Hyuga Byakugan

The same Experiment Base.

Minamoto Takuya appeared atop a massive scroll.

He had not actually used the Summoning Technique to come here from the start. Instead, he had made a stopover at a location not too far from the previous battlefield.

Of course, it was not because the distance was too great for the Summoning Technique to work, but because he could not notify Crow in time.

So, he had stationed a Shadow Clone on a high ground he was fairly certain was safe beforehand. If it had been within a forest, he might not have been able to tell, since White Zetsu was practically impossible to detect within trees. But the place he chose did not have a single tree.

Even so, White Zetsu's Earth Release was extremely formidable, so he had not only checked several times but also set up a Sealing Jutsu to prevent the enemy from hiding underground.

Once safety was confirmed, the Shadow Clone could observe changes in the situation.

For instance, if Nagato or Obito Uchiha's strength exceeded his expectations, the Shadow Clone would immediately summon him away.

He wanted part of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but not enough to risk his life over it.

Things had gone far more smoothly than Minamoto Takuya had expected, so the Shadow Clone's contingency role had gone unused.

In the end, the Shadow Clone merely summoned back the Sealing Scroll that had long been inscribed with the tool Summoning Technique formula, along with Minamoto Takuya himself. He then transferred to the Experiment Base through the crows there.

At that moment, Minamoto Takuya was holding the Sealing Scroll containing an arm of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

What he needed to do next was clear.

He would use this Ten-Tails arm to cultivate a Little Ten-Tails capable of devouring the Tailed Beast Chakra of all nine tailed beasts!

That was also why he had rushed to Rin Nohara's side to obtain Three-Tails Chakra, even at the risk of exposing himself to White Zetsu's gaze.

However, he did not immediately undo the seal. Instead, he placed the scroll in the "storage room." Before researching how to cultivate the Little Ten-Tails, he had one more matter to handle.

Just as Minamoto Takuya was about to leave, his steps paused. He walked over to the several test subjects who had previously fused with Hyuga Branch Family bloodlines using the Chimera Technique.

Their vital signs remained stable. There was no sign of the Caged Bird, and naturally, their eyes were still ordinary eyes rather than Byakugan.

Because the Byakugan within the Hyuga Branch Family bloodlines fused into them had already been destroyed by the Caged Bird.

And the Chimera Technique could not restore the Byakugan.

Minamoto Takuya suddenly paused. Perhaps that was the reason?

The Caged Bird cursed seal itself existed with the Byakugan as its vessel? That would explain why Hizashi Hyuga, reincarnated through Kabuto's Impure World Reincarnation, still bore the Caged Bird cursed seal.

Because the summoned Hizashi Hyuga possessed the Byakugan, the Caged Bird cursed seal that acted directly upon the Byakugan naturally reappeared.

But these subjects had fused with the bloodline of dead Hyuga Branch Family members through the Chimera Technique. Since their Byakugan had long been destroyed, the cursed seal had disappeared after the technique was used.

Then another question arose: if they were given a Byakugan, would the Caged Bird cursed seal emerge again?

Theoretically, it seemed unlikely, since the Hyuga Main House's Byakugan could not possibly contain the Caged Bird cursed seal. But what if there was a problem?

Minamoto Takuya had a headache. To verify this, would he not still need to use someone from the Hyuga Main House?

If he had that option, why would he bother fusing with Hyuga Branch Family bloodlines? Wouldn't directly fusing with a Hyuga Main House bloodline solve everything?

Or perhaps the Caged Bird cursed seal acted directly on the soul? That would be even harder to test. Souls had always been mysterious and difficult to study.

What if he modified the Chimera Technique to fuse only the body?

Modifying the Chimera Technique would probably be extremely difficult and require a great deal of time. Which would be easier, that or helping someone replace their head?

After all, the only research that seemed capable of allowing someone to survive after having their head replaced was probably Orochimaru's.

"Orochimaru..."

Minamoto Takuya considered the possibility of obtaining ninjutsu from Orochimaru. The man was nothing like Hiruko.

Now that he had resolved the issue of his Chakra reserves, he could certainly display the strength of a Jonin. He might even be able to contend with an elite Jonin.

But against Orochimaru, that level of strength was probably still far from enough.

Orochimaru likely did not yet possess as many forbidden techniques as he would in the future, and his strength had not reached its peak yet—not counting Boruto—but he was at least at the level of someone newly entered into Kage-level.

Obtaining resources from an Orochimaru like that would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.

But...

"It might be worth trying." Minamoto Takuya considered when and why Orochimaru would defect. He did not need to be stronger than Orochimaru; he only needed to be able to stop him.

Moreover, during this period, his strength would enter a phase of rapid growth. He might not necessarily be weaker than Orochimaru.

Of course, no matter what, he felt there was an extremely high chance that he would be unable to kill Orochimaru. The title of Konoha's king of survival was no joke.

If he could make use of Orochimaru's forbidden techniques and the Caged Bird cursed seal, then Minamoto Takuya could only accept his fate.

Minamoto Takuya figured this could indeed be listed as Plan One, then could not help but wonder whether there were other options.

There always had to be backup plans. If he failed to obtain it, he could activate a contingency plan. Only if all else failed would he abandon the experiment and fuse directly.

For example, capturing a member of the Hyuga Main House?

He had never considered that option before because he lacked the strength, and once exposed, it would mean defecting from the village.

Defecting from the village was not really a problem, but that was for after he had finished everything he needed to do in Konoha.

"It seems there might be an opportunity." Minamoto Takuya murmured. The Cloud Ninja had once tried to kidnap Hinata Hyuga, which proved they would target the Hyuga.

Of course, Hinata Hyuga was difficult to get at with Hiashi Hyuga watching over her, but the issue was that the Hyuga Main House consisted of more than just Hiashi Hyuga's branch.

That was right. Though the Hyuga Main House was not large, it definitely had more than one branch.

From Minamoto Takuya's perspective, this was the greatest injustice. If only the clan head and the clan head's heir were exempt from the Caged Bird cursed seal, there might not have been such intense resentment. After all, people did not fear scarcity; they feared inequality.

The clan head and heir were the Hyuga's leaders. It was barely understandable for them to have some privileges. Even if some people still resented it, there would be far fewer of them. But what was the deal with the other Hyuga Main House branches?

Why were they also exempt from the Caged Bird cursed seal? Yet the clan head's younger brother had to receive the Caged Bird cursed seal?

It would be strange if such things did not breed resentment.

But Minamoto Takuya was only thinking idly. He was not a member of the Hyuga Clan, so he had no need to deal with this mess. What he was thinking now was...

Perhaps he could take action against another Hyuga Main House branch amid the chaos, then pin the blame on the Cloud Ninja?