Chapter 273: Chapter 273: You Can, Because You’re Special!
Inside the Anbu prison, a special Caged Bird curse mark sealing was quietly beginning.
Hyuga Hiashi had originally wanted to play some tricks—such opportunities to use a curse mark on outsiders were few and far between. It was normal for some mistakes to happen, and no one would know if he quietly did some experiments. But after weighing it for a moment, he gave up. The risk was too great.
The Hyuga clan’s involvement in the Uchiha’s affairs was already an irrational choice. If he were to cause any more trouble... the grudge between the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan would probably exceed their conflict with Konoha. Although the situation was still like this now, the two sides at least maintained a certain degree of restraint and would compete within the rules.
However, the Uchiha will fall sooner or later. Only the Hyuga will be passed down forever.
Hyuga Hiashi turned his head and glanced at the prison.
What defeated the Uchiha was not an outsider, but themselves. These insane, terrifying eyes would lead the Uchiha into an irretrievable abyss. A thought flashed through Hiashi’s mind.
"Ninjas who rely on their Kekkei Genkai will often be controlled by their Kekkei Genkai."
The Uchiha were like this. And their Hyuga clan, were they not also like this? The Hyuga clan of the past was confined within the circle of the "Gentle Fist" and "Byakugan," not touching the outside world and its powers. Although the lineage was stable, it also limited their own creativity.
After starting to practice ninjutsu... one combination after another was quickly developed. To this day, the Hyuga clan’s ability had become visibly stronger than before. At this moment, Hyuga Hiashi was extremely grateful—cooperating with Kyohiko back then was indeed an incomparably correct decision! Even if they fought with the Uchiha clan, so what? In the future, as long as the Hyuga clan maintained this route and didn’t learn from those "big brains" of the Uchiha, they could basically become stronger steadily.
Thinking of this, Hyuga Hiashi let out a breath, a sincere smile appearing on his face.
"Kyohiko, come and visit the Hyuga clan often when you have time. Also, Kushina and Minato’s side, I hope you can help me build a bridge. I would be immensely grateful!"
"Certainly."
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
Since Minato had mentioned the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, he obviously had a plan for it and would surely be willing to contact the Hyuga clan later on. He pondered for a moment.
"Minato and the others are also conducting some research. They might need your help at that time..."
"That’s natural. There’s no such thing as only receiving without giving. The Hyuga clan will not treat its friends poorly. Whatever Kyohiko-kun needs, the Hyuga clan will not refuse," Hyuga Hiashi said.
After hearing this, Ryoho Kyohiko smiled and joked.
"What if I want the Gentle Fist?"
"What’s the harm in teaching you?"
Hyuga Hiashi was extremely magnanimous.
Is the Gentle Fist what’s powerful? It’s the Gentle Fist combined with the Byakugan, it’s their own training and research on the Byakugan.
Ryoho Kyohiko smiled and shook his head.
"Just kidding. Shall I send you back to Konoha?"
"Thank you for the trouble."
Hyuga Hiashi nodded.
The next second, he was sent directly to Konoha by the Flying Thunder God. Then, the Uchiha clansmen were sent to Konoha by the Flying Thunder God Formation, leaving only Uchiha Fugaku not far away. Fugaku slowly walked over, then bowed solemnly.
"Thank you!"
Ryoho Kyohiko replied with a smile.
"It’s nothing. I also did it for the village to be more harmonious."
Fugaku shook his head and took out a scroll.
"This is what I promised you."
***
"Hahaha, that brat Fugaku, it really fits his character. Timid and hesitant, in the end, he often doesn’t please either side."
Orochimaru couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"It’s enough."
Ryoho Kyohiko looked at the petri dish in his hand. Although he was a little speechless, he wasn’t too surprised—in the petri dish, supplied by a nutrient solution, the vitality of a pair of eyes was maintained. However, unlike a normal Sharingan, it only had two tomoe.
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth.
"Indeed. For you, unless it reaches the level of the Mangekyo, the number of tomoe makes no difference."
Ryoho Kyohiko’s strength had already reached a level where he didn’t need the Sharingan. His eyes were suppressed with excitement.
"Do you need my help with the transplant?"
"No need. For this kind of thing, don’t you just need hands?"
Ryoho Kyohiko answered.
Although he said so, when it really came to gouging, he still felt a little scared. Plug and play, how on earth did Madara do it?
Orochimaru chuckled in a low voice.
"Let me do it! I guarantee it will be painless!"
"Heh."
Ryoho Kyohiko replied, and then... between his fingers, chakra condensed into a sharp needle, which quickly pierced into his eyes, cutting the nerves and blood vessels inside in the blink of an eye.
