Chapter 4: The Emperor's Gambit
"By all the gods and Buddha, if you grant me something good this time, I swear I'll offer you incense for life. Bless me!"
Hyuga Shinra squeezed his eyes shut, offering a desperate, silent prayer to any celestial being that might be listening. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he willed the lottery to begin.
The colossal wheel shimmered, and its segments dissolved and reformed. This time, only five prizes glimmered upon its surface. His eyes widened, and a slow grin spread across his face. Aside from the ever-present Observation Haki, the other four were enough to make his heart pound against his ribs.
Pupil Art: Susano'o.
Pupil Art: Planetary Devastation.
Zanpakutō: Kyōka Suigetsu.
Sage Mode.
"It seems praying actually works!" he whispered, his voice thick with excitement. "Except for Observation Haki being a bit of a letdown, everything else is… god-tier."
Susano'o and Planetary Devastation needed no explanation; one was the ultimate defense and offense of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the other a pinnacle technique of the Rinnegan capable of creating a miniature moon. Kyōka Suigetsu, the Zanpakutō of Sosuke Aizen, offered the power of Complete Hypnosis, a weapon that could render an entire army helpless against illusions. And Sage Mode… to harness the energy of nature itself was a power that even Uchiha Madara had coveted.
Observation Haki paled in comparison, especially for him. His Tenseigan already granted him a perfect 360-degree field of vision with no blind spots. Unless it was the advanced ability to "hear the voice of all things," it would be largely redundant.
Of the five, his deepest desire was for Kyōka Suigetsu. With it, claiming invincibility might be an exaggeration, but anyone below the level of the Six Paths would be hard-pressed to even touch the hem of his robe. Planetary Devastation, while formidable, held less allure. It was, at its core, an ultimate application of gravitational force. His Tenseigan inherently granted him gravity manipulation; with enough time and chakra, he was confident he could replicate the technique himself.
The wheel's pointer began to spin, a blur of metallic light. Shinra watched for a moment, feeling a wave of dizziness, and quickly shut his eyes. He would let fate decide, without the torment of watching it slow down.
After what felt like an eternity of anxious waiting, a soft chime echoed in the void. He cracked open an eye. The pointer had stopped, resting squarely on the segment for *Pupil Art: Susano'o*.
A sigh of pure relief escaped him. It wasn't the hypnosis, but it was a monumental prize. A question immediately sprang to his mind: *Could his Tenseigan even utilize a power native to the Mangekyo Sharingan?*
*The system must have accounted for this,* he reasoned. His own Tenseigan was a product of the system's power; it had bypassed any normal evolution process to grant him a perfect, mature Dojutsu from the start. This was a trivial matter for such a power.
As if in response, a stream of warm, potent energy shot directly into his eyes. A vast, dormant power settled within the depths of his Tenseigan, a latent fortress waiting for the key of sufficient chakra to unlock it. He could feel it—the potential to manifest a titan of pure chakra.
"Finally, a true treasure!" he exulted. "With Susano'o and the Tenseigan's own Summoning Technique… I might just be able to stand against Hashirama Senju's Wood Golem and not be instantly crushed." The thought of combining the two into an armored, colossal warrior was a fantasy of unparalleled power.
There was only one draw left. Now that he had Susano'o, the pressure was off. Whatever came next would be a bonus. He glanced at the new wheel; it was cluttered with over a dozen items, many of them pitiful. His eyes caught on one in particular: a single, perfectly round pancake.
"Is it preparing a midnight snack for me?" he spat, his lip curling in disdain. With a mental shrug, he initiated the final draw.
The pointer whirled and danced for half a minute before finally, inevitably, slowing to a stop. It landed not on the pancake, but on the prize that had haunted all three spins: **Observation Haki**.
"You were in all three draws. It seems fate refused to let me leave without you," Shinra murmured, a wry smile on his face.
As the knowledge and foundational skill of Observation Haki flooded his mind, his initial disappointment vanished. He had underestimated it. Beyond simply sharpening the five senses, advanced Observation Haki could allow the user to perceive the immediate future, to see fragments of events before they happened. It was the cultivation of a potent sixth sense.
*This… is the natural counter to Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis,* he realized with a start. However, the system had only granted him the basic proficiency. To reach that prophetic level would require intense, dedicated training.
Exiting the lottery space, his attention was caught by a small, blinking icon in the corner of his vision: [Status Panel]. He focused on it, and a comprehensive display unfolded before him.
Host: Hyuga Shinra
Age:3 Years Old
Bloodline Limits: Ōtsutsuki Clan, Tenseigan, Sage Body
Chakra Affinities: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, Yang
Tenseigan Abilities: Gravity Control (Repulsion), Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Summoning Technique, Chakra Extraction, Spirit Ball, Puppet Control, Time-Space Manipulation, Takamagahara, Susano'o.
Ninjutsu: Chakra Refinement Technique, Rasengan (A-Rank)
Other Abilities: Observation Haki (Basic)
Equipment: None
The panel provided a starkly precise inventory of his power. His Tenseigan was not some nascent form; it possessed the full suite of abilities demonstrated by the Ōtsutsuki themselves. But two entries made his breath catch.
*Time-Space Manipulation.* While the Tenseigan was known for spatial abilities, true control over time was a realm of its own.
*Takamagahara.* The name resonated with power—the Plain of High Heaven, the dwelling of the gods in myth.
"Manipulate time and space…" he whispered, the implications staggering. "If I can truly master that, then even if someone can fight me, they could never truly kill me."
Yet, the cold reality of his situation quickly doused his excitement. The more devastating the ability, the greater the chakra cost. He was a god in potential, trapped in the body of a three-year-old with a matchstick's worth of energy. He could gaze upon this arsenal of world-ending techniques, but for now, they were just names on a list, beautiful and utterly out of reach.