Thump, thump.
The violent pounding of his heart echoed in Ryosuke's ears.
Beyond his heartbeat, he could even hear the blood flowing through his body like the surging Yangtze River.
The creaking of his bones.
The gurgling of his internal organs.
These tiny sounds, normally confined within the body, were infinitely amplified in his mind.
The abrupt changes in his body gave Ryosuke no time to say anything before unbearable pain overwhelmed him.
"What's wrong, Ryosuke?!"
Through his blurred vision, Ryosuke saw Hyuga Hiashi, who had been seated across a desk from him, use the Body Flicker Technique to appear at his side in the blink of an eye.
His expression was frantic, and his voice was full of concern.
The chair he had been sitting in seemed to have been sent flying by his sudden movement, smashing into the wall behind it and scattering into splintered wood and boards.
It was no wonder Ryosuke could remain so acutely aware of his surroundings even while enduring such excruciating pain.
At some point, his Byakugan had opened on its own the instant the changes began.
Even if he did not want to notice his surroundings and only wanted to focus on the changes in his body, he could not.
Everything was like lines of data code, forcibly fed into his mind, leaving him no choice but to devote part of his attention to processing it.
Curled up on the floor, Ryosuke clenched his fists tightly.
Beside him, the usually rigid and solemn Hyuga Hiashi was gone, replaced by a face full of tension.
He crouched nearby, visibly at a loss.
His Byakugan had long since opened, allowing him to see the terrible state inside Ryosuke's body, but there was nothing he could do.
His hands hovered in midair. He did not