Evolution! Evolution!

Rustle... rustle...

The night wind blew through the Forest of Death, leaves rubbing and swaying in layers, churning an endless wave of dark green.

Uchiha Shisui hid among the branches, watching the Hyuga compound.

He was acting on his own will, just as he had told Fugaku before leaving the Konoha Military Police Force.

Integrate into Konoha, starting by protecting the Hyuga tonight.

Under the hazy moonlight, Shisui's scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan possessed an incredibly abnormal dynamic visual acuity, allowing him to see every move within the Hyuga compound.

Just half an hour ago, he had seen Danzo enter the Hyuga compound with three members of the Root Organization.

He knew the Hyuga faced a major decision tonight: compromise or erupt.

It was highly likely to be the former, but if it was the latter, he hoped he could intervene in time.

Firstly, to atone for his guilt of not acting when Hinata was kidnapped two days ago, and secondly, to contribute to Konoha's stability and peace, as an Uchiha.

"I hope the Hyuga clan can safely overcome this ordeal."

He liked Konoha very much and sincerely wished for everyone in the village to live in peace.

"The Uchiha too, I hope my clansmen can put aside their dissatisfaction and obey Lord Third's leadership," he added in his heart.

He silently contemplated the future, hidden in the shade of the trees, silently guarding the ideals in his heart.

Until the change occurred, he would not step foot into the Hyuga compound.

Suddenly, Shisui saw a Hyuga Main Family elder walk out of the house.

A moment later, a masked figure in a black robe also retreated and, in the time that followed, moved towards the Forest of Death at what seemed to him an extremely slow pace.

"Hmm? What is a Root member doing in the Forest of Death now?"

Shisui frowned, watching the figure run through the forest, and wondered, "With that posture and speed, is that person a genin?"

After only a couple of glances, he had discerned the black-robed person's strength.

But what followed was immense confusion: "Does Root have genin? And can they participate in such an event with Danzo?"

The more he watched, the stranger it seemed.

The black-robed person's movements were too urgent; their running speed reached the limit of a genin, not at all like someone on a mission, but more like someone fleeing for their life.

"That's right, fleeing for their life!" Shisui, having experienced the Third Shinobi World War, would never mistake it.

He had pursued many people, and their desperate running before death was just like this.

His scarlet eyes narrowed. He glanced at the peaceful Hyuga compound and made a decision in an instant.

"Since the Main Family elders have left, the Hyuga must have accepted Lord Third's arrangement. On the other hand, that black-robed person is very strange. I'll follow and see."

Activating the Body Flicker Technique, an afterimage broke through the night wind and disappeared among the branches.

Meanwhile, the moment Kazama Kaguya stepped out of the Hyuga compound, he immediately burst into maximum speed towards the Forest of Death.

Clutching two bloody Byakugan in his arms, his heart was filled with excitement.

"Hahaha, Byakugan, they're finally mine!"

After more than two years of transmigration, enduring countless hardships, dancing on the blade's edge, scheming, tricking Kisame, pulling strings, grandstanding, and putting on a smile, he had finally obtained this most crucial evolutionary material.

"Ten minutes. Danzo gave me ten minutes. I can't waste it, I must hurry."

Kazama Kaguya knew that Aburame Ryoma, who was skilled in using Kikaichū, must have set up tracking measures on him.

Once ten minutes were up, he would surely come to eliminate him.

Those bug-playing guys always had dirty tricks.

Now, he just wanted to leave Konoha as quickly as possible, enter the Forest of Death, and with Kisame's protection, evolve into an Otsutsuki and gain the power to protect himself.

Running, leaping, charging...

Kazama Kaguya leaned his upper body forward, extending his hands backward, moving rapidly in a way unique to ninjas.

Bypassing sparse buildings, as the man-made traces grew fewer and the giant trees more numerous, Kazama Kaguya finally entered the Forest of Death completely.

By now, five minutes had passed since he left the Hyuga compound, and he had traveled approximately 4 kilometers.

"It's time." Kazama Kaguya stopped, breathing heavily.

He glanced at the pitch-black primeval forest and took out a test tube filled with preservation fluid. The two Byakugan from the head of the Main Family floated within, pale, mysterious, and captivating.

"Evolve! Now!"

Squelch...

Kazama Kaguya hardened his heart and pulled out his left eye.

Intense pain struck, causing him to stagger, but he didn't delay at all, seamlessly implanting the Byakugan belonging to the head of the Main Family, Hyuga Hiashi.

Screech!

A puff of white smoke emerged as the Shikotsumyaku and the Byakugan bloodline made contact for the first time.

Immediately after, the powerful regenerative ability of the Shikotsumyaku activated.

In his left eye socket, granulation tissue writhed, nerves connected, and Chakra poured in.

In his mind, the Evolution Monument began to tremble madly, lines of text refreshing.

[Material "Byakugan" integrated, Evolution Equation completed: Shikotsumyaku + Byakugan = Pure-blooded Otsutsuki.]

[Current equation charged to 99%, inject Chakra to complete charging?]

"Inject."

In an instant, Kazama Kaguya's Chakra was drained by ninety percent, and a wave of immense weakness washed over him, nearly causing him to crash into a tree.

However, the gains were also immense.

On the monument, more information flowed like a waterfall.

[Charging complete at 100%, evolution conditions met, begin evolution?]

[Warning: This is a super-evolution that transcends life levels, estimated to take fifteen minutes. Ensure safety.]

[Warning: This evolution will result in unpredictable morphological changes, but all transformations are positive. Please be prepared.]

[Warning: Evolver has lost a large amount of Chakra, gene collapse accelerating, estimated survival time: 30 minutes.]

[Warning: Evolve into a higher form within the survival time to repair gene collapse, otherwise the evolver will be backlashed by "All-Killing Ash Bones" and utterly annihilated.]

"Four warnings? This is intense?"

Four red cautionary notes refreshed, shocking Kazama Kaguya.

He hadn't undergone an evolution like this before.

Back in Kirigakure, after absorbing natural energy, he had activated the Evolution Equation for All-Killing Ash Bones, and not a single warning had appeared.

Now, four warnings in a row, all telling him one fact.

This was a super-evolution that transcended the essence of life, a race against time.

If he succeeded, he would ascend to the heavens and reach the level of a higher lifeform.

If he failed, he would be doomed forever.

"Gulp..." Kazama Kaguya subconsciously swallowed.

"A 30-minute survival countdown, 15 minutes for evolution, and in 5 minutes, Danzo's pursuit will arrive. Stimulating, truly stimulating!"

The threat of death, the anticipation of evolution, the approaching pursuit—Kazama Kaguya's heart pounded like a drum, a large amount of adrenaline rapidly secreting.

A hint of madness flickered across his face. He took out a glass jar containing a miniature shark from his tool pouch, activated Shikotsumyaku, and his hand bones grew rapidly, crushing the small shark.

"One short of three? Haha, then let's complete it! Kisame Hoshigaki, come on, live out your life's creed."

"Equation, evolve! Evolve for me, right now!"