Planning for the Future Path

Deep in the desert of the Land of Wind.

Hyuuga Nen stood before the abandoned city, gazing at the desolate ruins. "Finally found it," he murmured, before walking toward the site.

Hyuuga Nen circled the ruins for half a turn until he discovered the entrance. He descended the stairs into the depths of the underground, where he finally located his target.

Crouching down, Hyuuga Nen examined the sealing formula before him. Composed of circles and diamonds, the seal appeared incredibly complex, with a peculiar kunai driven into its center.

"This is the Flying Thunder God kunai of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. It seems I've found the right place." Hyuuga Nen activated his Byakugan, observing the seal with meticulous care.

"Most of this seal is composed of Konoha—no, Uzumaki Clan sealing techniques. There are parts here I've never seen before. Could these be the sealing methods inherent to the Dragon Vein itself?" Hyuuga Nen mused to himself.

Without overthinking it, Hyuuga Nen took out a scroll and made a rubbing of the seal before departing the ruins. He intended to find another location to study these techniques before considering how to unseal the Dragon Vein.

Shortly after Hyuuga Nen left, a man with a body half-black and half-white, resembling a pitcher plant, emerged from the wall. He approached the seal and inspected it closely.

"Someone has indeed been here. It must have been that Hyuuga Nen. Notify Pain," said the pitcher-plant man, Zetsu. He raised his hand, eyeing the ring on his finger.

Ten miles away from Loulan, Hyuuga Nen found a small cave. After checking that it was safe, he slipped inside.

He opened the copied scroll and began to study it intently.

In truth, breaking the seal of the Dragon Vein was not that difficult.

Hyuuga Nen remembered that at the end, the Dragon Vein had already been in a state of upheaval, and the Fourth Hokage had only set the seal in a rush. Therefore, as long as a portion of the seal was destroyed, the rampaging Dragon Vein would naturally burst forth.

However, Hyuuga Nen knew that without the bloodline of the Queen of Loulan, one could not control the Dragon Vein. Furthermore, if the Dragon Vein were to erupt, it might attract the attention of the ninjas of the Land of Wind.

After some thought, Hyuuga Nen decided against such a crude method and continued his study of the sealing technique.

Although Hyuuga Nen desired the power of the Dragon Vein, he lacked a good method for the time being. The Queen of Loulan could manipulate the Dragon Vein to a certain extent, but Hyuuga Nen lacked that ability and could only rely on sealing techniques to suppress it.

Back at the Loulan ruins, even though the Dragon Vein was sealed, Hyuuga Nen could still see through the seal that the massive amount of chakra it contained was in no way inferior to a Tailed Beast.

"But with my current chakra reserves, I am far from being able to become something like a Jinchuriki."

Although Hyuuga Nen's chakra was several times that of Kakashi, it certainly did not meet the requirements to become a Jinchuriki.

While Hyuuga Nen's aptitude was outstanding, compared to the average member of the Hyuga Clan, his chakra reserves were only slightly higher. Most of the chakra he possessed now was gained through practicing the Cell Activation Forbidden Technique.

"If I continue to practice the Cell Activation Forbidden Technique, my chakra will increase further, but will it reach the requirements to become a Jinchuriki? I cannot be sure, and even if it could, it would take a very long time."

"What if I only extract a portion of the Dragon Vein's power? I remember Mukade did exactly that. He used conduits connected to the Dragon Vein to channel its power into his puppets, which proves that the power of the Dragon Vein can be divided."

After weighing his options, Hyuuga Nen decided to take only a portion of the Dragon Vein's power. Even so, it would be a significant boost to his strength.

Thinking about how to improve his capabilities, Hyuuga Nen began to organize his future path.

Hyuuga Nen's primary means of combat was taijutsu, with the Gentle Fist accounting for a large portion of it. He also used some elemental ninjutsu as support, but these were difficult to employ in battle, and overusing them placed a heavy strain on his meridians.

Hyuuga Nen's current strength was already formidable; below Kage-level, he felt that no one could defeat him in a one-on-one fight. By his own estimation, he was already at the gatekeeper level of a Kage.

Although Hyuuga Nen had defeated Kakuzu last time, he was not certain he could win if they were to fight again.

Unfortunately, in the short term, he could not easily improve his strength without resorting to other means.

As he thought, Hyuuga Nen picked up a stone and began sketching on the sandy ground.

"I am not yet an adult. Before I reach adulthood, my strength should increase with age, though the margin will likely not be very large."

"Furthermore, the Cell Activation Forbidden Technique has a significant impact on my strength, but it requires a long time. All I can do now is wait."

In the short term, Hyuuga Nen decided to prioritize obtaining the power of the Dragon Vein. Although the amount of chakra he might obtain might not be vast, it would at least be several times what he currently possessed.

Once that was achieved, Hyuuga Nen could use the Dragon Vein's power to perform ninjutsu, replacing his own chakra.

This would avoid the side effects of using elemental ninjutsu. Hyuuga Nen also decided to develop his missing Lightning Release chakra to make his repertoire more comprehensive.

As for his medium-to-long-term goals, Hyuuga Nen planned to delve deeper into his bloodline and conduct in-depth research into Yin-Yang Release.

After all, Hyuuga Nen's own Gentle Fist chakra was far stronger than that of the average Hyuga clansman. He hoped to discover the essence of Gentle Fist chakra; if he could achieve this, he was certain his strength would see a massive increase.

"But as for the Byakugan, how can I make my Dojutsu Power stronger?" Hyuuga Nen asked himself internally.

Hyuuga Nen's knowledge regarding the strengthening of Byakugan's Dojutsu Power was nearly blank. He felt that the Hyuga Clan would likely be of little help to him.

"Should I set my sights on the Uchiha Clan?" Hyuuga Nen considered that the Uchiha Clan's application of Dojutsu Power was superior to that of the Hyuga Clan.

"This requires careful planning." Hyuuga Nen finally made his decision: he would start with the Uchiha Clan.

As for his long-term goals, they were to master Sage Mode and awaken the Tenseigan. Regarding Sage Mode, he would see if he could obtain information about the Three Great Sage Regions; if he could enter them, he would attempt to learn it. However, this also required massive chakra reserves, which he might not yet possess.

As for the Tenseigan, Hyuuga Nen had no leads. He had never watched the movie in its entirety, only fragments. He was unaware of the method to awaken the Tenseigan, let alone where the passage between the moon and the ninja world was located.

"One step at a time. I will complete my short and medium-term goals first, then consider Sage Mode and the Tenseigan."

Hyuuga Nen threw the stone away, cleared the marks from the sand, and returned to studying the sealing formula of the Dragon Vein.