Core Technology

Hyuga Ao was working on the fourth lock of the Caged Bird. After the sudden enlightenment the night before, her Spiritual Power had improved, and with this breakthrough, the fourth lock came undone easily.

Just as she was about to take advantage of the momentum to probe the fifth lock, Orochimaru called her to the lab.

She had thought that the idea of Orochimaru building a lab wherever he went was just a fanfiction trope.

She never expected it to be true!

After the apprenticeship ceremony, the eager Orochimaru dragged her straight into the lab for a physical examination, giving Hyuga Ao an intuitive look at her own body data.

"Ao, you were right," Orochimaru said, organizing his experiment logs.

That day after becoming his disciple, Hyuga Ao had told him a great deal.

As everyone knew, transmigration boosted memory. That night, Hyuga Ao had thoroughly explained her high school biology—scoring 87.5 out of 90—to Orochimaru.

In truth, high school biology wasn't that deep. What helped Orochimaru the most were the definitions of certain concepts and the systematic organization.

Under their cooperative relationship, Orochimaru didn't pry too deeply, but it was clear he was more sincere about the partnership now.

"Ao, you weren't wrong. These past few days, I managed to obtain gene samples from the Uchiha and Senju clans. The Hyuga, Senju, and Uchiha indeed share a common ancestor."

Orochimaru looked exhausted, but his eyes burned with excitement.

"As for your idea of awakening Kekkei Genkai through Gene Activation—no, it won't work, at least not now." He picked up a gene sample and placed it in front of Hyuga Ao.

"See for yourself. Use your Byakugan."

"This is!" Seeing what lay before her, Hyuga Ao couldn't help but gasp.

"That's right." Orochimaru rubbed his face. "Every segment related to Kekkei Genkai gene expression is encrypted with Chakra Encryption! Awakening a bloodline requires a specific type of chakra to unlock it."

Hyuga Ao found it hard to believe.

My Tenseigan! she lamented internally. Gone!

The dream of awakening the Tenseigan through Gene Activation was shattered. She would have to obediently search for the Moon Passage instead.

Something felt off. Is the damn author nerfing me?

I should hit them with a Great Vajra Heavenly Dragon and see if they dare pull this kind of shady move again.

"Next is what you mentioned about the blood disease tied to Shikotsumyaku." Orochimaru handed her his conclusions.

These past few days, Orochimaru had been working at full throttle. What Hyuga Ao gave him intrigued him so much that he barely managed the camp. To ensure his precious disciple wasn't harmed, he'd worked overtime to produce these results.

"So, under normal circumstances, as long as Shikotsumyaku isn't overused, there's no problem?"

"Yes." Orochimaru confirmed:

"Each time you use Shikotsumyaku, Bone Cells are generated inside your body."

"The more Bone Cells you have, the stronger Shikotsumyaku becomes, but the increase also compresses your normal organs."

"If the Bone Cells spread throughout your body, Shikotsumyaku will reach its peak, but by then, the user's organs will have been completely eroded and crushed by it."

"That is the blood disease of Shikotsumyaku."

Orochimaru concluded: "So, as long as you can eliminate the Bone Cells, you can control the blood disease. For a Hyuga with the Byakugan, that's not a big problem."

Hyuga Ao nodded. To be fair, that's true.

Amazing, my Snake!

In just a few days, he'd figured out so much. Truly a man who mastered core technology.

"Here's a list of Sealing Jutsu scrolls and Medical Ninjutsu scrolls I've organized. Read them in order. You can go now; I need to rest." Orochimaru gave his instructions quickly and vanished in an instant.

Hyuga Ao was left standing there, dumbfounded. Is this Uncle Snake's work efficiency? Love it, love it!

Dazzled by the display, Hyuga Ao returned to her privileged single-person tent and began probing the fifth lock.

After unlocking the fourth lock of the Caged Bird, she could clearly feel it starting to loosen. Over the past two days, she often sensed her spirit and Byakugan twitching suddenly.

She continued observing the fifth lock. It was clearly the tightest and most widespread chain so far.

