Hidden Leaf Village.
Uchiha Shinji hurriedly returned to the village, replaced the shadow clone that had been covering for him for the past few days, and collapsed heavily onto his bed.
It was not until this moment that he finally felt a sense of peace.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already night.
He stretched lazily, then slowly walked to the window. Looking at the brightly lit streets outside, he grinned, revealing a relaxed smile.
The streets were filled with laughter and joy.
Merchants were shouting their wares, couples were strolling, children were playing, foodies were savoring delicious dishes, and neighbors were chatting.
The lively street was filled with harmony.
No one here knew that just in the past few days, the shinobi world had faced a life-and-death crisis. Similarly, no one knew that it was Uchiha Shinji's tireless efforts that had resolved this crisis, saving the shinobi world!
But despite that, Shinji was still very happy.
He didn't save the world for others' praise. He didn't care whether others knew or appreciated it!
Suddenly, his stomach growled.
"Heh."
He chuckled, put on a jacket, and went downstairs.
He found a barbecue restaurant to treat himself, and while strolling through the streets afterward, enjoying a moment of leisure, he checked the prompts from the "Lamp."
[Reward Settlement in Progress.]
[Rating: SS]
[Received Gift from the Shinobi World: Chakra (large amount), Natural Energy Affinity (greatly increased), S-rank Jutsu (random), Yin Release Chakra Quality Enhancement (significant).]
[Please select one option.]
[Achieved SS Rating; select one gift from the Shinobi World, with an additional random reward.]
Shinji found a place to sit, rested his chin on his hand, and fell into contemplation.
Although he hadn't acquired any spoils of battle this time, since he successfully severed the five "anchor points" and eliminated the shinobi world's threat of destruction, the Lamp gave him an exceptionally high rating—an unprecedented SS level.
Moreover:
The gifts from the shinobi world were also unprecedentedly valuable.
Whether it was the large amount of chakra, the increased natural energy affinity, the S-rank jutsu, or the significant enhancement of Yin Release chakra quality, they were all things Shinji urgently needed.
"Sigh, but I can only choose one!"
He sighed.
The rewards were too generous, making it difficult for him to decide for a moment.
That's also why he didn't make an immediate decision when the Lamp gave the prompt, instead delaying until now to start choosing.
"Chakra, Senjutsu, jutsu, dojutsu..." He paused, looking conflicted, "Which one should I choose?"
Chakra needed no explanation.
Increased natural energy affinity was essentially the key to practicing Senjutsu, meaning that the second option would greatly enhance the chances of successfully learning Senjutsu.
The S-rank jutsu could include things like the "Flying Thunder God Technique" or "Yin Seal," high-level jutsu that Shinji was very interested in.
As for enhancing the quality of his Yin Release chakra, for Shinji, an Uchiha, that was akin to enhancing his dojutsu.
All four options were incredibly tempting!
But he could only choose one, so Shinji had to make a choice!
"I can use 'Wazunagi' to extract chakra to make up for my chakra deficiencies, so the chakra option has the lowest priority—let's eliminate that first!"
"S-rank jutsu... If it's random, there's too much uncertainty. If I get something I don't need, it would be a big waste, so let's eliminate that as well!"
After eliminating two options, Shinji's thoughts became clearer and more logical.
The shinobi world crisis had only been temporarily resolved. As long as the "Lamp Bearer" from the Demon Slayer World remained active, the shinobi world could never be truly at peace.
Thus, Shinji's ultimate goal was still to elevate his life force level—first to awaken the Rinnegan, then to reach the Six Paths level, and eventually to take steps toward attaining immortality through the Bloodline Collection that could enable interstellar travel!
Therefore, with that ultimate goal in mind, the choice became much easier to make.
Enhancing his combat power with Senjutsu overlapped with the combat strength provided by his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
The presence of "Susanoo Tomoshibi" largely compensated for his shortcomings in taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Though Senjutsu could also make up for those weaknesses, it had many restrictions and wasn't necessarily as useful as "Susanoo Tomoshibi."
Enhancing his dojutsu, on the other hand, was different.
For Shinji, who already possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, what he lacked most was an improvement in the quality of his Yin Release chakra.
He had already exhausted all conventional methods.
Yet his Yin Release chakra quality was still a step behind the Yin Release chakra of Otsutsuki Indra.
And that small gap could make all the difference in determining whether or not he could evolve the Rinnegan.
Thus, the comparison wasn't between Senjutsu and dojutsu, but between Senjutsu and the Rinnegan.
Increasing his natural energy affinity meant a higher success rate for learning Senjutsu, whereas enhancing his Yin Release chakra quality meant a higher likelihood of evolving the Rinnegan.
"The Rinnegan is the foundation of everything—only by attaining the Rinnegan can I touch the power of the Six Paths and ascend to that level! That's fundamental; everything else is just embellishment."
With his decision made, Shinji immediately made his choice: Yin Release chakra quality enhancement.
In an instant:
Shinji felt as if he suddenly lost his senses, as though his body had lost control, or more precisely, as if his mental energy was overflowing from his body and spreading outward.
For a brief moment, he felt as if the grass, the bench, everything around him, had become part of his body.
It was a strange sensation, and he became immersed in it, but before he could fully experience it, the feeling gradually faded, and everything returned to normal.
Thump, thump.
Suddenly, Shinji covered his eyes.
Moments ago, his eyes experienced a surge, and everything went black, leaving him completely blind.
However, he remained calm, closing his eyes and concentrating.
Just as expected, as the surge gradually subsided, his eyes quickly regained their ability to see, and with it, he noticed that his vision had significantly improved.
To be clear, he already had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, meaning his eyesight was among the very best in the shinobi world.
Now, being able to tell that his vision had significantly improved meant that the dojutsu power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had increased substantially.
"This feeling..."
He looked down at his hands.
The enhancement was so apparent that it left him feeling slightly overwhelmed. Moreover, with the enhancement of his dojutsu, an inexplicable confidence welled up in his heart.
Soon, he smiled, regaining his composure, "No wonder Sasuke would always be so smug every time his dojutsu power improved. This feeling of power coursing through my body really is quite addictive!"