(This chapter has also been reordered, so the section comments were cleared. Looking forward to seeing them filled again~)
When Akira saw Jin's figure within his mind, his memories were dragged back to that autumn of Konoha Year 73.
In the seventy-third year of Konoha, Akira and Jin had brought their families to Saiheyuan Village in the Land of Earth to attend the Obon Six-Mon Lantern Festival.
It was only for a brief moment—each of them stepping away to tend to their families.
And Jin had fallen by the river beneath Fushikawa Shrine.
By the time Akira arrived, Jin had already lost all signs of life. His eyes were wide open, fixed on the sky, as if he had witnessed something incomprehensibly terrifying before death.
With Yomotsu Hirasaka Flow in his possession, Akira could manipulate the boundary between life and death.
Just like when he had once recovered those "masterpieces" of the past.
Desperately, he reversed time again and again—until blood vessels burst in his eyes—yet Jin's cold body would not regain warmth.
Akira realized the moment of death had exceeded the limit he could rewind.
He immediately thought of a forbidden technique capable of reviving Jin—
The Reanimation Life Transfer technique Granny Chiyo had used to bring Gaara back to life.
Fortunately, Chiyo was among his Edo Tensei "collection."
He summoned her at once—already placed under Kotoamatsukami—and forced her to teach him the technique.
Akira formed the seals and began transferring his life force directly into Jin.
But the channel for life force was shut.
He couldn't send it in.
Jin could not be revived.
When Akira demanded an explanation, Chiyo remained silent for a long time before answering:
"The prerequisite for Reanimation Life Transfer is that the person must not have been dead for more than twelve hours. The soul must not yet have reached the Pure Land."
"If Jin cannot be revived, then his soul has already arrived there."
Then she added, her tone grave:
"For a soul to reach the Pure Land within half an hour… there has never been such a precedent."
At that moment, Akira understood.
Bringing Jin back alive was impossible.
He forced himself to calm down.
No panic. No recklessness.
He could not repeat the mistake that had cost his parents their lives.
At the very least, he had to find out what Jin had seen before dying.
Akira released a White Zetsu from the Yomotsu time sector and attempted to perform Edo Tensei—just as he once had with his parents.
Even if Jin would eventually find peace and ascend, as they had—
Even if it meant losing him again—
He didn't care.
But reality dealt him a merciless blow.
Edo Tensei failed.
Jin's soul could not be summoned back.
It was as if an invisible hand had sealed off every path that might allow Akira to see his brother again.
He could still see it clearly—
His sister-in-law Samui, clutching young Kaze and Hana, grief-stricken beyond words.
If there truly existed some unknown entity in this ninja world—one even he, a transmigrator, had never known—
If it could kill Jin without a trace—
Then it could just as easily kill anyone around him.
Intentionally or not, the culprit had left behind Jin's eyes.
For the first time, Akira understood with absolute clarity—
His power was not enough to protect the people he loved.
This could never happen again.
To prevent it, he needed greater strength.
And so, he inherited Jin's eyes.
He awakened his own Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The "time freeze" that once required Jin's Midōtsunami to assist his Yomotsu Flow—
He could now perform alone.
Akira froze Jin's body in time and placed it in the farthest compartment of the Yomotsu time sector.
There was still one path left to revive his brother—
The Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
But that required the Rinnegan.
With the potential of his Eternal Mangekyō, awakening the Rinnegan one day was not impossible.
Still—
Unless absolutely necessary—
He would not take that road.
They were no longer two brothers alone against the world.
They each had families.
He had responsibilities.
Reviving Jin was set aside.
In the years that followed, Akira never stopped investigating the cause of his brother's death.
There were no wounds.
No internal injuries like those inflicted by the Hyūga Gentle Fist.
Yet his expression before death was one of utter terror.
The only viable explanation—
A mental assault.
Likely so.
But who in the entire ninja world could kill a Mangekyō wielder as strong as Jin through pure spiritual shock?
Akira was certain—
Not even the lurking Ōtsutsuki Isshiki or anyone in Kara possessed such a figure.
Anxiety. Unease. Guilt.
They tormented him relentlessly.
Late at night, one thought would return again and again:
"If only I had arrived at the shrine river sooner… maybe Jin could have been saved."
Regret took form.
Guilt took shape.
They became Jin—an entity of negative emotion that woke him from nightmares more than once.
To prevent it from eroding his spirit, Akira sealed that darkness deep within the Sea of Samādhi.
The seal was firm.
But now—
He stood on the brink of death.
The seal had loosened.
It had not fully broken free—
But a projection slipped through and appeared before his consciousness.
Just as the Nine-Tails' chakra once leaked through Naruto's seal.
The voice grew harsher:
"Answer me! Didn't you say you would protect me for life?"
Akira did not reply.
"Then die!"
Boom!
The Jin before him lifted hollow eyes.
Dark aura condensed into the skeletal frame of Susanoo.
A bony hand seized Akira.
From its gaps, black sinews crawled forth—
Piercing into his chest—
Magnifying the agony in his shattered heart.
"AAAAAHHH—!"
Akira's scream echoed through Kamui space.
Nearby, Obito watched the flesh at Akira's chest writhe and tear anew.
"The vessels repaired by Hashirama cells… they've ruptured again."
"And what is this? His chakra has split into a dark undercurrent—it's spreading like poison."
Obito clenched his fist.
"This is bad…"
At this rate, Akira would die.
He had to do something.
Obito did not know what battle Akira faced.
But he possessed one ability—
Through Kamui, he could transmit chakra into another's spiritual plane.
He had once aided Kakashi this way after death.
Placing his hand on Akira's forehead, Obito closed his eyes, preparing to synchronize—
Boom!
A dark Susanoo manifested in his mindscape!
Negative emotions twisted into a vortex more violent than Kamui itself—
Threatening to devour him whole.
He nearly lost himself.
Obito jerked his hand away as if shocked.
What… was that?
The sheer brutality of that emotion—
It rivaled the worst of his own past.
Which meant—
Akira desperately needed assistance.
Steeling himself, Obito reached again—
"Obito. Let me handle this myself!"
Akira's hoarse voice trembled through clenched teeth.
Obito's hand froze an inch from his forehead.
Akira brushed it aside.
His left eye—
Now shone as the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Obito smiled faintly.
"Oh?"
"Strong-willed… just like me."
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