The Main Branch's Response (Part 1)

After a moment of contemplation, Hyuga Hane took out a scroll containing three sealed Anbu, releasing one unconscious Anbu ninja from it.

Next, he retrieved a test tube containing black hair from the ninja tool pouch at his waist.

This was the hair of the Hyuga ninja he had just killed.

He did not collect blood, as that would easily leave the scent of gore upon him.

"Summoning Technique, Impure World Reincarnation!"

Gray-white paper shards wrapped around the Anbu ninja in the formation; jolted awake by the intense pain, he looked at the paper surrounding him in terror.

"What is this..."

Thing?

Before he could finish his sentence, his head was also enveloped by the paper, and the previously deceased Hyuga Jonin returned from the underworld.

He opened his eyes in a daze, and upon seeing Hyuga Hane not far in front of him, he immediately tried to strike a defensive pose.

But to his horror, he found he could not move at all.

"What have you done to me?"

"This is the Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation. You are already dead, remember?"

The Jonin raised his hands sluggishly, staring at his cracked palms: "Already dead."

"You can slowly come to terms with that later." Hyuga Hane walked closer to him and placed a kunai hung with a talisman into his mind.

"For now, activate your Byakugan."

The Jonin's fingers moved involuntarily into position, and he spoke: "Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Hane watched the Byakugan activate smoothly, a faint glimmer flashing in his eyes.

Before this Jonin died, his Byakugan ocular power had already been absorbed by Hane, yet he could still activate his Byakugan.

Just like Nagato and Uchiha Itachi when they were reanimated.

Even though their bodies had lost their eyes, they had not lost their ocular techniques or Kekkei Genkai.

"Is it chakra that is inherited, rather than the bloodline itself?"

Hyuga Hane chuckled softly.

"That is why the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is required to awaken the Tenseigan."

The nameless Hyuga Jonin maintained the Byakugan activation pose, glaring at him with resentment: "Did you resurrect me to take revenge on the Main Branch?"

"It is for verification."

Hyuga Hane glanced at him, explaining in a good mood: "Before you died, I used a sealing technique to absorb all of your Byakugan ocular power."

"That was a sealing technique I created based on the Uchiha Clan's Transcription Seal. It is the exact opposite of the Transcription Seal; it can forcibly extract the ocular power of the target."

"However, you couldn't even activate your Byakugan in your final moments, yet you can do it now. Why?"

Without waiting for the Hyuga Jonin to recover from this sudden question, Hyuga Hane continued: "Because you have not lost your chakra!"

"The reason a ninja's Kekkei Genkai exists is not because of the inheritance of blood, but the inheritance of chakra."

"The reanimated ninja with Kekkei Genkai are proof of this."

Having lost their physical bodies and their genes, they could still use their Kekkei Genkai!

With this, Hyuga Hane understood the answers to certain questions.

--Why did Nagato still possess the Rinnegan after being reanimated?

This question can be viewed alongside the situation with Naruto.

The whiskers on Naruto's face were due to the Nine-Tails' chakra, present since birth.

This was because Kushina was Naruto's biological mother, and the Nine-Tails had indirectly passed its chakra to Naruto.

Thinking about it this way is a bit strange, but the chakra Naruto inherited at birth should be Minato + Kushina + Nine-Tails.

Hmm, a child of two people and one fox?

Nagato's situation was very similar; he had the Rinnegan transplanted from a young age, serving as a vessel to keep the Rinnegan active.

This caused the powerful energy contained within the Rinnegan to constantly permeate Nagato's chakra, causing his chakra to transform toward the unique chakra of the Rinnegan.

And from the Spirit Transformation Technique, one could discover that a ninja's soul is not merely spiritual energy, but is composed of chakra.

Therefore, after the Impure World Reincarnation granted him a body, Nagato could still use the Rinnegan's Kekkei Genkai; after all, the Rinnegan's chakra remained with his soul.

However, thinking about it this way, does activating the Rinnegan's abilities actually only require the corresponding chakra, and not the Rinnegan itself?

Just then, seeing Hyuga Hane lost in thought, the Hyuga Jonin furrowed his brows and asked tentatively:

"Now that you know this, what can you do?"

Hyuga Hane looked at him indifferently, making the Hyuga Jonin feel a chill run through his entire body: "It can allow my strength to advance even further."

After speaking, Hyuga Hane waved his hand, reclaiming the confused Hyuga Jonin, and walked out of the underground training ground with a profound look in his eyes.

"Byakugan, Sharingan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan—the ocular techniques of the Shinobi World are merely organs, similar to the lungs or the heart; they are simply organs that convert chakra into ocular techniques."

"What matters is the chakra that facilitates their existence, which is to say... Yin-Yang Release!"

"As a dojutsu on the same level as the Rinnegan, it is impossible for the Tenseigan to have become so powerful without the influence of Yang Release chakra!"

Yin Release and Yang Release complement each other; the limit of Yin Release chakra represents the Eternal Mangekyo, while the limit of Yang Release represents Hashirama chakra. The union of the two creates the Rinnegan.

Obito transplanted Hashirama cells, preventing his Mangekyo from going blind; one could say he essentially possessed an Eternal Mangekyo.

Therefore, if one wishes to evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan, Yang Release chakra may very well be the key.

Deep within the Hyuga compound, numerous Main Branch elders and the clan head were gathered.

"Another ninja close to us was murdered tonight. That traitor is becoming far too brazen!"

An elder said indignantly, "Clan Head, what are you thinking? Since the culprit hides so well and is difficult to root out, we should simply interrogate them one by one."

"I do not believe they can withstand the agony brought about by the Caged Bird!"

Even Danzo could guess that the perpetrators came from the Branch Family; how could they, who understood the resentment of the Branch Family better than anyone, not have thought of that?

It was simply too difficult to investigate.

When it comes to stabbing someone in the back, the natural advantages possessed by the Byakugan are too great.

Not to mention that as fellow village ninjas who had fought together during the Third Shinobi World War, these attackers knew better than anyone how to evade Konoha's investigations.

They knew exactly which ninjas to avoid when they entered the range of a Byakugan, which ninja clans possessed unique investigative methods capable of finding clues others would miss, and how to counter such measures.

Hyuga Hiashi's father, the current Main Branch head, opened his half-closed eyes upon hearing this, his tone indifferent: "Do you wish for them to launch a coup?"

Seeing the look of disdain on the elder's face, the clan head sighed.

"Do not say it is impossible; even sheep can become lethal under the leadership of a lion."

"Judging by the time of the ninjas' deaths and their strength, the number of Branch Family members resisting in the shadows is not small. If we strike first, it will only drive more of the Branch Family to their side."

"After all, we are enslaving them, and we intend to keep enslaving them for generations to come!"

And no parent wishes to see their child become a slave, let alone their children and grandchildren, generation after generation, forever...