Tenseigan

As Hyuga Kagami remembered, when Otsutsuki Toneri on the moon had replaced his eyes to evolve the Tenseigan, he seemed to have gone through a fairly long adaptation period.

That was precisely why Hyuga Kagami had delayed activating the Tenseigan Project.

But the situation was different now. Although Hyuga Kagami could not guess exactly what the village intended to do, he could be certain of one thing: danger was closing in.

Taking advantage of a solo patrol, Hyuga Kagami came to a secluded stretch of desert he had selected long ago.

After scanning the surroundings with his Byakugan and confirming that no one else was nearby, he immediately formed hand seals and summoned the One-eyed Viper Orochimaru had left behind to monitor him.

Poof...

As the smoke dispersed, the One-eyed Viper lazily slithered up to Hyuga Kagami and spat out a Scroll.

That was right—the Scroll containing the Genetic Fluid had always been kept by this One-eyed Viper.

It was a helpless measure, because only by storing it in the One-eyed Viper's belly could Hyuga Kagami retrieve the precious Genetic Fluid anytime, anywhere through the Summoning Technique.

As for whether Orochimaru might intercept it, that was not much of a concern.

Long ago, Hyuga Kagami had begun storing all sorts of miscellaneous experimental materials in the One-eyed Viper's belly. Orochimaru had secretly inspected it several times, and after finding nothing of value, he gradually stopped paying much attention to it.

Besides, Orochimaru had only recently defected. He was probably still tangled up with Jiraiya and certainly had no time to concern himself with Hyuga Kagami for the moment.

After taking out the Genetic Fluid sealed within the Scroll, Hyuga Kagami's expression turned grave.

Evolution at the genetic level held far too many uncertainties. The Genetic Fluid before him might be the key to changing his fate, or it might be poison that would end his life.

Without living experiments, there was no data. At present, Hyuga Kagami could not even estimate the odds of success. But he had no time left. He could only gamble on this. Whether he could control his own fate in the future, whether he could live with dignity and escape the helplessness of being ordered around—everything depended on this vial of Genetic Fluid.

Without hesitating any longer, Hyuga Kagami steeled himself and injected the Genetic Fluid into his body.

Aah...

Almost at the same instant, Hyuga Kagami let out a pained cry.

Pain!

Bone-deep pain!

Heart-piercing pain!

After being a ninja for so long, Hyuga Kagami had thought his tolerance was already quite high. Pain could never shake him—but only now did he realize pain could reach such a level.

Gradually, he felt the chakra within his body beginning to dissipate.

This is bad!

The situation had already slipped beyond his control. He hurriedly used his remaining chakra to forcibly undo the Summoning Technique and sent the One-eyed Viper away.

Almost the instant he sent the One-eyed Viper away, his already meager chakra completely dissipated. Then, his body seemed to begin collapsing as well. He felt as if his flesh and blood were starting to melt away.

Why is this happening!?

Overwhelmed by intense unwillingness, Hyuga Kagami's vision went dark, and he collapsed in the desert.

After an unknown amount of time, Hyuga Kagami slowly opened his eyes and discovered that he was already inside the outpost.

Mitsui Chuichi, the captain beside him, stared fixedly at Hyuga Kagami and asked coldly, "What exactly happened? Why did you collapse in the desert?"

Hyuga Kagami's mind was still muddled, so he casually brushed him off. "I... I don't know why either..."

Mitsui Chuichi frowned. "Were you attacked? By whom? Was it Sunagakure Ninja?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "No one attacked me. Something went wrong with my body. I... I think I'm sick!"

Ninjas could get sick just like anyone else; that was perfectly normal in the Ninja World. Bloodline ninjas could even contract all kinds of strange Kekkei Genkai Diseases. Kimimaro and Itachi were typical examples. So although Mitsui Chuichi still had his doubts, seeing Hyuga Kagami's weak appearance, he did not continue questioning him.

Only after Mitsui Chuichi left did Hyuga Kagami carefully examine his body.

The intensity of his body's reaction after the injection of Genetic Fluid had far exceeded his expectations. It also gave him an entirely new understanding of the danger of activating the Special Gene Sequences within his body.

I survived, after all!

As he let out a long breath, Hyuga Kagami could not help feeling waves of lingering fear.

Though he did not know the exact figures, based on his personal experience, Hyuga Kagami felt that surviving the Activation Recombination of the Special Gene Sequences was absolutely a low-probability event. He had clearly felt his body on the verge of collapse during the Activation Recombination. It had felt as though his body had been torn into countless pieces, then assembled anew. It was utterly despairing!

At the same time, it made Hyuga Kagami deeply realize that, when it came to genetics, he was still an outsider.

After calming himself, Hyuga Kagami began analyzing the effects of the Genetic Fluid based on his own experience.

His body had nearly collapsed earlier, undoubtedly as a reaction to the activation of the Special Gene Sequences within him. In other words, for every inactive set of Special Gene Sequences he lacked, his body had to undergo one Activation Recombination. Hyuga Kagami lacked sixteen sets, so he had undergone a full sixteen Activation Recombinations in the desert.

Every Activation Recombination was a brush with death, and Hyuga Kagami had wandered before death's door sixteen times in a row.

Surviving had truly been a stroke of luck!

And as all thirty-three sets of Special Gene Sequences within him became activated, Hyuga Kagami could feel that his body was completely different from before. Moreover, those changes were still continuing. The most obvious sign was that he could feel his chakra constantly increasing, growing as though there were no end to it.

Getting out of bed, Hyuga Kagami slowly walked over to the mirror.

Lifting his Goggles, he discovered that his originally pale irises had become somewhat translucent, as if they contained stars, glimmering with an unusual light.

So beautiful!

Even Hyuga Kagami himself could not help being captivated.

Just as he leaned closer, wanting to see them more clearly and carefully, a powerful wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him. At the same time, a sharp pain erupted in his eyes!

Only after quite a while did the dizziness and pain gradually fade.

Once he recovered, Hyuga Kagami slowly rose while supporting himself against the wall. He understood that he could not use his eyes during the adaptation period—not even for the simplest observation. So he closed his eyes and put his Goggles back on.

Lying back down on the bed, Hyuga Kagami quietly pondered.

The Tenseigan was now evolving. Setting aside what might happen in the future, he was currently even weaker than before. So this was not the time to celebrate. He needed to find a way to get through this difficult adaptation period...