"Oh, right, Katsuyu. How do I sign this Summoning Contract?" Yui asked.
"Well, write your name in blood in one of the blank spaces, and that's all," Katsuyu said.
Yui nodded and did as instructed.
Rip-
She bit her finger, then wrote her name in the blank space after Tsunade's.
[Yui Hyuga]
"Is that all?" Yui asked.
There were so few steps. All I had to do was write my name in blood? Weren't there a few steps missing?
She remembered that in the original story, Naruto had added five fingerprints after writing his name.
"Yes, that's all."
Only after hearing that confirmation did Yui relax.
Once the contract was signed, Katsuyu put the scroll away and carried it on her back again.
"Yui, what do you plan to do while you wait?"
Yui gave it some serious thought.
What could I do while I waited?
Coming here had actually been an accident, but since she was already here, she might as well do something!
Perhaps she could try removing the Caged Bird Seal.
After a long while, she finally told Katsuyu, "I'd like to try removing this Cursed Seal while I wait."
As she spoke, Yui reached behind her head with both hands and took off her forehead protector, revealing a blue-green Cursed Seal.
"That's the Caged Bird Seal!" Katsuyu frowned at the blue-green mark. "That won't be easy to remove."
"And there's no guarantee it can be removed at all."
Katsuyu paused. "How about this? Learn to use senjutsu chakra first."
"Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode should be able to remove that Cursed Seal, too." Katsuyu met her gaze. "There's no Cursed Seal in this Shinobi World that can't be undone."
"That would be safer, wouldn't it?"
"I'm guessing your method of removing it is rather risky!"
Katsuyu's gaze seemed to see straight through Yui.
"And you're not confident it will work."
Yui's heart gave a jolt. Katsuyu seemed to see everything she was thinking.
It was true. If she made a mistake while faking her death to trick the Caged Bird Seal, she really would die.
What worried her more, however, was keeping her Byakugan intact.
The Caged Bird Seal's fundamental purpose was to protect the eyes.
Once it sensed its host's death, the seal would destroy the structure of the Byakugan on its own.
That was Yui's main concern at the moment.
During her last experiment on a lab mouse, its eyes hadn't been destroyed by the Cursed Seal. She didn't know why.
After hearing Katsuyu's suggestion, she began to hesitate. If there was a better solution, that would naturally be preferable.
"How long does it take to learn Senjutsu?"
Katsuyu considered it for a moment, then said, "Honestly, I don't know either. If you're talented, probably two or three years. If you're less talented, it might take seven or eight years, or even more than a decade."
"That long?" Katsuyu's answer left Yui feeling rather helpless. She remembered Naruto taking just over a month to learn Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu in the anime.
She sighed.
It seemed she would have to take the risk.
The worst outcome would simply be losing her sight.
But that didn't worry her.
Her chakra perception had improved rapidly lately. Even with her eyes closed, she could now sense everything within thirty meters.
Still, she would find it a shame to lose her Byakugan's abilities.
"Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu differs from that of the other two sacred lands. Mount Myōboku's and Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu are both far too volatile. Those who learn them can easily be assimilated."
"Shikkotsu Forest is the exact opposite. Its Senjutsu is gentler, and you won't be assimilated."
Katsuyu explained.
Yui understood.
"Then I'll pass. It takes too long." After some thought, she still declined.
"I'll come back when I have time!"
"I understand, Yui." Katsuyu saw the resolve in Yui's heart.
"Then I must be there to help when you remove the Cursed Seal."
Yui nodded, accepting her kindness. She really did need someone to help.
"When do you want to begin, then?"
"I need to prepare some tools... Probably in a few days!"
Konoha...
The Hyuga Clan.
"Clan head, the eyes have reached one hundred percent integration. You can take off the blindfold now!"
Sano spoke excitedly, holding his experiment logbook.
"Good..."
Hyuga Feng eagerly removed the blindfold that had kept him from the light.
"Phew-" He slowly opened his dry eyes, and the faint light in the Laboratory instantly filled his vision.
The light irritated his eyes just as he opened them, and he shut them again.
Seeing this, Sano hurriedly switched off the light.
"Clan head, it should be fine now."
Hyuga Feng tentatively tried opening his eyes again.
This time, he finally managed it.
With the Laboratory's only light source switched off, he could make out only vague outlines.
"I've waited far too long for this day!"
A full year had passed since he had transplanted this pair of Byakugan before they finally integrated completely with his body.
"Byakugan, activate."
The moment his Byakugan activated, a faint blue light flickered within his pupils.
"Phew-"
After activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Feng felt the chakra in his body draining rapidly.
"What's going on with this chakra consumption?" Hyuga Feng asked in confusion.
According to the results of the previous experiments, the integrated Byakugan should have consumed less and less chakra.
Why was the consumption so high this time?
Hearing Hyuga Feng's question, Sano found it strange as well. He activated his own Byakugan to examine Hyuga Feng's chakra network.
"This is..." The unusual activity inside Hyuga Feng's body startled Sano.
Through his eyes, he saw all the chakra throughout Hyuga Feng's body converging on his eyes.
"Clan head, your chakra..."
Sano wanted to warn Hyuga Feng that something was wrong with his chakra, but a glare from him stopped Sano short.
After that, he didn't dare say another word.
Hyuga Feng was aware of the unusual activity within his body, but he dismissed it. Now was the time to familiarize himself with his new power.
He could feel that his eyes had grown stronger.
His Byakugan also seemed to have awakened certain Ninjutsu.
"Hm?"
With his Byakugan's perception greatly enhanced, he suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation in a corner.
A rat!
Hyuga Feng's expression froze.
Why?
How had a ninja infiltrated his Laboratory?
And how had even the Hyuga Clan, with its Byakugan, failed to see through him?
If he hadn't gained this new power, he really wouldn't have discovered the intruder. The man could actually block the Byakugan's penetrating vision!
Still, he intended to find out who had sent this ninja.
I'll test my newfound power on you.
He raised his left hand toward the intruder and slowly gathered chakra.
In the corner, the black-clad ninja broke into a cold sweat as he watched Hyuga Feng's movements.
I can't escape.
"Phew-"
He steadied his racing heart.
No. Even if I died, I couldn't let him discover my identity.
He formed hand seals...
Before the attack arrived, he had already finished forming them.
"What is the clan head doing?" Sano murmured.
"Why is he suddenly using Ninjutsu on the wall?"
But he had never seen this Ninjutsu before. It didn't seem to be a technique belonging to the Hyuga Clan.
Could this be a power granted by the Byakugan?
The thought excited him. As expected, developing the Byakugan's power had been the right choice!
Even a little research had brought a tremendous improvement to the Byakugan.
Through his Byakugan, he saw the chakra that had gathered around Hyuga Feng's eyes slowly converge in his right hand.
Before you continue