The chakra drawn from afar flowed into Shinji's body through the Wazunagi channel, like adding a ladle of hot oil to boiling water.
In an instant, Shinji's chakra, already at its peak, broke through its shackles and took another step forward!
With this critical step, his chakra began to overflow. From a distance, it looked as if he were enveloped in a towering pillar of purple light.
"Now's the moment!"
His body could no longer fully contain the boiling chakra—this was the perfect time to push for the Rinnegan.
Thus, casting aside all reservations, he poured his chakra recklessly into his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The patterns on his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin rapidly, gradually melding into a single inky dot.
Then, this dot rippled outward. In an instant, his crimson pupils were tinged with a faint purple hue, spirals extending across the purple irises until they covered them entirely!
Hoo
Shinji let out a soft breath and closed his eyes.
Without incident or dramatic flair, the Rinnegan, revered as the Sage's eye, was successfully awakened by him.
Even after awakening the Rinnegan, he felt unsatisfied, his chakra still flowing with ease!
Perhaps because of this, he realized that even with the Rinnegan awakened, he hadn't lost the dojutsu of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. The still-active Jikibi and Wazunagi were the best proof.
"Is this temporary, or can it be maintained?"
Doubt crept into Shinji's heart.
Truth be told, the possibility of losing the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's dojutsu after awakening the Rinnegan was something Shinji deeply dreaded.
He had deliberately ignored this concern to focus solely on pushing for the Rinnegan.
Now that the Rinnegan was awakened, his worries began to grow.
After all, the dojutsu contained in his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan were far from ordinary. Whether it was Susanoo Tomoshibi, which could wield other dojutsu, or Jikibi and Wazunagi, which could connect to others and freely extract or infuse chakra, they were incredibly powerful.
Losing them due to awakening the Rinnegan would be hard for him to accept.
But based on Karin's example, once the Rinnegan was awakened, reverting to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's state was impossible.
In the original timeline, the only one who could freely switch between the Sharingan and Rinnegan was Uchiha Madara in his Edo Tensei state.
Gently covering his eyes, a troubled expression appeared on Shinji's face: "Jikibi and Wazunagi are still active for now, but I don't know how long they'll last. If they become unusable later…"
Perhaps out of fear that closing his dojutsu would render them unusable forever, Shinji unconsciously poured a massive amount of dojutsu power into Jikibi. As a result, the sensory range of Jikibi kept expanding—from an initial hundred kilometers to a hundred fifty, then nearing two hundred.
"Who… who are you?"
Suddenly, a timid girl's voice sounded in Shinji's ear.
"!?"
Startled, Shinji sprang to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
Yet, there was no one around. The barriers and techniques surrounding the laboratory were functioning normally, and the Blood Clone guarding outside gave no warning.
"No one? Then what was that voice?"
Shinji was filled with doubt.
Then, he realized the voice wasn't real—it came through his Jikibi's senses.
In other words, someone had invaded his Jikibi without his permission!
"How is this possible!?" He frowned slightly, probing through Jikibi: "And who are you?"
From the other side came the same bewildered female voice: "I… I forgot. Maybe I don't even have a name."
"No name?" Pausing, Shinji continued: "Why can you invade my Jikibi? How did you do it?"
The female voice hesitated: "I don't know. It found me."
Shinji was puzzled: "It!?"
The voice grew curious: "Mm, is it your dojutsu? Why do I feel like it's about to vanish? Are you sealed like me? Or… are you about to die?"
"…"
Shinji fell silent, the shock in his heart beyond words.
This mysterious girl had not only invaded his Jikibi but could even sense it was about to disappear—an utterly unthinkable feat.
Moreover, from her words, Shinji keenly realized she seemed to be in some kind of sealed state.
His silence seemed to make the girl anxious: "Are you still there?"
"I'm here!"
Shinji, his mind in turmoil, responded.
He still couldn't accept the impending loss of Jikibi, Wazunagi, and Susanoo Tomoshibi.
The girl spoke softly: "Sorry, it's been so long since anyone talked to me."
Shinji sat back down, slowly coming to terms: "Since fate brought us together, I'll chat with you until my dojutsu fully fades."
Chatting with a stranger was secondary; Shinji just wanted to spend a little more time with Jikibi.
They began talking, one sentence at a time.
Shinji learned she was an Uchiha, and she learned he was a clansman too. Perhaps because they were connected through this "network," Shinji spoke casually, occasionally tossing in outdated jokes to tease her and ease his own frustration.
After an unknown amount of time, Jikibi's connection began to falter.
The girl, panicking, asked: "W-What's your name?"
Shinji smiled: "You can call me 'Lamp.'"
Though he sensed no malice from her, out of caution, he didn't reveal his real name.
The girl asked: "Uchiha Lamp?"
Shinji changed the subject: "And you? What should I call you? Uchiha Mumei[1]?"
"Mumei… mm, you can call me Mumei," she replied, then added: "Lamp, can we talk again?"
Shinji felt a pang of melancholy: "My technique is reaching its limit. I'm afraid I can't keep chatting."
Jikibi's connection grew increasingly unstable, even Shinji's voice starting to distort.
The girl's voice also became intermittent: "Jikibi, Wazunagi, Susanoo Tomoshibi… Lamp, I'll preserve these dojutsu for you with Yachihoko. Don't worry…"
"What!?" Stunned, Shinji instinctively asked: "Mumei, where are you?"
[1] meaning Nameless