LightReader

Chapter 393 - 393.Burning with Anxiety

A special thank you to all my patrons.

The List of My "Wandering Reader":

-Davis Nguyen

-Cain

-Goha21

-Jacob Mooe

-HADES

-Varun Madhu

-Aziz Makda

-Gonzalo Sumalavia

-JWolf

-kevin Williams

-Shadow260802

-MIKE

-KD2001

-merp.

-Jose Carrillo

-Derek M

You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.

P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos

(just replace the "@" with "a")

ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Lady Hanabi." 

Kaito smiled as he swept his gaze across the Hyūga clansmen gathered in the hall. At this moment, all of them were staring at him with eager anticipation. 

"Are you certain you wish for me to explain here?" 

Finally, Kaito fixed his eyes directly on Hanabi. 

"This…" 

For a moment, Hanabi hesitated, instinctively glancing first at Hiashi and then at Tokuma, who was seated on the other side. 

Kaito maintained his smile, unconcerned about their silent exchange. 

"Uncle Tokuma," Hanabi spoke up, "have everyone else leave. Only you and Father should remain." 

"As you wish." 

Tokuma displayed the utmost deference toward Hanabi, waving a hand to dismiss the others. 

At the command, the remaining Hyūga clansmen rose to their feet one after another and silently filed out of the hall. 

Once outside, however, they formed a loose perimeter around the building, keeping their distance but ensuring no one could approach unnoticed. 

Now, only four people remained inside the hall. 

"Lord Kaito." 

Hanabi bowed deeply once more, her youthful face set in a serious expression. 

"Please enlighten us." 

Kaito chuckled again. 

He didn't mind clearing up the Hyūga clan's doubts. 

After all, much like removing the Caged Bird Seal, he himself wasn't entirely sure whether knowing the full truth would be a blessing or a curse for the Hyūga. 

Still, the matter had to be addressed. 

Because once the Caged Bird Seal was lifted, the Hyūga would face an immense hidden danger. 

"The Tenseigan," he stated plainly. "That is the name of the ultimate evolution of the Byakugan." 

'Tenseigan…' 

The three Hyūga clansmen in the hall silently repeated the unfamiliar term. 

"You should already know that the progenitor of the Hyūga clan was Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the second son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo." 

Kaito's voice was calm and unhurried. 

"Thus, it stands to reason that a fully realized Tenseigan possesses power on the same level as the Sage's Rinnegan." 

Aside from Hanabi—who was still somewhat unclear about the upper echelons of shinobi power—both Hiashi and Tokuma widened their eyes in shock. 

Especially Tokuma. 

He didn't fully grasp how powerful the Sage's Rinnegan was, but he had witnessed firsthand the overwhelming might displayed by Nagato and Uchiha Madara—both wielders of the Rinnegan—on the battlefield. 

In particular, Madara's ability to summon massive meteors from the sky had left everyone awestruck. 

'That kind of power…' 

Unconsciously, Tokuma's breathing grew heavier. 

Kaito, of course, noticed his momentary lapse. 

'Perhaps revealing the origins of the Tenseigan really isn't a good thing for the Hyūga clan,' he mused. 

How many people could resist the temptation of such overwhelming strength? 

Fortunately, Tokuma quickly snapped out of it, suppressing the boiling delusions in his heart. 

After a brief pause, seeing that no one objected, Kaito continued his explanation. 

Still, he couldn't resist offering a word of caution. 

"The Uchiha, another clan specializing in ocular techniques, only ever produced a single pair of Rinnegan—Madara's. Therefore, power of this caliber is something one encounters by chance, not by force." 

The three Hyūga nodded at Kaito's words, and the hidden fervor in Hiashi and Tokuma's eyes finally cooled. 

'Ah, I really am an excessively kind man,' Kaito couldn't help but think. 

Under their expectant gazes, he finally arrived at the crux of the matter. 

"To awaken the Tenseigan, at minimum, two conditions must be met." 

"Lord Kaito, what are these two conditions?" 

Hanabi couldn't contain her curiosity. 

"First." 

Kaito raised a single finger. 

"A Byakugan of the purest quality." 

"Pure Byakugan?" Hanabi tilted her head in confusion. "Aren't all Byakugan the same?" 

