The frozen image did nothing to lift Shen's mood.
The conditions for awakening the Mangekyō had just been met, thanks to Nayou's vision that pierced through the smoke.
Yet he felt no joy at all—only a desperate wish to return to one second ago.
All the abilities of the Mangekyō originated from the first Rinnegan and Sharingan combined eye—that belonged to Kaguya after she consumed the fruit of the God Tree and opened it on her forehead.
Thus, Shen understood that no matter how desperately he wished, time would never turn back.
Not even a single second was possible—it was merely a dream beyond reach.
Traveling through space and time was the ability of the Rinnegan.
"Change the shinobi world?"
"This kind of shinobi world is better off destroyed."
"And then, I will rebuild it all by myself!"
Within his Sharingan, each of the three connected Tomoe began expanding from their centers.
Realizing the distinct powers offered by both eyes, Shen deliberately slowed down his thoughts.
Then, closing his eyes briefly, he reopened them.
The three expanding Tomoe merged into an overlapping equilateral triangle, forming a nine-pointed star—the Mangekyō Sharingan.
[Tsukuyomi!] Shen unleashed the power of his left eye. Countless visions surged into his mind like towering waves across countless possible worlds.
Moments after being struck through the heart by a kunai, Nayou appeared in countless variations within the vision of his left eye.
Most were similar scenes—one showed her abdomen pierced, another even depicted her brain being hit, while the mildest was merely an arm wound.
Yet among these infinite possibilities, Shen located the scene where Nayou remained completely unharmed.
[Magatsuhi!] He immediately unleashed the power of his right eye, blending the selected vision seamlessly with reality.
Rewriting reality demanded immense reserves of ocular energy.
Izanagi was an ultimate Dojutsu technique that preserved a desired state and overwrote reality once its countdown concluded.
Yet even such a mighty technique was incapable of altering another person's fate.
Shen's left eye, Tsukuyomi, could instantly calculate every potential possibility occurring within the next second.
Without various mental enhancements inside his brain, even if he found a scenario where Nayou survived, in the real world, she likely would've already died long ago.
Meanwhile, Magatsuhi in his right eye allowed him to merge the calculated visions of Tsukuyomi with actual reality.
This power could target only the wounded part, replacing it with a perfected version drawn from the vision.
Therefore, Nayou—who had once suffered a mortal wound to the heart—was now completely restored at that point, as if the injury had never occurred.
Even the blood yet to drip onto the ground and the tiny hole in her kimono returned to untouched states, as though the attack had never happened.
"This is…" Chosen by the Mangekyō's power, Nayou clearly remembered her heart having already been pierced by the kunai.
Reflected in her wide white pupils was a droplet of falling blood—and the nine-pointed star glowing in her attacker's right eye.
The Mangekyō above the Sharingan, each eye possessing a unique ability. It is said that the two abilities are determined by one's thoughts at the moment of awakening.
Nayou recalled the words spoken to her eight years ago, and her eyes instantly grew misty.
After confirming she was safe, Shen tightly embraced her small frame as she leaned backward slightly.
With eighteen Rock-nin nearby, there was no time for him to relax his nerves.
It was still too early to talk about surviving the crisis.
The ocular power restored upon awakening the Mangekyō had nearly vanished after using both Tianjin'nu and Magatsuhi.
"Do you remember what I told you about the third ability of the Mangekyō?" Shen stared into her tear-filled eyes, and the hand wrapped around her waist instinctively tightened.
"Do you know what it is now?" Nayou, meeting his gaze head-on, didn't care about the answer.
She who had already felt like she'd died once still remembered the pain of having her heart pierced.
It felt as if the entire world had suddenly gone silent.
"Yes, it is an ultimate defense-offense combination—" Shen wildly activated his ocular power, and a perfect smile curved on his lips: [Susanoo!]
Various attacks from the eighteen Rock-nin struck the bright white skeletal structure that abruptly surrounded the two.
Whispering the name Susanoo to herself, Nayou now looked at Shen with nothing but admiration in her eyes, his confident smile unwavering.
"Scum of the shinobi world," Shen turned his gaze forward, smiling like a Shinigami ready to reap souls: "Are you prepared to meet your end?"
A bright white arm extended outward from above the ribcage framework.
With just one punch, three Rock-nin went flying into the distance.
"Plop—" The blood dripped from Shen's right eye and splattered onto the ground.
Activating Susanoo with only twenty percent of his remaining ocular power wasn't without side effects.
His vision, previously sharpened by the Mangekyō, gradually turned blurry again.
"Shen, what's wrong?" Seeing him cover his right eye, Nayou immediately moved close to him with concern.
"It's nothing." Already drained of stamina, Shen used the last of his chakra to leap up.
They landed before Nawaki, who was lying on the ground.
After setting Nayou down, he positioned himself between her and Nawaki: "Hey, if you're not dead yet, get up now."
Still far from fully recovered, Nawaki sat upright with a quick roll onto his back.
"You two go ahead; I'll hold them off."
"No, we should—"
"I'm sorry."
Before Nayou could finish speaking, she saw a nine-pointed star symbol rapidly enlarging within her vision.
Shen gently placed her on the ground and seriously stared at Nawaki: "No matter what happens, don't look back."
At this point, Team One still capable of fighting consisted solely of Shen, who had newly awakened his powers.
Yet neither his stamina nor chakra had recovered even a tiny bit.
When it was already impossible to ensure all three survived, serving as bait to cover his teammates' retreat was the captain's responsibility.
Moreover, since Haku and Black Zetsu were nearby, it was practically certain that he wouldn't die easily.
Looking at the fifteen approaching Rock-nin cautiously advancing forward, then at that not particularly broad back, Nawaki felt mixed emotions.
"You better not die," he muttered, bending down to hoist Nayou onto his back.
Shen turned his head to look at Nawaki, who wore a determined expression, and at Nayou, who remained unconscious yet still shedding tears.
"If you die, you dumbass, there's no way I'd go with you," he couldn't help but snap.
"Piss off! I—your awesome older bro—am gonna live forever!" Nawaki shot back.
What should have been a tearful farewell turned oddly comical thanks to the two of them.
The fifteen Rock-nin, ignored for quite some time, chose this moment to launch their attacks.
"Geez, are you guys in such a hurry to reincarnate?" Shen controlled his Susanoo to slam the nearest Rock-nin deep into the earth.
Without another word, Nawaki turned around with Nayou on his back, using the chakra he just recovered to leap toward the distance.
"Hey, is it really alright to ignore the protagonist like that?" A bright white skeletal fist smashed another Rock-nin chasing after them into the ground once again.
Though unable to move freely, Shen forced his body straight with sheer willpower. "Don't underestimate the Uchiha!"
Beneath the night sky, the colossal skeletal frame glowing with brilliant white light loomed large.
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