Chapter 61: The Flaming Infant Dragon — A Power Worthy of the Mangekyō

In the world of Naruto, the evolution from the Sharingan to the Mangekyō Sharingan was, at its core, a burst of extreme negative emotion.

Killing someone dear with one's own hands, witnessing the death of a loved one with unbearable helplessness, or plunging into utter despair — those were the triggers.

It wasn't a simple mutation of chakra, but an awakening born from deep scars on the soul.

Yet here in this world of Orario, where the rules were completely different, Ryota had no cherished family, nor had he witnessed the death of someone precious.

But what he did carry was the weight of a soul from another dimension, a sense of rejection from this plane, and the accumulated experience and crushing loneliness earned through countless battles in the Trial Space.

All of it… had converged into the searing, almost inhuman pain that tormented his eye.

Ryota understood very well that this pain — the kind that pierced down to his very bones, stabbing straight through his soul — was the price of "awakening" in this world:

"The logic of the Sharingan is to forge power through pain."

"And even here, the Naruto rules don't change."

As for why it had triggered so suddenly just now, Ryota thought it over and more or less grasped it.

This wasn't a random coincidence, or some blessing from fate.

It was the inevitable result of the steps he'd taken to reach this critical point.

"Five Main Branch Quests…"

"Every one of them awarded me increases to my Dōryoku."

Chakra boosts aside, his dōryoku — his Dōryoku — had accumulated a full 50% along the way.

That went far beyond mere enhanced perception or sharper eyesight.

It was a fundamental, deep-layer activation of the Sharingan's potential.

All of that power had been fed into him, quest after quest, like water into a reservoir.

Add to that all his real combat use of the Sharingan, and the overlapping, building, critical mass had finally exploded!

It was as if the burning line of fire that had torn through his left eye in that instant had long since crept to the edge of his soul.

In the end, before Ryota could even brace himself, the three tomoe had forcibly broken through their limits and evolved.

Ryota reached up, gently touching the skin around his left eye, where the burning ache still lingered.

"At least the result turned out well."

With a self-mocking chuckle, he lifted his head, his gaze once more falling on the Kusanagi Sword's reflection to admire the new eye.

But suddenly, he froze.

"…Huh? Wait!"

The pupil slowly spun.

It wasn't a normal Mangekyō pattern at all.

Instead — two different shapes overlapped and intertwined within it.

One was a sharply symmetrical triple-blade structure, like a shuriken; the other was a six-pointed star, yin and yang locked together.

They were like two marks from different souls, different wills, not conflicting, but tangled around each other in their rotation.

"…What is this supposed to mean?"

Ryota furrowed his brow, filled with deep confusion.

He certainly knew the Mangekyō Sharingan's patterns were unique to each user — that was basically canon in the Naruto world.

Even if the official materials never spelled out pattern equals ability,

every Naruto fan understood: the pattern mirrored a person's unique soul and obsession.

But now…

Ryota's left eye held a pattern that was a fusion of Sasuke's and Itachi's Mangekyō marks?

"That's… rare."

Head swimming with questions, Ryota brought up his info panel with a thought:

[All-Encompassing Divine Eye System]

[Host: Ryota]

[Chakra Level]: A+ (Stable — Absolute Stable Law-Rank)

[Chakra Control]: S Rank (High-Precision Mastery)

[Chakra Nature]: Fire, Lightning

[Sharingan]: Mangekyō Sharingan (Left), Three Tomoe (Right)

[Ninjutsu]:

Omitted (already listed before~)

Lightning Style: Chidori Stream

Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear

[Dōjutsu]

Amaterasu

[Taijutsu]: Omitted

The moment he read the last two characters, Ryota's face changed in an instant.

"…Amaterasu?!"

He blurted out the word almost reflexively, unable to hide the shock in his voice.

Sure, he'd suspected awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan would grant him new abilities.

But never in a million years did he think it would be Amaterasu —

the black flames that burned anything and everything, which could not be extinguished until the target was completely reduced to ash!

"Then… what about Tsukuyomi? Why isn't it there?"

"Maybe it's a reward for the next quest?"

Ryota's heart churned with speculation, but before he could think too deeply, his eyes landed on another tiny but intensely conspicuous line of text—

Absolute Stable Law-Rank.

That was the second change that made Ryota's expression turn completely serious.

"Absolute stable… law-rank…?"

He understood instantly.

His chakra had evolved from its normal flowing, scattered form into a new state of constant stability, no longer disrupted by external influences.

In other words, his chakra had entered an entirely new realm.

This chakra would no longer spiral out of control, no longer be affected by emotional swings, and even under the strain of advanced jutsu or brutal combat, he would not collapse from exhaustion.

"That's not a buff — that's… an evolution."

"The system is setting me up, tuning my chakra to handle something as extreme as Amaterasu!"

