I Cannot Bring Myself to Slaughter an Entire Clan

[Name: Hyuga Qinglan]

[Ninja ID: 9707]

[Ninja Career: Graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven, mastered Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms at eight, became a Chunin at ten. Possesses strength rivaling a Jonin, yet has not submitted an application for the Jonin exam.]

[Academy Evaluation: One of the children capable of perfectly inheriting the Will of Fire.]

[Background: Orphaned at a young age, branded with the Caged Bird. Within the Hyuga Clan, he is hardworking and compliant, though he is frequently harassed by the Main Branch over various matters. The most recent instance of the Caged Bird being activated against him was over ten days ago...]

Shimura Danzō looked at the file in his hands, his brows slightly furrowed.

The file contained a detailed report on Hyuga Qinglan. From his birth and training to his recent whereabouts, everything was recorded with absolute clarity.

"Oppressed by the Main Branch every day, yet still hardworking and compliant?"

Danzō murmured in a low voice.

As far as he knew, within the Hyuga Clan, every member of the Branch Family who had experienced or witnessed the Caged Bird curse seal would have a seed of resentment toward their fate quietly buried deep within their hearts.

This seed would take root and sprout during the process of growing up, winding itself around the heart as it matured.

Eventually, it would bloom into a flower called "hatred."

Moreover, this emotion usually erupted when they were too young to understand the meaning of forbearance or the weighing of pros and cons.

But such patience as Hyuga Qinglan's was uncommon...

It should be said, it was unique.

As the dark side of the village, Danzō had seen all kinds of disguises and true temperaments.

There were only two types of people who were as submissive as Hyuga Qinglan, acting as if anyone from the Main Branch could command them.

The first type: those who endure to near perfection, disguising themselves so well that they even deceive themselves, waiting for a moment to strike with a single blow. Even if the end of the road meant being smashed to pieces, they would grit their teeth and walk on.

As for the second type...

They were those who had already become numb, taking oppression for granted, living like walking corpses.

"Which one could it be?"

Danzō closed his eyes in contemplation.

If it were the former, one only needed to touch a single thread to see signs of his struggle; if it were the latter, he would be much harder to sway.

However...

Danzō opened his eyes, a glimmer of sharp light flashing through his murky pupils.

Even a numb person always leaves a crack in the bottom of their heart. As long as someone lights it up, that crack is enough to become a starting point for climbing out.

Furthermore, Danzō was more inclined toward the former. He calculated for a moment in his mind and had already listed Qinglan as a person of potential use.

Although he was branded with the Caged Bird curse seal and could not directly join Root, it was not impossible to use him as an external operative.

Besides, his strength had already been tested through his missions.

Of course, an assessment was also necessary. And as for the examiner, Danzō had already thought of one.

He spread out the mission scroll, wrote with flying speed, stamped it with the Hokage seal, and gave his orders.

"Assign this mission to Jie, and ensure it is completed."

"Yes!"

The Root ninja took the mission scroll and vanished into the shadows at the end of the underground corridor.

Danzō sat back down in his chair, his gaze falling upon his right arm, which was wrapped in bandages.

The next step was to perfect the use of the Hashirama Cells.

Hashirama Cells... truly powerful...

He felt the vitality brought to every part of his body by the Hashirama Cells, but at the same time, he endured the gradual wood-style transformation of his right arm.

He could not wait any longer.

"Tell Orochimaru to speed up his return to the village!"

Night.

In the southeast corner of Konoha, an inconspicuous courtyard.

Hyuga Qinglan sat alone on a small wooden stool. On the low table in front of him sat a coarse pottery teapot, with a trace of undried water still lingering on the spout.

The tea fragrance curled in the air, and his thoughts were like the tide.

He held the teacup but did not drink, simply watching the tiny tea leaves floating in the water.

That time he went hunting as a child, it was he who had led several Branch Family guards to satisfy the cravings of a young lady from the Main Branch.

If he remembered correctly, that was the very time Tokuma had nearly been struck because he failed to notice the prey lurking in the dark.

It was precisely at that time that Hyuga Qinglan explained these principles to him.

Now, bringing up this past memory again...

Was it a reminder that someone was watching him?

Hyuga Qinglan picked up the teapot, poured out the lukewarm tea in his cup, and refilled it with steaming hot water.

Steam carrying the fragrance of tea brushed against his cheeks, blurring his silhouette.

And amidst this swirling mist, a hint of azure within those flawless, snow-white Byakugan appeared exceptionally striking.

"The Main Branch is still obsessed with that scroll."

Hyuga Qinglan chuckled inwardly.

He truly hadn't expected the Hyuga Clan to be so fixated on the next stage of the Byakugan, to the point of gradually descending into madness.

He gently stroked his eyes, which emitted a faint blue glow, feeling the immense power contained within them.

"My current eyes should only be considered the initial stage of the Tenseigan..."

"But I didn't expect that just activating them would grant such power... yet there hasn't even been a 'fetal movement'..."

There are two ways to achieve the complete evolution of the Tenseigan.

One is the sublimation of bloodline.

Combining Otsutsuki chakra with the pure Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan can catalyze the embryonic form of the Tenseigan.

To reach the final stage, the level of Otsutsuki Toneri, one must constantly fuse and sublimate within the eyes, commonly known as "fetal movement."

Currently, Hyuga Qinglan's Tenseigan has only just crossed the threshold, granting him at most the ability to manipulate puppets and mental energy.

To increase the purity of his eyes, he must undergo "fetal movement."

And to undergo "fetal movement," he needs a pair of even purer Byakugan.

Or... fuse a large number of Byakugan.

This is the second way to obtain the Tenseigan.

Fuse a large number of Byakugan from the Otsutsuki Clan or the Hyuga Clan.

The giant Tenseigan on the moon was created in this way.

Although the bloodline of those Otsutsuki Branch Family members on the moon couldn't compare to the purity of the Hyuga Clan, their numbers were far greater than the Main Branch at that time.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change; countless Branch Family members followed one after another, offering their Byakugan to forcefully pile up a power capable of rivaling anything.

Hyuga Qinglan couldn't help but recall the large groups of impure-blooded Otsutsuki Branch Family members on the moon back then.

If the quality isn't enough, make up for it with quantity.

The power contained within a giant Tenseigan cobbled together in this manner is equally unrivaled.

So, what if he collected enough Hyuga Byakugan?

The Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan far exceed the Otsutsuki Branch Family on the moon in terms of purity.

If the Byakugan of the moon Otsutsuki are muddy streams, then the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan are clear springs from the mountain peak.

"A little bird perched on a tree never worries about the branch beneath its feet breaking."

"Because from beginning to end, it trusts itself, it trusts its own wings..."

Hyuga Qinglan lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath his eyes.

There is always a way if one thinks about it; as long as one is willing to ponder, there will always be a way out.

"Although the Hyuga Clan doesn't have the numbers of the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon, the quality is enough to match them."

"As long as I take the whole clan... pfft..."

Hyuga Qinglan shook his head, hurriedly casting the thought from his mind.

He couldn't bring himself to slaughter his entire clan.

However, collecting the eyes of those who have awakened them is feasible...

"I wonder what a Tenseigan fused from a large number of awakened Hyuga Byakugan would look like?"

Hyuga Qinglan smiled slightly, his Byakugan opening just a crack as he looked toward the Root member hiding behind a tree trunk outside the courtyard gate, observing him.

But before completing this grand vision, he still had to deal with the little mouse from Root...

Or rather, the "gift" sent by Danzo.