[Please select one reward: Cloning Technology Research Scroll 1, Heavenly Prison Fire Sword Scroll 1, Ghost Lamp City Lord Mui's Beloved Wife's Ramen.]
"Cloning technology, not bad luck at all."
Shimizu Uchiha hadn't expected that this time, he'd draw the cloning technology that Uchiha Fugaku had been obsessing over day and night.
However, there was no mention of whether it could clone the Sharingan—only that it could create a replica of the mother's body within her womb.
"I'll take the cloning technology."
Shimizu declared.
He had already mastered the Heavenly Prison Fire Sword to perfection, so an original scroll for it was utterly useless.
[Cloning Technology Research Scroll *1 has been issued...]
After the mechanical female voice faded, a sealed scroll appeared before Shimizu's eyes.
"So that's how it works..."
Shimizu studied the knowledge within, deep in thought.
In the world of Naruto, cloning technology was challenging but not impossibly so.
At the very least, Orochimaru had definitively created cloning technology, even producing countless copies of Mitsuki and forcing him to make choices.
In the end, Orochimaru cultivated a perfect Sage Mode existence—a being born with the power of a Sage, capable of absorbing natural energy like Jugo, but with greater control and amplification.
Next, Shimizu turned his attention to the column listing Hyuga Ginka's fiancé.
"It's time to deal further with the Hyuga clan's affairs."
At the coastal defense line on the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.
"Hold the line! Kirigakure doesn't have that many ninja left!"
A small squad of Hyuga unleashed their Rotation technique, deflecting all the enemy's kunai back at them.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
A blue-haired man with hair spiked like a drill, Ao, gathered chakra in his throat and unleashed a torrent of water from his mouth, rushing toward the Hyuga squad like a cascading waterfall.
"It's Kirigakure's Ao! Be careful, everyone!"
Hyuga Nobuhiko, who had fought Kirigakure in wars for years, recognized Ao's appearance and his signature earring.
"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Seeing Ao charge forward after releasing his jutsu, Hyuga Nobuhiko rushed in, unleashing his Gentle Fist technique in attack.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
From the sea behind Ao, a water dragon emerged, its liquid body writhing as it opened its massive jaws and surged toward Hyuga Nobuhiko.
Nobuhiko hurriedly used Rotation, but the Water Dragon Bullet was too massive. With insufficient chakra, a gap appeared in his Rotation.
And through that small gap, a hand shot in with lightning speed, seizing the opportunity.
"Agh!"
Hyuga Nobuhiko let out a scream, clutching his left eye.
"A trophy, and I'll be taking it."
Ao withdrew his dirt-covered right hand and immediately retreated a hundred meters, performing a temporary rinse on the Byakugan.
In battle, a hand covered in bacteria could quickly infect the Byakugan if not disinfected promptly.
After carefully handling it, he sealed it in a scroll and retreated with the other Kirigakure ninja.
"Those damned Kirigakure pests, as annoying as cockroaches."
The remaining Hyuga squad had no intention of pursuing. Their orders were to hold the defense line here.
"Nobuhiko, can you hold on?"
Hyuga Kintaro, standing beside Nobuhiko, asked.
"My eye… one of them was taken by Kirigakure."
Hyuga Nobuhiko's face was grim as he loosened his grip.
Where there had once been a white Byakugan, there was now only a gaping, bloody socket, faintly revealing traces of dirt inside.
"Nobuhiko, you…"
Hyuga Kintaro pointed at the spot where Nobuhiko's eye was missing, unable to speak for a moment.
The Hyuga clan would rather die than let a Byakugan fall into enemy hands.
Branch family members were branded with the Caged Bird Seal, ensuring no loss of their eyes.
But this war was too brutal. Even main family members, who weren't branded with the Caged Bird Seal, had to participate.
This gave the enemy an opening, and now Hyuga Nobuhiko's Byakugan had been stolen.
"Go back and rest. The Elder Council will decide on this matter, but it's not your fault."
Hyuga Kintaro sighed.
As a branch family member, his Byakugan was still safe in his eye socket.
Yet Hyuga Nobuhiko, a main family member, had permanently lost one of his Byakugan.
Kintaro even began to suspect that Kirigakure's strategy in this battle was centered around this very goal.
"I need to head back. Don't you dare die on the battlefield."
Hyuga Nobuhiko said bitterly.
Something that hadn't happened in decades, or even a century, had now fallen upon him.
He had become the first Hyuga to lose a Byakugan since the establishment of the Caged Bird Seal.
"Hiss…"
Nobuhiko shook his head a few times, dislodging some dirt from the bloody socket.
On the bright side, he now had a reason to return and see his fiancée.
"Ginka, I wonder if you'll look down on me for this."
Hyuga Nobuhiko's heart was heavy. He wasn't too concerned about the elders' punishment—what worried him more was whether Hyuga Ginka would despise him for missing a Byakugan.
A few days later, Hyuga Natsu visited Shimizu's home.
"What do you want with me?"
Hyuga Natsu looked flustered, clearly having sneaked over here.
"You remember this, don't you?"
Shimizu held up a recording device.
Natsu nodded. Of course she remembered it.
In fact, after doing that deed, she had been unable to eat or sleep properly, already regretting her actions.
"Give this to Hyuga Ginka. Tell her to meet me at the Konoha Steakhouse tomorrow at noon."
Shimizu pressed the recording device into Natsu's hand.
Natsu looked up in shock, her pure white eyes filled with disbelief.
"Are you insane? The Hyuga clan won't bow to threats!"
Natsu was startled by Shimizu's audacity.
She had initially thought Shimizu only wanted to gather the Hyuga clan's opinions on the Uchiha.
She had considered the possibility that Shimizu might try to threaten the Hyuga but quickly dismissed it.
The Hyuga were a major clan in Konohagakure. Why would the Uchiha start a conflict over something so trivial?
Besides, Shimizu had no justification for it.
"Just deliver it. Do you think you have a way out now?"
Shimizu said coldly.
From the moment Hyuga Natsu stepped onto his ship, there was no turning back.
She was a traitor to the Hyuga clan. If word got out, the Hyuga would never accept her again—they might even personally eliminate her to clean house.
After all, the life of a branch family member was expendable. The Hyuga clan never lacked for branch family members.
"Here's an application method for the Gentle Fist."
Shimizu produced a sealed scroll.
During his match against Hyuga Tetsuka in the Chunin Exams, he had copied the most basic form of the Gentle Fist.
He had practiced it privately.
With his robust meridian system and physique, Shimizu's training methods were extreme, utterly disregarding which parts might damage his pressure points or muscles.
His understanding of the Gentle Fist had progressed rapidly. While he hadn't yet mastered Rotation or the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, his grasp of the basic Gentle Fist was already masterful.
"Gentle… Fist?"
Hyuga Natsu's eyes widened as she stared at Shimizu.
It was as if she was wondering if Shimizu was mocking her.
"Work for me, and I'll naturally reward you. The Caged Bird Seal is only a matter of time for me."
Shimizu lifted Natsu's chin with his finger, forcing her white eyes to meet his own.
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