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Humans die. But Tailed Beasts do not.
Tailed Beasts were, in essence, masses of chakra. As long as chakra still existed in the world, they could never die.
And since the Tailed Beast couldn't die, that also meant it couldn't be brought back along with Kagaya through the Impure World Reincarnation.
In other words, during the period between Kagaya's death and his resurrection, the Five-Tails would have to survive on its own in the outside world.
"What exactly is going on? And where is this place? I just took one nap—how did everything change?"
The Five-Tails was now completely unable to comprehend the current situation. In its understanding, Kagaya was as close to invincible as one could get. How could he die? Unless the Sage of Six Paths were resurrected, how could anyone possibly kill Kagaya?
Kagaya instantly fell silent. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should explain his situation to the Five-Tails in detail.
"You don't want to talk about it? Then forget it. Handle your own business however you like. It's fine if you don't tell me. Now, let's first discuss—after you die, what should I do? Just do whatever I want?"
The Five-Tails keenly noticed Kagaya's silence. It didn't want to force Kagaya, either. Because the Five-Tails was, by nature, a Tailed Beast that absolutely detested coercion. Putting itself in Kagaya's place, it could never force him to speak about things he didn't want to discuss.
Kagaya smiled. Having such a tolerant Tailed Beast by his side was, in a way, a blessing. He hadn't known whether he should say anything. But since the Five-Tails didn't mind, he would hold off for now.
"After I die? You probably don't need to worry too much. I should be revived fairly quickly after my death. Before my resurrection, I need you to take my place and protect those two women. You've sensed them, right? They're the ones I found—the ones who will resurrect me."
"I've sensed them. It seems you've prepared quite thoroughly. By 'resurrect,' do you mean the Impure World Reincarnation?"
"Yes."
"Tch. That shouldn't really be called 'resurrection,' should it?"
"It's close enough. A living corpse is better than a dead one."
"That does make sense. Fine. Then first, place a genjutsu on me."
"Ha? Why?"
Kagaya couldn't quite understand the Five-Tails' train of thought. Why would it suddenly ask him to cast a genjutsu on it?
The Five-Tails spoke as if it were obvious.
"I've already sensed it. You can't not know—one of those two women possesses the Mangekyo. What if, after you die, they use the Mangekyo to control me?"
Genjutsu, by its nature, disrupted all of a person's perception. But on the other hand, that disruption could also become a correction! In other words, powerful genjutsu could free someone from all forms of "control." Just like in the original story, when Kabuto controlled Itachi with the Impure World Reincarnation, and then the Kotoamatsukami that Naruto brought along overwrote Kabuto's control, directly stripping Kabuto of his ability to command Itachi.
If Kagaya set a genjutsu in the Five-Tails' eyes in advance, then no other Mangekyo could control it—because their genjutsu would be forcibly overwritten by Kagaya's, rendering it ineffective.
After all, Kagaya's eyes were the Eternal Mangekyo. Even if his genjutsu was somewhat lacking, it wasn't something a mere Mangekyo could easily break.
Kagaya furrowed his brow.
"That's true. But my genjutsu would vanish after my death... no, wait. There is one kind of genjutsu that would work."
Ordinary genjutsu would indeed lose effect after the caster's death. That was beyond doubt, because genjutsu also required chakra to function. Once the source of chakra was gone, even the most powerful genjutsu would be forced to stop. But there was one kind of genjutsu that didn't require that—a genjutsu released through the Transcription Seal.
The Transcription Seal was the act of sealing one of the abilities of one's ocular power into another eye. Once a preset condition or time was met, it would automatically activate.
Because this seal didn't need to remain constantly active—it was short-term and one-time-use—it didn't require a continuous supply of chakra. One only needed to seal the chakra in advance along with it.
Of course, this seal also had its drawbacks. For instance, under normal circumstances, it couldn't control a person for long periods, because its essence was short-term and one-time-use. Unless it was an extremely special technique like Kotoamatsukami, it was impossible to achieve long-term control over another person using the Transcription Seal.
Which was why, when Kagaya had first started looking for someone to resurrect him, he had immediately abandoned the idea of using genjutsu to control them. He didn't have an ability as uniquely special as Kotoamatsukami. He couldn't possibly control a person with genjutsu for an extended period after his death.
Still, with drawbacks came advantages. The advantage of the Transcription Seal was obvious: once released, it no longer had anything to do with the one who released it. No matter what happened to the caster afterward, the ocular jutsu within the Transcription Seal would still activate correctly.
It was perfect for this situation!
Kagaya spoke solemnly.