The next moment. Tch! The eye was taken out, and the other was replaced. In the blink of an eye, the eye quickly recovered, connecting to this Sharingan.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. So fast! In that instant, he didn’t even see Kyohiko form any hand seals. He had completed the eye-swapping operation in one go. Seal-less healing. A constitution similar to that of Senju Hashirama? No, that’s not right. Not to that extent yet, just an application of Yin Healing Wound Destruction.
Orochimaru quietly let out a breath. If Kyohiko’s constitution had also reached that level, he would have really started to suspect whether Kyohiko had transplanted Hashirama’s cells. Looking at it now, Kyohiko hadn’t reached that step yet. However, such a Kyohiko was already so powerful. If he transplanted Hashirama’s cells and the Sharingan, and perfectly fused them in his body... how strong would that be?
A look of anticipation flashed in Orochimaru’s eyes. Perhaps not now, but sooner or later, there would be such a day! He believed in Kyohiko.
After waiting for a moment, Orochimaru took out a pen and paper, wrote down the title, and then said.
"How does it feel?"
Ryoho Kyohiko answered.
"Chakra is draining, and I can’t close it actively."
He felt it for a moment.
"The consumption is not small. If it were an ordinary person with less chakra, transplanting these eyes would be a burden."
"Mm, the Sharingan is like that. Like the Byakugan, its consumption in this aspect is much smaller."
Orochimaru nodded lightly, skillfully recording the data.
Then, he looked up.
"Do you feel it has fused with your spiritual power? Or, do you feel any influence?"
"Not yet. It won’t be that fast."
Ryoho Kyohiko shook his head.
Even for the Uchiha clan, apart from Uchiha Madara, others also needed a period of adaptation and recovery after transplanting eyes, let alone him who was not of the Uchiha clan. Even his own bloodline couldn’t be considered a pure Senju...
He was pondering. Suddenly, Ryoho Kyohiko felt a wave of dizziness. His brain seemed to be reacting. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, quickly recording the fluctuations. A few minutes later, Kyohiko gradually stabilized and, in the same way, installed the other eye. Two eyes, the consumption had increased quite a bit. But relative to Kyohiko’s constitution, he could still support it. It was just that to maintain a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan, the price was too high... obviously not worth it.
Ryoho Kyohiko frowned.
Orochimaru was writing and drawing on the side, pondering possible conjectures. Finally, he thought for a long time.
"It’s probably because you don’t have the Uchiha bloodline, so you can’t close it, and it’s also impossible to get a stronger eye."
Being unable to close it at will meant that the Sharingan had not completely integrated into his body. Then the power of the Sharingan would seem extremely useless. Even Orochimaru, who had been quite eager before, couldn’t help but lose some interest at this moment, not as enthusiastic about it as before.
Ryoho Kyohiko, however, was exploring and pondering. He vaguely felt that the main reason why the Sharingan couldn’t fuse with his body was actually due to "dōjutsu power." Dōjutsu power was a special kind of chakra. This chakra was only possessed by Uchiha clan members who had awakened their eyes. To close it, one must first convert the dōjutsu power in the eyes into ordinary chakra, and then into ordinary energy. But since these eyes did not belong to him, their chakra could not be absorbed and fused by him. In this situation, he could only apply it, and could not make a higher enhancement to this dōjutsu power, unless it was like the original Kakashi and Obito, one person one eye—even in that situation, Kakashi could only resonate and enhance it to the Mangekyo at close range, without a way to close it. This was a vicious cycle.
Unless he could decipher this dōjutsu power, simulate an effect similar to it, and try to replace this power with his own, or—seek a more perfect fusion. Try to erode and devour it with Hashirama’s cells? Ryoho Kyohiko quickly rejected the idea. It won’t work. The powers of the two could at most reach a balance, just like his current self. As these eyes fused, they gradually did not have as high an expenditure as before.
However, according to the system’s rules that Kyohiko had figured out, if he "wore" them often, who knows, he might be able to trigger a bloodline-related reward.
"What do you plan to do?"
After Orochimaru finished recording the data and the experimental situation, he had a general understanding of the Sharingan.
Ryoho Kyohiko covered his eyes and smiled.
"I feel that these eyes can be researched a bit more. There might be some gains."
"Alright, but you probably can’t conveniently take them outside, right?"
Orochimaru frowned.
Although they had obtained these eyes through a deal with Fugaku, using them in private and using them out in the open were two different things.
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
"Of course. So I still need to switch them back."
After speaking, he couldn’t help but fall silent. In the future, am I really going to become plug-and-play? The price seems a bit high.
Suddenly, Ryoho Kyohiko thought of the operation Orochimaru had performed on Danzo. Inlaid on the hand? The shinobi world was full of strange things. Even a jutsu like the Sand Eye existed. It really wasn’t difficult to create a special nerve in the arm. His focus was on "carrying" it and creating a plausible research direction... Ryoho Kyohiko’s eyes brightened.
