"Isamu, I apologize. You've had to witness something rather embarrassing."
After sending Ōtsutsuki Mandala and Ōtsutsuki Karura away, Indra nodded awkwardly toward Isamu.
"It's fine."
Isamu shook his head slightly. After a brief pause, he asked,
"Indra, there's something I've never understood. I'd like to ask you about it, if you don't mind…"
Before he could finish, Indra waved his hand dismissively.
"Isamu, there's no need to be so formal. Since you've come here, you are my friend and brother. Ask whatever you want. As long as I know the answer, I'll tell you everything."
It was obvious that Indra was not some irredeemable villain.
To those he considered friends, he was surprisingly generous and straightforward.
There was a reason he had managed to gather an army of a thousand elite followers.
While he might be ruthless toward Ashura and the Ninja Sect, he treated his own people exceptionally well.
"Then I'll get straight to the point."
Isamu nodded.
"Indra, how exactly did your Mangekyō Sharingan evolve into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"
This was a question that had bothered him for a very long time.
As far as he knew, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan required the transplantation of a biological sibling's eyes.
But Ashura didn't possess the Sharingan.
So how had Indra awakened the Eternal Mangekyō?
"Hahaha!"
Indra burst into laughter.
"I thought you were going to ask something difficult."
His black pupils instantly turned crimson.
The five-pointed-star pattern of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan emerged.
"My Sharingan awakened when I was a child while protecting Ashura."
"As I grew older and stronger, my eyes continued to evolve, and my ocular power increased day by day."
"When I was fifteen, after the Old Man chose Ashura and rejected me, I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"I severed all ties with the Ninja Sect and walked my own path."
"Then, through countless battles against Ashura, my eyes eventually evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
A trace of unwillingness flashed across his face.
"Though I hate to admit it, my power ultimately came from that Old Man."
"I see."
Isamu nodded thoughtfully.
Although the explanation sounded simple, he immediately understood the truth behind it.
In his view, it was a matter of bloodline purity and Yin Release power.
As a third-generation member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Indra's bloodline was incomparably pure.
As he matured, the latent power within his bloodline continued to awaken.
The Yin power in his body became increasingly concentrated, eventually pushing his eyes beyond the limits of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
That was likely how the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had originally been born.
In fact, Isamu had always been skeptical of the later Uchiha method of transplanting a sibling's eyes.
Why would swapping eyeballs suddenly trigger evolution?
The explanation never completely made sense.
Now, however, he finally understood.
The Uchiha of later generations possessed much thinner bloodlines.
The Yin power contained within a single Mangekyō Sharingan was insufficient to reach the Eternal stage.
By combining the Yin power of two closely related Mangekyō Sharingan, they could artificially complete the process.
As for why it specifically required a sibling's eyes, the answer was likely compatibility.
The closer the bloodline, the easier it was for the ocular power to merge without rejection.
The mystery was finally solved.
Thinking back to the vision he had seen inside the shrine, Isamu also understood how Indra had awakened the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.
The traditional path to awakening the Rinnegan required the fusion of the Sage's Eyes and the Sage's Body.
As Hagoromo's biological son, Indra naturally inherited portions of both powers.
Once his bloodline reached a sufficient level, awakening a Rinnegan was only natural.
Compared to that, Sasuke Uchiha from a thousand years later had received direct assistance from Hagoromo.
His Rinnegan had essentially been gifted to him.
Compared to Indra's self-awakened power, the difference was enormous.
After figuring everything out, Isamu felt a slight sense of regret.
Back when Tsunade had given birth to Senba, he had not yet awakened the Rinnegan.
At that time, he possessed only the Sage Body.
Because of that, the potential he passed on to his descendants was limited.
In his estimation, the highest level Senba could likely reach would be the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Awakening the Rinnegan would probably remain impossible.
At that moment, Ōtsutsuki Karura returned.
The instant Indra saw her, his expression darkened once again.
"Why are you back?"
"I already told you not to mention that matter again."
"I will defeat Ashura."
Karura sighed helplessly.
This stubborn personality truly was impossible to deal with.
Then her eyes shifted toward Isamu.
Earlier, she had noticed that Indra seemed unusually friendly toward him.
A thought immediately formed in her mind.
Walking over, she bowed politely.
"Excuse me."
"Are you the person Ashura mentioned? The one who possesses the Sharingan despite not belonging to the Ōtsutsuki Clan?"
"Uh…"
Isamu rubbed his nose.
"If there isn't another person fitting that description, then yes, that would be me."
Looking at Karura's face, he still felt a strange sense of familiarity.
She looked so much like Hinata that it was difficult not to be distracted.
Before long, the two began chatting.
Karura was extremely curious about him and asked question after question.
The conversation flowed naturally.
Soon, she was sitting beside him, listening attentively and occasionally laughing softly.
The atmosphere became surprisingly pleasant.
Meanwhile, Indra sat alone on the side.
The veins on his forehead gradually began to twitch.
One moment passed.
Then another.
Neither of them paid any attention to him.
Finally—
"You two have gone too far!"
Indra suddenly roared.
"I am the host here!"
"What exactly do you mean by completely ignoring me?!"
The furious shout instantly startled both of them.
Only then did Isamu and Karura realize that they had completely forgotten about Indra's existence.
Karura quickly straightened up.
Isamu coughed awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Indra's face had already darkened to the point where it looked like storm clouds were gathering.
From childhood until now, he had always been the center of attention.
No one had ever ignored him like this before.
And yet these two had somehow managed to chat happily right in front of him while forgetting he was even there.
For Indra, that was simply unacceptable.
"Speak."
He glared at Karura.
"Why exactly did you come back?"
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