Ryota turned his head to glance at the reflection of his right eye in the sword blade.

That was still a steadily spinning three-tomoe Sharingan.

Compared to the left eye, which had already stepped into the "Mangekyō" domain, the right eye remained at the level of a high-tier Sharingan.

"I've awakened one eye — the road ahead will be much easier."

He understood now how the Mangekyō's logic worked, and the system's rules as well.

Complete quests, reach goals, build up chakra, raise Dōryoku…

None of that was just numbers; it was preparing the "heat" needed for the next eye.

"The left eye awoke after completing five quests and reaching +50% Dōryoku."

"So the right eye… once its Dōryoku hits 100%, it'll naturally awaken."

And when that day came, Ryota would have both Mangekyō Sharingan.

One-eyed Mangekyō meant awakening.

Two-eyed Mangekyō — was the true, perfected form!

He was absolutely clear that would be another transformative milestone.

Beyond Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, or even Kamui—

would lie Susanoo!

Sliding the Kusanagi Sword back into its sheath, Ryota gathered his thoughts.

He formed a hand seal, and the puppet Karasu hovering overhead dissolved into a black shadow, whooshing back into his mindscape.

The mission was done, the evolution complete. It was time to leave.

As for commissions or contracts — those could wait.

Besides, he had basically swept floors one through ten this time, so at least he'd pocketed tens of thousands of valis worth of loot.

Turning to the still-unconscious Lain, Ryota bent down and reached out to lift him up.

"Come on, let's get you back—"

—BOOM!!!

Before he could finish, the entire floor suddenly shook!

It was as if some massive creature had rammed up from below.

Ryota's brow tightened.

"What now?"

In that instant, the air on the eleventh floor seemed to change.

It wasn't the typical agitation of a monster waking, nor the collapse of terrain — it was a skin-crawling sense of oppression, spreading through the area.

Another thunderous crash rang out, scattering the distant mist along the horizon.

Ryota narrowed his eyes, and saw a sleek, snow-white dragon streaking toward him at high speed.

Its body wasn't huge, barely half as big as that earlier Minotaur.

But just on its four limbs, its speed was frighteningly fast.

"Its aura… something's off…"

Ryota's eyes glimmered, and he blurted out:

"A rare species! One of the top-tier monsters on the upper floors — a Infant Dragon!"

"My fight with the Minotaur must've woken this guy up."

His face broke into a grin of excitement.

"Perfect. A payday walking straight to me — who am I to refuse?!"

He lowered the freshly-lifted Lain back to the ground, turned to face the Infant Dragon, and instinctively reached for the Kusanagi Sword.

But just as he was about to draw it, his movement froze.

"No… wait…"

"Almost forgot!"

The six-pointed star and shuriken motif in his left eye began to slowly spin, as that familiar yet strange energy welled up from deep in his eye socket.

"Still not used to this…"

He left the sword sheathed, took a step forward, and let the white dragon come barreling closer.

Feeling the right moment arrive, his left pupil contracted sharply, and he shouted—

"—Amaterasu!"

BOOM!!

The air itself seemed to freeze in that instant, then tear apart!

Time felt like it slowed for a heartbeat.

The charging Infant Dragon hadn't even had time to react before a muffled pop rang out.

On one side of its body, black flames silently burst into being!

This was the flame of Amaterasu — the inextinguishable black fire!

It ignored physical and magical resistance, needed no spark, was unmoved by the wind, and once marked, it would burn until the target was reduced to nothing.

"ROOOOAAARRR!!!"

The Infant Dragon howled in agony, stumbling wildly out of control.

It thrashed and smashed against the ground, trying to snuff out the sudden blaze.

But it was useless!

The black flames clung to it like a curse, burning hotter and wilder!

In moments, the Amaterasu flames spread like a black plague, devouring every inch of the Infant Dragon's flesh.

Just a few seconds later, there was a quiet pop.

The upper-floor apex monster, a rare Infant Dragon, finally gave up its struggle and went still, utterly consumed!

At the same time, Ryota's body shuddered violently.

His left eye began to throb, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner, sliding down his pale cheek to splash on the stone floor.

"Even I… can't escape the backlash, huh…"

The Mangekyō Sharingan was never a perfect power.

It was not only a symbol of "strength," but also a chain of "consequence."

Overuse would damage one's vision, drain one's spirit, and could even lead to permanent blindness.

Even Ryota, with chakra reserves and physical toughness far beyond any normal human, was still flesh — he couldn't carry that burden forever.

Because he knew all too well the terrible price of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Ryota's desire for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan — that perfected state which could break free of all side effects and lock his dōjutsu at their peak — only burned stronger.

He wiped away the blood from his left eye, lifted Lain up again, and walked toward the Infant Dragon's smoldering remains.

"Let's head back to the surface first. Next time, I'll push even deeper…"