He smiled.
"I’ve thought of a way!"
"Oh?"
Orochimaru looked at Kyohiko, couldn’t help but feel curious. "Mind sharing?"
Ryoho Kyohiko answered.
"I suspect it’s because of the dōjutsu power. So I plan to try and analyze the power of these eyes and see if I can simulate a similar chakra..."
The first reaction in Orochimaru’s mind was—nonsense! What a joke! Reverse engineering dōjutsu power, analyzing it, and then researching and controlling it through one’s own control... if that could be done, wouldn’t the Uchiha’s Sharingan become a common commodity?
Wait, no. Orochimaru looked at Kyohiko, looking him up and down, thinking to himself. Others couldn’t, but Kyohiko might not be unable to. The Senju and Uchiha were of the same origin, just that the two bloodlines had inherited different powers. But from Kyohiko’s performance, as he continued to get stronger, his bloodline potential was being dug out bit by bit. If Kyohiko’s bloodline could be dug to the extreme, and purified, returning to his ancestors, perhaps he could fuse with the Sharingan!
"Who knows, it might actually work!"
Thinking of this, Orochimaru couldn’t help but get a little excited.
But then, he was stunned. What’s there to be excited about? To put it bluntly, Kyohiko’s growth trajectory had already violated the basic laws of ninja development. Even if Kyohiko could fuse and awaken his eyes, that was due to his own specialty, bumping into an equally special eye. It didn’t mean others could do it.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh softly.
"Kyohiko-kun, perhaps one day you can achieve the fusion of these eyes, but that is also due to your own specialty. It is not a common case."
"That’s for sure."
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
Seeing Orochimaru going along with it, he was quite pleased, but still suppressed his emotions.
"The collision and fusion of bloodlines may trigger some unpredictable changes, not necessarily developing in a good direction."
"Before the results are out, we absolutely cannot slack off."
As he spoke, he switched his eyes back and sealed them up.
"I’m leaving."
"Mm, I have other things to research too."
Orochimaru nodded lightly.
He had been full of enthusiasm for the Sharingan before, but after knowing the situation of the Sharingan, he immediately lost much of his interest. These eyes were useful, but not that useful. For an ordinary Uchiha clan member, even with strong emotions, it was very difficult to awaken the Mangekyo, let alone them, who were transplanting it from an outside clan. If one really wanted to obtain this power, the optimal solution was to replace the entire body. But for now, he had no such idea—what’s the use of the Sharingan being strong? Can it grant eternal life?
He bent over his desk and continued his research on the Chakra Armor. If this research could succeed, perhaps it could be extended to improve and enhance the entire puppet system. At that time, if Sunagakure wanted to rebel, they would have to look at Konoha’s attitude. Orochimaru didn’t care about the outcome of the war, but he was very interested in cracking Sunagakure’s puppet techniques.
***
In the Land of Snow, Namikaze Minato arrived in the vast snowy country directly from the south via the Flying Thunder God Formation. The first feeling was—Cold! Too cold! The howling north wind, wrapped in snow, shuttled through the canyon, like knives stabbing at his face. Fortunately, Minato had been reminded by Kyohiko and was dressed warmly enough. He was also a ninja. After adapting for a while, he was not afraid of this severe cold.
But—
"M-Minato?!"
Nara Shikaku saw Minato. Even with his superior intelligence, he couldn’t help but be a little excited at this moment.
Good heavens! Is Kyohiko’s side finally done with their business? He immediately poured out his questions in one breath.
"How are things over there?"
"Is Konoha alright!"
"During the time I was away..."
Minato’s head was about to explode from the questions, but he had a good temper. He waited with a dry smile for Shikaku to vent his emotions, then said with a smile.
"Everything is fine in Konoha. Shukaku has been secured and has now been received by Konoha..."
After answering one by one, he then asked about the situation in the Land of Snow. After asking... Minato was instantly dumbfounded. Good heavens! Kyohiko’s scheme is huge. He’s practically setting up a base in the Land of Snow. No wonder he values this group of ninjas so much.
After listening, he nodded repeatedly.
"So, Mr. Yazawa has already made his choice?"
"Yes. Most of his clansmen are unwilling to leave. Under my introduction, they have joined the Land of Snow. I hope it won’t affect Kyohiko’s plans over there."
Nara Shikaku coughed lightly.
Although he was quite confident that Kyohiko would do the same, he was not Kyohiko, after all...
Minato smiled.
"Kyohiko also thinks the same. But Mr. Yazawa and his assistants, comrades, and family must go back with us."
Although he didn’t know what they were researching specifically, from what Kyohiko had said, they were the most important research talents, more important than all the ninjas in the Land of Snow.