35 Chapter 35 - On the way to Konoha

As Ryu and Jiraiya walked through the forest, the sun filtered through the canopy of leaves above them, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Jiraiya broke the silence with a question that caught Ryu off guard. "So, when did you awaken your Mangekyo?" he inquired, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Ryu froze in his tracks, his eyes widening with surprise. Jiraiya let out a hearty chuckle, the sound echoing through the trees. "Don't be like that. You practically gave it away during our fight earlier," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"How?" Ryu asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he resumed walking.

Jiraiya's face took on a more serious expression. "Well, during our fight, you were incredibly relaxed, as if you knew what I was going to do before I even did it. You reacted to my moves with uncanny precision, and none of my feints had any effect on you. It's as if you were reading my mind. As expected of the Mangekyo Sharingan... I can't help but feel a little jealous."

Ryu remained silent, contemplating his next move. He didn't want to reveal too much to Jiraiya, but it seemed the older shinobi already knew more than he should. As they continued walking, Jiraiya fired another question at him. "How did you obtain the Eternal Mangekyo? Did you take your parents' eyes?"

Ryu's surprise was evident on his face, and he shook his head in disbelief. "What? Why would you say that? I would never do something so gruesome to my own family!" he exclaimed, genuine confusion and disgust in his voice.

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening with disbelief. "Wait, you only have the regular Mangekyo?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice. Ryu hesitated before offering a reluctant nod, confirming Jiraiya's suspicions.

Concern washed over Jiraiya's face. "But then, why did you use your ability so much during our fight? Aren't you worried about your vision deteriorating? I know you just got a massive power-up, but think about your future!" Jiraiya said, his voice laced with worry.

"Let's just say I have a solution for that," Ryu replied, careful not to reveal too much. Internally, he couldn't help but think, 'I can't tell him I'm just transforming my eye back to its original state...' Curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "What's the Eternal Mangekyo?"

Jiraiya let out a wry chuckle, shaking his head. "Are you serious? You know what, why am I even surprised? I'm talking to a kid who's as strong as an S-rank shinobi, already has a Mangekyo, and can read minds. Having a way to offset the 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 weakness of the Mangekyo Sharingan? Sure, why not," he replied sarcastically, his tone lightening.

Ryu pressed on, eager to learn more. "So, what's the Eternal Mangekyo?" he inquired once again, his voice filled with determination.

Jiraiya sighed. "The Eternal Mangekyo is the next evolution of the Mangekyo Sharingan," he began, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "You unlock it by implanting the Mangekyo of a close relative into your own eyes. Once you have it, your Mangekyo abilities receive a significant boost, and you no longer risk losing your sight from using them."

Ryu's mind raced with questions about the potential evolutions of the Mangekyo. 'Wait, there's an evolution after the Mangekyo? Could there be another one after the Eternal Mangekyo? I need to look into this, but I'll do it when Jiraiya is asleep,' he thought. Ryu decided to change the subject for now. "Why are you here, Jiraiya? Don't you have a spy network? What brings you here in person?" he asked curiously.

"Ah, that. Normally, I'd let my network handle things, but this is no ordinary situation. The Hidden Mist Village was wiped out, their Kage killed, and their tailed beast disposed of – all in a single night. A threat like this demands my personal attention," Jiraiya explained.

Ryu furrowed his brow. "But aren't you worried about encountering the person responsible? Someone capable of annihilating an entire Hidden Village?"

Jiraiya regarded Ryu with a hint of suspicion. "Interesting choice of words. All the reports I've received so far treat it as a complete mystery. No one knows how the village was destroyed. The shinobi were all killed silently, and the only thing the civilians saw were some black lines from the Body Flicker Jutsu. Nobody has any idea what happened there. Yet, you specifically asked if I'm worried about meeting the man who annihilated the Mist. You seem to know it was just one person, and a male at that. Do you have any more information about him?"

Ryu hesitated, realizing he had inadvertently revealed more than he intended. He needed to tread carefully from here on out to ensure he didn't raise further suspicion. As the conversation continued, Ryu's thoughts remained focused on the potential evolution of his Mangekyo – a secret he was determined to uncover in due time.

---

Eventually, Ryu and Jiraiya decided to call it a night and get some rest. Ryu couldn't shake his curiosity about the potential evolution of his Mangekyo, so he lay in bed, waiting for the right moment to investigate further.

With the sound of Jiraiya's steady breathing signaling his deep sleep, Ryu knew it was time. 'Alright, let's find out what Jiraiya was talking about,' he thought as he sat up in the darkness. He used his left eye's ability to examine his Mangekyo before activating his right eye's ability to gather information about the Sharingan's evolution.

'The Eternal Mangekyo is as Jiraiya described, but the boost to the abilities is impressive. Hm... It doesn't show me any more evolutions after this. I should probably infuse more chakra to find out,' Ryu contemplated. With determination, he began to channel more and more chakra into his eye.

'Here's another one, the Rinnegan. The evolution conditions are strange, but the abilities are incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, it's not ideal for me since once you have the Rinnegan, you can't use Mangekyo's abilities. Could there be something beyond this? I don't have much chakra left, but I can't help hoping...' Ryu pondered as he exhausted his reserves.

'Oh! There is one final evolution! The Rinne Sharingan. A fusion of the two with access to the abilities of both eyes, as well as the Infinite Tsukuyomi. This is exactly what I need, but I require more information and a larger chakra pool before I can transform my eyes,' Ryu concluded.

He weighed his options. 'Should I triple my chakra pool again? I can shut off my pain receptors ahead of time now so that they won't interfere with the process. Actually, let's quintuple it this time. Worst-case scenario, I'll just have to increase it again later.' With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, Ryu set to work on the transformation.