"The Red Eye is a Bloodline Limit with the same penetrating perspective ability as the Byakugan. But that's not all—it can also sense power, detect danger, and even project Chakra phantoms to deceive opponents."
"These phantoms may be harmless against ordinary people, but to the Byakugan or a Sharingan blinded by dense mist, they appear real—illusions capable of creating fatal confusion. Even advanced sensory techniques might fail to distinguish them!"
"Because of this, the Red Eye is also called the natural enemy of the Byakugan."
Ishikawa explained concisely to Rin, though his heart was a storm of conflicting thoughts.
Originally, he had planned to keep the Red Eye solely for himself, but with the uncertainties of transplantation—and in order to ensure Rin's cooperation and bind her with shared interest—he settled on this final compromise: only one eye would be his.
Just as well. The burden of one eye was far lighter than two. If fate allowed, the other eye could be reserved for the Sharingan… or even the Rinnegan.
"No wonder you said you nearly got wiped out. These eyes… they're truly that powerful." Rin drew in a sharp breath, her chest rising as she swallowed, her gaze fixed again on Ranmaru's lifeless pupils.
The Byakugan alone, with just its penetrating vision, was already one of the most coveted assets on the battlefield. She never expected the Red Eye to surpass it in versatility and power!
With such an ability, the Minato Class's strength—and their survival chances in war—would soar to new heights.
"I'll recover my injuries first to stay in peak condition. You prepare for the surgery." Ishikawa, seeing the gleam in Rin Nohara's eyes, knew she was already aligned with him. He spoke calmly, then turned toward the familiar doorknob opposite.
"Alright. I'll try." It was her first time attempting such a transplant, and she had no experience—but Rin Nohara still nodded firmly, beginning her preparations.
For her, who longed to grow stronger and protect the Minato Class, the allure of the Red Eye was irresistible.
"Click…" As Rin arranged the surgical tools, Ishikawa once again felt the overwhelming flood of energy coursing through his body.
His limbs went numb, his cells vibrated with vigor, and the wound on his back closed at an astonishing pace visible to the naked eye.
Though hidden beneath his clothes and dulled by numbness, the regeneration was nearly on par with Tsunade's fabled Creation Rebirth!
The principle was different, however. Tsunade's jutsu forced cell division to heal wounds, while Ishikawa's ability restored damaged cells directly, replenishing their vitality and erasing injury.
"Just as I thought—my wound has healed!" Five minutes later, Ishikawa touched his back, confirming it with shining eyes as he slowly stood.
Before, the doorknob had allowed him to recover from fatigue and minor wounds in an instant. But he hadn't expected even an injury this severe to be erased so swiftly.
Still, it came at a cost. This time, his physique hadn't strengthened much at all—clearly, most of the energy had been consumed in healing.
'Even so, this only gives me greater confidence in transplanting the Red Eye.' Glancing at the white-draped table Rin had prepared, Ishikawa lay down decisively.
Before, he had worried Rin might fail on her first attempt. But now, with the doorknob as his safety net—what was there to fear?
"Ishikawa, which eye should I replace?" Rin hesitated for a moment as she studied his face, her hands ready to move.
"Which eye?" Ishikawa echoed softly. Images of Obito's right eye… and Danzo's… flickered in his mind. His choice crystallized. "My left eye. Replace my left eye completely—eyeball and all."
"Your left eye?" Rin repeated, then nodded resolutely. "Alright then. Let's start with the anesthesia."
As her words fell, the anesthetic was swiftly applied. The surgery began.
Though inexperienced, Rin had already devised a plan. While the anesthetic spread through Ishikawa's body, she carefully extracted Ranmaru's left eyeball, using the moment to study its unique structure and commit every detail to memory.
Then, moving with clumsy but steady precision, she removed Ishikawa's left eyeball and stitched Ranmaru's into place.
"Mystical Palm Technique…" Within ten minutes, Rin had completed the crude yet delicate procedure. Her hands glowed as she pressed them against Ishikawa's left eye, coaxing nerves and blood vessels to fuse, weaving them seamlessly together.
Though anesthetized, Ishikawa could feel it—the living pulse of the new eye as it knit itself into his being under Rin's chakra.
Soon, in less than three minutes, Ishikawa slowly opened his left eye, and a dark brown pupil, different from his right eye, appeared in his left eye socket.
And almost at the very instant he opened his eye, as if uncontrollable, that left eye suddenly erupted with a dazzling crimson glow…
In a heartbeat, Ishikawa's vision transformed. The entire world seemed veiled beneath a scarlet filter, and his sight pierced straight through the walls, extending nearly two kilometers beyond the door.
"This… this is the power of the Red Eye?!" Ishikawa muttered, his voice laced with both shock and delight as he stared at the perspective image before him.
He hadn't expected that the Time-Space Room—impenetrable to the Byakugan from the outside—could be seen through so clearly by the Red Eye from within.
Of course, this wasn't because the Red Eye surpassed the Byakugan; it had to be tied to the Time-Space Room's unique properties.
As that thought crossed his mind, Ishikawa shifted his gaze, catching sight of the ongoing Third Shinobi World War Time period through the inner wall gate—and his heartbeat quickened with excitement!
"Huh? My Chakra…" Ishikawa's brow furrowed as the crimson glow began to dim, fading from his eye.
The Red Eye's consumption was immense. Though this brief activation hadn't drained him entirely, it had devoured nearly one-tenth of his Chakra.
And he had only looked for less than ten seconds—terrifying! Worse still, even after cutting off the Chakra flow to the eye, his reserves continued to be siphoned away.
It was like inviting a parasitic ancestor into his body…
"I can only rely on you. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Red Eye is, I'll have to abandon it." Ishikawa muttered grimly, turning his gaze toward the inner wall's doorknob and striding over.
He refused to become another Kakashi. With his current reserves, he wasn't qualified to recklessly waste Chakra fueling the Red Eye.
"Ishikawa, you…" Rin began, stunned by the overwhelming changes, when she suddenly saw Ishikawa collapse onto the single sofa as if struck by lightning.
And in that instant, his crimson left eye, after flickering several more times, slowly dimmed—its dark brown pupil fading into the same black iris as his right eye.
"What… what's happening?" Rin's beautiful face went pale with disbelief as she stood frozen.
The rejection reaction… vanished?! How could that even be possible?!
"Hahaha… looks like we completely underestimated this doorknob." Minutes later, Ishikawa finally opened his eyes, feeling both his body and left eye under perfect control. He couldn't hold back a burst of joyous laughter.
Back when he was electrocuted, his minor appearance had slowly shifted closer to the face of his previous life, and he had vaguely suspected it was due to his soul fusing with his body. Now, he was certain—the power of the doorknob had forcibly completed the merge.
Its effect wasn't limited to the soul—it erased physical rejection as well.
Which meant… he and Rin could ignore rejection altogether, whether for the Red Eye or even other Bloodline Limits!
"Miss Rin, with the doorknob eliminating side effects, how about you getting your eyes replaced next?" Ishikawa teased with a playful smile, clearly in high spirits.
At once, Rin, who had been just as exhilarated, froze in place.
That's right! Ishikawa had her perform his transplant—but who could she possibly rely on for hers…?