After realizing that this method of awakening the Tenseigan was ill-suited to the situation, Hyuga Lan began considering other approaches.
Drawing on what he knew of the Naruto story from his past life, he managed to come up with a new idea.
In the Ninja World, the origins of great clans with thousand-year legacies—the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Uzumaki, and Kaguya—could all be traced back to Otsutsuki Kaguya.
The Senju, Uzumaki, and Uchiha had inherited the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, while the Hyuga and Kaguya Clans had inherited Otsutsuki Hamura's bloodline.
If the bloodlines of these five great ninja clans were combined, they would be almost equivalent to Otsutsuki Kaguya's bloodline.
The only known bearers of Otsutsuki Kaguya's bloodline were the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, and Otsutsuki Hamura. Creations of Yin-Yang Release like Black Zetsu didn't count.
In other words, if someone could combine the bloodlines of all five great clans and bring their purity close to Otsutsuki Kaguya's, they would likely gain power comparable to the Sage of Six Paths.
Of course, the odds of this happening were slim. He didn't expect to gain power close to the Six Paths level outright, but using this method of bloodline restoration to glimpse the true power of the Otsutsuki was still a promising prospect.
Hyuga Lan's next step, then, was to investigate the genetic information of the Uchiha, Uzumaki, Senju, and Kaguya Clans, all of which carried Otsutsuki blood.
Using technology, he would identify the Otsutsuki gene fragments buried deep within their bloodlines, then integrate those fragments to restore a complete Otsutsuki genetic profile.
Afterward, he would compare the results and find a way to fill in his own genes, bringing them closer to a complete Otsutsuki genetic profile. That would allow him to reverse-evolve toward becoming a true Otsutsuki.
The Otsutsuki bloodline contained incredible power. If the plan succeeded, it would surely bring about a major change in his constitution and give him a chance to awaken a powerful Dojutsu.
Of course, this experiment was far more volatile and dangerous than awakening the Tenseigan through Bio-Armor. There was no way he would experiment on himself first.
Besides, most people couldn't withstand this kind of experiment. They would likely break down right away, so the subject had to be exceptionally strong to have even the slightest chance.
The best candidate for that was Senju Hashirama, known as the God of Shinobi. Unfortunately, Hashirama had died long ago.
Nagato, who had borne the Rinnegan, was another suitable candidate, but Hyuga Lan currently had no way to capture him and use him as a test subject.
Aside from Nagato, only one person currently fit the criteria—and that person was already in his hands.
That was none other than the young Kaguya Clan Head.
Hyuga Lan had gone to great lengths to keep the Kaguya Clan Head alive because he wanted to use him as a test subject, letting him blaze the trail first and gather enough data to refine the plan.
In his heart, Hyuga Lan knew the Kaguya Clan Head had no chance of surviving the experiment. If he made it through the initial stage and achieved some degree of Otsutsuki transformation, that alone would be a miracle.
Even that would only be possible if Hyuga Lan devoted tremendous effort to helping him deal with the experiment's many problems.
This experimental plan was extremely important. Neither the test subjects nor the necessary materials would be easy to obtain.
The Kaguya Clan Head was currently suffering from Kekkei Genkai Disease, which made things especially difficult. Even keeping him alive was a headache.
And uncovering the genetic secrets of the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki Clans would take time.
The resources, scientific equipment, and samples required would take a great deal of work to prepare. Fortunately, Pakura was still raising funds for him, so for now, all he needed to focus on was finding the samples.
For the Senju Clan, Hashirama Cells were all he needed. For the Uzumaki Clan, he had Nagato, Naruto, and Karin to choose from.
As for the Uchiha Clan, the candidates were Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uchiha Fugaku.
He already understood the Hyuga Clan's genes well enough, and the Kaguya Clan Head would suffice for the Kaguya Clan.
After all, he only needed to find the best genes in the Senju, Uzumaki, and Uchiha Clans—those that complemented the bloodlines of the other clans. He didn't need their entire genetic profiles.
His experience completing his genes and awakening the Golden Tenseigan had made Hyuga Lan realize that this approach was a form of mistaken evolution.
Take the Kaguya Clan, for example. If one of its members tried to complete their Shikotsumyaku genes the way Hyuga Lan had completed his Byakugan genes, they would die without a doubt.
That was because the power of Shikotsumyaku likely originated from Otsutsuki Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones, a power that even Six Paths-level beings couldn't withstand. Only a Kekkei Mōra being, immortal and indestructible, could possibly bear the power of the All-Killing Ash Bones.
Simply completing one's genes could never directly reach the level of a Kekkei Mōra. So the stronger one's Shikotsumyaku became, the more likely one was to die from Kekkei Genkai Disease.
If someone completed their Shikotsumyaku genes until they reached a level close to the All-Killing Ash Bones, they would inevitably die because their body couldn't withstand the power. And that was without even counting the risk of their body collapsing as it underwent a complete genetic reconstruction.
So completing one's genes was a dangerous and unpredictable path, whereas restoring the Otsutsuki bloodline was, in theory, more reliable.
However, the Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyuga, and Kaguya Clans had branched off from the Otsutsuki bloodline. Over thousands of years of reproduction, not only had their Otsutsuki blood grown thin, but their genes had also mutated to the point that they could no longer complement one another.
A clear example was the offspring of Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito. As the child of the God of Shinobi and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, they had somehow become an obscure figure in Ninja World history. Aside from poor talent and weak abilities, there was no other explanation.
Even closely related clans couldn't complement each other, let alone clans that hadn't intermarried for thousands of years.
Therefore, simply throwing together the genes of the Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyuga, and Kaguya Clans would not allow them to complement each other at all. There would be no basis for restoring the Otsutsuki genes that way.
So Hyuga Lan's next plan was to analyze a large amount of data to identify the genes that were linked and complementary across the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Kaguya Clans, then use them to create the Otsutsuki Bloodline Restoration Serum.
He would then test his results by injecting the serum into the Kaguya Clan Head, accumulating data to refine the experiment and ultimately allowing himself to safely gain the power of a complete Otsutsuki bloodline.
Every Otsutsuki known to have appeared had been at least Six Paths-level, and immense energy lay dormant in Otsutsuki blood.
The more deeply one explored the Otsutsuki bloodline, the more powerful one could become. In the end, the Naruto world was a world ruled by bloodlines.
As Hyuga Lan stayed up late drawing up his experimental plans, an unexpected visitor broke into his home.
Under cover of night, a green snake quietly slithered into his room and came up behind him.
Hyuga Lan turned to look at the green snake, his gaze sharpening.
This was Orochimaru's snake!
How had he found out so quickly that I'd returned safely?
It seemed Orochimaru still had plenty of spies in the village. His information network was incredibly efficient.
The snake raised its neck high.
A bulge moved along its belly. Before long, a scroll emerged from its stomach, and it held the scroll in its mouth.
Hyuga Lan eyed the scroll, still coated in the snake's stomach slime, and frowned in disgust. He took it from the snake and opened it.
The Forest of Death?
He'd come right out in the open. He was as bold and reckless as ever.
Hyuga Lan pondered for a moment. Then, as if he had thought of something, he got up, put on his robe, and headed outside.
Meanwhile.
At Anko's home.
Anko, who had been fast asleep, suddenly shuddered and jolted awake, as if from a nightmare.
She then looked toward a certain place outside the village beneath the night sky, uncertainty flickering in her eyes...