The fusion lasted a full hour. When Ronin finally opened his eyes again, the scarlet eyes inside the bottle in his hand had completely vanished.
But when he picked up a mirror and looked at himself, what he saw wasn't the long-awaited three-tomoe Sharingan.
His eyes were still in the two-tomoe state.
That said, he could clearly feel that his overall energy reserves had increased once more. All things considered, his strength was probably about twice what it had been before fusing the Sharingan. At his current level, if he ran into Uvogin again—even without relying on terrain restrictions—he should be able to fight him head-on.
More importantly, Ronin could sense that his eyes were evolving toward three tomoe. They were just missing something…
Energy.
Or, more precisely, a single pair of scarlet eyes wasn't enough to push his two-tomoe Sharingan into the three-tomoe stage.
If he could get his hands on one more pair, he was absolutely certain his eyes would evolve straight to three tomoe.
This outcome wasn't entirely unexpected. Ronin had already considered this possibility before fusing the scarlet eyes.
However, what he'd originally worried about wasn't that the fusion wouldn't complete the eye's evolution—it was that the boost to his chakra would still be insufficient to support higher-level ninjutsu, especially A-rank or S-rank techniques.
According to his earlier calculations, fusing just two more pairs of scarlet eyes should be enough to evolve his eyes into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And at that point, he wouldn't just gain access to A-rank ninjutsu—he'd also unlock the Mangekyō's innate ocular techniques, including Susanoo.
But whether it was A-rank ninjutsu or Susanoo, both were absolute chakra hogs.
Judging from how much his energy reserves had increased after the first fusion, even fusing two more pairs would probably only give him several times the chakra he'd had when he first awakened Nen.
That was nowhere near enough.
Given that, Ronin found the current result acceptable.
After all, just two pairs of scarlet eyes could get him to a three-tomoe Sharingan—and so far, it seemed to be a stable three-tomoe, with no side effects.
Still, progressing to Mangekyō—or even Eternal Mangekyō—would likely require far more scarlet eyes.
Which meant he had no choice but to start seriously considering how to get his hands on the dozen or so pairs currently held by Tserriednich.
Additionally, the idea he'd previously had—using surplus scarlet eyes to activate the Uchiha clan's ultimate forbidden technique, Izanagi—would also need to be reconsidered.
Fortunately, even though his eyes hadn't evolved further, this fusion did unlock the conditions required to use B-rank ninjutsu.
It seemed that eye evolution and ninjutsu access were two separate progression paths.
That said, after testing a few B-rank techniques, Ronin realized that the chakra cost was still quite high for him.
The issue was simple—his chakra pool hadn't caught up yet.
"I can't rely entirely on fusing scarlet eyes to increase my strength," Ronin murmured to himself. "I need to raise my own energy reserves too. Otherwise, even if I unlock higher-level ninjutsu, I won't be able to use them properly."
With that, he raised both hands and rapidly formed seals in front of his chest. A large amount of chakra split off inside his body, and the moment the seals were completed, another Ronin appeared inside the room.
B-rank Ninjutsu — Shadow Clone Technique!
This technique was created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. It used chakra to create physical clones that could act independently, possessed their own consciousness, and had a certain degree of durability.
They weren't like the fragile illusions Ronin had created before—clones that popped the moment you poked them.
Most importantly, when a shadow clone was dispelled, all of its memories and experiences returned to the original body.
For Ronin at his current stage, this was nothing short of a cheat-level ability.
It was also the ninjutsu he'd wanted to unlock the most when fusing the scarlet eyes to evolve his Sharingan.
From now on, he could let his shadow clone handle external activities. That way, even if Uvogin or other members of the Phantom Troupe tracked him down, any sudden ambush would only kill the clone.
His true body could then focus entirely on training while the clone operated in the open.
Of course, shadow clones did have a drawback—if they were maintained for too long, the accumulated fatigue would return to the original body when they were dispelled.
But compared to the benefits, that downside was negligible.
Besides, Ronin hadn't mastered the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. With just a single clone, it wasn't enough to push him into a dangerous state when it returned.
After taking an airship back to Heaven's Arena, Ronin fully entered a lifestyle where his clone acted externally while his true body trained at full capacity.
First, using Milia's connections, he secretly rented a room on the 188th floor. Once his true body moved in there, the clone stayed in his original Room 2333.
Ronin was extremely disciplined when it came to time management.
He woke up at exactly 7:00 a.m. every day. After handling some minor chores, he began training right on time at 8:30.
At 11:30, he took a break. He preferred to cook for himself—another one of Ronin's hobbies.
The food he made wasn't anything amazing, but it suited his own tastes perfectly.
He still wasn't fully accustomed to the more Western-leaning cuisine of this world, so every now and then he treated himself to things like braised pork or hot pot.
After that, Ronin would read for a while—sometimes books, sometimes manga.
Even in a different world, there were plenty of excellent works. Over time, he'd even collected a number of figurines and stylish outfits.
Wearing eccentric clothes was completely normal here. Ronin had even put on cosplay outfits and attended local conventions—it was a surprisingly novel experience.
At 1:00 p.m., he returned to training, continuing until exactly 5:30 p.m. when he wrapped up the day's session. The rest of the time was entirely his own.
Sometimes he'd watch matches, play games, or even go to a club for a foot massage and flirt with the maids there—the big sisters spoke sweetly and were wonderfully soft.
Ronin took improving his strength very seriously, but he also knew how to enjoy life.
In his view, pouring all his time into training would only strip away too much happiness and completely miss the point.
Strength, to him, was more like a tool—to help him live better.
And with that calm, balanced mindset, Ronin noticed that his rate of improvement didn't seem slow at all.
He humbly sought advice from the veteran Nen user and mentor, Milia.
"Cultivating your mindset is also a form of training—and an important part of growing stronger," Milia said. "High-intensity training places a real burden on the body. Balancing work and rest is the more scientific approach."
She even offered a suggestion.
"If you pair it with a proper diet, your training efficiency should improve dramatically. Interested? I have a professional team. It's a bit pricey, but the food tastes great."
"That sounds good. Thank you," Ronin replied politely.
"Oh, right—are you confident about your next match?" Milia asked, a hint of anticipation in her voice.
"Of course." Ronin smiled faintly, giving her a look that said victory was already in hand.