Having just hit the jackpot, Izanami resisted the urge to immediately explore the changes brought by the Immortal Eyes.He first cleared his mind and focused on treating Uchiha Sasuke.
Looking at the boy, pale-faced with dark circles under his eyes, Izanami felt a twinge of pity.
The Ninja World had no shortage of orphans, but few had experienced a true family before losing it all.Only two came to Izanami's mind: Nagato and Uchiha Sasuke.
But while Nagato had Yahiko, Konan, and Jiraiya—people who kept him from collapsing—Sasuke's fate was far crueler.Manipulated by the brother he idolized, driven down a path of vengeance, only to have his newfound ideals later crushed by his closest companion...And even after learning the truth, Sasuke would spend the rest of his life wandering, never truly returning home, burdened by self-imposed atonement and obsession with the Ōtsutsuki threat.
If Izanami didn't change that future, Sasuke might fare even worse than in the original timeline.
In the original story, he had at least been the most admired prodigy in the academy.Now?Izanami was ranked first. Hinata second. Sasuke… could only hope for third.
After graduation, the blows would keep coming—watching the "dead last" Naruto rocket past him.
Should I lend him a hand?Izanami pondered silently.
At that moment, Sasuke stirred and opened his eyes.
Noticing the bloodshot veins in his gaze, Izanami made his decision.
"You're in no shape to keep fighting," he said calmly. "Go home and rest. Come back when you've fully recovered."
Sasuke didn't answer immediately. He sat up, touching the spot on his chest where the wound had healed—though a faint scar remained. His mind replayed the battle.
In taijutsu, he'd been completely outclassed.In ninjutsu, overwhelmed.Izanami's attack speed and coordination were on a different level altogether.
Even the healing light he glimpsed before waking up revealed something else:Izanami also knew Medical Ninjutsu.
A heavy sense of frustration welled up in Sasuke's chest.
"I lost," he said at last.
Sasuke wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat.Like Naruto, he didn't resent Izanami's strength.In fact, launching a jutsu mid-duel like that had been reckless on his part.
So, he acknowledged it honestly.
"I just got lucky," Izanami replied, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat."But you're strong. I thought I was the only one in our class who mastered Five Element Ninjutsu. Turns out, you've done it too—just like a true Uchiha genius."
Then Izanami stood up and extended his hand.
"I had the upper hand today. Let's fight again next time."
Looking up at him—calm, humble, and without even a trace of arrogance—Sasuke felt something stir within.A rare warmth.
Recognized.Respected.
For the first time in days, Sasuke smiled. He grasped Izanami's hand.
"Next time… I won't lose."
Izanami pulled him to his feet and held up two fingers with a smirk.
"Then train hard. I'm not going to make it easy for you."
"Just you wait!"
Their fingers met in the Reconciliation Seal—a promise of growth through rivalry.
That moment was captured by a transparent crystal orb, deep within the Hokage's office.
Puffing on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched with a faint smile.
"The new leaves have begun to sprout."
He murmured the old proverb softly.
At this stage, Sasuke was fragile—emotionally volatile and dangerously alone.Hiruzen, having promised Itachi to protect him, made sure Sasuke was never left unsupervised.
The moment the two boys had left the Academy grounds, word had reached him instantly. Anbu were already tailing them from the shadows.
Fortunately, Izanami hadn't spoken to himself or acted suspiciously during his moment of shock. If he had, Hiruzen might've called on the Yamanaka Clan for a Mind Reading Jutsu.
He was no stranger to the boy named Izanami.
This year's Academy class was full of standouts—Naruto, the Jinchūriki. Heirs of major clans.And yet, Izanami had surpassed them all to take the top rank.
A civilian orphan who had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, low-level Wind Release, and trained daily with a Hyūga heir?Hiruzen had taken notice long ago.
Every generation had civilian prodigies.
Like Orochimaru,Like Minato Namikaze,Like the elusive Kabuto Yakushi...
Even Kakashi, though born of a famous father, had no bloodline limit. Technically, he too was a civilian genius.
Compared to those names, Izanami wasn't yet special.Not the first. Not the brightest.
But his talent was real—and worth cultivating.
If properly guided, he could reach the level of an elite Jonin. Maybe even more.
And so, Izanami remained firmly on Hiruzen's radar.
After parting with Sasuke, Izanami headed home.
As he walked, he casually summoned the glowing light screen only he could see.
At the top of Izanami's entry bar, the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red) remained—but the golden "Kage-level Potential" tag that once followed it had now been replaced.
In its place appeared a new entry: Sage's Eye (Red).
Though no visible change had occurred in his body yet, Izanami was certain that something deep and unseen had already begun to shift.
The Sage's Eye wasn't the true Rinnegan of myth. Rather, it was an exclusive entry belonging to Ōtsutsuki Indra—a manifestation of the Six Paths Sage's Yin Release chakra and immense spiritual energy. It represented the pinnacle of Yin power.
What truly excited Izanami was its source.This power wasn't tainted by Indra's will or the karma of reincarnation—it wasn't inherited chakra, but pure Yin energy, severed cleanly from Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo himself.
Where reincarnations had to awaken Indra's chakra slowly over time—through talent, suffering, and recognition—Izanami had skipped that entire process.
He didn't need to be chosen. He was already becoming like Indra.
In the years to come, his spiritual energy and Yin chakra would surge exponentially.
"At this point… I might as well be the second Ōtsutsuki Indra."
The thought made Izanami chuckle inwardly.
If he could see Indra's own talent entries, he had no doubt: the core wouldn't be "Uchiha Bloodline," but a high-grade Ōtsutsuki Bloodline—the true source behind Indra's unmatched visual prowess and innate strength.
It was that same bloodline that gave Indra the ability to push his dōjutsu to the limit without ever needing to transplant eyes.
Now, Izanami had inherited that potential.
He could already unleash Five Element Ninjutsu without hand seals—a clear sign that his bloodline had transcended the standard Uchiha framework.
And as for levels beyond red?Izanami doubted they existed—at least, not in the realm of Yin chakra.
If there were a level above red, Indra's reincarnations wouldn't have needed to unify the opposing poles of Yin and Yang to awaken the Rinnegan.They could've evolved their Sharingan directly into Rinnegan, as Hagoromo had done.
Right now, Izanami had become equivalent to the second Indra.
To reach the level of Hagoromo or Hamura, he would need to raise his Ōtsutsuki Bloodline to an even higher tier.
That day, he believed, would eventually come.
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