"Kokuō, let me be clear first. I do have a genjutsu that can still take effect after my death. But it can only activate twice. So, after I die, my technique can only help you resist the Mangekyo's control twice. Once you've used them up, you absolutely must not approach any Uchiha. Understand?"
It could activate twice because each eye could only hold one Transcription Seal. The Five-Tails only had two eyes, so it could only hold two genjutsu.
The Five-Tails nodded.
"Twice, is it? Fine, I understand. Actually, you don't need to be so cautious. You Uchiha are all physically frail. If you can't control me, one kick and I'll crush them."
Kagaya nodded.
"Good. Then I'll begin. In each of your eyes, I'll seal one genjutsu. The trigger condition will be the intrusion of another genjutsu into your body. So don't go touching any non-hostile genjutsu—it'll set off my technique accidentally. Also, the genjutsu I'm setting for you, once triggered, can last for two minutes. During those two minutes, you won't be affected by other Mangekyo. But only two minutes. Two minutes is my limit. Most importantly, I don't know if this world has any Eternal Mangekyo. If you encounter one, you need to run immediately. My genjutsu isn't that strong—it can handle Mangekyo, but against an Eternal Mangekyo of the same tier... my genjutsu might fail."
The corner of the Five-Tails' mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Why are you so talkative? Just get on with it. Do you really think eyes like yours are common? I've lived since my era, and the ones who opened eyes like yours that I've personally felt... there were only two. They say Indra also had them, but I never felt it myself. The only ones I've personally felt were you and Uchiha Madara. So give it a rest. The Eternal Mangekyo isn't something that can be awakened so easily."
Kagaya shrugged helplessly and fell silent. He then began casting the Transcription Seal on the Five-Tails within his inner world.
The evolution of the Sharingan required one test of talent to awaken. The Mangekyo required another test. And the Eternal Mangekyo... likewise required another test.
One must not forget: between the Mangekyo evolving into the Eternal Mangekyo, there was an adaptation period. That was, in fact, the test of talent. If one could adapt, they could awaken the Eternal Mangekyo. If one couldn't... then they would truly go blind.
So, in almost every era of the Uchiha, there were three-tomoe Sharingan users. Because from awakening to the three-tomoe, only one test of talent was needed. Once passed, one could evolve to the two-tomoe and three-tomoe after experiencing certain pains. But the Mangekyo above the three-tomoe—except for certain special periods—was scarce throughout most of Uchiha history. The reason was that the Mangekyo required yet another test of talent.
And not only did it require a test of talent—it also required personally witnessing the death of one's closest kin. Two harsh conditions combined to create the scarcity of the Mangekyo.
And the Eternal Mangekyo above the Mangekyo—that was an eye that was nearly impossible. The Uchiha clan didn't even have a method for awakening it. They didn't even have the chance to take the talent test, because they simply didn't know the method!
If Kagaya weren't a transmigrator, he would most likely have been stuck at the Mangekyo for his entire life, never able to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo.
After quite some time, Kagaya finally finished setting the two Transcription Seals.
His genjutsu was already mediocre, and he wasn't particularly skilled with the Transcription Seal either. So Kagaya found the process exhausting. But fortunately, he got it done in the end.
Seeing Kagaya panting and out of breath, the Five-Tails teased.
"Watching you like this—it looks more tiring than fighting several Kage-level experts."
Kagaya replied helplessly.
"After all, there's no such thing as an all-rounder. What I'm good at are things related to the Body Flicker Technique and the Susanoo. As for genjutsu and the like... that's my weakest area. I can only rely on the high tier of the Eternal Mangekyo to bully regular Mangekyo."
"Don't you plan on learning genjutsu?"
"Before, I had Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, so I didn't bother spending the effort."
"And now?"
"Now I'm basically invincible. Learning it would be pointless."
"..."
"Besides, I actually did try to learn it. But my talent is genuinely lacking. It's just like that Inorganic Reanimation I tried to learn at Ryuchi Cave—studied it for ages and learned nothing. Ordinary ninjutsu can be learned even without talent. But techniques of Inorganic Reanimation's level absolutely require talent. Without talent, it's a dead end."
"So you're saying... humans without talent are destined never to become top-tier powerhouses?"
"Not exactly. There are still a small number of techniques that ignore talent and only require enough hard work."
"Such as?"
"The Eight Gates. Ever heard of it?"
"No impression."
"Then forget it. Maybe one day you'll get the chance to see it. But that technique is way too exhausting to train. I really can't be bothered."
And so, Kagaya and the Five-Tails chatted idly.
