The Third Kazekage Disappears! Obtaining the Byakugan!

Inside the Hokage office.

Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen were discussing the matter of Akiyama Shun. It was one of the rare occasions where the two could talk about him without ending up in an argument.

"So, he really has gained another Kekkei Genkai."

Shimura Danzō furrowed his brows—not out of dissatisfaction, but in deep thought.

"I said it before: it is highly likely that Akiyama Shun possesses a unique type of Kekkei Genkai, perhaps an entirely new one. Just as the Three-Tomoe Sharingan can copy ninjutsu, why couldn't there be a Kekkei Genkai ability that copies other Kekkei Genkai?"

A satisfied smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. He had suspected as much the moment he first witnessed Akiyama Shun's Ice Release, and it seemed his guess had been proven correct.

Back then, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already made up his mind: if Akiyama Shun truly acquired a second Kekkei Genkai, he would ensure that every time the boy went on a mission, he would assign ninjas with other Kekkei Genkai to his team.

Whether this would actually influence Akiyama Shun's Kekkei Genkai, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know.

However, when it came to Kekkei Genkai, many required countless experiments to determine how to utilize them correctly.

If they could actually help him discover the proper way to use his power, then Konoha would be gaining a super monster!

A few days later, citing rising tensions between nations, the Third Hokage insisted that Akiyama Shun could not go on missions alone, even with Tsunade present, and forcibly assigned him teammates.

"My name is Hyuga Tota. Nice to meet you, Akiyama Shun."

"Nice to meet you."

Akiyama Shun greeted his teammates, and after a brief mutual introduction, they set off.

Tsunade served as the team leader.

During their second mission.

"My name is Uchiha Yuyu..."

During their third mission...

Gradually, as the number of missions increased, Akiyama Shun noticed a problem: why did every team he was assigned to have people wearing "colored contacts"?

Ninjas from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans took turns, sometimes with two Hyuga or two Uchiha, and sometimes with both clans present—it was like they were running permutations and combinations!

Akiyama Shun could guess that this was a deliberate arrangement by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He figured the Hokage had seen him acquire a new Kekkei Genkai and was trying to surround him with "colored contacts" to see if he could "copy" them.

Although Akiyama Shun found it a bit strange, he didn't mind. After all, the Hyuga and Uchiha were Konoha's two great clans, their strength was undeniable, and with the help of the Sharingan and Byakugan, completing missions was indeed much faster.

Moreover, after saving up gold coins for a year, he actually managed to "draw" some colored contacts through the gacha!

Two Byakugan!

These two Byakugan ninjas were the C-rank [Hyuga Neji] and the B-rank [Hinata Hyuga (New Year Limited)].

Hyuga Neji brought Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin, Air Palm Strike, and Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

The first time Akiyama Shun used this card, he discovered a serious problem.

In the original story, due to the Hyuga clan's Main and Branch House system, Hyuga Neji was branded with the "Caged Bird" curse seal, which created a one-degree blind spot in his otherwise perfect 360-degree Byakugan vision.

And this "Caged Bird" seal also took effect when Akiyama Shun used the [Hyuga Neji] card!

"Caged Bird... I'm truly speechless."

Even without having suffered the hardships of the Hyuga Branch House, Akiyama Shun could clearly feel just how painful it was at this moment.

"When I get stronger, I really need to find a chance to give you guys a good thrashing."

[Hyuga Neji] had the Caged Bird, but [Hinata Hyuga (New Year Limited)] was different. As a member of the Main House, not only was her Byakugan free of any restrictions, but she also brought along a particularly broken ninjutsu!

That was her second skill, Gentle Fist Art: Flying Leaf!

According to the skill description, it involved jumping into the air to perform the Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but this version was far from ordinary!

In the Naruto mobile game, this skill manifested as a spherical barrier—an enhanced version of Heavenly Spin with absolutely no blind spots!

That wasn't even the most broken part; the most insane aspect was that the user could still move while performing this technique!

That's right!

Just imagine an invincible, giant sphere chasing you everywhere, and your attacks having zero effect on it—that was the feeling.

It was just a pity that if one moved while using this technique, the chakra consumption would skyrocket.

Akiyama Shun made a rough estimate: with his current chakra reserves, he could maintain it for about 20 seconds.

As for [Hinata Hyuga (New Year Limited)]'s ultimate move, which involved pulling the opponent into a bridal chamber for a punch—Akiyama Shun couldn't actually pull people into a room, so he had to settle for just delivering the punch directly to the opponent.

The first skill, Gentle Fist Art: Floating Duckweed, was simply firing chakra shockwaves from both palms; there wasn't much to say about that.

In addition, he also obtained the B-rank [Uzumaki Naruto (Shippuden)], which brought the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, an S-rank, high-output ninjutsu.

As for the Big Ball Rasengan, it was just a matter of injecting more chakra and compressing it to the limit; Akiyama Shun could do that with a casual flick of his hands.

Beyond these three major gains, he also acquired many new secret scrolls, such as [Lightning Release: Lightning Strike], [Water Release: Water Tornado], and [Lightning Release: Lightning Gate], which expanded Akiyama Shun's combat repertoire.

His collection of artifacts, summoning beasts, and fragments for S-rank and A-rank ninjas was also steadily increasing.

Among the "hundred-fragment tier," the one with the fastest progress was Gamahiro from the [Summoning Beast] category, already sitting at 72 fragments.

As for the A-rank ninjas, both [Haruno Sakura (Hundred Healings)] and [Gaara (Ninja World War)] were at 30 fragments, meaning they would be ready to summon soon.

The C-rank ninjas that appeared were all of little help to Akiyama Shun at his current stage.

After organizing all his gains, Akiyama Shun first went to Tsunade's home, only to find her still asleep, so he turned around and went to find Jiraiya, who was currently peeping at the women's bathhouse.

"Lord Jiraiya, do you have time to take me to the Hokage Building? I have something to discuss with the Hokage."

"Ah!! Oh~ oh~"

Jiraiya, who had been watching with great intensity, was startled by the sudden sound of Akiyama Shun's voice. He thought he had been caught, but he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it was only Akiyama Shun.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Jiraiya turned around and looked at Akiyama Shun with a puzzled expression.

Akiyama Shun didn't waste any words.

Unequip [Haku].

Equip [Hinata Hyuga (New Year Limited)].

In an instant, Akiyama Shun's normal eyes transformed into the Byakugan!

"Oh, so you've obtained the Byakugan. Fine, I'll take you to the Hokage Building to report it."

Jiraiya felt a brief moment of surprise in his heart, but he quickly returned to normal.

There was no helping it; he was already used to this.

Ever since he saw Akiyama Shun obtain the Shikotsumyaku last time, Jiraiya had gone to ask Sarutobi Hiruzen and had already learned what kind of ability Akiyama Shun's "Kekkei Genkai" truly was.

Jiraiya could guess what Akiyama Shun wanted to tell Sarutobi Hiruzen; it was nothing more than the business regarding the Hyuga Clan. Since Akiyama Shun was an outsider who had obtained the Byakugan, it was better to report it to the Hokage.

On the way, Akiyama Shun unequipped [Hinata Hyuga (New Year Limited)] and switched back to [Haku]. It was better not to let others see the Byakugan before the Hokage knew about it.

Under Jiraiya's guidance, Akiyama Shun successfully entered the Hokage Building.

On the way to the Hokage's office, a few ninjas wearing jonin vests passed by Akiyama Shun, and the content of their conversation immediately made him perk up.

"Hey, have you heard? It seems the Third Kazekage has gone missing."