Sword looked down at her hands and her much smaller body—then jumped up.
"Why am I so small?!"
"No… something's not right…"
The little girl thought for a moment. Then, as if something clicked, realization flashed across her face.
"I get it!"
"It must be because I didn't absorb enough chakra."
"No problem. I'll just take a few more gulps."
Sword turned around, ready to absorb more chakra from the dragon vein to restore her full form.
But as soon as she turned, she felt her wrist get pulled—and looked back.
Her gaze met Uchiha Hikaru's.
The warm, knowing smile on his face made Sword pause.
"Didn't I tell you to protect me while I was unconscious?" Hikaru said softly.
"You glutton… You already devoured half the dragon vein's chakra."
"If I let you keep going like this, what's going to be left for me?"
"Come back. It's my turn now."
Sword froze, then scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"Ehehe~ Master~ I just woke up, and I was super hungry~ I couldn't help myself…"
Then, without another word, she dissolved into a stream of black mist and returned to the seal on Hikaru's right hand.
"Master~ I'll leave the rest to you~"
"Make sure to find me some more tasty chakra later, okay~?"
"I've only recovered halfway..."
Her voice echoed directly in Hikaru's consciousness.
For a moment, Hikaru just stood there, expression caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief. He still hadn't fully come to terms with the fact that his blade had become a sword spirit in the form of a little girl.
He rubbed his temples and sighed.
"Ah~"
"What kind of karma is this…"
"Whatever. I should deal with the important stuff first."
As curious as Hikaru was about Sword's current transformation, absorbing the dragon vein's remaining chakra took priority.
Hikaru sat cross-legged in the center of the altar and pressed both palms onto the semicircular stone slab.
He began to absorb the remaining chakra from the altar.
Deep beneath the flow of the dragon vein's chakra, Mukade—whose soul was fused into the vein itself—sensed his power being drawn away again.
As the chakra levels dropped, he gradually noticed something: his ability to manipulate the chakra was beginning to improve, little by little.
From only being able to stir a sliver of chakra before, he could now control about one-tenth of what remained.
It wasn't much—but it was enough to reignite his hope.
"Let him absorb a little more…"
"Maybe I can manipulate him into becoming my ally…"
"Then I'll return to the past again… and this time, I'll rewrite everything…"
"Konoha's shinobi… Sarah… just wait. This time, you'll all pay…"
Mukade was already planning his revenge.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Hikaru—above the surface—had no idea there was still a living soul sealed inside the dragon vein.
He had long since assumed Mukade was dead. And now that the man had become part of the dragon vein itself, unless he exposed himself willingly, Hikaru wouldn't have noticed anything.
Right now, the dense purple chakra of the dragon vein surged violently as Hikaru continued absorbing it through his palms.
Chakra flowed from his hands, racing up his arms and toward his eyes.
The sheer intensity of it made his eyes ache as if they were swelling from the pressure.
"Tch… a mere dragon vein dares to resist me? Do you not know who I am?"
"I am Uchiha Hikaru."
In the next moment, his Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life.
He used the cold, forceful chakra of the Uchiha Clan, along with his formidable eye power, to suppress the unruly chakra coursing through his body.
Before long, the once-frenzied chakra of the dragon vein had calmed—tamed like a beast brought to heel—and was absorbed steadily by both Hikaru's body and Mangekyō.
He could feel his body changing.
The chakra extended from his eyes along the optic nerves and reached deep into his brain, where it began hammering at a seal embedded in his mind.
Asura and Indra…
Fragments of a conversation with the two…
Then came flashes of memory—scenes from another world.
Though broken and incomplete, the memories were enough to spark recognition in Hikaru's mind.
There was a seal—not one meant to restrict him, but more like a container.
A box that held… the rest of his soul.
Its power wasn't even sealed tightly—more like it had been left there waiting for him to find it.
As he continued drawing chakra from the dragon vein, Hikaru directed a sliver of it deeper into his consciousness.
"Xuantian Continent… Mystic Realm… Heavenly Rank…"
"Sword…"
"Nascent Soul…"
"Failed to overcome the heavenly tribulation…"
More and more familiar memories resurfaced—ones he had glimpsed before in dreams.
At last, it all came together.
He wasn't just a shinobi of this world. He was a soul reincarnated across three lifetimes—one who had made a pact with Asura and Indra long ago.
And the Otsutsuki Clan was still out there, looming in the future.
He also realized the origin of the sword spirit—Sword.
She wasn't just a sentient weapon. She was his original spiritual weapon from his first life—his natal blade.
After thousands of years of cultivation, Sword had awakened her own consciousness.
And in their final tribulation, the two had perished together.
Somehow, she had reincarnated with him—and taken form once again in this world.
Her earlier comment about only being "half-recovered" now made perfect sense.
In his memories, Sword's original form was that of a graceful woman in elegant black robes—refined and commanding.
Now she was… a hungry little loli hopping around the altar.
(;・∀・)
Hikaru didn't really mind, but Sword probably wasn't too thrilled.
With a deep breath, he pulled his thoughts back from the memories and focused once more on the chakra in front of him.
His Mangekyō Sharingan flared again, and the dragon vein continued pouring chakra into him.
Eventually, the energy began to feel overwhelming.
Pain shot through his eyes.
He could feel it—his Mangekyō was evolving.
He was reaching for something greater.
But something about it didn't add up.
If this were just bloodline evolution, it should stop at the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Yet his soul still held the purest essences of Asura and Indra…
Even with all this chakra, he suspected it wasn't enough—not yet—to reach the Rinnegan.
It was then that a figure appeared before him, projected by the chakra of the dragon vein.
"I wonder…"
"Would you consider forming an alliance with me?"
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Send Power Stones
Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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