Deep blue chakra, like sharp ice spikes, brutally pierced Huomen's brow.
"Urgh—!"
Huomen's body arched violently as if electrocuted. His eyes rolled back, the bloodshot whites bulging from their sockets. The violent extraction of the Soul Search Technique mercilessly tore apart his mental defenses.
Hyuga Xiao closed his eyes, and the Tenseigan's ocular power drove straight through the labyrinth of Huomen's memories.
Images flickered wildly.
A dim underground chamber. Huomen knelt on the cold tiles, trembling uncontrollably. Ahead of him, Hiashi Hyuga stood with his back turned, speaking with a one-eyed old man wrapped head to toe in bandages.
"The rejection from the Astral Matter is too severe. The first three batches of test subjects all exploded." Danzo's voice rasped like coarse sandpaper scraping iron, utterly bleak and sinister.
"Because they lack the core." Hiashi's voice rang out.
Huomen hid in the shadows, clamping a hand over his mouth. He had never heard the clan head speak in such a tone—there was none of his usual rigid solemnity. Instead, it carried a chilling fervor, like a madman wholly twisted by obsession.
"As long as we obtain that thing... the God Tree Roots." Hiashi's hands gripped the table so tightly his knuckles turned white. "The Main House can completely break free of Astral Matter's shackles and become the true ruler of this land. Danzo, the supply of Byakugan will not stop, but the progress must accelerate."
The memory ended abruptly there.
Xiao's eyes snapped open, a frigid killing intent flashing through his azure pupils.
God Tree Roots.
So that was it. Danzo not only intended to fuse the Astral Matter left behind by the Ōtsutsuki Clan with Hashirama Cells; he even wanted to touch the remnants of the Ten-Tails. And that old fool Hiashi, under Kotoamatsukami's control, was willingly using the