Three-minute countdown.
In Hyuga Xiao's Byakugan vision, the sealing runes on the laboratory's four walls began flashing red—the sign of overloaded chakra circuits. The air reeked of burning, mixed with the peculiar bloody sweetness of nutrient fluid—like rotten fruit soaked in molten iron.
"The self-destruct sequence has been activated."
The voice left behind by Orochimaru's clone still echoed in his ears, carrying a certain malicious anticipation.
Xiao had no time to hesitate.
His gaze swept over the operating table in the center of the laboratory, where more than a dozen dark brown experimental record scrolls were piled. Three bore Root's distinctive black runes, while two had the Hyuga Clan crest embedded along their edges—the hidden markings used only by the Main House.
"Ling..."
A faint groan came from the corner.
The thirteen-year-old Branch House girl was curled up amid shattered cultivation tank fragments, her white hospital gown soaked through with pale green liquid. Her forehead was smooth, without the Caged Bird Seal—meaning she had either been abducted just after awakening her Byakugan, or...
Xiao crouched and lightly touched her neck.
Her skin was warm, and her pulse was weak but steady. Under his Byakugan, the chakra flowing through her body showed a bizarre intertwining of two colors: the pale blue chakra pathways unique to the Hyuga Clan, entwined with a vibrant emerald energy. That emerald energy was slowly spreading through her pathways, and wherever it passed, cellular activity visibly increased.
Hashirama Cells.
And this was no ordinary transplant. It was a specially treated "First-Generation Seed"—that was what Orochimaru had called it in the records.
"Can you hear me?" Xiao asked quietly.
The girl's eyelids trembled a few times before slowly opening.
Pale green patterns spread through her pure white pupils like vines, outlining intricate designs across the whites of her