Bloodline Selection

As for why he had not gone berserk after awakening his eyes, Xuanhui believed it was more likely that the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline had played a role.

As for the expression of clan genes, he could leave that to Orochimaru to research another day.

Xuanhui stretched his body. He had mostly recovered, but it still hurt badly whenever he made any large movements.

"Where's Teacher Orochimaru?"

"He should be in the medical department, right?"

Xuanhui sat up and rubbed his head.

"How long did I sleep?"

"I was unconscious for ten hours, then I watched over you for another two."

"I slept that long?"

Xuanhui lifted the tent flap. The light outside was dim—it should have been nighttime.

They can't be sleeping, can they? Then again, they've been fighting for so long.

Forget it. I should go take a look.

By the time he found the medical department, all three Sannin happened to be there!

"Yo! Xuanhui! You're finally awake!"

Jiraiya was the first to raise a hand in greeting when he saw Xuanhui.

Orochimaru and Tsunade turned to look at him as well.

"Sister Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, don't you need to patrol?"

"Hidden Rain suffered heavy losses too. No one should be coming for the next few days."

Looking more closely, Xuanhui realized Tsunade was still injecting Orochimaru with medicine!

"Teacher Orochimaru, you're seriously injured!"

"It's nothing. I'll recover in a few days."

Tsunade wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and complained to Orochimaru.

"You're one to talk! I told you not to move around! You insisted you knew your limits!"

She poked Orochimaru's arm.

"Move it! Let's see if it's healed!"

Orochimaru moved his arm, but Jiraiya beside him burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha! Xuanhui! Orochimaru was worried about you, so he ignored his injuries and ran over to check on you!"

Orochimaru fell silent, his expression stiffening.

"Teacher Orochimaru, thank you."

For the first time, Orochimaru's hoarse voice faltered slightly.

"It was nothing... between teacher and student... it was only natural..."

Come to think of it, Teacher Orochimaru had been staring at his eyes ever since earlier.

He did not usually look at people like that when talking to them, did he?

"Teacher, is there something wrong with my eyes?"

The atmosphere around Orochimaru changed instantly, and all his earlier awkwardness and embarrassment vanished.

He glanced around, then stood and pulled the folding screen shut.

The sudden tense atmosphere left everyone somewhat at a loss.

"Xuanhui, activate your Sharingan and take a look."

As he spoke, Orochimaru picked up a mirror from the table and handed it to Xuanhui.

"Am I already at three tomoe?"

Xuanhui slowly opened his Sharingan, feeling a faint sting in his eyes.

But what appeared in the mirror was another pattern he had never seen before!

Four hollow, serrated patterns, rounded outward on one side of each tooth and rounded inward on the other.

"Mangekyo Sharingan?!"

At the same time, descriptions of the awakened ocular techniques entered his mind.

The three watched Xuanhui's expression shift from surprise, to confusion, then to delight!

"Isn't this the legendary... Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Tsunade came from the Senju Clan, so she knew a little about the Uchiha Clan.

"What a beautiful pattern!"

Jiraiya thought the eyes looked incredibly cool!

"Xuanhui, I remember you told me that after the Mangekyo Sharingan awakens, it gains miraculous ocular techniques, right?"

"That's right!"

Xuanhui nodded, then began introducing his ocular techniques.

"The ocular technique in my left eye is called 'Nigi Hayahi no Mikoto.'

It can accelerate my own speed, the speed of ninjutsu, the speed at which ninjutsu is cast, and so on.

The more chakra injected into it, the faster it becomes. The greater the mass of the accelerated target, the more chakra it consumes."

"A speed-type ocular technique?"

As far as Orochimaru knew, the fastest ninjutsu was nothing more than space-time ninjutsu. Other than spatial techniques, there seemed to be no jutsu related to speed...

"The ocular technique in my right eye is called 'Sugawara no Michizane.'

It can see through the essence of things, analyze their composition, and briefly predict their movements."

Upon hearing about this ocular technique, all three Sannin's eyes lit up.

"This is practically perfect for intelligence work! Exchange blows a couple of times, and you can directly analyze all the enemy's information!"

Not to mention that the child also knew the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques! After obtaining intelligence, he could transmit the information immediately!

"I think this ocular technique should be used for research! This child was born to be a scientist!"

Orochimaru was rarely this excited, but it was no wonder.

No scientist could resist such a temptation. It could save enormous amounts of effort and cost while analyzing the composition and principles of unknown objects!

"Damn it! Stop looking at me like that, you three!"

Xuanhui was startled by the three of them staring as if they wanted to devour him and hurriedly explained.

"Teacher Orochimaru, remember? I told you that the Mangekyo Sharingan can't be used often, or I'll go blind!"

Orochimaru's expression restrained itself. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "I remember you said that as long as one advances to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the problem of blindness disappears, while chakra consumption and the burden on the body are both reduced."

"That is true, but the conditions are too harsh. I need a blood relative..."

Blood relative... similar ocular techniques...

Damn it, there really is someone who meets the conditions...

That won't work, right...? Wouldn't Dad go blind then?

Hashirama Cells! I can still use Hashirama Cells!

"In any case, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan isn't easy to obtain. I can only use these ocular techniques sparingly."

The three nodded in agreement with Xuanhui.

"I think the Senju Clan's powerful Yang Release and physical energy might be able to lessen the burden on your Sharingan."

Orochimaru's gaze turned toward Tsunade.

"You're not planning to use me for research, are you?!"

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Orochimaru warily.

"Possibly. Tsunade, you'd better be careful."

Jiraiya immediately lost it when he heard that and burst into laughter.

Then he was greeted by an iron fist.

"Actually, Teacher Orochimaru, I want you to help me submit an application to become a jonin."

"A jonin application?"

Orochimaru looked at Xuanhui.

"I planned to let you earn more merits before submitting a jonin application. Even if you've awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, you can't use it often, can you? That isn't enough for you to become a jonin..."

The platinum-gold chakra in Xuanhui's hand drew the attention of all three.

"What kind of chakra is this? It feels like I've never seen it before."

Even Jiraiya, with all his experience, had never seen this kind of chakra.

"This chakra feels very warm, and it seems to contain enormous energy!"

Tsunade was highly sensitive to chakra and analyzed it with great precision.

"Xuanhui... did you succeed in developing your bloodline limit?"

"A bloodline limit?!" ×2

Jiraiya's expression turned serious.

"If it really is a bloodline limit, then becoming a jonin..."

"Um... this is actually Bloodline Selection..."

"Bloodline Selection?!" ×3