He simply stood quietly on the beach of Ugo no Mei · Banri Ikku, feeling that massive, pure Dōjutsu from another spacetime crash into the depths of his soul like a bursting dam.
There was no anticipated sharp pain.
No soul-tearing conflict.
Everything was eerily calm.
Sora's body had long since been forged into the most perfect furnace.
The boundless life force of the Sage-level Uzumaki body was the fuel.
The purest First Hokage Wood Release source energy was the furnace wall.
The chakra of Uchiha and Senju, countless portions long since devoured and fused within his body,was the molten iron, already boiling and churning.
Everything was ready.
All that was missing was the east wind.
And this conceptual "Six-Tomoe Rinnegan," originating from that other Sasuke, was that final,and most crucial,breath of east wind.
It was like a perfect catalyst, precisely dropped into the furnace named "Akashi Sora."
Weng,
A roar that couldn't be captured by the ears, only perceived by the soul, resounded through heaven and earth.
The boiling molten iron found its ultimate destination at this moment.
The powers of Indra and Asura were no longer two distinct streams. Under the forceful mediation of this external power, they completely intermingled, sublimated, and reached a brand-new, unprecedented height.
Over these years, Sora, like the most gluttonous of beasts, had ceaselessly consumed and accumulated.
His total chakra reserves had long since surpassed those of the Senju Hashirama of yore. He could be called a complete Nine-Tails wearing human skin.
His body had long since approached that of the Sage of Six Paths infinitely closely.
Now, all the accumulation, all the groundwork,at this very moment,completed the ultimate leap from quantitative change to qualitative change.
When conditions are ripe, success is natural.
Sora slowly opened his eyes.
Those demonic Mangekyō Sharingan, with their three rotating black sickle-blades, had vanished.
In their place were a pair of purple eyes, rippling with mysterious concentric rings.
The Rinnegan.
His,Akashi Sora's,unique Rinnegan.
The world, in his eyes, transformed once again.
Finally... done.
The process was smoother than I imagined. Didn't even get much of a sense of ceremony.
Sora curled his lip. No excitement on his face. Instead, he looked rather bored.
He raised his hand, examining his brand-new eyes for a moment.
Let me test what new tricks this thing can do.
He cast his gaze toward a distant, man-sized reef rock on the beach.
The Rinnegan's Dōjutsu silently activated.
In his vision, that reef was enveloped in a pale golden glow visible only to him.
「Anchor」 , defined.
Then, he casually pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and hurled it forcefully toward his own face!
The kunai traced a cold arc through the air, cutting through the wind, aimed straight at his forehead.
Just as the kunai was about to graze his skin,
Sora's will moved.
「Divine Exile」
Shua!
The high-speed kunai abruptly vanished from its position before him.
In the next second,
Thunk!
On that distant reef, defined as the Anchor, a kunai materialized out of thin air, deeply embedded in the rock.
And where the kunai had originally been, a grain of sand the size of a rice kernel appeared in its place.
Hmm... forced spatial displacement. Not bad.
More convenient than Ugo no Mei · Banri Ikku. No need to swap positions along with it.
Sora stroked his chin, offering a preliminary assessment.
Now, the next one.
He redefined the Anchor target as himself.
A pale golden glow enveloped his own form.
He was the center of this world, the immovable origin point.
He raised his head, looking a kilometer away above the sea's surface, at a seabird circling in the air.
His will moved once more.
「Divine Exile」
Shua!
That pitiful seabird, without even a chance to let out a mournful cry, appeared out of thin air at Sora's feet, flapping its wings in utter confusion.
And the position it had originally occupied was replaced by a wisp of insignificant air.
Interesting. Distance-ignoring forced retrieval.
Not a bad choice for capturing enemy leaders... or tossing an enemy's ultimate attack to the ends of the earth.
Sora nudged the terrified seabird at his feet with amused interest.
He attempted a few more times.
Displacing distant clouds with seashells at his feet.
Displacing deep-sea fish with airborne water vapor.
All things were within his control, subject to spatial rearrangement at his whim.
After wreaking havoc within his own divine kingdom for quite a while, Sora finally stopped.
He stood on the beach, arms folded, a playful, almost critical expression on his face.
That's it?
He couldn't help but complain internally.
The ability isn't bad. Tyrannical enough, practical enough.
But... compared to my Mangekyō, the flashiness is way too lacking!
One masters coordinates and creation. The other just forces displacement. The levels of style aren't even on the same tier.
So-so. It'll do, I guess.
Sora reached his final conclusion, his tone dripping with Versailles-style disdain.
If he had to describe the feeling of just acquiring the Rinnegan, Akashi Sora felt it was probably like installing a brand-new, top-tier graphics card with a slightly counterintuitive user interface into an already maxed-out computer.
Performance was indeed maxed. The entire world's "rendering" had changed.
Returning from Amenominaka to his apartment living room didn't even cause a ripple of spatial fluctuation.
It was like cutting and pasting a file,himself,from one folder to another.
Simple. Efficient. Utterly uneventful.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again. The rippling purple irises receded, restoring those harmless amber eyes.
Yet the world, as he "saw" it, was completely different.
No longer just points, lines, and planes.
He could "see" the "thickness" of space. He could "see" the "coordinates" each object occupied. He could "see" the "distance" between them,distances that could be wantonly altered.
The entire world, in his eyes, had become a sandbox game where elements could be freely dragged, dropped, and replaced.
Not bad. Vision's been upgraded. No more worrying about sneak attacks in future fights.
It's just this Divine Exile... using it always feels a bit awkward. Not as smooth as Ugo no Mei · Banri Ikku.
Whatever. New toy. Bound to have an adjustment period.
Sora stretched, feeling thoroughly refreshed.
