Hyuga × Blade and King

Of course, ordinary people would just pass these things through their bodies as they were. That was how Nara Dan saw it.

Even if ordinary people ate the flesh of Sage Creatures, they might just end up with diarrhea.

But those who practiced the Immortal-Eating Technique could draw one ten-thousandth of their "essence" from it, nourishing their bodies and completing an evolution in their level of life.

This was a "Heavenly Path" of nourishing oneself, far more stable and powerful than the "Outer Path."

In Nara Dan's estimation, that was how one might gain roughly ten to twenty percent of his Metal-Devouring ability.

As for him, with the Entry's help, he had accumulated the foundation for an evolution in his level of life long ago. Reaching the realm of a Taijutsu Expert had followed naturally.

Otherwise, among those mighty figures who had achieved God-Seeing Indestructibility, who besides the Children of Destiny had broken through and glimpsed this realm before the age of forty or fifty?

Of course, the idea of nourishing oneself with Sage Creatures was only Nara Dan's theory. It should work in principle, but he had never tried it himself.

Still, it left an opening for the Nara Clan. What if they got the chance to obtain Sage Creatures in large quantities, or developed a way to raise them on a large scale?

Then the idea of Kage Level shinobi being everywhere might not be a joke anymore.

By this point, Nara Shikaku was already somewhat dumbfounded. Senjutsu Chakra? Sage Creatures? He'd never heard of any of them.

But with his intelligence, Shikaku understood that this was some rare and precious method for steadily breaking through the limits of the human body.

The Secret Technique was lengthy, covering principles, methods, and pathways.

Nara Dan spoke for a full ten minutes without stopping before he finally finished.

By then, Shikaku was drenched in sweat and pale. He had clearly overtaxed his mind.

Nara Dan wasn't surprised. He simply patted Nara Shikaku lightly on the shoulder, and Life Energy flowed into him.

Nourished by the energy of Nara Dan, whose mastery had reached the Expert level, Shikaku's depleted mental strength was quickly replenished. His complexion visibly improved.

Even so, Shikaku still felt dazed and weak.

Nara Dan gave a light wave of his hand, and his Life Magnetic Field spread out. The servants nearby began to wake.

Before they could wonder why they'd suddenly fallen asleep where they stood, Nara Dan's voice rang out.

"Help Shikaku out. Make sure he gets some proper rest."

The servants exchanged bewildered looks. They had no idea what had just happened, so they could only comply.

Leaving aside the reaction within the Nara Clan, the powerful Chakra fluctuations last night had awakened all of Konoha.

The other factions were also keeping a close eye on Nara Dan.

The Hokage Office was as smoky as ever.

The Third pored over the Anbu's report on last night's events, lost in thought.

Though he wasn't a sensor-type shinobi, as a Hokage who had been at Kage Level for many years, he had clearly sensed the power and wildness of last night's Chakra fluctuations.

"Was it the Eight Inner Gates?"

"Hyuga... or Danzo?"

The Third knew that only a handful of Konoha's factions could get their hands on the Eight Inner Gates. Yet Nara Dan had been in contact with all of them.

"If it was Danzo, that would actually be better."

"But if it was Hyuga..."

The Third's expression grew heavy. There was no doubt that Nara Dan getting the Eight Inner Gates ahead of schedule was outside his plans. Dan was still too young.

His political backing was strong, his mind hard to read, and he wasn't a pure heir to the Will of Fire.

Once he grew up, there might be few who could rein him in.

"Danzo simply can't control a genius like that. He doesn't have the capacity."

"And he's different from me. He needs a 'blade'; I only need a 'king.'"

"Danzo needs a blade that will obey him completely. I hold the moral authority of Konoha; all I need is for Dan to serve Konoha."

"And clearly, Nara Dan won't be anyone's blade. Danzo can't control him, either."

"But if Hyuga and Nara Dan form an alliance..."

The Third's expression shifted between light and dark. Konoha ultimately belonged to the shinobi clans. When most of them joined forces, even the Hokage had to yield.

After all, he was the Third Hokage, not the First.

With the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Hyuga together, even the Hokage would have to avoid confronting them head-on.

There was another point: Nara Dan had been in contact with Danzo for quite some time, but he had only met Hyuga Nana the day before.

To obtain the Eight Inner Gates in that short time and open several of the later gates that very night was the kind of potential the Third certainly didn't want to see.

"These are troubled times."

At the Hyuga Clan Compound, in a sprawling courtyard with eight outer and nine inner gates, Hyuga Nana knelt on the wooden floor.

Across from her sat Hyuga Hiashi, the current clan head.

"Looks like Dan-kun agreed."

Hyuga Hiashi took a sip of tea. Steam rose as his pure, flawless white eyes came into view.

"The commotion last night was quite something."

Hiashi's Byakugan was exceptionally pure. He could see everything within a radius of ten miles.

When Nara Dan was studying the Eight Inner Gates, Hiashi had gone to take a distant look himself, despite the effort it took.

The Chakra, as violent and powerful as a Tailed Beast's, still made him uneasy. He hadn't dared to go anywhere near it.

But that alone would have been one thing. Afterward, the violent Chakra around Nara Dan suddenly vanished for some unknown reason.

At the same time, Nara Dan's Life Energy disappeared.

Hiashi remembered it clearly. Through his Byakugan, he had seen Nara Dan standing there, yet he kept subconsciously overlooking him.

Even more frightening, Nara Dan had turned to look in Hiashi's direction for some unknown reason.

There's no way that was accidental.

Hiashi knew it.

That firm gaze, as if Nara Dan were looking straight at him, had made him break out in a cold sweat. Dan had definitely noticed something.

At any rate, I can no longer see through Dan-kun's situation at all.

That definitely wasn't something the Eight Inner Gates could do.

Did the Eight Inner Gates give him a push?

Looks like I made the right bet.

As he thought this, Hiashi looked at Hyuga Nana, still kneeling before him. His gaze held both scrutiny and expectation for the younger generation.

As a young clan head, he knew all too well how difficult things were for the Hyuga Clan.

All their glory lay in the Byakugan, and so did every bottleneck. The limitations of Taijutsu in the Ninja World aside, the affairs of the Main and Branch Families were already tangled beyond hope.

He had chosen Hyuga Nana from the Branch Family not only because she was talented, but also because he hoped to resolve the plight of the Branch Family through her.

Hyuga Hiashi wasn't a stubborn old traditionalist who clung to the rules of the Main and Branch Families. On the contrary, he understood their flaws all too well and desperately wanted to fix them.

But how could one man break rules that had governed the clan for generations? He needed outside help—powerful outside help.

Nara Dan had shown him an opportunity.

Hiashi spoke, his voice calm.