Hyuga Taichi

"He hasn't awakened his eyes yet! But he's very smart, and he can use Fire Release Ninjutsu without making hand seals."

Taichi sold Uchiha Yan out without a second thought. They were only teammates, not friends who had faced life and death together. Besides, he hadn't revealed everything-he hadn't mentioned the Tenseigan, the Jōgan, or anything like that.

"Oh?"

Hyuga Hiashi immediately grew interested. "Instant ninjutsu! And he's very smart? How could you tell?"

"Clan head, that's..."

"What? You don't want to tell me?"

"No!"

Taichi shook his head repeatedly, his whole body beginning to tremble slightly.

"This concerns the coming war. I don't know whether I should..."

"Stop!"

Hyuga Hiashi frowned slightly, his expression turning exceptionally grave. He had never expected this mission to the Land of Rain to concern the coming war.

No wonder they wanted Kakashi. This must be a serious matter. I'd better not cause any complications!

"Tell me what you can!"

"Hanzō is dead! Uchiha Yan figured it out. It was also thanks to him that Captain Kakashi and I managed to survive.

"He could guess what the Third Hokage was thinking and knew what was in the letter without reading it.

"He could also infer whether the number of ninja in Amegakure had increased or decreased from what the villagers ate, and use that to deduce what had happened in Amegakure."

"What!"

Hiashi's pupils contracted sharply. Despite his immense shock, he quickly brought his expression under control.

"I see. No wonder! Go home for now. Train hard and protect the Hyuga Clan.

"As a member of the Hyuga Clan, you should understand your responsibilities. Abandon those unnecessary thoughts.

"Although I don't understand our forebears' actions either, I still have to say this: don't follow your parents' example. Neither you nor I can decide our fate."

"Yes!"

Taichi lowered his head, clenching his fingers beneath his sleeves until his knuckles went white, yet he dared not show any displeasure.

"Rest assured, clan head! For the sake of passing down the Byakugan, I know what I should do."

"Good, as long as you understand! You did well on this mission. Someone will deliver the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms to you tomorrow. Don't slack off."

"Thank you, clan head."

Taichi let excitement show on his face at the appropriate moment. To him, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was dispensable. He had already learned it; he simply dared not show it.

After returning home, Taichi went to his bedroom, took out paper and a pen, and wrote down a few words.

Tenseigan, Jōgan!

He had heard these names from Uchiha Yan, and he believed they must be the names of the Byakugan's evolved forms.

He didn't know what abilities those two pairs of eyes possessed, but he believed that since the Uchiha Clan had recorded them and kept those records in their compound all this time, they must be stronger than the Sharingan.

*Uchiha Yan definitely knows more than I do. I have to find a way to get him to tell me more.

*If the Uchiha Clan's documents contain records of them, other ninja clans passed down from ancient times should have some too, such as the Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan.

As long as I can find more clues, I might be able to obtain the Tenseigan or the Jōgan. Then perhaps the cursed seal will undo itself.

Every member of the Hyuga Branch Family wanted to remove the cursed seal when they were young, and Taichi was no exception.

Hyuga Hiashi knew this, as did everyone in the Main Family. They simply didn't care. After all, no one had succeeded in all these years.

Father, Mother, the experiment you gave your lives for won't go to waste. I'll definitely remove the cursed seal.

Without any hesitation, Taichi burned the paper and headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Yan found Taichi's arrival somewhat strange. However interested the man was in the Tenseigan, surely he didn't need to be in such a hurry.

Carrying the boiled pork slices he had painstakingly prepared to the dining table, Uchiha Yan invited Taichi to sit.

The spicy aroma tantalized them both. Yan picked up a slice with his chopsticks and took a bite, his face filled with satisfaction.

"Delicious! Just what I'd expect from myself! Taichi, why aren't you eating? Can't you handle spicy food?"

"Is this all right? This is Clan Head Fugaku's house, after all."

