Strange chakra

"The Yellow Flash drove back the Cloud Ninja?"

Zou Hyuga froze for a moment at the news, then realized he meant Minato Namikaze.

If it was Minato Namikaze, driving back a Jinchūriki and the future Raikage was perfectly normal.

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato Namikaze could come and go freely on the battlefield.

Those who couldn't beat him couldn't escape him, and those who could beat him couldn't catch him!

Flying Thunder God was a forbidden technique.

Zou Hyuga had always coveted it, but he knew his talent for ninjutsu could only be described as terrible.

After a moment's consideration, Zou Hyuga said, "Since the Yellow Flash drove back the Cloud Ninja, peace should be coming soon, right?"

"Perhaps..." Hyuga Yu looked out the window. He didn't know either.

The war between the nations of the shinobi world had continued for years. Although the large-scale army battles of its early stages had ended entirely, clashes between ninja squads had never stopped.

So far, Konoha had only signed a treaty with the defeated Sunagakure and remained at war with the other ninja villages.

War brought ninja casualties. Even though the Hyuga were one of Konoha's foremost clans, many of their ninja had died in battle.

The Byakugan's ability to see through things made Hyuga ninja priority targets for concentrated attacks. They were considered just as important as medical ninja.

Worst of all, because of the Byakugan's unique qualities, many Hyuga ninja also served as medical ninja.

"A lot of people have died in this war." The somber atmosphere affected Zou Hyuga as well.

He wanted peace more than anyone. War was far more dangerous than carrying out missions.

"Don't dwell on it... it's all in the past."

Hyuga Yu raised his teacup again and took a sip. "Also, the Third has recently been considering passing the Hokage position to the Yellow Flash. We Hyuga have always stood with the Hokage."

"Is that so..."

Zou Hyuga rested his chin on his hand. He didn't care who became Hokage; he cared more about himself.

The two talked a while longer before Hyuga Yu left Zou's home, reminding him of a few things to watch out for before he went.

The Hyuga had always been a single whole, whether Main Family or Branch Family.

Zou Hyuga wiped away his sweat. The man had finally left, but a lingering chill of fear washed over him.

His home had been invaded just like that, even if the intruder was his own uncle.

If someone else discovered his senjutsu energy, the consequences would be unthinkable. He might be sent to the front lines to carry out all kinds of missions, reduced to a round-the-clock drudge like the ANBU.

Too terrifying. Absolutely unacceptable. The ANBU were inhumane.

I'd better move my experiments deeper underground from now on. Perhaps setting up an experimental site outside the village would be good too.

After calming himself, Zou Hyuga entered the basement and took a glass bottle out of his pack.

A faint glow filled the bottle, almost impossible to make out without activating the Byakugan.

He had collected it during his mission a few days earlier. It felt very similar to senjutsu energy, and afterward, he had sensed a similar presence in the ninja cat.

Why was the glow that rose from corpses so similar to what he had sensed in the ninja cat?

Zou Hyuga didn't know, so he began experimenting.

After activating his black markings and entering Sage Mode, Zou Hyuga discovered that he could manipulate the glowing specks just as he manipulated natural energy.

Unlike natural energy, these glowing specks weren't violent.

On the contrary, they were very gentle. It seemed he could absorb them into his body whenever he wished.

For safety's sake, Zou Hyuga wouldn't take such a risk.

Instead, he turned his attention to the white lab mice. They had bred for several generations in the basement, their ancestors having lived in the laboratory for generations, making them ideal experimental subjects.

As he reached out to control the glowing specks, Zou Hyuga's black markings reacted and actually produced an identical glow.

Soon, Zou Hyuga was surrounded by a dense cloud of glowing specks.

He hurriedly activated his Byakugan, but sensed no danger from the specks. There was even an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

After examining them carefully, Zou Hyuga exclaimed, "These glowing specks seem to be some kind of chakra, very similar to what's inside me."

That realization sent many thoughts racing through Zou Hyuga's mind.

This glow had appeared above corpses, in a ninja cat, and now in him.

Did that mean the three had something in common?

After Kaguya Otsutsuki planted the God Tree, every person and creature in the shinobi world had some amount of chakra energy within them.

Whether they could harness it was another matter. People who could mold chakra could be trained as ninja.

Animals capable of molding chakra were called ninja beasts. They could even possess intelligence equal to humans and converse with them.

The sages of the Three Great Sage Lands were like that. They could even use senjutsu directly.

The Uchiha's ninja cats and the Sarutobi's Enma were a step below them. They could just about converse, but couldn't use natural energy.

Still, the Ninja Cat Clan and Enma's clan were said to be long-lived races of ninja beasts.

Then Zou Hyuga recalled the familiar presence he had sensed in the ninja cat.

Zou Hyuga suspected that the Ninja Cat Clan also possessed chakra similar to his own. In other words, they had the potential to use senjutsu, just as he did.

On the other hand, did that mean his lifespan could be as long as theirs?

With a smile, Zou Hyuga abandoned that absurd idea. He had found this chakra on corpses as well. Though the amount was faint, it was still there.

Just then, the white mice on the floor began squeaking, as though they had sensed the change in Zou Hyuga.

"Do you want this chakra energy too?"

Gently picking up the chosen mouse, Zou Hyuga placed it on the lab table and began gathering that same chakra in his hand.

His black markings seemed capable of converting natural energy into that kind of chakra.

He placed his hand on the white mouse. As the chakra flowed into it, its body underwent drastic changes. Not only did its chakra multiply several times over, but its eyes also grew brighter and brighter.

"Let me see how you've changed."

Zou Hyuga watched the white mouse, slowly released his grip, and let it leave the lab table.

The chakra-infused white mouse darted wildly around the basement like a streak of white lightning.

Then, when it saw the other caged white mice, a glint of intelligence seemed to flash through its eyes, and it turned a vicious glare on Zou Hyuga.

Zou Hyuga noticed that look, and the mouse lunged at him with incredible speed.

It bared its newly sharpened teeth and blood-red claws.

Already prepared, Zou Hyuga killed the mouse with a palm strike. Shortly after falling to the floor, its body broke into pieces.

Crouching down to examine the dead mouse, Zou Hyuga thought, I seem to be able to give chakra to other people or animals, greatly increasing their chakra reserves...

But I seem to have overdone it just now. I gave it too much chakra. Even if I hadn't killed it with that palm strike, it wouldn't have survived more than five minutes.

If that had been some other ninja beast instead of a white mouse, this problem probably wouldn't have been so easy to resolve.

Recalling the mouse's humanlike gaze, Zou Hyuga looked at the other white mice.

After being infused with chakra, they seemed capable of developing intelligence equal to humans.

It seemed the experiments would have to continue, and not a single one of these white mice could be spared.