The Road Ahead

In the training room of Otogakure's underground base, Neji sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, his eyes tightly shut. Before him lay five specially made chakra test papers in a row—Orochimaru's laboratory's latest product, capable of detecting subtle elemental inclinations in chakra.

Still, there was no reaction at all.

No affinity.

This conclusion had already been confirmed during his first test in Konoha, but Neji retested himself every month after arriving in Otogakure. It was not out of wishful thinking, but to confirm one thing: in an environment filled with Curse Marks, forbidden techniques, and human experimentation, whether the essence of his chakra remained "clean."

The result was reassuring, yet despairing.

It was reassuring because affinity-less chakra meant extremely high malleability—it was like a blank sheet of paper, capable of being dyed with ink of any color. In theory, as long as he mastered the method, he could cultivate ninjutsu of every element.

It was despairing because theory was only theory. In reality, shaping all-element chakra from nothing was no easier than making a blind man see color. It required systematic knowledge, top-tier guidance, massive resources, and... a sliver of nearly impossible luck.

Neji opened his eyes and looked at the five unresponsive test papers, yet another image surfaced in his mind—a post he had fiercely argued over on a Naruto forum before being transported here: What Exactly Is the Threshold for Six Paths Tier?

The mainstream view at the time had been "bloodline theory" and "cheat-code theory": either you were a descendant of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, or the Sage of Six Paths gave you a cheat. But Neji had proposed a minority view: completeness of chakra affinities.

Madara Uchiha possessed all affinities.

Obito Uchiha possessed all affinities.

Hashirama Senju had never been explicitly defined, but Wood Release was a Kekkei Tōta of water, earth, and Yang Release. That meant at least three affinities.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki possessed all affinities plus Yin-Yang Release.

And what about Naruto and Sasuke? Naruto had originally possessed only wind affinity, while Sasuke had only fire and lightning. It was only after receiving the Sage of Six Paths' gift that they made up for what they lacked and leaped into Six Paths Tier in one stroke.

"So the key isn't bloodline. It's complete affinities," Neji muttered. "When someone can wield all seven chakra nature transformations at once and thoroughly integrate Yin-Yang Release, they touch the threshold of Six Paths Tier."

So the question was: how could someone with no affinity become someone with every affinity?

Neji stood and walked to the water tank in the corner of the training room. He bent over and looked at his reflection in the water. The Caged Bird Seal on his forehead glimmered with a faint green light in the dimness, like a vicious eye that would never close.

"There isn't much time left," he told his reflection.

In the original timeline, Pain attacked Konoha three years after Sasuke defected. It was now the beginning of Konoha Year 63. That meant the Akatsuki would begin large-scale operations in two and a half years at most. Another year and a half after that, the Fourth Shinobi World War would erupt.

Three and a half years. He had only three and a half years to grow from a Chunin-level rogue ninja into someone capable of taking part in the battle for the Ten-Tails.

An impossible task.

Unless... he found a shortcut.

That evening, Neji knocked on the door to Orochimaru's laboratory.

"Come in," a hoarse voice called from within.

When he pushed open the door, Orochimaru was dissecting a fresh corpse—judging by the clothing, it was a ninja from some minor country, with a charred Lightning Release wound in his chest. The scalpel in Orochimaru's hand precisely separated the chakra pathways around the heart, and his golden pupils gleamed beneath the shadowless lamp with a scholar's focus.

"Orochimaru-sama." Neji bowed respectfully. "I have some questions regarding my chakra affinity research."

"Speak." Orochimaru did not look up.

"I've conducted seventeen precise tests over the past three months, and the conclusion has always been no affinity." Neji chose to tell the truth. "But in theory, no affinity should mean the potential to transform into any affinity. I want to know what conditions are needed for that transformation."

The scalpel stopped. Orochimaru raised his head, his golden pupils focusing completely on Neji for the first time. "You want to transform your affinity? Why?"