The process of unlocking the Rinnegan had been more akin to a deep sleep, perfectly sorting through all the power he had accumulated over the years.
Right now, he felt clear-headed and energized. He just wanted to find a comfortable spot and continue his unfinished afternoon nap.
As for that middle-aged Sasuke from another world, whose psychological defenses were already crumbling to pieces?
Leave him to Itachi and Shisui.
Specialized psychological problems are best left to specialized 'fellow patients' to counsel.
Brotherly love, family harmony,nothing heals a love-starved rebellious teen better. Even if that teen is already middle-aged.
Humming cheerfully, Sora strolled into his bedroom and flopped onto the soft, large bed.
---
Meanwhile.
Ichiraku Premium Hot Pot, Main Store, VIP Room.
After Akashi Sora vanished, that invisible pressure weighing on his heart dissipated as well.
But another kind of silence,heavier, more viscous,descended upon the room.
Glug, glug.
The copper pot at the center of the table still churned tirelessly. The beef tallow aroma grew ever stronger, yet it seemed to mock the loss of appetite among those seated.
"Alright! Work time!"
In the end, it was Uchiha Shisui who first broke the silence.
He abruptly stood, clapped his hands vigorously, and his face once again donned that sunny, brilliant smile,as if the worldview-shattering conversation from moments ago had been nothing but a harmless joke.
He walked over to Itachi, giving his best friend a firm pat on the shoulder, his tone light.
"Itachi, your brother... I leave him to you."
Shisui winked at him, his smile carrying a hint of sympathy and the teasing implication of "good luck."
"I'm off to complete my mission."
Before his words finished, his figure left an afterimage in the air and vanished instantly.
In the room, only the Uchihas,separated by spacetime and staring at each other,remained.
Itachi adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His gaze, behind the lenses, fell upon the man who had kept his head lowered the entire time, as if his soul had been extracted.
A brother... from another world.
A brother who, because of my 'death' and 'betrayal,' fell into an endless hell.
Really... you've left me an enormous problem, Lord Fifth.
Itachi let out a bitter laugh in his heart,one no one else could hear.
He stood, straightened his immaculate suit, and recovered the composure and poise befitting the chairman of the Development and Reform Commission.
"Let's go."
He spoke softly to the rigid man and the bewildered Boruto beside him.
"Mister, where are we going?" Boruto asked quietly. He could feel that the oppressive atmosphere in the room was making it hard for him to breathe.
"Home."
Itachi's answer was simple, yet heavy.
---
The Uchiha compound at night held a different atmosphere from the daytime bustle,an added layer of tranquility and peace.
Along both sides of the street, warm lights shone through the windows of every home. The laughter of children and the chatter of housewives could be faintly heard.
Uchiha clansmen, clad in the brand-new Police Force uniforms, patrolled the streets in pairs, their spirits high. Upon seeing Itachi, they would halt and salute respectfully.
"Chairman Itachi."
Itachi responded with a smile and a nod. Every gesture exuded the calm authority of one in power.
To Boruto, this was novel.
But to the middle-aged Sasuke, it was the cruelest torture.
He walked like a wandering ghost, traversing a paradise he had long ago lost.
Every lamp here, every smile, every greeting was like a searing hot blade, repeatedly cutting into his soul.
Numbly, he followed behind Itachi. Every step felt like treading upon his own shattered heart.
Finally, they stopped before the most imposing,and most familiar,residence.
Upon the great gate, the massive uchiwa clan crest stood silently beneath the moonlight.
This was his home.
A place he could only return to in his deepest nightmares.
Itachi pushed open the heavy wooden door.
"I'm home."
Warm light spilled out from the entrance hall.
A gentle figure emerged from the kitchen, hands still dusted with flour, an apron tied around her waist.
"Itachi, you're back. Did Lord Fifth make you work overtime this late again...?"
Uchiha Mikoto's voice carried a note of affectionate reproach.
But when her gaze passed her eldest son and fell upon the two unfamiliar figures behind him, her words abruptly ceased.
Especially that... that one-armed man, identical to her youngest son, yet covered in the wear of countless storms and the aura of death.
"Itachi, are they...?"
A steady male voice spoke. Uchiha Fugaku emerged from the study.
He wore a casual indoor kimono. The stern authority of the Police Force head was absent from his face, but the cold composure of a family patriarch remained.
His gaze, hawk-like and sharp, imperceptibly contracted the moment it landed on the middle-aged Sasuke.
Just then.
A figure stormed in cursing from the backyard training ground, drenched in sweat, yet face alight with unyielding pride.
"Niisan! You're finally back! That bastard Sora's Shadow Clone gave me extra training again! Next time, I'm definitely piercing him with my Chidori Sharp Spear,"
The youth's words cut off abruptly, like a duck seized by the neck, the moment he saw the one-armed man in the living room.
Uchiha Sasuke.
This world's thirteen-year-old Uchiha Sasuke, standing in the sunlight.
He stared blankly at that man,identical to himself, yet seeming to have crawled out of hell.
A deathly silence filled the living room.
Itachi slowly walked to the center of the room.
He glanced at his utterly shocked parents, then at his dumbfounded little brother.
Finally, his gaze rested on that "Sasuke" from another world,body swaying, as if about to shatter at any moment.
His voice was very soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
"Father, Mother, Sasuke."
Itachi drew a deep breath, as if mustering all his strength.
"Allow me to introduce."
He extended a hand, pointing toward the one-armed man. Every word was spoken with immense difficulty.
"This... is also Sasuke."
Itachi's gaze ultimately fixed upon the man who had lost all color in his face, whose soul seemed to have already departed. His voice held a trace of indescribable pity.
"Say hello."