Nine-Tails' Baryon Mode

Atop a high tower, a man and a woman stood in the rain, gazing out over Amegakure shrouded by the downpour.

This ninja village, this nation—it was crying.

"That powerful man hasn't appeared in a long time."

"Zetsu couldn't find him either?"

Konan shook her head. "I already asked. There's no news at all."

"However, Madara Uchiha told me that he has found a potential candidate to join us."

Nagato fell silent for a moment, then merely nodded expressionlessly. "...Mm."

"Orochimaru has been hiding in his laboratory lately, researching some kind of Eternal Life. I have a feeling he'll set his sights on your Rinnegan," Konan warned Nagato.

Nagato replied calmly, "God has no need to fear anyone."

But Eternal Life?

Even the incomparably powerful Sage of Six Paths from The Myth could not escape the fate of death.

And Orochimaru thought he could obtain Eternal Life through crooked, unorthodox means?

Nagato touched his eye sockets. "The limits of one's innate bloodline and the gap between humans and gods are not something human effort can overcome. Everything Orochimaru does is futile."

At that moment, in the Branch Family district of the Hyuga Clan Grounds.

Hizashi Hyuga and Neji Hyuga sat facing each other, the atmosphere between father and son somewhat grave.

"Neji."

Hizashi suddenly spoke, breaking the heavy silence. "Do you hate the Main House?"

Neji hesitated for a moment before anger appeared on his face. "I do!"

Hizashi nodded. "So do I."

Faced with Neji's stunned expression, he continued on his own. "My elder brother and I used to be like you and Hinata. We were close brothers, able to quarrel fiercely over trivial things and beat each other black and blue. But after the fight, we could apologize to each other and make up."

"But ever since the Caged Bird was branded onto me, the Main House and the Branch Family became an unbridgeable gulf between my brother and me. All that remained was indifference and hostility. There could only be indifference and hostility."

Hizashi looked at the silent, downcast Neji, his tone turning stern. "I know you hate the Caged Bird and hate the Main House that binds freedom, but none of that matters."

Neji abruptly raised his head at those words, unable to believe it. "Father..."

"But!"

Hizashi changed his tone and warned, "I don't know why, but you should not show killing intent toward Hinata!"

Neji started to speak, stopped, then started again.

In the end, he lowered his head and answered, "...Yes."

He truly wanted to tell his father.

Hinata was no longer the Hinata she used to be.

In their previous fight, he had actually...

Actually lost to Hinata in a spar.

Lost to the Hinata who had once been weak and easy to bully!

Creak!!

Neji lowered his head, clenched his teeth, and quietly balled his fists.

"Her fists were clearly as weak and timid as usual at first, so why..."

Why had she suddenly seemed like a completely different person?!

Could that Gentle Fist, carrying an unwavering resolve and conviction to press forward, striking with such ruthless decisiveness, really have been unleashed by that young lady of the Main House?!

"Neji, I will open a new path for you, but you must..."

Hizashi glanced at Neji's clenched fist and sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to say something—

Boom!!

The ground beneath them suddenly trembled.

Hizashi and Neji's bodies jolted slightly as well.

"Father?"

Neji looked at Hizashi in bewilderment, but Hizashi was equally stunned.

An earthquake?

No.

Hizashi came to his senses, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

That guy...

"Neji, get some rest first. I'll be right back."

Before he could explain anything to Neji, Hizashi put on an outer robe and quickly headed deeper into the courtyard.

He passed through a deep corridor and arrived before a tightly shut room.

"Byakugan!!"

Veins bulged around Hizashi's eyes. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he open the door.

The room was arranged no differently from a study, but when he pressed the switch on the bookshelf—

Click, click, click~

A door instantly appeared in the center of the floor, revealing a dark stairway leading underground.

Hizashi grumbled inwardly as he walked down.

Lights illuminated both sides of the passage.

At the bottom was an underground space of roughly fifty square meters.

The walls and floor were protected by solid stone slabs, enough to withstand the impact of an A-rank ninjutsu, the Dragon Flame Release Song Technique.

But the underground space now...

All he saw was a complete mess, with a huge crater in the middle.

The distillation flasks, test tubes, and containers that had once sat on the tables had all shattered, glass fragments flying everywhere throughout the "secret chamber."

In addition, several research instruments had been completely blown apart and could no longer be used.

Only the massive container in the corner had escaped unharmed.

Inside were some plant and animal specimens.

Beneath the flickering hanging lamp, a figure stood inside the crater. Half his face was concealed in shadow, while the other half remained utterly calm.

Still expressionless, he methodically continued his work at the operating table.

The scalpel moved in his hand as naturally as an extension of his arm. What should have been a bloody experiment now flowed as smoothly as art.

He cut off a slice as thin as a cicada's wing, took out a petri dish, placed it under the microscope, and began carefully observing the changes in its cells.

The flesh in this petri dish possessed the faint bloodline of the Senju Clan, as well as Nine Tails Chakra and Naruto's cells as a balancing agent.

Meanwhile, Hizashi stood blankly to the side and watched.

"Whew..."

Only ten minutes later did Menma stop moving and let out a soft breath.

The initial experiments had all gone smoothly.

But it was no different from the previous experiments.

Once Nine Tails Chakra combined with foreign Chakra, it became extremely unstable, directly causing irreversible damage to both the host and the Nine-Tails.

A precious experimental subject with Senju blood had been broken down just like that.

Unfortunately, his research into Nine Tails Chakra still could not make a breakthrough. Once again, he had fallen at the same hurdle, as though he had hit a bottleneck.

"What exactly is Baryon Mode? Where does the problem lie?"

After recording the experimental results and placing the petri dish into the "disposal area," Menma rubbed his chin, his heart full of doubt.

"How did Kumogakure's Gold and Silver Brothers manage to gain Nine Tails Chakra by swallowing Nine-Tails flesh whole?"

"Ahem, ahem!"

Seeing Menma still immersed in his experiment, Hizashi, who had waited for a long time, finally could not bear it any longer.

"Huh? When did you get here?"

Menma came back to his senses, raised his head, and looked at Hizashi as though he had only just noticed him.

He licked his dry lips, then reached up to wipe the dust from his face.

Instead, he smeared even more blood across his face, making him look especially terrifying beneath the dim light.

At the sight, Hizashi's heart first went cold. Then he quickly composed himself and complained, "What experiment are you doing this time? You made such a huge commotion. Aren't you afraid someone will find out?"