"To grow stronger." Neji met those snake-like eyes. "Both the Gentle Fist and the Eight Gates have their limits. If I can only rely on taijutsu, the road ahead will grow narrower and narrower. And ninjutsu... requires affinities."

Orochimaru put down the scalpel, wiped his fingers with a white cloth, then slowly walked to the other side of the lab table and opened an encrypted data terminal. The screen lit up, displaying all of Neji's test reports from the past three months.

"Affinity-less chakra has appeared in less than three out of every thousand cases in Shinobi World history." Orochimaru pulled up a statistical chart. "Among known cases, seventy percent could never cultivate any elemental ninjutsu in their lives. Twenty percent awakened a single affinity under extreme stimulation. Less than ten percent completed multi-affinity transformation under special circumstances."

He turned around and stared at Neji. "Do you know what happened to the people in that ten percent afterward?"

Neji shook his head.

"Three went insane, two exploded and died, and one became a vegetable." Orochimaru's mouth curved into a cold arc. "The only successful one spent thirty years cultivating in rotation at the three great Sage Arts lands and barely mastered fire, water, and earth. Then he died in the Second Shinobi World War, and I recovered his corpse."

He walked to a huge cultivation tank and tapped the glass. Inside floated a mutilated body. Three differently colored chakra pathways could be seen tangled together around its chest like vines, forming a grotesque sight.

"This is the cost of forcibly transforming affinities—permanent disorder in the chakra system," Orochimaru said. "So, Neji, are you certain you want to take this road?"

Neji did not answer immediately. He walked to the cultivation tank and carefully observed the corpse. Under his Byakugan, the three elemental chakras were like three venomous snakes tearing into each other, charging wildly through the pathways. Even after their owner's death, they still fought on instinct.

"What if," he slowly began, "there were a method that could balance all seven affinities at once?"

The laboratory suddenly fell silent.

Orochimaru's golden pupils narrowed slightly. "Seven?"

"Fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, plus Yin Release and Yang Release." Neji turned around and spoke each word clearly. "Complete earth, fire, water, and wind, together with the fundamental powers of the soul and body. When someone can wield all seven powers at once, what realm would they reach?"

The question was like a stone cast into deep water, stirring real ripples in Orochimaru's eyes. It was no longer the look of a researcher examining a test subject, but... the light in an explorer's eyes upon discovering a new continent.

"Yin-Yang Release..." Orochimaru repeated quietly. "Do you know what that is?"

"I know everyone thinks the First Hokage's Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai formed by merging water and earth." Neji began casting bait. "But you've studied his cells, so you should be able to sense it—there is something more fundamental within them, something that allows cells to divide endlessly and trees to grow madly against the seasons... 'vitality.'"

He paused, watching Orochimaru's reaction. "That is not something a simple fusion of water and earth can accomplish. It is like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. Everyone believes it is a product of Yin Release, but awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan requires extreme emotional stimulation. What are emotions? Fluctuations of the soul, the most extreme form of spiritual energy. Is there truly no Yang Release involved?"

Orochimaru fell silent. He walked to the lab table and brought up the experimental data on Hashirama Cells. On the screen, the activity levels of those cells were absurdly high. Their division rate was two hundred times that of ordinary people, and they completely ignored the limit of cell division—the Hayflick Limit.

"Yang Release..." he murmured. "The power that creates form... the power that grants life..."

"And the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan." Neji pressed on while the iron was hot. "The Caged Bird Seal can carve an indelible binding rune into a human brain. What level of soul manipulation does that require? Can pure Yin Release accomplish it? Or does it require the harmony of Yin and Yang to create a restraint that reaches the essence of the soul?"

Every question was like a key inserted precisely into a lock within Orochimaru's research system. This scientist of the Shinobi World had spent his life pursuing forbidden techniques, immortality, and truth, but his research had always centered on the level of "techniques"—how to gain power, how to use power. What Neji had raised now was the level of the "Way"—what was the origin of power? What was the essence of chakra? And what exactly was Yin-Yang Release?

