Chapter 52: The Eternal Sakura
"Mikoto, this is for you." Shinra's voice was gentle as he produced a small vial from his pocket. Inside, an emerald-green liquid swirled with an inner light, pulsing with a tangible, vibrant energy.
The moment it appeared, Tsunade's senses, honed by her mastery of medical ninjutsu, flared. "What... what is that?" she breathed, leaning in closer. "The life energy radiating from it is incredible! Let me study it!"
She reached for the vial, her eyes alight with scientific fervor, but Shinra pulled it back, his grip firm.
"No," he stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. "This is for Mikoto's eyes. You can't study it." He knew that no matter how brilliant Tsunade was, the secrets of a System-granted item were beyond any form of replication. This particular vial, drawn from the lottery, wasn't even available for purchase in the System Mall. Its value was incalculable.
Tsunade's face fell, a genuine flash of hurt in her eyes. "Shinra, I've been so good to you! And now you won't even let me take a look?"
"It's alright, Shinra. We can let Sister Tsunade see it," Mikoto offered, her trust in their teacher evident.
But Shinra shook his head, his resolve unshaken. "I can't. I went through a lot to get this. If it gets damaged during research, what happens to your eyes? I can risk other things, but not this. Never this."
"Hmph! If you gave it to me, I could probably replicate it and give you ten bottles back!" Tsunade declared, her pride stung. She refused to believe there was a concoction she couldn't reverse-engineer.
Shinra responded with a soft, disbelieving chuckle. "Haha."
Infuriated by his dismissiveness, Tsunade let out a cry of frustration and lunged forward, grabbing his cheeks in both hands and kneading them violently, stretching his face into comical shapes.
"You little brat! You're so much less cute than you used to be!" she grumbled, releasing him with a shove.
Shinra smoothed his cheeks, his expression turning serious again. "Sister Tsunade, don't take it personally. This potion is vital for Mikoto. I can't explain its origin, but it's impossible to copy."
"It's not that I'm taking it personally! It's that you don't believe in my abilities! That's what makes me angry!" she retorted, crossing her arms.
"It's not about belief," Shinra said with a sigh, deciding to give her a glimpse of the truth. "Let me put it this way: this potion has the potential to grant someone the ability to awaken Wood Style. Do you really think you can replicate that?"
He wasn't lying. While its primary function was to evolve the Mangekyo, the side effect of granting a true Sage Body made the emergence of Wood Style a very real possibility.
"Grant... Wood Style?" Tsunade fell silent, the boastful words dying on her lips. If the potion could truly awaken the legendary Kekkei Tōta that belonged to her grandfather... then she knew, with a humbling certainty, that it was beyond her. Some secrets were not meant to be unraveled.
"Mikoto, drink it. Now," Shinra said, turning back to her and pressing the vial into her hands. "With this, you might just be able to slap Uchiha Madara himself and become the strongest kunoichi in Uchiha history."
Mikoto nodded, her trust in him absolute. Without a moment's hesitation, she uncorked the vial and drank the glowing liquid in one swift motion.
The effect was instantaneous and profound. A visible wave of energy coursed through her. Her cells sang with unprecedented activity, her chakra reserves skyrocketed, and her ocular power swelled, feeling suddenly limitless.
The sakura flower pattern in her eyes began to shift and evolve. If her Mangekyo had been a sakura bud before, it now bloomed into its full, magnificent form—a perfect, eternal blossom.
A wave of pure, potent power erupted from her, a pressure so intense it forced both Tsunade and Kushina to take several steps back, their eyes wide with shock.
"The Mangekyo... it can truly evolve?" Tsunade whispered, feeling the sheer weight of Mikoto's new chakra. As a Senju, she realized how little she truly knew about the deepest secrets of the Uchiha's dōjutsu. The knowledge of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was a secret lost to nearly all of the shinobi world.
"Otherwise, why do you think Uchiha Madara could keep fighting your grandfather?" Shinra murmured under his breath. "If he didn't have the Eternal Mangekyo, the First Hokage would have steamrolled him a lot sooner."
"Well, of course! Uchiha Madara was no match for my grandfather!" Tsunade sniffed, quickly reclaiming her pride.
The evolution was complete. Mikoto now possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Her chakra, both in quantity and quality, had exploded, forcibly elevating her strength to the quasi-Kage level. If not for her youthful body still maturing, she would have been a full-fledged Kage right then and there.
"How do you feel, Mikoto?" Shinra asked, a proud smile on his face.
"I feel... incredibly powerful," she replied, her voice filled with a newfound, quiet confidence. "It feels like my ocular power is boundless, and my chakra has increased more than tenfold. I feel... I feel like even Sister Tsunade isn't my match now."
"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted, but she didn't argue. Facing the regular Mangekyo was one thing; facing this evolved, overwhelming version was another. She knew, in her heart, that Mikoto was probably right.
"Mikoto, what are the abilities of your Mangekyo?" Shinra asked, his curiosity burning. The Sharingan was the reflection of the soul, and its abilities were as unique as the individual. He was eager to see what miracles Mikoto's gentle yet resilient spirit had forged.
"My left eye is Sakura Blade," Mikoto began. "It can release countless sakura petals, and each petal is a microscopic, razor-sharp blade. I can control them to surround and strangle my enemies." As she spoke, she demonstrated. The air around her filled with a beautiful, swirling storm of pink petals. They looked delicate and enchanting, but as they passed over a nearby training log, they reduced it to splinters in seconds.
Watching the familiar, flower-like attack, Shinra was momentarily stunned. Isn't that the ability of Senbonzakura?
"It's so beautiful! I wish I had an ability like that!" Kushina exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with envy. She couldn't help but lament not being born an Uchiha.
"The attack is a bit scattered," Shinra offered a practical critique. "It's gorgeous, but the power might be diluted against a single, heavily armored target."
Mikoto simply smiled, utterly pleased. No woman could resist such a beautifully deadly power.
"My right eye's ability is... a bit strange," she said, her voice dropping slightly. "It's called Illusory Truth. As long as it is something I refuse to acknowledge as real, it becomes an illusion."
A profound silence fell over the training ground. Shinra, Tsunade, and Kushina all stared, completely slack-jawed.
Things she refuses to acknowledge become illusions? The sheer, conceptual power of that ability was mind-shattering. It was on a level that could rival Shinra's own.
"How... how can such a broken ability exist?!" Tsunade finally managed, her voice hushed with disbelief. "This isn't a human power... this is the power of a god."
"Very strong," Shinra agreed, a wave of genuine awe washing over him. "So strong that even I'm envious."
As he thought back to the moment of her awakening—the sheer, soul-crushing despair she felt in the genjutsu when she believed he was dead—he understood. The Sharingan was the eye that reflected the heart. Mikoto's soul, in its deepest trauma, had refused to accept the reality of his death. And from that absolute denial, this reality-warping power was born. It was the ultimate expression of her love and her will.