Ancestral Bloodline Regression?

Hyuga Satoru lay in his hospital bed, propped against his pillow, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

Orochimaru's Cell Activation secret technique was highly effective, and its training method was not complicated. Even from his hospital bed, he could temper his cells through the flow of chakra.

After only two days, Hyuga Satoru had the illusion that his body was about to fully recover.

Compared to the sensation of his body nearly overflowing with vitality, the emptiness in his heart was what truly left him lost.

Aburame Shibi's voice seemed to still be replaying in his mind.

"Considering your current abilities, the Hokage has specially promoted you to Chunin so that you can develop more effectively. You may now take A-rank missions and any missions below that on your own."

"Actually, the Hokage initially intended to promote you to Special Jonin. But considering that such a sudden rise would draw too much attention from other villages, he had no choice but to abandon that idea for your safety."

"As for Rin, she will be returning to her clan for training. Anko has become Orochimaru's disciple, and as for me... I will probably return to the ANBU."

"Team Three... will probably disband like this."

Although he had known this day would come eventually, it had still arrived so suddenly that it caught him off guard.

But thinking about it carefully, with his current abilities, ordinary team missions could no longer help him improve. Perhaps the Hokage had specially promoted him to Chunin because he had considered that.

In a sense, it was a good thing.

What he lacked most right now was experience. Carrying out missions alone would allow him to quickly gain that missing experience. That might have been the Hokage's intention as well.

Just then, the door clicked open.

Uchiha Rin walked in and placed a basket of fruit on the cabinet beside the hospital bed.

"Wu, you look much better."

"Do I?"

Uchiha Rin sat on the edge of the bed, picked up an apple, and began peeling it with a fruit knife.

For some reason, the room suddenly fell quiet, leaving only the soft rustle of apple peel being shaved away.

"Um... Wu, I might not be able to visit you tomorrow."

Uchiha Rin was the first to break the silence, her expression complicated.

"Is something going on?" Hyuga Satoru asked.

"Yeah. The clan has arranged special training for me. Since the clan head personally stepped in, I have no way to refuse. I'm afraid we'll have to be apart for a while."

"The clan head personally stepped in?"

Hyuga Satoru showed a trace of surprise. Generally speaking, in a major clan like the Uchiha Clan, the clan head rarely involved himself over ordinary members.

"Yeah." Uchiha Rin nodded with a complicated expression. "I awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan."

Two tomoe? Hyuga Satoru drew a slight breath. No wonder. Uchiha Rin had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan before even turning eleven. Even in the Uchiha Clan's history since the founding of Leaf Village, she counted as an exceptionally rare genius.

When she had only possessed one tomoe, the Uchiha Clan could still turn a blind eye. But she had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan less than a year later. With talent like that... it was no wonder even the clan head had stepped in.

But...

Hyuga Satoru looked curiously at Uchiha Rin and asked, "Rin, when did you awaken the Two-Tomoe Sharingan?"

To his surprise, the moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Rin's cheeks suddenly flushed faintly. She slightly turned her head away and replied with a hint of impatience, "Why are you asking so much? It was some time ago. I encountered danger, and it awakened."

Uchiha Rin's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the window, her memories seeming to return to that day.

Amid the torrential rain, Anko, soaked to the bone, had trembled as she carried the unconscious Hyuga Satoru toward her. Every step she took left a bright red trail of blood in the rainwater.

For some reason, her eyes had felt as if they were about to split apart. When she opened them again, they had already become two tomoe.

But how could she possibly mention such things to Wu...

After Uchiha Rin left, Hyuga Satoru adjusted his mood and closed his eyes once more to continue practicing Cell Activation.

It had to be said that Cell Activation was an exceptionally wondrous secret technique, the essence of Orochimaru's human-body research from the first half of his life.

It repeatedly tempered the body's cells in batches. With every round of tempering, the cells' vitality greatly increased, dramatically enhancing the user's taijutsu abilities and chakra-refining capacity.

After practicing Cell Activation, his chakra had already faintly crossed the threshold of Jonin.

As for the cellular damage caused by forcibly squeezing out chakra in Tyrant Mode, it had completely vanished by the second day of training.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Hyuga Satoru opened his eyes and could not help sighing in admiration.

"Cell Activation truly deserves to be called the secret technique Orochimaru spent three years developing. Without an extremely deep understanding of the human body, it would have been impossible to devise such a marvelous method of tempering cells."

Among Orochimaru's many secret techniques, Cell Activation was considered the foundation. Both Orochimaru's Substitution Technique and Living Corpse Reincarnation required Cell Activation to enhance the body's capabilities.

"It seems Wu-kun likes the secret technique I developed very much."

A hoarse voice carrying a trace of amusement came from behind him, making Hyuga Satoru's brows furrow slightly.

"Lord Orochimaru, don't you know to knock before entering?"

"With Wu-kun's sensory abilities, I presume it would have been impossible for you not to know I was coming?"

Hyuga Satoru's brows relaxed slightly. Inside the sleeve of his right arm, a small silver snake coiled around his forearm. It was the Magnetofluid Transformation Kubikiribōchō.

At a single thought from him, it would transform into a razor-sharp weapon.

So he was not worried about Orochimaru trying anything.

"Lord Orochimaru, what brings you here so suddenly?" Hyuga Satoru asked calmly.

Orochimaru smiled. "The results from the cell sample I took from Wu-kun earlier are out. Since the results are quite interesting, I decided to come and share them with Wu-kun."

"What were the results?"

Hyuga Satoru's expression grew more serious.

Orochimaru did not keep him in suspense and spoke directly. "Wu-kun's cells are very strange. Judging from the experiments, they seem to be advancing toward some higher-level form. However..."

After pausing briefly, Orochimaru suddenly changed the subject and smiled. "Wu-kun's Byakugan range should be considerably greater than that of ordinary clan members, correct?"

"Yes." Hyuga Satoru nodded. There was nothing to hide about that.

"But what does that have to do with the experimental results?"

"Well... how should I put it? Wu-kun's physical evolution resembles a form of Ancestral Bloodline Regression. Therefore, the purity of your Byakugan will also continuously increase throughout this process."

Ancestral Bloodline Regression???

Hyuga Satoru drew a deep breath.

Orochimaru might not know the origin of the Hyuga Clan's bloodline, but he knew very well: Kaguya Otsutsuki!

Could I evolve into an Otsutsuki in the future?