A vertical eye opened in the middle of his forehead.
The blood-red pupil was ringed with concentric circles of varying sizes, scattered with nine tomoe.
As the pupil darted around, it seemed as if it could pierce through space to behold other worlds.
No, it wasn't an illusion. He was truly seeing other dimensions.
Within the overlapping turbulence of space-time, countless spherical and cubic objects encased in spatial barriers were drifting about.
Those were sub-dimensions, existing as attachments to various primary worlds.
Within these sub-dimensions, Jokichi saw Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest, and even the Pure Land of the Underworld...
He could even clearly see the slumbering souls inside.
Suddenly, Jokichi's gaze stopped on two particular souls.
They were a young man and woman.
The man looked average, but his facial features were very gentle.
The woman possessed delicate features and was exceedingly beautiful.
Jokichi's own appearance seemed to be a perfect combination of their best traits.
Looking at the pair, Jokichi felt a sense of intimacy swell within his heart. Yet, at the same time, his emotions were incredibly complicated.
After hesitating for a moment, he shifted his gaze past their souls. He channeled his ocular power, trying with all his might to gaze even further away.
His sight pierced through the densely packed sub-dimensions, crossing over the layered tides of space-time turbulence...
Finally, in the unfathomable depths of the void, he saw a colossal barrier too massive to take in all at once.
That was a primary world on the exact same scale as the Shinobi World.
The proof lay in the similarly dense cluster of sub-dimensions drifting near its massive barrier.
Otsutsuki Kaguya's Byakugan was capable of piercing through dimensional barriers to see the scenery of other worlds.
But she could only see through sub-dimensions.
An existence like a primary world was something Kaguya could never perceive.
If asked why he was so certain, the answer lay in his Rinne Sharingan. Its unique abilities were intrinsically tied to space-time.
Although Kaguya's Amenominaka was also a space-time ability, there was a fundamental difference between the two.
Jokichi's power leaned heavily toward the flow of time. It could protect entities traveling through the space-time turbulence without being affected, making it an ocular jutsu truly designed for dimensional travel.
Jokichi focused his mind, trying to peer through the barrier to see the world inside.
However, a layer of flowing fluorescent light coated the barrier, completely blocking Jokichi's sight.
No matter how much ocular power he channeled, he simply could not see the situation inside that world.
Is that the will of the macro-universe?
Jokichi pondered thoughtfully.
He could sense the power of that fluorescent light. It was incredibly strong, yet bound to that world. It was somewhat similar to the aura radiating from the Monitor, but countless times more massive.
Before that layer of light, his current strength felt as insignificant as an ant.
"I can't go to that kind of world for now. I need to look for others!"
Bypassing that world, he looked toward an even more distant horizon.
Amidst the chaotic turbulence, he spotted two more world barriers.
However, those places were much too far away.
Jokichi's Rinne Sharingan could not see that far clearly.
He reeled his gaze back, finally resting it upon his parents slumbering in the Pure Land.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Jokichi seemed to make up his mind. A resolute gleam settled in his eyes.
He activated his ocular power.
The space in front of him abruptly twisted and spiraled, forming a pitch-black tunnel leading into the unknown.
His parents, currently sleeping in the Pure Land, were swept up by the spatial distortion and dragged straight back to the living world.
Freed from the rules of the Pure Land, their consciousnesses gradually awakened. Slowly, they opened their eyes.
The first thing they saw was Jokichi. Yet, they didn't react immediately, merely scanning their surroundings in bewilderment.
Gradually, the memories of their final moments resurfaced, and they woke up with a start.
"Didn't we die?"
"Yeah, we were crushed to death by that flying boulder together."
The bewildered couple looked at each other, realizing they were both in a transparent, spectral state.
"What the heck? So we really are dead!"
They both laughed, seemingly relieved.
They had honestly thought they'd become zombies for a second!
Seeing them accept their deaths so calmly, Jokichi swallowed the words he had wanted to say.
The couple finally noticed Jokichi, who was hesitating to speak.
Staring at the young man who felt both familiar and deeply foreign, a hint of uncertainty crept into their hearts.
"...Are you Jokichi?"
His mother asked, her voice tinged with doubt.
The familial bond running through their blood had established an innate connection between the three of them.
However, their child had black hair and black eyes.
Yet the eyes of the man before them were a glowing, soft blue. Furthermore, a vertical eye that resembled a Sharingan, but was fundamentally different, sat in the middle of his forehead.
Thus, even though his features mirrored theirs and radiated that deep blood intimacy, they still couldn't be entirely sure.
Hearing his mother's question, Jokichi looked up and broke into a warm smile.
"Yes, I am Jokichi. Father, Mother, it's been a long time."
"It really is Jokichi!"
Overjoyed, his mother lunged forward and pulled him into a tight embrace, tears of joy streaming from her eyes.
His father wasn't quite as animated, but he smiled happily, looking thoroughly relieved and proud.
"You've grown so big. It must have been over twenty years, hasn't it?"
"Are you married?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Not yet?"
"You have to hurry up and find one! Otherwise, all the pretty and virtuous girls will be snatched up by other men."
Jokichi: "..."
At first, while wrapped in his mother's arms.
Feeling the maternal love he hadn't experienced in decades, his heart swelled with immense joy and profound emotion. He was even on the verge of shedding tears.
But when his mother fired off her triple-combo of interrogation followed by two direct orders, he was utterly rendered speechless.
How is this exactly like the cross-examination my older brother faced when he came home in my previous life!
Back then, since it wasn't aimed at him, he had found it hilarious.
But now that he was the target, he couldn't laugh anymore.
Nevertheless, despite feeling speechless.
The overwhelming urge to cry shifted entirely into boundless joy.
Because of his past life's memories and his lack of conversation with his current parents, he hadn't known how to interact with them. But now, that awkward distance had vanished instantly.
Perhaps Mother realized this and said those things on purpose!
From their perspective, I only spent a month with them. I shouldn't have any memories of them at all.
Jokichi gently stepped out of his mother's embrace and chuckled. "I'm not married yet, but I do have a girlfriend. Her name is Yamanaka Ino. She's a very beautiful and lively girl."
"It's good that you have a girlfriend, but..."
His mother frowned. "Yamanaka Ino? Is she from that Yamanaka Clan?"
"If you two get married in the future, won't you have to marry into her family?"
"Have you met her parents?"
"How do they treat you?"
"If they treat you poorly, just go find someone else!"
"..."
Jokichi was speechless once again.
Seeing Jokichi's expression, his father couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"As adults, it's best we don't interfere too much in our child's matters."
"At the end of the day, we are already dead."
Hearing these words, his mother's expression dimmed.
She grabbed Jokichi's shoulders with both hands, lowered her head, and spoke softly, "...I'm sorry, Jokichi. Your Father and Mother left you behind, forcing you to live all alone for so long."