"You want me to help you research Yin-Yang Release." Orochimaru suddenly smiled, his expression carrying the delight of meeting an equal opponent. "Then use it to complete all-affinity transformation, and ultimately... reach the realm of the Sage of Six Paths?"

"It is a transaction," Neji corrected. "I provide ideas and questions. You provide knowledge and resources. If I succeed, you will gain a living, complete case study of transformation from no affinity to all affinities. That is more valuable than any corpse specimen."

"And if you fail?"

"I'll become the next collectible in one of your cultivation tanks," Neji said calmly. "But at least before I die, you'll gather enough data—about Yin-Yang Release, affinity transformation, and the possible limits of the human chakra system."

The laboratory sank into a long silence. Only the gurgle of bubbles rising in the cultivation tanks and the faint hum of machinery remained.

Orochimaru walked to the window—if it could even be called a window. It was merely an observation opening in the rock wall, one that looked out into the corridor beyond. His silhouette stretched long beneath the eerie green light.

"Do you know why I chose Sasuke as my vessel rather than you?" he suddenly asked.

Neji's heart tightened, but his voice remained steady. "Because of the Caged Bird Seal."

"Correct." Orochimaru turned around, his golden pupils gleaming in the shadows. "That seal is too troublesome. It not only restricts your freedom, but also contaminates your chakra system. If I used Living Corpse Reincarnation to take over your body, I would inherit that seal with it—then the Hyuga Main House could make me wish for death with a single thought."

He slowly returned to the lab table, his pale fingers lightly tapping against its surface. "So, Neji, you currently have two values. First, as a special specimen of the Hyuga Branch Family, for studying a solution to the Caged Bird Seal and the potential evolution of the Byakugan. Second..."

He paused, revealing that classic, dangerous smile. "As the first test subject of the 'all-affinity transformation experiment.' If you succeed, I will obtain a complete, reproducible transformation plan. Then I can use it on anyone—including myself."

Neji sneered inwardly, but kept a respectful expression. "Then what are my conditions?"

"All laboratory resources will be open to you, including the forbidden technique scrolls I have collected from various countries, Kekkei Genkai research materials, and..." Orochimaru pulled out a key from his robes, "access to my private library. There are original records on Yin-Yang Release that I brought out of Konoha."

The key landed in Neji's palm, cold and heavy.

"What is the plan?" Neji asked.

"First, we solve your affinity problem." Orochimaru brought up a completely new experimental schedule. "I will design a gradual transformation plan for you. We will start with a single affinity—since you have no affinity, you may choose the one most suitable for you as your foundation."

"I choose lightning." Neji did not hesitate.

"Why?"

"Lightning chakra has the strongest penetrative ability and the greatest effect in activating cells," Neji said. "It can accelerate neural conduction, strengthen muscle contractions, and has a natural affinity with the Eight Gates. And..."

He looked toward the corpse in the cultivation tank, where three affinities were entangled together. "Lightning affinity is relatively independent and less likely to clash violently with other affinities. It is suitable as the foundation for transformation."

The appreciation in Orochimaru's eyes deepened. "Very good. Starting tomorrow, add four hours of lightning chakra sensitivity training every day. I will prepare special medicinal baths to stimulate your chakra system's affinity for lightning."

He paused, then added, "As for the Yin-Yang Release research, I need time to organize the materials. In one week, I will give you the first batch of documents."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."

After returning to his six-square-meter stone room, Neji did not immediately begin training. He sat on the bed and took Garaga's Reverse Scale from his robes. Besides transforming from no affinity to all affinities, he also needed to learn Sage Arts. The true difference between the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, and his younger brother Hamura Ōtsutsuki was Sage Arts. As a descendant of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the Hyuga Clan had Sage Arts within reach, and Neji was determined to obtain it and eliminate every possibility of failure. So Neji summoned Garaga once again.

Garaga rarely took the initiative to speak. "Brat, what are you calling me for this time?"

