Uchiha Madara wiped the blood from his chin, glaring at me like a kid swearing revenge after losing a playground brawl.
"Amamiya Raizen… you're strong. Next time, I'm not holding back."
Yeah, because this time he was clearly going easy on me. Totally. Absolutely. No murderous intent whatsoever.
Madara snorted and stalked off, Senju Hashirama following him with that unreadable calm only a man who can wrestle tailed beasts seems allowed to have. Before he turned away, Hashirama paused, eyes narrowing at me.
What happened to me?
Good question, Shodai-to-be. I'd also love to know.
The two legends retreated, and the battlefield suddenly felt much bigger without their chakra smothering the air. My legs finally gave out, and I dropped onto the torn earth. My breathing steadied. The shaking stopped.
Then my hands started glowing.
I watched—actually watched—as torn flesh knitted shut, bruises faded, burns peeled and reformed into fresh skin. Even the exhaustion clawing at my bones melted away like someone poured warm water down my spine.
And my chakra?
Yeah… that part was a bit of a problem.
It surged through me like someone had stuffed a second ocean inside a paper cup.
"There is no way this is normal," I muttered, feeling the pressure rise. "Great. I'm turning into a busted water barrel."
That was the only analogy my overstressed reincarnator brain could come up with. A wooden tub only holds so much. Pour too much chakra in, and something's gonna explode.
Lucky me, today that something was my right eye.
"…Mangekyō. Take it. All of it."
No idea why I thought of that. Maybe the system whispers were finally getting to me. Maybe instinct. Maybe desperation. But I pushed the overflowing chakra straight into my Mangekyō.
Pain ripped through me like white-hot needles raking across the nerves behind my eye.
"Ghh—!"
My hand shot to my face, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. My right Mangekyō wasn't just absorbing the chakra—it was devouring it. Pulling it in like it had been starving this whole time. Like it wanted something more.
Like it was evolving.
"…Wait. No way."
My heart thrashed inside my chest. I didn't hold back anymore. I even poured the sage-infused chakra I'd stored during the fight.
That was when everything changed.
Scarlet bled into violet. The boomerang-shaped tomoe twisted, collapsed, stretched into black ripples that rolled outward like ink dropped into water. The darkness spread. The violet brightened.
When it stabilized…
My right eye wasn't a Sharingan anymore.
A purple ripple-patterned eye stared back at me from the reflection of a broken kunai.
"…Rinnegan," I whispered, touching it with trembling fingers.
It felt unreal. Impossible. Illegal, even. Like I'd just hacked the universe and nobody noticed yet.
One of the strongest dōjutsu in existence… in the body of a low-tier reincarnator from a forgotten clan.
"Warring States, huh…? Who exactly is supposed to stop me now?"
I said it softly, half in awe, half in disbelief.
Footsteps snapped me back. Voices approached.
"Raizen-sama!"
Great timing. Konoha's retreating forces—well, 'proto-Konoha'—were returning to check on their very tired, very nearly-dead commander.
I forced the Rinnegan shut. The purple faded, returning to my regular eyes. No way was I showing this off until I understood it. I wasn't stupid. Power this loud attracts trouble like blood attracts sharks.
I pushed to my feet, wiped my face clean, and barked orders for battlefield cleanup. We gathered our wounded, checked the dead, and marched home.
──────
By the time we reached camp, my legs felt steady again. My chakra no longer hissed against my skin like trapped lightning.
I dumped every administrative task on Hyūga Tennin with zero shame.
"Here. Paperwork. Have fun."
He glared. I walked away. Win–win.
I headed straight for an empty valley, far enough from camp that not even the nosiest shinobi would wander close. The moment I felt alone, I let the Rinnegan surface.
Warmth. Weight. Pressure. Majesty.
The eye felt like a living thing.
"Alright," I murmured. "Let's see what the so-called Eye of Life and Death can actually do."
Gravity and repulsion. Basic, terrifying, and overpowered. Nagato's Shinra Tensei, Madara's meteors—yeah, I remembered enough of the anime to know exactly what buttons I needed to press.
"Start small," I told myself. "Like… rock-sized small."
I extended my hand, channeling the new pupil power.
"Universal Pull."
The rock in front of me lurched as if yanked by a hook. It shot toward me.
Too fast.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsion hit before the stone crushed my face.
It shattered midair, debris blasting back into the valley walls.
I stared at the drifting dust cloud.
"…Okay. That could've gone very wrong."
I kept practicing. Again and again. Pull, push. Push, pull. Crush, release. My timing sharpened, chakra flow smoothed, and the valley filled with the sound of exploding stone.
Three days passed.
By the third morning, I stood before a massive boulder and narrowed my Rinnegan at it.
"Universal Pull."
It flew.
I stopped it inches from my palm.
I smiled.
"Not bad… not bad at all."
The Eye That Shouldn't Exist was now mine to command.