The issue Shiki currently faced was simple but not easy to solve.
How to reproduce a powerful enough version of the Lightning Chakra Mode, especially considering he did not want to wait any longer than he had to before the infiltration.
The principles of the Lightning Chakra Mode were something he understood.
Essentially, it was just a supercharged expansion of his own Lightning Release: Activation or, more accurately, Activation was a simplified and specialized derivative of the powerful Lightning Chakra Mode the Shiki had developed.
But one of the main reasons for this development was the boy's unsuitability for the Raikage clan's signature jutsu.
'There is a way to pull this off though . . .' Shiki determined, his eyes narrowing as he sat in his room in the Uzumaki Mansion.
'It is highly self-destructive but definitely possible.' The more he thought of the reckless plan forming in his mind, the more the boy liked it.
You see, Shiki could somewhat imitate the Lightning Chakra Mode but he did not yet figure out how to stop it from frying him at the high intensity required to fight like the Raikage clan.
WIth the Nirvana Seal having the entirety of the Gelel Vein within it however, the boy could theoretically restore himself faster than his defective Lightning Chakra Mode could kill him.
In fact, he could afford to turn up the intensity of the jutsu to a level even the Raikage would avoid.
Sure, he would be unable to use genjutsu or any non-Lightning Release ninjutsu but at the same time, Shiki would be able to emulate the Raikage's nintaijutsu to a very high degree, as much raw power even if with far less precision.
'I need to make a few tests first.' The boy decided.
*
Sneaking out of the village as if the Sensory Barrier surrounding it was not even there, Shiki moved to an area deserted and far enough away from anything that his subsequent experiments would not draw any unwanted attention.
'Nirvana Seal: Release'
Purple markings resembling an active Otsutsuki Kama spread across the boy's entire body and incredible lifeforce burst out and clad his form, seeping deep into his being.
Gelel Stones are a powerful source of life energy.
With the entire Gelel Vein as a battery, Shiki's vitality was currently so great and robust that he could be considered practically immortal.
'Alright. Time to give it a go.'
Starting out with low intensity, the boy clad himself in a rather primitive and unfocused Lightning Cloak.
He could feel the tingling sensation of the electricity coursing through his body, a sensation replaced a rising, burning pain and he amped up the power.
Cold as ice, Kukyo maintained Shiki's mental state perfectly despite the rising pain and so, with a violent burst, he fully engaged the Lightning Chakra Mode.
The rampaging electricity tore through the boy's body, incinerating his flesh, cracking his bones with heat and tearing apart his muscle with overstimulation.
However, even faster than the destruction, an uninterrupted flow of enormous life energy repaired all of the damage.
Despite the mind shattering pain, from the outside, Shiki looked like any normal Lightning Chakra Mode user, the only exception being a more unstable looking Lightning Cloak.
'But that can be explained away by a lack in skill when compared to masters like the Raikage.' Shiki reasoned.
'The only question is whether the Byakugan can see through what is happening inside my body, the rapid cycle of destruction and healing would make it obvious something is wrong.' He considered.
Even as the boy worked through his thoughts, he kept the Lightning Chakra Mode active, unbothered by the pain.
There was a need to test whether his current state could be maintained after all.
Minutes passed and Shiki moved on to try a few of the Nintaijutsu moves he remembered from his encounters with Zee and Ay Junior.
Half an hour of excruciatingly painful testing . . .
'Alright, everything looks good enough.' The boy determined, deactivating the Chakra Mode.
'I really am utterly inhuman . . .' He lightly pondered.
Nobody should react to that kind of pain with the dismissal he showed, it was abnormal.
'Really . . . What am I becoming?' Shiki wondered.
Still, now was no time for such thoughts.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu'
The boy conjured a single Shadow Clone and commanded it to closely observe with Kukyo - Seven Senses as the original body reactivated the Lightning Chakra Mode.
This way he might be able to tell what sort of thing the Hyuga's Byakugan might be able to see.
The results were disappointing.
'While they likely will not be able to tell what exactly is happening, not during the heat of battle, it will be clear that something is wrong with me and I'm not a legitimate user of the Lightning Chakra Mode.' Shiki concluded.
'This will make framing Kumo impossible.' He mulled over the plans in his head.
But a few minutes later, another bright idea popped into his head.
'Framing Kumo might be impossible but pretending I'm a person from say . . . The Root . . . trying to frame Kumo . . . Hehehehe.' Shiki began deviously giggling in his head.
'Danzo is to blame for much crap and he has quite the reputation already, no one will find it strange that he would attempt something like this.' He thought to himself.
The boy already had a task to gather evidence of the Hokage Faction's dirty deeds, Danzo being one of the main targets, if he mixed in just a little fake evidence amongst all of the very real and easily provable stuff, who would even question it?
*
Now with a solution providing combat power without compromising his identity, it was time for Shiki to devise a concrete plan for infiltration and exfiltration, as well as sufficient backups for the latter.
Infiltrating was going to be simple.
Use Kukyoshin to wipe all signs of his presence and enter the Hyuga Compound, proceeded by visits to the most plausible sites for a hidden cave, vault, room, building, etc.
Once such a location was discovered, Shiki would attempt to breach quietly.
However, if still detected, he would seek to disable any nearby combatants if possible, before taking his time to analyze the entirety of the hidden location.
But if that proved impossible, then the boy would simply try to identify things of value he could collect and make his escape as quickly as possible.
Alas, the real challenge was ensuring a successful escape.
'I can do this in one of two ways. Either by making a big splash and trying to muddy the waters by drawing a lot of external attention or by keeping things as quiet as possible.' Shiki pondered.
Both paths had their pros and cons.
Drawing a lot of attention to the Hyuga clan with a flashy escape attempt would make the exfiltration easier.
Sure, a lot more powerful individuals would be around but the Hyuga would be far from pleased with possible revelations of cards they are keeping very close to their chest and this disconnect between them and the rest of the village forces might provide an opening.
If Shiki chose the quiet route however, the Hyuga might try to cover up the fact that anything happened at all to preserve their dignity and prestige.
This would also significantly hamper any future efforts to investigate as they would have a facade to maintain that would keep them from going too far.
'So . . . How do I play this?' Shiki wondered.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -