"!?"
Shinji's gaze sharpened.
Even though he had prepared himself, when he saw the Tenseigan open at the center of Neji and Kimimaro's foreheads, his masked face was still filled with astonishment!
The Tenseigan!
A dojutsu Bloodline Limit on the same level as the Rinnegan, surpassing it in offensive power, had truly been cultivated by his own hand.
On the field, Neji was visibly stunned, his eyes showing confusion as he struggled to adjust to the Tenseigan that had opened at his forehead.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, raised a hand, attempting to gently touch the Tenseigan at his forehead.
Compared to Neji, he seemed more familiar with the Tenseigan. After all, during the last battle in the Grass Country, the massive Tenseigan on the moon had infused him with a vast amount of Tenseigan chakra, briefly granting him a temporary Tenseigan state.
'H' spoke up, "Though there was a slight hiccup, it seems we succeeded!"
Neji asked, "This… this is the Tenseigan?"
'H' replied, "Yes, this is the Tenseigan. However, due to my insufficient chakra, I had to transfer the two eyes to you and 'F' separately. Otherwise, if I bore both Tenseigan alone, it would have drained all the chakra from both you and 'F'."
'H's body contained Neji's Byakugan chakra, Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku chakra, the Byakugan chakra from the Ōtsutsuki branch family on the moon, and the Tenseigan chakra Neji had stolen from the giant Tenseigan.
As long as the fusion was completed, 'H' had the ability to evolve the pair of enhanced pure Byakugan that Shinji had implanted into it into the Tenseigan.
But theory was one thing, and reality was another.
At the critical moment of fusion, 'H' realized that the chakra it had thought sufficient was stretched thin when awakening the Tenseigan.
Faced with the Tenseigan, a veritable "chakra-devouring beast," no amount of chakra seemed enough.
Thus, 'H' had no choice but to split the two eyes, using the convenience of their merged state to transfer them to Neji and Kimimaro's foreheads.
This way, though the Tenseigan would consume chakra like a black hole, since they were now embedded in Neji and Kimimaro's bodies, they wouldn't drain their hosts to death as long as the Tenseigan remained within them.
Shinji approached, carefully examining the Tenseigan at Neji and Kimimaro's foreheads, and asked 'H,' "What's the state of the Tenseigan now?"
'H' replied helplessly, "My apologies, Leader. I underestimated the Tenseigan's level and was underprepared!"
Shinji stepped closer to observe. "What do you mean? Are the Tenseigan at their foreheads just half-finished?"
"Not quite!" After a pause, 'H' explained seriously, "Even in our merged state, maintaining a single pair of Tenseigan is extremely taxing for the three of us. If we hadn't split them, once the merged state was undone, either I would be drained dry by the Tenseigan, or 'F' and 'G' would be drained by me."
Shinji immediately understood 'H's intent. "You're saying you used the host-transfer method to make each of them a host for one Tenseigan, ensuring their safety after the merged state is undone?"
'H' replied, "As expected of you, Leader!"
'H's idea was simple. If Neji and Kimimaro became the direct hosts of the Tenseigan, no matter how chakra-hungry the Tenseigan was, it couldn't drain its own host to death. Thus, 'H' used this to ensure Neji and Kimimaro's safety after the merged state was undone.
Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
Undoubtedly, the awakening of the Tenseigan was a genuine success. The current issue was that the newly awakened Tenseigan was still unstable and could revert to the enhanced pure Byakugan at any moment.
Moreover, with the strength of 'H,' Neji, and Kimimaro, maintaining it was extremely taxing, and they couldn't fully unleash the Tenseigan's power.
Shinji wasn't surprised by this.
In the original timeline, Obito, who had transplanted White Zetsu cells, only took one of Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan from Nagato's body.
Dojutsu Bloodline Limits like the Rinnegan and Tenseigan had extremely high requirements for their hosts. When Madara chose Nagato, who had Uzumaki clan heritage, to inherit his Rinnegan, it wasn't because he liked Nagato—it was because, at the time, few in the shinobi world could bear his Rinnegan.
Even Nagato, with the Uzumaki clan's Sage Body, had to nurture Madara's Rinnegan with his own chakra for many years before he could slowly use it.
With Neji and Kimimaro's current strength, they couldn't handle the burden of a pair of Tenseigan.
Even bearing just one was incredibly taxing for them. Shinji suspected that once they undid their merged state, the Tenseigan at their foreheads would immediately go dormant to prevent their hosts from dying of exhaustion.
Moments later, the chaotic chakra fluctuations gradually subsided, and Neji and Kimimaro's tense nerves finally relaxed.
Neji asked Shinji, "Leader, did we succeed?"
Kimimaro also looked at Shinji.
"Yes!"
Shinji nodded slightly.
Neji let go of the weight in his heart. "We didn't let you down!"
Shinji cautioned, "Though you succeeded, you both need to stay vigilant."
This success had been far too close a call. Even after reviewing it himself, Shinji felt his luck had been remarkable.
"Yes!"
Neji and Kimimaro responded in unison.
Shinji ordered, "Alright, now try undoing the merged state."
Neji, Kimimaro, and 'H' followed his command and undid their merged state.
In an instant, 'H,' which had connected Neji and Kimimaro, split in the middle, half retracting into Neji's body and half into Kimimaro's.
The sudden separation caused both to stumble a few steps before barely steadying themselves.
Shinji quickly waved them over. "Come here!"
Neji and Kimimaro immediately walked to Shinji.
Shinji examined them and thought, "As expected!"
Just as he had predicted, once the three undid their merged state, the two Tenseigan at Neji and Kimimaro's foreheads immediately went dormant. Even the eye slits at their foreheads vanished, leaving their foreheads looking normal.
"They can't even handle one Tenseigan…"
Shinji sighed inwardly.
The now fully dormant Tenseigan had proven that neither Neji nor Kimimaro could currently bear even a single Tenseigan. Thus, the Tenseigan had gone dormant to ensure the safety of its hosts.