The desert sun hammered against his back as he trudged across the dunes, sand shifting under every step. His throat was dry, his lungs heavy, but his mind buzzed with a cocktail of disbelief and exhilaration.
The Wheel of Fate's glow lingered in his vision, faint but unmistakable. He could still feel the remnants of its spin in the core of his being, as if some invisible current had wound itself through his veins.
[Wheel of Fate Result: Byakugan (Adapted)]
[Source: Hyūga Clan — Naruto Universe]
[Energy System: Converted to MP Consumption]
He blinked. "The… Byakugan?" His voice was hoarse, cracked, half-laughing, half-panicked. "You've got to be kidding me. I actually got it?"
Another panel flickered before his eyes, blue light illuminating the sand in an otherworldly glow.
[Ability: Byakugan — Grants near-360° perception, telescopic and x-ray vision, and energy flow detection.]
[Upkeep Cost: 3 MP /sec active use.]
"Upkeep cost?" He ran his tongue over dry lips. "Ah… okay. So it's not free. Makes sense, I guess. Nothing in life comes without a price."
He raised his hand, focusing on a distant dune. The veins around his eyes shimmered faintly white, and suddenly the desert opened up in ways no human should ever see. Sand shifted beneath the surface, heat signatures glowed faintly red, and, deep below, thin lines of energy pulsed across the earth like veins in a living creature. His eyes could track them, follow them, almost feel them.
He staggered back, blinking rapidly to shut it off. His chest was tight; he could feel the MP drain even from a few seconds of full focus.
This is going to take some getting used to…
A new notification pinged in the corner of his vision. It glowed like a miniature star, rotating slowly.
[MP Interface Activated]
[MP: 300/300]
[Storage: 0% Used]
He squinted. "So that's it? No health bar, nothing like that?" His thumb brushed the glowing gauge, and the sand in his palm disappeared, vanishing into the storage subspace the System had now granted him.
[Affirmative. MP represents planetary vitality. Storage function active.]
He experimented, storing a rock first, then a twig, then the half-destroyed sleeve of his jacket. Each item disappeared into an invisible pocket connected to his inner world. When he willed it back, the objects shimmered into existence in his hand.
"Okay… okay, I get it now. Everything uses MP, and storage isn't just a bag. It's… my world's extension. This is actually insane."
He flexed his fingers, imagining a handful of sand, and poof — it disappeared. He pulled it back with a thought. The connection was eerie but intuitive. Every small act of will sent ripples through the glowing island inside his mind.
If this planet grows, I grow. If it dies… I die.
A shiver ran down his spine. The weight of his situation pressed down like a mountain, but he couldn't stop grinning.
"Alright, System. Let's see what we can do with this."
As the sun climbed higher, he paused on a dune and closed his eyes. The world around him — the desert, the burning sky, the distant smoke of explosions — faded into blackness.
He was standing in the heart of his inner world.
It was breathtaking. The island floated in an endless void, rivers catching light from a golden sun that pulsed like a heartbeat. Mountains jutted upward like thoughts crystallized in stone. Clouds moved lazily, painting shadows on forests that hadn't yet learned to rustle in the wind.
"So this is really… me," he whispered. "All of it. My own little universe, waiting for me to… fill it."
He crouched, running his fingers through the glimmering soil. The System pinged softly:
[Main Quest Reminder: Create the First Lifeform within Your Inner World.]
[You may shape matter using MP. Combine biological data, imagination, and will.]
He exhaled, leaning back against a small hill of shimmering rock. The desert sun felt distant now. Here, there were no rules but the ones he imposed, and yet… he hesitated.
What do I even create?
He imagined a bird, something small, delicate, yet full of life. A flicker of energy flowed from his chest — his MP responding to his thought. Light spilled from his hands like molten gold, coalescing into a small glowing orb.
The orb began to solidify, feathers forming, wings stretching, eyes bright and alive. It chirped once, wings fluttering tentatively. He gasped — the sensation of creation was more than he had imagined. He could feel the life inside it, a tiny heartbeat synchronized with the pulse of his world.
"It's… alive," he whispered, awe-struck. "I… actually made life."
The bird lifted off his palm, leaving a trail of glowing particles behind, and circled him once before alighting on his shoulder.
"Sol," he said instinctively. "You're Sol now."
The island responded to the act of creation. Rivers shimmered brighter, forests seemed to breathe, and soft rain began to fall, tiny droplets glowing faintly as they hit the ground. His inner planet was alive in a way he had never imagined — and it was responding to him, listening to him, thriving under his will.
A soft chime sounded in his mind.
[Quest Complete: "First Step of Evolution"]
[Reward: +150 Points]
[World Expansion: +2%]
[MP Capacity Increased: 320/320]
He laughed, low and incredulous, as the energy drained and refilled in his chest. Every pulse of the planet's core resonated with him, a reminder that he wasn't just alive — he was alive in two worlds at once.
He sank to his knees, letting the bird rest on his shoulder. The sensation was intoxicating: the desert outside felt distant, trivial even, compared to the world he now carried inside himself.
If this is what creation feels like… I can't wait to see what else I can do.
Yet even as awe filled him, a faint edge of fear prickled at the back of his mind. He was in Afghanistan — Tony Stark was probably still struggling in the wreckage of the Ten Rings' camp. A part of him itched to intervene, to test his abilities against the "real" world.
The System reminded him softly:
[Choice Detected. Optional Path Established.]
[Path A: Intervene — Timeline Divergence begins.]
[Path B: Observe — Maintain Canon Flow.]
He smiled faintly, brushing the bird's feathers with a fingertip.
"Not yet," he murmured. "I want to see this world… before I change it."
He rose to his feet and looked across the horizon. The desert stretched endlessly, but in his mind, the island pulsed brighter, larger, full of potential.
"I've got the Byakugan now… MP, storage, Sol… and a whole planet inside me. Not bad for Day One."
Hours passed in quiet reflection. The sun began to dip behind the dunes, painting the desert gold and crimson. He practiced subtly with the Byakugan, letting his vision reach underground streams and distant heat sources. The energy consumption was noticeable, but manageable. He discovered he could switch the Byakugan on and off at will, conserving MP while still scanning small areas.
I could see energy flows in people… maybe even in Tony if I got close enough.
He experimented with the Storage function further, storing small objects, rocks, sand, and even a glowing mote of energy from his inner world. The System confirmed each addition, the gauge moving slowly as he worked.
"So that's how I'll bring things back from other worlds. Makes sense," he whispered.
Finally, night fell over the desert. He sat by a small dune, the wind whispering through scattered rocks, Sol perched quietly on his shoulder.
"Tomorrow…" he mused, staring at the stars above and the glow of his inner world beneath, "I start really learning what this power means. And maybe… just maybe… I'll see what it's like to touch the MCU for real."
The bird chirped softly, and a streak of light shimmered across the sky — a subtle echo from his planet, a heartbeat in the cosmos.
For the first time, he felt the weight and freedom of being a god of his own little universe.
"Let's see how far this goes," he said, voice soft but determined. "Starting… now."