Neji told Garaga, "My chakra has no affinity. Today, I discussed with Orochimaru-sama that I hope he can guide me in transforming it into all affinities."

"From no affinity to all affinities?" Garaga was somewhat surprised. "Orochimaru is leading you down a very dangerous road. All-affinity transformation? That old monster wouldn't even dare try it himself."

"Why?" Neji asked. A trace of delight rose in his heart. He had sought Orochimaru's help, but from Garaga's perspective, it had become Orochimaru trying to deceive him. Was the bond between him and Garaga finally about to begin? Hehe!

"Because chakra isn't a toy." A trace of mockery flashed through Garaga's single eye. "It is the outward manifestation of life energy. If you forcibly change its nature, you are twisting the essence of your own life. Twist it too much, and you'll become something even you can no longer recognize."

"And if I succeed?"

"Success?" Garaga scoffed. "If you truly manage to balance seven affinities and then fuse Yin-Yang Release into them... then you will no longer be 'human.' You will become another kind of existence, something like... an aggregate of Natural Energy. By then, the Caged Bird Seal might truly be unable to restrain you. But the cost will be losing everything that makes you 'human.'"

Not human... that meant an existence like a god or sage. Wouldn't that make him just like the Sage of Six Paths? Neji thought fervently.

"Thank you, Garaga," Neji said sincerely.

"You've got something seriously wrong with your head. I'm going back to sleep." Garaga left without looking back. Was this Neji a freak? He did not seem like a normal human at all!

Become inhuman? So what?

Spend his entire life as a "human" under the Caged Bird Seal's restraint, or break free and become another kind of existence—he chose the latter.

"But before that..." Neji muttered, "I have to survive first."

He lay down, closed his eyes, and began sorting through the plan ahead:

First, undergo Orochimaru's lightning affinity transformation experiment while secretly guiding the direction of the Yin-Yang Release research.

Second, continue cultivating the Eight Gates. Although opening the Gate of Death meant certain death, developing the first seven gates could greatly raise his upper limit of strength. More importantly, the Eight Gates' increase to chakra volume was real—and the Ten-Tails was an aggregate of chakra. To control it, he needed enough "container capacity" himself.

Third, begin gathering intelligence on the Akatsuki. Although Hidden Sound Village was independent, Orochimaru had once been a member of Akatsuki. There had to be relevant clues here.

Fourth, improve his understanding with Garaga. Though they currently only had a "chatting relationship," this one-eyed red snake was a special existence from Ryūchi Cave. He would need Garaga's introduction to learn Sage Arts in the future. Besides, a snake that had lived for who knew how many years surely had useful knowledge in its head.

Fifth, and most importantly: find a safe method to transform from no affinity to all affinities. That would require Orochimaru's research, as well as his own exploration.

Every goal was fraught with difficulties, and every step could be fatal.

But Neji had no path of retreat.

He opened his eyes. The stone chamber's ceiling was indistinct in the darkness, like an unfurled scroll of fate awaiting words.

"Three and a half years..." he muttered. "That will be enough."

Enough for him to go from a chess piece to a chess player.

Enough for him to go from a test subject to a collaborator.

Enough for him... to touch that realm that had once been impossibly distant.

Outside the window—if it could even be called a window—the eternal gloom of Otogakure's underground base blanketed everything. Yet in a laboratory lined with cultivation tanks, Orochimaru was studying the data on his screen, unprecedented light gleaming in his golden pupils.

And somewhere within Ryūchi Cave, Garaga coiled in a pool of lava, his single eye fixed in the direction of the rock wall, as if he could see through layer after layer of stone to the boy planning his mad scheme.

"All affinities... Yin-Yang Release..." it hissed softly. "Hyuga boy, have you found a way out, or have you found a more glorious way to die?"

The lava churned, crimson light reflecting off its crimson scales.

This game had only just begun to place its pieces.

And the players all believed they could see the endgame.