"No, they are not." Hiashi answered this time, his voice tinged with excitement, as if he had suddenly stumbled upon something fortuitous. 

"Even disregarding the influence of the Caged Bird Seal, there are still significant differences in the limits each person's Byakugan can reach." 

He glanced at Tokuma before continuing, "This is a difference brought about by the purity of one's bloodline." 

Then, locking eyes with Hanabi, he added, "Hanabi, remember this—no matter what turmoil the clan goes through, the one who assumes the position of the main family's head must be the Hyūga with the purest bloodline." 

Hearing this, Tokuma frowned but refrained from voicing any objection. 

Hanabi nodded in understanding before turning back to Kaito. "Lord Kaito, what is the second condition?" 

"Second." 

This time, Kaito held up two fingers. 

"One must possess the chakra of the Ōtsutsuki clan." 

"Ōtsutsuki chakra?" Hanabi tilted her head again. 

"The power of all creation." 

Kaito kept his explanation concise. 

"This…" 

Hiashi and Tokuma immediately grasped the near-impossibility of fulfilling such a condition. 

"Incidentally," Kaito kindly added another piece of information, "Madara only obtained the Rinnegan after transplanting the cells of the First Hokage." 

"Unfortunately, the Hyūga cannot replicate this method," he continued, shaking his head in feigned regret. "After all, the Uchiha and Senju both trace their lineage back to the Sage's two sons, making their bloodlines compatible." 

Hiashi, unwilling to give up, pressed further, "Then, would it be possible to achieve this by transplanting Ōtsutsuki cells?" 

"Who knows?" Kaito shrugged. "Without experimentation, conjecture is meaningless." 

"Then how did Neji awaken his?" Tokuma, equally unwilling to relent, asked. 

"Ah, Neji—that boy was truly fortunate." Kaito sighed as if deeply moved. "There was already a preexisting Tenseigan on the moon, so I extracted its ocular power and bestowed it upon him." 

Tokuma gasped. "A preexisting Tenseigan? Could it have been left behind by our ancestor, Hamura?" 

"No." 

Kaito smiled as he delivered the most shocking revelation. 

"It was an amalgamation of hundreds of Byakugan—harvested from every member of the Ōtsutsuki branch family on the moon. They resorted to such extreme measures for a single purpose: the complete annihilation of the main family." 

"..." 

Hiashi and Tokuma instantly understood the grave implications hidden within Kaito's words. Their faces drained of color in an instant. 

"Th-This… this…" 

A bottomless dread surged within them. 

If this information were confirmed, the Hyūga clan would undoubtedly face utter destruction! 

Hanabi, observing the reactions of her elders, belatedly realized the gravity of the situation. Her face paled as well, and her small frame began to tremble uncontrollably. 

"The… the Caged Bird Seal…" 

Hiashi growled, glaring fiercely at Tokuma. 

"The Caged Bird Seal…" 

Tokuma swayed in his seat, as if on the verge of collapse. 

"I must apologize for the matter of the Caged Bird Seal," Kaito said somewhat awkwardly. "At the time, I was unaware of the deeper reasoning behind its existence." 

Watching the three Hyūga break out in cold sweat, he added apologetically, "However, there's more. The Caged Bird Seal serves another purpose. This peculiar cursed seal shares a subtle connection with the artifact used to suppress Kaguya's seal on the moon. Thus, the Caged Bird was not only Hamura's failsafe for monitoring the shinobi world but also a catalyst to reinforce the suppression artifact. In any case, to defeat Kaguya, I needed to interfere with the seal at the time. Even if only temporarily, removing the Caged Bird was a necessary step." 

Yet, at this moment, Tokuma was in no state to listen to Kaito's explanations. 

He now understood that if this matter were not handled properly, he and the others who had spearheaded the movement to abolish the Caged Bird Seal would go down in history as the Hyūga clan's greatest sinners! 

The information must be suppressed at all costs!!! 

His gaze snapped toward Kaito—only to falter and withdraw almost immediately. 

This man before them had saved the world and established the planet's unified defense front. The Hyūga clan, as they were now, could not afford to oppose him! 

'What do we do?!' 

For the first time in his life, Tokuma felt his heart burning with anxiety.

More Chapters