Soon, Neji arrived at the designated grove.
Upon seeing him, Shinji, clad in Akatsuki attire, slowly emerged from the shadows behind a tree.
"Leader!"
Neji stepped forward and bowed.
Shinji studied Neji.
The long-distance travel and the runaway "biological exoskeleton" had clearly taken a toll on him. Even after cleaning up, he still carried the air of someone not yet free of the dust of the road.
Shinji asked, "Is it still behaving?"
Neji's face darkened, worry creeping into his voice. "I can feel it—it's like it's about to wake up!"
Nodding slightly, Shinji approached and lifted the hem of Neji's shirt.
The "biological exoskeleton," nearly fused with Neji's skin and muscles, came into view.
"Come with me!"
With that, Shinji leaped away.
Neji, trusting him, followed without hesitation.
Before long, Shinji led Neji to a hidden cave outside the village.
The upcoming procedure might lead to unforeseen events, so it couldn't be conducted in the village to avoid trouble.
Inside the cave, Shinji set up surgical equipment and instructed Neji, "Try releasing it!"
"Now?"
Shinji nodded. "Yes, right now!"
Neji's face was full of concern. "Leader, I'm worried that releasing it now might trigger its awakening!"
"Heh, that's exactly what we want."
Shinji chuckled, pulling a small nutrient canister containing the enhanced pure Byakugan from his ninja pouch.
Almost instantly, Neji's gaze locked onto the dazzling Byakugan floating in the canister. "Leader, what are those?"
Shinji didn't explain immediately, instead urging, "Begin!"
"Yes!"
Neji, steeling himself, attempted to release the "biological exoskeleton."
Perhaps because the seals within it had long been eradicated, Neji succeeded with minimal effort.
In an instant, White Zetsu-like cellular tissue enveloped Neji's body, and his chakra surged to a new level.
Before Shinji could act, Neji shouted, "Leader, it… it's about to wake up!"
"Stay calm!"
Shinji retrieved the enhanced Byakugan from the canister and approached Neji, beginning the surgery.
The "biological exoskeleton" now possessed sentience, with an intelligence level, compared to the Moon's Tenseigan puppets, that was not insignificant.
Unlike ordinary Tenseigan puppets, it also had a living, cellular body.
With sentience.
With a body.
The line between the "biological exoskeleton" and a true lifeform was already blurred.
If Shinji now implanted the fused Byakugan—likely the most powerful in the ninja world—into the exoskeleton, it would further obscure its identity.
More crucially, these enhanced Byakugan originated from the Otsutsuki branch family. Once implanted, they would effectively label the exoskeleton as an Otsutsuki branch family member.
With sentience and a body, it could generate its own chakra, independent of the giant Tenseigan!
With the enhanced Byakugan, it gained the authority to commune with the giant Tenseigan!
Possessing sentience, a body, and Byakugan, the "biological exoskeleton," if discreet, could shed its puppet status and become a living Otsutsuki branch family member.
Neji was struggling against the awakening exoskeleton, knowing its sentience would vie for control of his body.
Suddenly, his expression froze, eyes widening.
He saw Shinji surgically implant the radiant Byakugan from the canister into the exoskeleton on his body. "Leader, you… what are you doing!?"
Shinji raised a hand, signaling calm, and continued the procedure.
Neji could only fall silent, watching helplessly as a pair of Byakugan eerily appeared on his chest.
As the surgery concluded, Neji, fully empowered by the liberated exoskeleton, felt the Byakugan on his chest. To his shock, their dojutsu power dwarfed his own by several magnitudes—utterly incomparable.
Only then did Shinji explain, "From now on, you need to see it differently. It's no longer equipment but a living entity, a sentient lifeform attached to you with its own consciousness!"
"But it'll fight for control of my body. I'm worried…"
Shinji waved him off, interrupting, "If it were still equipment, prone to instinctive rampages, that would be a concern. But as a lifeform with a soul and independent will, there's no need to worry!"
Neji opened his mouth to argue, but his expression shifted, and he cried, "Oh no, it's waking up!"
Before he finished, the Byakugan implanted in the exoskeleton stirred, like a child curiously observing its surroundings through the enhanced Byakugan Shinji had given it.
Shinji smiled faintly.
Neji, however, was on edge, feeling the exoskeleton could seize control of his body at any moment.
After its initial confusion, the exoskeleton, as expected, began trying to wrest control from Neji.
Neji's face turned to panic. Unable to speak, he could only plead with his eyes for Shinji's help.
Shinji wouldn't let the exoskeleton run rampant. The moment it took control, he cast an illusion on the enhanced Byakugan implanted in it.
Indeed.
Against a lifeform, illusions could sometimes be more effective than seals!
As Shinji unleashed his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan's illusion, the exoskeleton's Byakugan, which had begun to gleam with life, froze in a daze.
Shinji's lips curved.
As mere equipment, the exoskeleton had been difficult to handle. But with independent thought and eyes to perceive the world, he could easily subdue this newborn life with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan's illusions.