Back at the same experimental base.
Gen Takuya appeared atop a massive scroll.
He hadn't used summoning to return here immediately from the battlefield. He'd made a mid-way transfer point first—not because the distance was too great, but because he couldn't notify his crows in time otherwise.
So he'd prepared a shadow clone ahead of time on a high ridge he was almost certain was safe.
If it were a forest, he couldn't be sure—White Zetsu could hide inside wood, nearly impossible to detect.
But the place he chose had not a single tree.
Even so, White Zetsu's infiltration was terrifying. Gen Takuya had checked the area several times and laid down a sealing formula—just in case something tried to hide underground.
Once it was confirmed safe, the shadow clone could watch for changes.
If Nagato or Obito exceeded expectations, the clone would immediately summon Gen Takuya away.
He wanted a piece of the Demonic Statue.
He didn't want to trade his life for it.
In the end, things went smoother than expected, and the clone never needed to pull him out.
It only summoned back the sealing scroll—already marked with the Tool Summoning Technique formula—along with Gen Takuya's real body.
Then, through the experimental base's crow network, he finally shifted back into the base itself.
Now, in his hands—
Was the sealing scroll containing one arm of the Demonic Statue.
His goal was obvious.
Using this fragment of the Ten-Tails…
He would cultivate a "small Ten-Tails," one that could devour the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts.
That was why, even at the risk of being seen by White Zetsu, he'd forced himself to go to Nohara Rin's side earlier—to obtain Three-Tails chakra.
Still, he didn't unseal the arm immediately.
He placed the scroll into the "storage room."
Before he began researching how to cultivate the small Ten-Tails…
There was something else to handle.
As Gen Takuya turned to leave, he paused.
He walked to the experimental subjects—those who had undergone Chimera Technique to fuse with Hyūga branch-family bloodlines.
Their life signs were stable.
No sign of the Caged Bird Seal surfacing.
And their eyes were ordinary.
Not Byakugan.
Because the branch-family bloodline he'd fused into them had already had its Byakugan destroyed by the Caged Bird.
Chimera Technique couldn't restore a Byakugan that had been ruined.
Gen Takuya's gaze sharpened.
Maybe that was the reason.
Was the Caged Bird Seal itself anchored to the Byakugan?
If so, it explained why Yakushi Kabuto's Edo Tensei of Hyūga Hizashi still carried the Caged Bird.
The revived Hizashi had a Byakugan state.
If the seal latched onto the Byakugan…
Then it naturally reappeared.
But these test subjects had fused with branch blood after death—after the eyes were destroyed.
No Byakugan.
So the seal vanished.
Which raised a new question.
If he transplanted a Byakugan into them…
Would the Caged Bird Seal reappear?
Logically, it shouldn't—because a main-family Byakugan shouldn't carry the seal.
But "shouldn't" wasn't certainty.
Gen Takuya frowned.
To confirm it, he'd need a main-family Hyūga.
And that was the problem.
If he had the option to target the main family…
Why fuse branch blood at all?
He could just fuse main-family blood and be done.
Unless…
Unless the Caged Bird affected the soul itself.
If that was true, experiments became far harder.
The soul was still a mystery.
Something beyond easy manipulation.
He exhaled slowly.
Could he modify Chimera Technique—make it fuse only the body?
That would take time.
A lot of time.
Which was easier—
Rewriting a forbidden technique…
Or replacing someone's head?
There was only one person in the shinobi world who had even a chance of making that second option possible.
"Orochimaru…"
Gen Takuya weighed the odds of obtaining techniques from Orochimaru.
Orochimaru wasn't like Kagerō.
And now that Gen Takuya's chakra reserves were no longer a bottleneck, he could reliably output jonin-level strength. Maybe even brush against elite jonin territory.
But Orochimaru?
Even now—before his later peak—he was still at least early Kage-level.
Trying to take resources from him would be extremely difficult.
Still…
"It's not impossible," Gen Takuya murmured.
He didn't need to be stronger.
He only needed to stall Orochimaru long enough.
And he was entering a rapid growth phase.
It wasn't guaranteed he'd always be beneath Orochimaru.
Of course, one thing was certain—
Killing Orochimaru was unlikely.
The shinobi world's "King of Staying Alive" didn't earn that reputation for nothing.
If Orochimaru combined forbidden techniques with the Caged Bird…
Gen Takuya could only accept the outcome.
He filed Orochimaru away as Plan One.
Then forced himself to think of a backup.
If Plan One failed…
What then?
Capture a main-family Hyūga?
He'd never considered it before—too risky, too weak, too much exposure.
If he was discovered, it would be instant defection.
Defection wasn't a problem.
But it was something he'd do only after finishing everything he needed in Konoha.
Still…
"It might not be impossible," Gen Takuya muttered.
Kumogakure had tried to kidnap Hyūga Hinata before.
That meant they were willing to target the Byakugan.
Hinata was hard—Hyūga Hiashi guarded her.
But the main family wasn't only Hiashi's branch.
There were others.
From Gen Takuya's perspective, that was the greatest unfairness of all.
If only the clan head and heir were exempt, people might grumble—but accept it as "leadership privilege."
But what about the other main-family lines?
Why were they exempt too?
Why did the clan head's brother have to be branded, while other main-family members walked free?
It was no wonder resentment festered.
Gen Takuya didn't care about Hyūga internal politics.
He only cared about opportunity.
Maybe…
He could strike another main-family line in the chaos—
And pin it on Kumogakure.
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