouble that followed.

He looked at Saki beside him.

The little girl was looking down and playing with her fingers, occasionally sneaking a glance at him, then quickly looking away when she realized he had noticed.

Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... risk of going berserk...

Lin Shuo recalled what Naruto had gone through as a child-when he lost control, his destructive power was astonishing, and it could easily cause panic.

If Saki went berserk in New Eridu...

What a lovely picture. I'd rather not imagine it.

"Daddy?" Saki called softly.

"What... what are you thinking about?"

"How to help you control your power," Lin Shuo answered honestly.

"Your situation is rather unusual-that 'Uncle Kurama' inside you is too powerful. If you lose control, it'll be very dangerous."

Saki's expression dimmed. "I know... I've been trying really hard to control it... but sometimes..."

She held out her right hand, palm up.

Faint orange-red chakra emerged, gathering in her palm into a small, unstable chakra sphere-not a Tailed Beast Bomb, but a more basic transformation of chakra's shape.

Even so, dangerous light still flickered across the sphere's surface, and the violent aura unique to Nine-Tails chakra was faintly discernible.

"Wow." Asaba Harumasa whistled.

"If that blows up, it could take the ceiling off, right?"

"It won't blow up!"

Saki hurriedly clenched her fist, dispersing the chakra sphere. "I... I can control it!"

"But it's still unstable," Lin Shuo said.

"You need more systematic training-how did the original me teach you?"

Saki thought for a moment, then said, "My original daddy... had me meditate every day, sense the flow of Uncle Kurama's chakra, and then try to guide it with my own will..."

She paused, her voice growing quieter. "But my original daddy didn't have the Sharingan, so he couldn't see the tiny changes in chakra and correct me whenever I needed it..."

[System notification: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan reward issued. Fuse immediately?]

Lin Shuo silently answered, Yes.

The intense pain he had expected never came.

There was only a gentle warmth, as though it came from the depths of his soul, slowly spreading out from his eyes.

It wasn't as simple as restoring his sight.

It was "evolution."

He could feel his total ocular power skyrocketing-not merely doubling, but growing exponentially.

The "vessel" that had dried up from overuse was now being filled with far more "water" than ever before.

More importantly-the side effects were gone.

Using the Mangekyō caused deteriorating vision, and excessive consumption of ocular power caused blindness... before the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, none of those limitations existed.

Now he could use his ocular techniques freely, without worrying about any lasting consequences.

[Fusion complete. Current ocular power level: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (complete). New ability unlocked: Perfect Susanoo (theoretically summonable). New exclusive ocular technique: Karmic Fire Mark. Genjutsu resistance: max.]

Lin Shuo drew a deep breath, suppressing his shock.

Karmic Fire Mark...?

He didn't seem to have ever seen this ability in Shippuden. Or rather, it wasn't among the Mangekyō Sharingan's exclusive abilities at all, but an original creation of the system.

"System, show me the panel for the exclusive ocular technique."

Lin Shuo instinctively wanted the system to walk him through this new ability.

Soon, the system did as he wished and quickly walked him through it in considerable detail.

[New exclusive ocular technique: Karmic Fire Mark]

[Ability details: 1. Mark bestowal: plants an invisible "Karmic Fire Mark" on a target through visual contact (eye contact not required). The mark is bound to the host's ocular power and cannot be detected or removed.

2. Long-range ignition: the mark can be activated at any time, causing Amaterasu's black flames to ignite within the target (burning at the cellular level). Effective radius is currently limited to 10 kilometers by ocular power.

3. Advanced shape manipulation: allows extremely precise manipulation of Amaterasu's black flames, including compressing them into needles for penetration, spreading them into nets for restraint, and attaching them to weapons or ninjutsu to add properties.

4. Flame domain expansion: consumes a large amount of ocular power to deploy an "Amaterasu Domain" with a radius of 100 meters. All matter within the domain can serve as fuel and a medium for the black flames. The host possesses absolute control.

5. Limitations: only one mark per target; a maximum of 3 marks can be bestowed daily; marks disappear after ignition and must be bestowed again.]

The system had really spared no expense this time.

"Daddy?" Saki looked at him worriedly. "Do... do your eyes hurt?"

"No."

Lin Shuo's Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated within his red eyes-but unlike before, the edges of the tomoe now bore faint golden patterns, the symbol of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Actually... they're much better."

Asaba Harumasa stared at Lin Shuo's eyes for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow. "Your eyes... look a little different?"

"They've just recovered." Lin Shuo brushed it aside. "Saki, starting today, I'll help you train every day-with the Sharingan's assistance, we should be able to speed things up."

Saki's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes." Lin Shuo nodded.

"But..."

He turned to Asaba Harumasa. "I need a suitable training ground-preferably somewhere sturdy enough that can also isolate Ether fluctuations."

Asaba Harumasa rubbed his chin. "Section 6's underground training ground should work-Yanagi designed it herself. It can withstand a full-power strike from a Mercury-class Ethereal. But..."

He paused, his expression turning subtle. "You'll need the chief's approval to use it."

"Then let's go ask." Lin Shuo stood up.

"Right now-while we're at it, it's about time I formally met... your mother."

Saying those last two words felt a little awkward to Lin Shuo.

But Saki was delighted.

She hopped off her chair and took Lin Shuo's hand. "Okay! Mommy should be in her office right now!"

Naturally, Lin Shuo didn't forget to bring the honeydew melon when he went to see Hoshimi Miyabi.

With Asaba Harumasa leading the way, the three left the reception room and headed down the corridor toward Section 6's office area.

They ran into several Section 6 members along the way. Each froze briefly upon seeing Lin Shuo, then gave him an "I get it" look.

Clearly, Hoshimi Saki's existence was no longer a secret within Section 6-and everyone had accepted the premise that "this child is the chief's daughter."

Their looks made Lin Shuo uncomfortable all over.

Saki, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease. She even greeted a passing female clerk. "Hi, Junko!"

"Hello, little Saki~" the clerk replied with a smile.

Then she looked at Lin Shuo, who was holding Saki's hand in one hand and carrying a honeydew melon in the other, her eyes gleaming with curiosity for gossip. Still, she had the sense not to ask questions and simply nodded before leaving.

Lin Shuo: "..."

The atmosphere in Section 6 was even more... casual than he had imagined.

"You'll get used to it," Asaba Harumasa said without looking back.

"Nobody here puts the chief on a pedestal as a 'Void Hunter'-she's just an ordinary boss who's a bit of an airhead, loves training, and occasionally blows up the training room."

"...An ordinary boss doesn't do three hundred one-handed push-ups."

"Fair point."

The three arrived at a door marked [Chief's Office].

The door was open, and Hoshimi Miyabi's voice came from inside:

"Yanagi, the data on page three, line seven of this report has a 0.3% error. It needs correcting."

"Also, regarding next week's troop deployment for Operation Sword Husbandry, I think we should move Soukaku's unit to the east-her Ice Release is well suited to that terrain."

"And regarding Saki's training plan..."

"Chief."

Tsukishiro Yanagi's gentle but resigned voice rang out. "Could you handle these things later? The cast on your left arm needs changing."

"The cast isn't important. Training can overcome it."

"But an infection would be troublesome-please sit still. I'll change your dressing."

Lin Shuo stopped at the doorway and knocked.

"Come in," Miyabi's voice called.

Pushing the door open, Lin Shuo saw exactly what he had expected:

Hoshimi Miyabi sat behind her desk, the cast on her left arm already half removed, revealing the bandaged arm underneath.

Tsukishiro Yanagi stood beside her, holding fresh bandages and ointment.

And Miyabi's other hand... was still leafing through documents.