Bloodline Regression?

Lying on the hospital bed, Hyuga Satoru leaned against the pillow, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

Orochimaru's Cell Activation secret technique was quite effective, and the training method wasn't complicated. Even while bedridden, he could refine his cells through chakra flow.

After only two days, Hyuga Satoru had the illusion that his body was nearly healed.

Compared to the almost overflowing sensation in his body, the emptiness in his heart was the true cause of his current confusion.

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

"The Hokage, considering your current abilities and to maximize your growth, has specially promoted you to Chunin, allowing you to accept A-rank missions and below independently."

"Actually, the Hokage initially planned to promote you to Tokubetsu Jonin, but considering that too big a jump would draw excessive attention from other villages, he had to abandon that plan for your safety."

"As for Rin, she needs to return to her clan for training. Anko has become Orochimaru's disciple. As for me... I'll probably go back to the Anbu."

"Team 3... will likely be disbanded like this."

Although he had long known this day would come, it arriving so quickly still caught him off guard.

But thinking carefully, given his current abilities, ordinary team missions could no longer help him improve. The Hokage had probably considered this too when specially promoting him to Chunin.

In a sense, it was a good thing.

What he lacked most right now was experience. Undertaking missions alone would allow his deficient experience to grow rapidly—this might also have been the Hokage's intention.

Just then, with a click, the door opened.

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 air suddenly fell silent, leaving only the rustling sound of the apple being peeled.

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

Uchiha Rin broke the silence first, speaking with a complicated expression.

"Is something the matter?" Hyuga Satoru asked.

"Yeah, my clan arranged special training for me. Since the Clan Head personally intervened, I couldn't refuse. For a while, I'll have to be apart from you."

"The Clan Head personally intervened?"

Hyuga Satoru showed a hint of surprise. Generally, for a large clan like the Uchiha, the Clan Head rarely got involved with ordinary members.

"Yeah." Uchiha Rin nodded with a complicated look. "I awakened the Two Tomoe."

Two Tomoe? Hyuga Satoru took a slight breath. No wonder. Uchiha Rin had awakened the Two Tomoe before the age of eleven—even since Konoha's founding, such talent was extremely rare in Uchiha history.

When she only had the Single Tomoe, the Uchiha Clan could still turn a blind eye. But awakening the Two Tomoe in less than a year... with talent like that, it was no surprise the Clan Head got involved.

But...

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

As Soon as He Finished Speaking, Uchiha Rin's cheeks suddenly flushed slightly. She turned her head away a little and said in an impatient tone, "Why ask so many questions? It was a while ago—I ran into danger and it awakened."

Uchiha Rin's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the window, her memory seemingly returning to that day.

In the torrential rain, a drenched Anko had shakily carried the unconscious Hyuga Satoru toward her, each step leaving a trail of bright red blood in the rainwater.

For some reason, her eyes had felt like they were splitting open. When she opened them again, they were already Two Tomoe.

But how could she ever mention that to Wu...

After Uchiha Rin left, Hyuga Satoru adjusted his mood and continued training in the Cell Activation technique with his eyes closed.

He had to admit, Cell Activation was a remarkably mysterious secret technique—essentially the essence of Orochimaru's early life's research on the human body.

By refining body cells in multiple batches, each refinement greatly enhanced the cells' vitality, significantly boosting the user's Taijutsu ability and chakra extraction capacity.

Through Cell Activation training, his chakra had already quietly crossed the threshold of a Jonin.

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

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Hyuga Satoru opened his eyes and couldn't help but praise.

"Cell Activation truly lives up to its reputation as a secret technique Orochimaru spent three years developing. Without an extremely high-level understanding of the human body, it would be impossible to conceive such an ingenious method of refining cells."

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

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

A hoarse voice tinged with amusement came through, causing Hyuga Satoru's brow to furrow slightly.

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

"I think with Wu-kun's perception ability, it should be impossible for you not to know I was coming, right?"

Hyuga Satoru's brow relaxed slightly. Inside his right sleeve, a silver snake coiled around his forearm—it was the magnetofluidized Executioner's Blade.

With just a thought, it would transform into a sharp weapon.

So he wasn't worried about Orochimaru pulling any tricks.

"Orochimaru-sama's sudden visit—is there something you need?" Hyuga Satoru asked in a calm tone.

Orochimaru smiled. "The test results from the cell sample I took from Wu-kun last time are out. Because the results are quite interesting, I decided to come over and share them with Wu-kun."

"What are the results?"

Hyuga Satoru's expression grew a few shades more serious.

Orochimaru didn't drag it out and spoke directly. "Wu-kun's cells are very strange. Based on the tests, they seem to be approaching some kind of higher-level form. However..."

He paused, then suddenly shifted his tone, smiling again. "Wu-kun's Byakugan range should be considerably larger than that of ordinary clan members, right."

"Yes." Hyuga Satoru nodded. There was no need to hide that.

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

"Hmm... how should I put it? Wu-kun's physical evolution is more like a kind of regression. So the purity of your Byakugan will also increase continuously in this process."

Bloodline Regression???

Hyuga Satoru took a deep breath.

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

Could it be that he would evolve into an Otsutsuki in the future?