Chapter 36 (Patreon)

“System, redeem [Bloodline Upgrade Scrolls] and use them to upgrade my [Uchiha Bloodline]!”

“Ding! [Uchiha Bloodline] upgraded to Level 1. One-tomoe Sharingan awakened!”

“Ding! [Uchiha Bloodline] upgraded to Level 2. Two-tomoe Sharingan awakened!”

“Ding! [Uchiha Bloodline] upgraded to Level 3. Three-tomoe Sharingan awakened!”

“Ding! [Uchiha Bloodline] upgraded to Level 4. Mangekyō Sharingan awakened!”

Naruto had redeemed four [Bloodline Upgrade Scrolls] at once, taking his Sharingan straight to the Mangekyō stage.

He tried to continue, hoping to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in the same way, but another notification interrupted him.

“Ding! [Uchiha Bloodline] has reached its maximum upgrade level. To obtain the [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan], acquire another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, then redeem and use a [Bloodline Fusion Scroll].”

Naruto considered the message for a moment, then sighed. So much for getting the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in one go.

Leaving aside his own newly awakened eyes, there were only three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan he could consider in the shinobi world. If he included the pair Sasuke would eventually awaken, that made four possible sources.

Madara’s eyes had already evolved into the Rinnegan. Even if Naruto managed to obtain them, they would be a pair of Rinnegan rather than the Mangekyō Sharingan he needed.

Which of those four pairs should he choose? And which could he actually obtain?

He thought it over, then set the idea aside for now. He wasn’t ready to face Obito or Itachi. Even Danzō was beyond his current strength.

First, he needed to find out what his own Mangekyō Sharingan could do.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was said to reflect its wielder’s heart. Its abilities differed from person to person, shaped by the desires buried deepest within them.

Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Naruto quietly teleported to a deserted stretch of river. He leaned over the water, curious to see the pattern in his eyes.

Yet the first thing he noticed was the face looking back at him.

A twelve-year-old boy with blond hair, a passably handsome face, and three whisker marks on each cheek.

Naruto Uzumaki. He looked almost exactly like the boy Naruto remembered from the anime.

“But... what did I look like?”

The reflection seemed to blur.

Several months had passed since he arrived in this world. Now, a truth he had almost stopped thinking about returned to him.

He was Naruto Uzumaki, yet he wasn’t the Naruto Uzumaki who had originally belonged to this world.

His home was on another planet. There were no shinobi there, but there were televisions, mobile phones, computers, airplanes, tanks, and missiles...

He had parents in that world, too. Friends. Classmates.

It all felt like someone else’s life now. He couldn’t even remember what he had looked like.

What had he done in his previous life?

He couldn’t remember.

Had he ever had a girlfriend?

He couldn’t remember that, either.

What had his parents looked like?

Even their faces were gone.

“Who am I? Am I still the same person?”

In this world, his parents were dead, and very few people truly cared about him. Iruka-sensei treated him kindly, but even Iruka had a life of his own. Other people had their own families, their own lives.

Aside from Iruka, only Hinata cared about him.

But Hinata was still so young. He couldn’t tell her the secret of where he had come from, much less share the worries and confusion weighing on his heart.

“I’m alone.”

Was that his fate? To remain alone?

Did he have to quietly accept it, or could he fight to change it?

The [Destiny Selection System] had already helped him come this far.

“Mangekyō Sharingan... can you help me break free of that fate, too?”

His reflection came back into focus.

His irises turned crimson, each marked by a black, eight-pointed star. The unfamiliar pattern gave his eyes a strange, mysterious depth.

“The Mangekyō...!”

Naruto poured chakra into his left eye.

The black star began to spin rapidly, but at first, nothing seemed to happen. No black flames appeared. He felt no sudden disturbance in his mind.

“Wait... something did change.”

The river was flowing more slowly.

Even the fish beneath the surface seemed to move at a fraction of their usual speed.

“Is time slowing down?”

Without thinking, Naruto raised his hand.

It moved at twice the speed he expected. He had barely tried to move it, yet it looked as though he had jerked it upward.

“I get it... My time’s speeding up!”

A shiver ran through him, and excitement crept into his voice.

The world’s time hadn’t changed. His own time was moving faster.

Everything around him looked slower because his movements and reactions had accelerated together. His body wasn’t moving too quickly for his mind to keep up; both were working at the same increased speed.

His left eye’s ability was [Time Acceleration].

It accelerated time for Naruto himself.

His movements became faster. His reactions became faster. Even the speed at which he formed hand signs increased.

That gave him a tremendous advantage in taijutsu, making up for one of his current weaknesses.

And his ninjutsu would be faster, too.

The time it took to activate a jutsu could decide a fight. Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God Technique had made him feared throughout the shinobi world precisely because he could use it without hand signs or any delay.

Now Naruto could unleash his own techniques much faster.

His overall strength had taken another considerable leap.

There were still two problems to consider: what accelerating his own time might do to his lifespan, and the gradual loss of vision caused by using the Mangekyō Sharingan too often.

“Time Acceleration in the left eye... So what does the right one do?”

Naruto deactivated his left eye’s ability and directed chakra into his right.

The same black, eight-pointed star began to spin rapidly.

As it turned, a faint, instinctive understanding came to him.

He drew a kunai and slashed his left arm. The blade cut through skin and into muscle, and blood spilled from the wound.

An instant later, the blood flowed back into the cut. Torn muscle and skin drew together, leaving his arm unmarked.

It was as though he had never cut himself at all.

“Just as I thought!”

An excited smile spread across Naruto’s face.

There was only one explanation for what he had just seen.

His right eye’s ability was [Time Reversal].

He tried again, this time gouging a line into the ground with his kunai.

He waited, but the mark remained.

“So it only works on me... just like Time Acceleration.”

With that confirmed, Naruto deactivated his right eye’s ability. Then he laughed, unable to hold it in any longer.

Unless an attack killed him instantly or damaged his mind or soul, he could undo it. As long as he remained able to activate his right eye, he could reverse even the most severe injuries and other harmful effects, restoring his body to its previous state.

He already possessed the exceptional [Physical Healing] granted by his [God-Level Bloodline], the [Sage Body of the Uzumaki Clan].

Combined with Time Reversal, that really would give him an undying body.

Even the possible cost to his lifespan from using [Time Acceleration] now had a solution.

His left eye gave him a tremendous boost in both taijutsu and ninjutsu.

His right eye made him almost impossible to kill.

“So that’s what’s in my heart? I want to become stronger that badly?”

Naruto murmured to himself.

“Wait...!”

Another possibility struck him.

[Time Reversal] could undo the damage he inflicted on himself by opening the Eight Inner Gates.

That meant he could open them again and again, without limit!

And if he opened all eight...?

If Might Guy’s ultimate attack was Night Guy, what would Naruto’s version be called?

“Night Naruto?”

“Night Naruto... as many times as I want?”

“Hahaha!”

Naruto broke into a bright grin.

Suddenly, this world seemed a lot more wonderful.