"It's fine! Make yourself at home. Why stand on ceremony in your own home?"

"You really have no shame."

Taichi was only making a token protest. This was his first time seeing a dish like this, and whether it tasted good or not, he wanted to try it.

"Hiss..."

"Hot, hot..."

"That feels great!"

Taichi panted with his mouth open, tears faintly glistening in his eyes. The spiciness had clearly gotten to him.

"Hahahaha! Tastes good, doesn't it? I'm telling you, no one can match me when it comes to food."

"It's so spicy. How can you eat so much?"

"My throat already got its share of irritation when I practiced Fire Release. This little bit of spice is nothing. Keep eating."

"All right!"

Taichi stopped standing on ceremony and rapidly shoveled down the food. In just ten minutes, the two of them polished off a washbasin-sized serving of sliced pork.

"Burp..."

Uchiha Yan belched and lay lazily on the floor.

"I'm full! Now can you tell me why you came to see me?"

"The Tenseigan!"

"I don't know!"

Uchiha Yan spoke flatly. "From the documents, we can infer that it's a power contained in the bloodline. If you want those eyes, you can only pin your hopes on your bloodline reverting to its ancestral state.

"Why don't clans with kekkei genkai marry outside their clans? Because marrying into other clans dilutes their bloodline, and the power of their kekkei genkai grows weaker and weaker.

"Purifying the bloodline is only a prerequisite for your physical energy to reach the level needed to awaken those eyes. The Byakugan has sensory abilities, which means it's also related to spiritual energy.

"No one knows what level your spiritual energy needs to reach.

"In other words, those eyes can only awaken when both your physical energy and your spiritual energy meet the requirements."

"What about the Jōgan?"

"That one's even more out of the question!"

Yan shook his head. "I only know of one example. A marriage between the Hyuga Clan and the Uzumaki Clan produced that genius.

"Do you think there are still any Uzumaki Clan members around, or that one of your parents was an Uzumaki?

"Still! It's not as though there aren't other ways to improve your strength or break the cursed seal. The question is what you're prepared to offer in exchange."

"What do you need?"

Taichi was a smart man. He knew that probing the other party now would only arouse his displeasure.

Rather than do that, he might as well openly state his position.

"You can take anything I have!"

"You don't have shit!"

Uchiha Yan shot him down mercilessly. "You're from the Branch Family. You even need the Main Family's permission to learn the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, let alone anything else.

"The Daoist Five Thunder Method, The Secret of the Golden Flower, Qi Body Origin-Stream, Tai Chi, Eight Gates, natural energy, Buddhist divine powers-any one of them could solve your problem.

"Forget it! I don't want to make things difficult for you. Just give me all the Hyuga Clan's historical documents, then help me collect the Uzumaki Clan's historical documents, and you can choose any one of those."

?????

Taichi's head was full of question marks. What did he mean? So many Hyūga clan members couldn't think of a single solution, so why did he know so many?

"What kind of ninjutsu are these? Why have I never heard of them?"

"That's nothing! I also know the Great Freedom Transformation Art, the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, the Human Emperor Banner, and Three-Part Return to Origin Qi.

"Well? Want to learn? Just give me the Hyuga Clan's documents."

With that, Uchiha Yan slowly stood and went to his room. Before long, he returned with a scroll.

After tossing the scroll to Taichi, Uchiha Yan spoke with a smile.

"This contains a method for cultivating natural energy. Consider it a meeting gift. Read it carefully and study it well."

Taichi slowly opened the scroll. The first line read: The Great Dao is formless, giving birth to heaven and earth; the Great Dao is without emotion, moving the sun and moon; the Great Dao is nameless, nurturing all things...

Snap!

Taichi forcefully closed the scroll. He couldn't understand its contents, but he could tell at a glance that these words were anything but simple.

"Rest assured! Before the war ends, I'll definitely obtain the Hyuga Clan's and Uzumaki Clan's documents."