Spatial Eye Technique!

In the underground training ground, the white pupils of Hyuga Hane shifted to a brilliant blue-white.

That was the manifestation of active ocular power.

With a slight frown, he raised his hand and thrust his palm forward with explosive speed.

With a "bang," despite the absence of any visible shockwave, the wooden stake a hundred meters away instantly shattered!

Yet, from Hyuga Hane's perspective, it was as if space had shifted; his right hand, which he had just thrust forward, was now positioned directly in front of the stake.

Space manipulation of the Tenseigan?

There are six known abilities of the Tenseigan: the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, control over attraction and repulsion, chakra absorption, summoning the Hamura Statue, puppet control, and space manipulation.

Among these, space manipulation is a dojutsu capable of creating direct spatial passages.

He had just created a small spatial tunnel, allowing his palm to manifest directly against the wooden stake.

Now, both in front of his body and a hundred meters away, there remained a vortex just large enough for a hand to pass through.

I suppose this counts as a unique dojutsu.

Hyuga Hane thought to himself.

After absorbing enough Byakugan to evolve, there were two reasons he hadn't continued to target other Byakugan.

One was that with the Third Hokage stepping down to take responsibility, it was an inappropriate time to continue.

The other was that his own Byakugan's ocular power was undergoing a metamorphosis.

When his Byakugan first evolved, his eyes had been uncontrollably stained with a hint of sky blue—a sign of his ocular power surging and transforming.

Previously, he hadn't understood the purpose of this change, as he eventually learned to control the power and prevent the blue tint from appearing, yet no further changes occurred.

But a few days ago, the change finally manifested: a dojutsu unique to him had gradually begun to take shape.

Hyuga Hane pondered as he withdrew his hand, creating several more spatial tunnels that allowed him to pass through at various distances and angles, carefully sensing the consumption of his ocular power.

"The ocular power consumed to establish a spatial tunnel has nothing to do with distance, only size, but it must remain within the field of vision of the Byakugan."

"The consumed power can be recovered, and it doesn't place a burden on my vision like the Mangekyo dojutsu; it costs less and lacks the drawbacks of the Mangekyo."

As always, it adhered to the stable nature of the Byakugan.

No, perhaps it should be said that it is precisely the stable nature of the Byakugan that makes it so difficult for new dojutsu to emerge.

Hyuga Hane's thoughts shifted, and a new line of reasoning formed.

The Byakugan itself resists change, but because I have been training in the Flying Thunder God space-time ninjutsu, the feedback from my chakra and Shadow Clones has accelerated its metamorphosis, leading to the awakening of a space-time dojutsu similar to the Tenseigan...

No, wait. Why did I assume all six of those abilities were exclusive to the Tenseigan stage?

Hyuga Hane suddenly realized.

Because the Tenseigan appears as a finished product without an intermediate evolutionary process, he had fallen into a logical trap.

For example, if only the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths existed, without the example of the Mangekyo, how would others view the Susanoo?

They would think it was a dojutsu exclusive to the Rinnegan!

That's right; without the example of the Mangekyo being able to use Susanoo, everyone would assume exactly that.

The Tenseigan arrives in one step, lacking intermediate changes, so he had naturally assumed those abilities were exclusive to the Tenseigan and were born only at that stage.

In reality, that might not be the case.

As the final evolution of the Byakugan, stability is logically a characteristic of the Tenseigan; its dojutsu do not possess the variability of the Mangekyo or the Rinnegan.

The abilities displayed by the Giant Tenseigan clearly overlap significantly with those of Toneri's Tenseigan.

Of the six abilities it possesses, four are clearly linked to the Tenseigan, while the other two—puppet control and space manipulation—might be solidified versions of dojutsu from earlier stages of Byakugan evolution.

Just like the Susanoo of the Rinnegan.

If this hypothesis holds, there should be another stage before my Byakugan evolves into a Tenseigan. But in the end, it's just a guess; there's no reference point...

Hyuga Hane narrowed his eyes, took a Flying Thunder God kunai with a special rune on the handle from his ninja pouch, and threw it forward.

Whoosh...

With a sharp whistle, Hyuga Hane's figure appeared at the location of the kunai, and he smiled faintly.

"Training in the Flying Thunder God to perfect my dojutsu, and having the dojutsu help me master the Flying Thunder God... it really is mutually beneficial."

"So this is a Jonin of the Hyuga clan. Even a single Shadow Clone is this powerful..."

In the forest, Ebisu watched as Hyuga Hane's Shadow Clone easily dispatched a Mist Village ninja who had infiltrated the area, feeling a sense of admiration.

"Hane is very strong." Guy gave a thumbs up, revealing a brilliant smile. "So we can't lose either. Let's wipe out all these Mist Village ninjas!"

Having said that, he charged toward the nearby Mist Village ninjas.

"You go ahead." Ebisu rolled his eyes.

They were currently performing a patrol mission.

Their original teammate, Shiranui Genma, had applied to leave the squad because he wanted to participate in the Jonin exams, forming a temporary squad with two other peers to quickly complete missions and boost his resume for the promotion.

As a result, their squad was now down to only two members, and without a Jonin to lead them, they were unable to accept certain missions. His teammate Guy had sought out an acquaintance to help them out.

Although the one who arrived was merely a Shadow Clone, a Jonin's Shadow Clone was no ordinary feat.

Even if they encountered Mist Village ninjas who had somehow snuck in during their patrol, it would be the enemy who would have to flee.

Yet, Ebisu felt as though he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Having been on the same team for so long, he didn't dislike Guy, but he hated facing him alone.

Just thinking about that bastard Shiranui Genma, who hadn't returned to the team even after finishing his Jonin examination, leaving him all alone to deal with Guy, made him feel as though the future was hopeless.

"Ebisu, Guy, stop!"

A sharp shout brought Ebisu back to his senses, his gaze shifting to the Shadow Clone of Hyuga Hane perched on a tree branch ahead.

The other party was staring solemnly into the distance, saying in a stern voice, "Return immediately, get far away, and then fire a signal flare to notify the other patrol ninjas to evacuate."

"Mist Village Jonin have penetrated this deep—seven of them in total! It is the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

A chill that seemed to freeze their blood enveloped Ebisu and Guy. They looked at Hyuga Hane in disbelief, only to see his retreating back.

"This Shadow Clone of mine will do its best to lure them away. Go, quickly!"

On the front lines, where the two could not see him, the expression on this Shadow Clone of Hyuga Hane was calm.

He had originally been worried that Guy would run into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen just as he had in the original timeline.

Dai's selfless guidance was the foundation of his standing in the Shinobi World, and he had always remembered that debt of gratitude. Even if Minato was not here, he would ensure that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would never return!

"How truly relaxing. To have snuck this close to Konoha, it seems that so-called Yellow Flash isn't much to speak of. Once he became Hokage, he lost all his vigilance."

Kushimaru Kuriarare, the wielder of the Nuibari who sported long, spiky yellow hair and bandages wrapped around his face, crouched on a tree and sneered.

"He is called the fastest in the Shinobi World, but I would like to see if he can escape from our hands."

Munashi Jinpachi, the wielder of the Blastsword, kicked aside the body of a Konoha ninja at his feet and laughed arrogantly, "With all seven of us moving together, even that old geezer, the Third Mizukage, is no match for us, let alone some upstart who only rose to prominence in recent years."