Chapter 303: Saori's Resolve, The Tenseigan Awakens
Days turned into weeks. Kyosuke remained buried in his research within the Moon Palace, completely unaware of the events transpiring back in Konoha.
But even if he had known, it would have been too late. The spy from the branch family had already succeeded, returning to the moon with two pairs of pure Byakugan.
Otsutsuki Hane, the leader of the branch family, implanted one pair into himself and the other into his young son, Toneri. While continuing his war against the main family, he waited silently for the eyes to begin their "pulsation"—the sign of their evolution.
"Phew..." Kyosuke pushed aside a stack of chaotic notes and straightened his back, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"It's finally done."
He looked at the vial of clear, transparent liquid before him with a satisfied smile. After a period of intense experimentation and data analysis, he had finally pinpointed the reason why Saori couldn't awaken the Tenseigan.
He was confident that injecting this fluid—designed to adjust the constitution of her Sage Body—would allow the fusion process to complete. After a period of integration, Saori would undoubtedly awaken the legendary eyes.
However, there was still a caveat. Even if she succeeded, Saori likely wouldn't be able to immediately access the full power of the Tenseigan like Toneri Otsutsuki did in the original story. She wouldn't be able to instantly enter Tenseigan Chakra Mode or summon Truth-Seeking Orbs for combat right off the bat.
It had taken Toneri years of preparation to reach that state, and even then, he hadn't fully mastered the Tenseigan's power. Saori's situation was currently more akin to Nagato's with the Rinnegan. Since neither of them were the original owners of the power's lineage in the strictest sense (or rather, not born with it naturally evolved), mastering the ultimate dōjutsu would require years of grueling training.
But this wasn't a major issue. Compared to most, having a clear path to becoming a god-tier shinobi was already a massive advantage. The rest was just hard work. Kyosuke believed she would eventually grow into a powerhouse capable of truly standing by his side.
"Are you ready?"
Kyosuke looked at Saori, who was lying on the operating table, visibly nervous. He deliberately put on a stern face.
She rolled her eyes at him silently, then closed them. "Let's begin. I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
"Alright. If you feel any abnormal reactions, tell me immediately," Kyosuke said. He operated the equipment, injecting the clear fluid into her arm.
The moment the liquid entered her body, the dormant Hashirama cells reacted instantly. Domineering by nature, they surrounded the eroding liquid, attempting to eliminate the foreign invader.
But Kyosuke had anticipated this. The liquid, carefully formulated from his own cells (which were perfectly fused with the Hashirama cells), wouldn't be easily destroyed. It adapted quickly, countering the Hashirama cells.
This microscopic war of fusion and decomposition translated into intense itching and searing pain for Saori. Her body twitched involuntarily, but she gritted her teeth, refusing to let out a single cry of pain.
Scenes of her past helplessness flashed through her mind, finally settling on the image of Dark Owl—Uchiha Nagisa—utterly crushing her in combat.
I will get my revenge, Saori vowed silently.
She knew Kyosuke's heart. She knew that no matter what Dark Owl—what Nagisa—had become, he would try to save her.
Saori could understand that. She could even force herself to tolerate the girl who had killed her subordinates. But she would absolutely not allow anyone to take Kyosuke away from her. Not even Nagisa.
Furthermore, having fought Dark Owl, Saori knew that bringing her back would not be easy. If Nagisa was hell-bent on revenge against Kyosuke, Saori would not stand idly by.
She knew Kyosuke better than anyone. He could be cold and ruthless to his enemies, using any means necessary to secure victory without a shred of mercy. But when it came to those he considered "his people," he lacked that necessary guard. This was evident in how he had risked exposing his Mangekyo Sharingan to save Minato Namikaze, despite knowing they might be enemies in the future.
If Saori were in his shoes, knowing that Minato and Kushina might stand against her one day, she might not have saved them. At most, she would have looked after the orphaned Naruto afterward.
This trait of his worried her. Fortunately, Kyosuke's strength was now unrivaled in the shinobi world, which mitigated the risk... but that did not apply to Dark Owl.
From the moment she learned that Dark Owl was Uchiha Nagisa, Hyuga Saori had made a decision. If that girl could be reasoned with, fine. But if not... Saori would use her newfound power to kill her personally. She would spare Kyosuke the pain of having to strike down his childhood friend.
This was Saori's unique form of gentleness. This was how she protected Kyosuke.
Through the monitors and Saori's feedback, Kyosuke confirmed that the fusion was proceeding ideally. If nothing went wrong, the modification of her Sage Body would be complete in ten minutes.
Then, the moment of truth would arrive.
Time ticked by. Kyosuke watched the data intently. Suddenly, Saori let out a soft groan.
Kyosuke knew what this meant. The "pulsation"—the fetal movement of the eyes—had begun.
Based on his experiments and theories, every pulsation of the Tenseigan would drastically increase its pupil power and awaken different abilities.
How many abilities there were, and in what order they would awaken, remained unknown.
The pulsation was brief. As Kyosuke had predicted, the Tenseigan's evolution did not continue into a second pulse immediately. It went dormant. To evolve it further, Saori would need to put in unremitting effort in the days to come.
Saori understood this as well. As her body slowly adapted to the surging power in her eyes, she slowly opened them.
Kyosuke leaned in.
Her pupils, once the pure white characteristic of the Hyuga clan, had transformed. They were now a brilliant, crystalline blue, with a radiant white floral pattern pulsating within them.
Seeing this, Kyosuke finally confirmed it. The experiment was a perfect success.
For the first time since the death of Hamura Otsutsuki, the Tenseigan—the only one of its kind in the current shinobi world—had re-emerged in Hyuga Saori.
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