[How does it feel?]
Orochimaru looked at Haku, who had just completed the eye transplant, and asked how he felt.
Before the transplant, Haku had already told Orochimaru that the eye he was receiving was a Sharingan. Orochimaru hadn't seemed surprised by the news; apparently, he already knew where the Sharingan had come from.
Still, Orochimaru was waiting to see how the Sharingan transplant turned out. According to the information he'd gathered, many people in the Shinobi World had received Sharingan transplants before, but none had been able to use them properly.
Those people had either been corrupted by the negative emotions contained in the Sharingan, causing their personalities to change drastically, or had been unable to perform ninjutsu because the Sharingan consumed too much Chakra.
That was also why the Uchiha clan's Sharingan hadn't been as coveted by the other hidden villages as the Byakugan. The cost was simply too high for the benefits.
Orochimaru had agreed to let Haku come to him for the transplant because he wanted firsthand data on the results. He had already begun conducting human experiments.
Hearing Orochimaru's question, Haku first glanced at the system prompt.
[Sharingan acquired. Initial abilities unlocked!]
[Sharingan]
[Level: Unawakened 0%]
[Ability: Insight Level 1]
[Insight: Increases the host's powers of observation by 10% per level]
[Not bad. It seems a little more useful than my old eye. My powers of observation have improved quite a bit.]
As Haku answered, Orochimaru scribbled something into his notebook.
[How much Chakra does it consume?]
At Orochimaru's question, Haku carefully checked again. It seemed he hadn't felt any additional Chakra drain just now.
[Hm?]
[What's wrong? Is the consumption too high?]
Seeing Haku look confused, Orochimaru asked again.
[No! It's not that the consumption is too high. I can't feel any drain at all, and I can't activate the eye right now.]
[Hm? Your situation doesn't quite match the information I've obtained. According to what I've learned, once someone receives a Sharingan transplant, the eye stays activated and can't be turned off!]
Orochimaru was puzzled by Haku's condition as well.
[Tell me right away if you notice any changes in your eye. I'll see if I can get another Sharingan to run some tests.]
[If you want to make me a sacrificial pawn, you'll have to pay something for it.]
Haku looked at Orochimaru, who seemed ready to go too far, and sighed softly. Anyone would have a hard time accepting being abandoned by their own teacher.
[Sensei, let's record the other data!]
After that, Haku cooperated as Orochimaru performed all sorts of examinations and recorded the results.
When they were finished, Haku took his leave.
On the way home, Haku checked how the Sharingan felt once more.
This time, Haku was sure he hadn't imagined it: the eye's original owner, Uchiha Yu, was indeed still alive.
The eye was calling Haku toward somewhere far away. That seemed to be where it had originally belonged.
[It seems Yu is trying to get me to find her this way, but the system's purification weakened that connection. Right now, all I can tell is that Yu is still alive.]
[Sigh! Still, this is good news.]
[Yu is alive. There'll be a day when we meet again.]
When Haku got home, he checked that nobody was around, then put his own Byakugan back in.
[Byakugan]
[Level: Unawakened 0%]
[Ability: Insight Level 1]
[Insight: Increases the host's powers of observation by 10% per level]
[The abilities of different eyes can be combined.]
Seeing that his Byakugan was also unawakened, Haku asked the system intelligence what it would take to awaken his Byakugan and Sharingan.
[The host can spend points directly. Each eye requires 50 energy points. If the host nurtures them with Chakra, it will take one year, during which time the host's Chakra reserves will not increase.]
[After the system processed the host's Sharingan, it removed the negative effects that could impact the host's mind. However, this also eliminated the route of awakening the eye through emotional stimulation.]
[After the system processed the Byakugan, it will not change significantly whether awakened or unawakened. However, this also eliminated the route of absorbing other Byakugan to increase its ocular power.]
Hearing the system intelligence's explanation, Haku sighed quietly and touched the Byakugan he had just transplanted.
[Hm? The original owner of this Byakugan is still alive too. Hyuga Valley really went all out. I owe him a huge debt now.]
[And neither the Sharingan nor the Byakugan can be upgraded the way they are in the Naruto World, so progress will be slower. But it seems their upgrade limits have been removed, so it's a mixed blessing.]
[It'll take two years of cultivation to awaken both the Sharingan and the Byakugan, and my Chakra won't increase during that time. That's rough. I can still get stronger by training my body, but it'll take up too much time.]
Before you continue