Hyuga Ao speculated that once the fifth lock was undone, the Caged Bird would no longer pose a lethal threat.

The Caged Bird was a cage formed by countless chains extending from the Byakugan, intertwining to create a birdcage.

When the Main Family cast the curse, they were actually pulling the other ends of those chains.

Pulling the chains tightened the cage, causing the branch family's headaches. If the curse was overused, the cage would shrink, crushing the brain. With the brain destroyed, death was inevitable.

As a birdcage, the fifth lock was the last chain wrapped horizontally around it.

Four vertical, five horizontal—the four chains erected the cage's frame, while the five horizontal ones bound it tight. So, if the fifth lock was undone, Hyuga Ao would be free.

The Sword of Damocles hanging over her head would be removed, and she could pursue her own life, no longer under the Main Family's control.

But this fifth lock was hard to undo. With the remaining five chains crisscrossing, she needed to find a way to slowly guide the lock head around, disengaging it from the other chains to complete the unlock.

Still, Hyuga Ao wasn't in a rush. She'd take it slow.

At dawn, Orochimaru found Hyuga Ao again.

"Orochimaru-sensei?" Hyuga Ao looked at him questioningly.

"I've already talked to Tsunade about the Yin Seal. Go see her in the next few days. She wants to see what kind of person you are before deciding whether to teach you," Orochimaru said.

And so, Hyuga Ao set out to find Tsunade.

Should I really be checking in with all three Sannin? Ao joked to herself.

She'd been in Jiraiya's squad, apprenticed to Orochimaru, and now she was heading off to hang out with Tsunade for a few days.

Thinking about it, wasn't she just the ultimate slacker? Ao mused.

She gave a wry smile. It was true, wasn't it? She'd coasted along with Nawaki's squad before, and now she was coasting along with Orochimaru.

But could you really call a ninja's work coasting? Ao thought, as ideas like training isn't coasting and investing in Orochimaru isn't coasting floated through her mind.

While Ao was tangled up in these thoughts about taking it easy, she arrived at Tsunade's department.

Recently, Konoha's movements had been strange. They kept reinforcing troops and shipping supplies, and the Rain Ninja and Iwagakure had started mobilizing their forces too, all assuming Konoha was going to go all in and crush everyone in one decisive battle.

But from Ao's perspective as someone on the inside, it seemed more like Konoha was waiting for something. They hadn't started any final-battle mobilization, and the troops' mental preparation was lacking.

With her mind full of scattered thoughts, Ao came face to face with Tsunade.

According to rumors—and by rumors, she meant information from her past life—Tsunade had originally been a rich loli with a chest like an airport runway. Then Jiraiya had made some reckless joke, and Tsunade, taking the insult to heart, had trained hard in Medical Ninjutsu.

On that airport runway, she'd built two mighty mountains.

Seeing it today, it was true.

Tsunade looked helplessly at Ao, who had walked in and was staring blankly at her chest. She took the chance to study Ao's expression.

Her eyes were definitely focused on the mountains, but her mind had clearly wandered off. This kid is spacing out while staring at my chest?

Tsunade didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Still, she breathed a sigh of relief. A dazed girl like this usually had a decent personality—not too many hidden schemes.

Tsunade stood up and flicked Ao on the forehead. "Stop staring," she said, exasperated. "You'll get some yourself someday."

Ao couldn't help imagining what it would be like if she had Tsunade's proportions.

She charged at an enemy, her little feet pattering along, only to miss and get countered because the enemy ducked and she couldn't see over her own chest.

At that mental image, Ao shivered and snapped fully awake.

Tsunade watched Ao finally come back to her senses and thought, How did Orochimaru end up with a disciple like this?

She scribbled a note and handed it to Ao. "Go find this person to learn Medical Ninjutsu. You'll be assisting in the medical department for the next few days."

And just like that, Tsunade pushed Ao back out the door.

Check-in complete? The thought popped into Ao's head.

It seemed she'd checked in with all three Sannin in a short span of time.

Ao shook her head with a wry smile and took the note to go find her new mentor.

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