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Chapter 59
By the time Ling Yu and Tsunade reached the mountaintop, the battle above had already ended.
All the wooden houses were destroyed. The ground was riddled with craters, and at the very center of the battlefield was a half-meter-deep pit.
The entire bandit stronghold lay in ruins. Every remaining bandit—including the target missing-nin from this mission—lay on the ground in pieces, completely lifeless.
Bright red blood stained the earth, pooling into large and small puddles across the pitted terrain.
This apocalyptic scene had been entirely caused by the massive pink skeletal giant standing at the heart of the battlefield.
"This… this was done by Mikoto and Kushina?"
Tsunade stared blankly at the devastated battlefield, mouth agape in disbelief.
While rushing here with Ling Yu, he had already explained that the pink giant was the manifestation of Mikoto's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Having dealt with the Uchiha clan many times, Tsunade had long heard about the terrifying power of the Mangekyō Sharingan—but this was the first time she had witnessed it with her own eyes.
She never imagined it would be this overwhelming. The destructive force of that pink giant was no less than what she could achieve at full Super Strength.
No wonder Senju Tobirama had been so wary of the Uchiha back then. If the Uchiha clan had produced several more Mangekyō users like this…
Konoha might already belong to the Uchiha.
For a moment, she couldn't help but admire her great-grandfather, Hashirama Senju.
Truly worthy of being called the God of the Ninja World. With just his Wood Release and Sage Mode, he had overpowered even Uchiha Madara, who possessed both the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Nine-Tails.
"Mikoto, Kushina! Are you two alright?"
Leading the still-shocked Tsunade, Ling Yu flew toward the towering pink skeleton and shouted at the two figures inside.
The moment his voice fell, the massive pink skeletal giant instantly dissipated. Mikoto walked out, holding the hand of a still-dazed Kushina.
"Ling Yu! We're fine."
Mikoto, looking exhausted, spoke up as soon as she appeared.
"What happened?"
Seeing Mikoto's strikingly obvious Mangekyō Sharingan—and the two trails of blood running down her cheeks from her eyes—Ling Yu's brows furrowed with worry as he asked:
"Mikoto, what just happened? How did you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
He had originally brought Mikoto along just to help her overcome her fear of killing—so she wouldn't hesitate or panic on the real battlefield later.
He never expected her to give him such a huge surprise and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan right here.
"I… I don't know exactly. I just thought I couldn't drag you guys down anymore, and then… these eyes just appeared."
"The giant from earlier is one of my abilities. It's called Susanoo."
Feeling Ling Yu's worried gaze, warmth bloomed in Mikoto's heart. She smiled softly as she explained.
"Mmm! I know! I know what happened!"
Kushina finally snapped out of her daze and excitedly jumped out from behind Mikoto.
"At the time, I was already planning to retreat—then Mikoto suddenly jumped out with that giant skeleton! One slash and she wiped out all the bandits!"
"That attack… even I couldn't have blocked more than a few hits."
She walked over to Mikoto's side and animatedly mimicked the giant's earlier movements, vividly recounting the scene.
The one most deeply impressed by the power of Mikoto's Susanoo was actually Kushina, who had been standing inside the skeleton with her.
At the time, the sheer heaven-shaking destructive force had left Kushina stunned for a long while.
She had thought to herself—if she had faced an opponent like that alone, she wouldn't have lasted three moves.
"That's right. Mikoto's attack just now was already at quasi-Kage level. Even I would have a hard time winning against that kind of opponent."
Tsunade's heart had finally calmed down. She didn't hold back her praise for Mikoto.
At the same time, she felt extremely fortunate.
Good thing this girl is already my officially approved future daughter-in-law. Otherwise, finding someone this powerful would've been really difficult.
"It's not that exaggerated…"
Mikoto, overwhelmed by the praise from both of them, blushed and looked away shyly.
"Alright, Mikoto—put your Mangekyō Sharingan away for now. Keeping those eyes open constantly must be uncomfortable, right?"
Pushing the two girls crowding around Mikoto aside, Ling Yu spoke up. Couldn't they see she was already embarrassed?
"Mm… it does feel a bit dry and painful."
Obediently deactivating her Mangekyō Sharingan, Mikoto lightly covered her eyes and nodded. It really wasn't comfortable, just as Ling Yu had said.
"Hmph, Ling Yu—you're just jealous of Mikoto's beautiful eyes, aren't you? You don't want to look at them, so you're making her close them!"
Kushina, pushed away, naturally felt indignant. She immediately started teasing Ling Yu.
"Who said that? I'm protecting her eyes! The Mangekyō Sharingan may be incredibly powerful, but overusing it will cause blindness."
Ling Yu's mouth twitched at Kushina's jab. He flicked her forehead hard and explained to all three girls.
"Ah! It hurts! Damn you, Ling Yu—I'm gonna get you back!"
Kushina yelped in pain. Ignoring the rest of what he said, she pounced on him, biting and tugging at him in retaliation.
"Really? Then… Mikoto's powerful abilities can't be used anymore?"
While pulling Kushina off him to stop the chaos, Tsunade asked Ling Yu with a worried frown.
Mikoto's expression also turned anxious. She bit her lip tightly and looked at Ling Yu—silently asking if it was true.
She had just obtained such immense power. She had thought she could finally be of real help to Ling Yu.
But now Ling Yu was saying overuse would lead to blindness.
In an instant, her heart sank.
"It's not completely hopeless. If Mikoto drinks this blue potion, her Mangekyō Sharingan can evolve into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—then she won't have to worry about going blind."
Struggling to pry Kushina off him, Ling Yu produced a bottle of blue liquid from thin air and handed it to Mikoto.
This was the evolution potion he had just purchased from the system shop. It had cost him a full 3000 exchange points—leaving him with only 200 remaining.
But it was worth it. Once Mikoto gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he could use Copy & Analyze to give himself one too.
Then he would also possess the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—and be able to use Mikoto's abilities and even Susanoo.
Hearing that Ling Yu had a way to fix the flaw in Mikoto's eyes, both Kushina and Tsunade immediately stopped messing around. Their attention focused entirely on the blue potion in Ling Yu's hand.
They had long grown used to Ling Yu mysteriously producing things no one else could even imagine. Now they just had to wait quietly.
"Mm… thank you, Ling Yu."
With a gentle smile of gratitude, Mikoto obediently drank the potion in one gulp.
The next moment, her Mangekyō Sharingan opened. The cherry-blossom pattern in her eyes spun rapidly—until four additional petals bloomed around the original design, and it finally stopped.
Immediately after, a powerful wave of chakra burst from Mikoto's eyes, forcing all three of them to take several steps back.
This signified that Mikoto had successfully evolved her Mangekyō Sharingan into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Her strength had officially reached the peak of quasi-Kage level—and she was now on the verge of full Kage level.
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