From time to time, Kagaya would run over to instruct Yuki, then return to continue shooting the breeze with the Five-Tails. During this period, there was basically nothing unpleasant. If one had to say... it was that, while chatting with the Five-Tails, Kagaya accidentally burned his first fish to a crisp, forcing him to grill another one. And man, was he pissed.
Death Countdown—Day Two.
Death Countdown—Day One.
Very quickly, Kagaya's final day arrived.
For some reason—perhaps because death was near—the throbbing in Kagaya's eyes grew stronger and stronger. In truth, Kagaya had noticed it as soon as he arrived in this world. But back then, the throbbing had been very faint, almost imperceptible. So Kagaya had dismissed it as nothing out of the ordinary.
But gradually, as the time of death drew nearer, that throbbing seemed to grow stronger as well. Until today, it had reached a point where it could be felt with absolute clarity.
"What's going on?"
Kagaya stood by the river, muttering to himself.
He didn't know what kind of change was happening in his eyes. Or rather—he had a guess, but he also felt that guess was unlikely.
This was the last day, and a very important one at that. Kagaya didn't want any accidents today.
But if it really was what he suspected... then at the very least, it had better hurry up. He was about to die. He didn't have time to wait slowly.
"Hey! You! You, you, you—!"
The Five-Tails' shocked voice echoed from within Kagaya's body. The throbbing was so pronounced that even the Five-Tails could feel it.
"Kokuō, what do you sense?"
Kagaya asked cautiously. If the throbbing in his eyes truly matched his speculation, then the Five-Tails would definitely be able to sense something.
And very soon, the Five-Tails gave him an answer.
"Your eyes... what did you do? This aura... to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. But indeed... there is definitely a feeling of the Sage of Six Paths."
The answer was practically shouting itself!
Kagaya, of course, couldn't suddenly become a Six Paths being. The only thing undergoing change right now was his eyes. And what could connect the eyes to the Sage of Six Paths?
There was almost no need to say it—anyone would know. It was—the Rinnegan!
Although in the shinobi world, the Rinnegan was an eye that only appeared in legends, and many believed it didn't exist in reality, Kagaya, as a transmigrator, knew very well that the Rinnegan truly existed. Furthermore, the Rinnegan could be evolved from the Sharingan!
The current state of Kagaya's eyes also proved that Madara's speculation back in the Warring States era had been correct. Madara must have combined his and Hashirama's chakra, thereby awakening the Rinnegan before his death.
But if that was the case, then another problem arose—wasn't Kagaya's Rinnegan awakening far too early?
Kagaya remembered it clearly: in the original story, Madara had obtained Hashirama's flesh—his chakra—during his prime. But he hadn't awakened the Rinnegan until he was old and frail, who knew how many years later.
That period—if not a century, then at least twenty or thirty years, for sure. In other words, Madara had awakened the Rinnegan only after twenty or thirty years, or even longer, after obtaining Hashirama's chakra.
And Kagaya? From the moment he obtained the chakra of Hashirama and Madara until now... it had only been a little over a year. At most, barely two years. He hadn't even reached three years. What right did he have to awaken the Rinnegan?
[Temporal Disruption.]
The system's voice suddenly rang out.
Kagaya paused, then immediately asked inwardly.
What do you mean? Temporal Disruption?
[Fusing the chakra of Asura and Indra normally requires an extremely long period of time. But you traveled from the Warring States era back to your own era, and then from your own era to this parallel world. This involved two instances of temporal—and even spatiotemporal—traversal, which disrupted the fusion of Indra's and Asura's chakra within your body, causing these two forces to fuse ahead of schedule.]
Kagaya was overjoyed.
There's actually a benefit like this?
The system spoke mercilessly.
[All things have advantages and disadvantages. Normal fusion, although it takes a very long time, leaves no aftereffects. Your accelerated fusion, although it takes very little time, will correspondingly produce aftereffects. Much like a premature infant—once your Rinnegan appears, every time you use it, you will require a long period of recovery. Or, you could simply not use it and let it recover on its own. According to estimates, your Rinnegan will need at least twenty years before it can be used normally.]
What the hell? Well, it's still alright. Twenty years... compared to twenty or thirty years, it's still slightly better. But why do you know it so clearly, you damn system?
[It was a rough detection. I cannot guarantee its accuracy.]
"Are you fucking playing with me?!"
That last sentence, Kagaya couldn't hold back—he cursed out loud. The system had gone on and on, explaining everything so confidently, and then finished with "I cannot guarantee its accuracy"?