Shinji shook his head.
Even now, his head felt swollen, as if stuffed to the brim with chakra, barely able to contain it all.
This dizzying sensation wasn't pleasant, but he knew it was a normal reaction to the massive surge in dojutsu power.
"Mumei!"
Snapping back to reality, Shinji hurriedly looked toward Mumei.
In the now-darkened underground training ground, Mumei sat slumped on the floor, her head lowered, her expression hidden.
Shinji rushed over, grabbing her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Mumei lifted her head, her unfocused eyes gazing at Shinji. "Shinji, your Rinnegan has six tomoe. Did we succeed?"
Shinji's voice was low. "Your Sharingan…"
Her unfocused gaze was undoubtedly due to a severe loss of vision, but since Mumei could still count the tomoe on his Rinnegan, she hadn't gone completely blind.
Yet her once bewitching, crimson Sharingan had turned a dull, lifeless gray, a sight that pained Shinji deeply.
Mumei smiled faintly. "I'm fine!"
"You were too reckless! If it didn't work this time, we could've come up with a new plan. Acting so rashly could've ruined you!" Shinji began, intending to scold her sternly, but seeing the blood tears on her face, his voice softened unconsciously, ending in a sigh of lingering fear.
Mumei said, "You're underestimating me. Back in the clan, I used to transfer chakra to our people like this! And now, with my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, I'll recover quickly!"
Shinji didn't dare take it lightly. "Come with me!"
Bringing Mumei to the laboratory, Shinji hooked her up to various instruments and began examining her condition.
Moments later, the data came in.
Looking at the readings, Shinji let out a long breath.
Mumei, seeing this, grinned. "Told you I'm fine!"
Shinji's face remained serious. "That was dangerous. You came very close to exceeding the limit. Even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan has a breaking point. If you surpass the limit of dojutsu power output, your eyes will be ruined!"
The data showed Mumei's chakra was almost completely depleted, indicating she had poured every ounce of it out through 'Yachihoko'.
Fortunately, 'Yachihoko's' ability was extraordinary enough; otherwise, Mumei might not only have lost her Sharingan but could have died from chakra exhaustion.
Mumei gave an awkward smile. "It's not that bad, is it?"
Shinji, exasperated, explained, "The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is a stable dojutsu Bloodline Limit, but it still has limits. If you exceed the output limit—like using a forbidden technique such as 'Izanami'—it'll go blind just like a regular Mangekyo Sharingan. So don't let 'Yachihoko's' power make you complacent."
Mumei nodded seriously this time. "I understand."
Shinji gently patted her shoulder. "It's partly my fault for not warning you beforehand."
Mumei, after all, was an Uchiha. Having awakened 'Yachihoko', she was naturally proud of her ability to transfer chakra. Now, with her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, her dojutsu power had surged, and 'Yachihoko's' potency had grown as well, making her a bit overconfident—a common Uchiha trait.
Still, compared to others, Mumei was relatively calm and clear-headed for an Uchiha.
If this kind of dojutsu power were in Sasuke's hands, he likely wouldn't listen to a word Shinji said at this moment.
Setting aside Mumei's medical data, Shinji carefully examined her Sharingan. "Your dojutsu power is heavily depleted. For the short term, you probably won't be able to use your Sharingan. But the foundation isn't damaged, so it should recover gradually over time."
Mumei wasn't worried about herself and instead asked excitedly, "Shinji, did we succeed?"
"Yes!"
Shinji nodded, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curling into a smile.
Once the 'Six-Tomoe Rinnegan' stabilized, he sensed that his three Mangekyo dojutsu—'Jikibi', 'Wazunagi', and 'Susanoo Tomoshibi'—had fully returned.
In other words, he now almost perfectly wielded the combined dojutsu power and techniques of both the Rinnegan and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
He reasoned that even if he heavily depleted his dojutsu power, causing the tomoe on his Rinnegan's spiral patterns to fade, they would naturally reappear after some rest. The 'Six-Tomoe Rinnegan' had become his Rinnegan's default state.
Moreover.
While examining Mumei, he discovered he could deactivate his Rinnegan, reverting his pupils to their original inky-black state.
This was something even Sasuke, who had fought in the Fourth Great Shinobi War in the original timeline, couldn't do.
In Shinji's memory, only pure Otsutsuki like Momoshiki and Urashiki could freely switch between Byakugan and Rinnegan.
Why this was possible, Shinji wasn't sure.
It might be that awakening the 'Six-Tomoe Rinnegan' naturally granted the ability to deactivate the Rinnegan. As for why Sasuke couldn't do it in the original timeline, Shinji speculated it was because Sasuke only awakened a single 'Six-Tomoe Rinnegan'.
After all, there was a fundamental difference between one eye and two.
After sending Mumei to rest, Shinji returned to the underground training ground.
With 'Jikibi', 'Wazunagi', and 'Susanoo Tomoshibi' fully restored, he naturally wanted to reacquaint himself with these dojutsu.
Standing in the center of the training ground, he gathered his focus and activated 'Susanoo'.
In an instant, a golden silhouette projected from his body, swiftly forming a half-body skeletal frame, followed by muscles and sinews, then clad in thick armor.
Shinji clenched his fist.
With his current dojutsu power, maintaining the half-body 'Susanoo' was effortless, with no strain at all.
After a brief adjustment, he activated 'Susanoo Tomoshibi'.
Roar!
With a furious roar from 'Susanoo', its faceplate vanished, revealing four pairs of eye sockets arranged vertically!
Shinji looked up and froze.
He would have been satisfied just recovering the three pairs of eye sockets from his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan days. But after the complete fusion of his Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu power, awakening the 'Six-Tomoe Rinnegan', the power of his 'Susanoo Tomoshibi' had advanced further, adding a fourth pair of eye sockets.
As a result, with four pairs of eye sockets aligned on 'Susanoo's' face, it exuded an inexplicable aura of majesty and terror!