The next day at noon, the camp was quiet beneath a sky washed in pale sunlight. A breeze rustled through the yellowing leaves of a towering tree, scattering dry foliage over the ground. Beneath that tree, Neji Hyuga let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"I fell," he murmured, dragging himself out of the tent with more willpower than energy. He flopped down under the tree, eyes half-closed. "Keşke hayat hep böyle olsaydı…"
Peace like this was tempting. A moment where time seemed to slow. A moment where the pressure of destiny loosened its grip.
But Neji knew better.
His story still had three years left—three short years filled with tasks, risks, and enemies who wouldn't wait for him to rest. The path ahead demanded constant preparation.
With a quiet exhale, Neji sat up. He pulled open his sealing scroll, clenching a senbon in his mouth as he retrieved a thick notebook—one with a special protective cover and carefully organized pages.
Magnet Oscillation Cultivation Notes.
A priceless resource.
This notebook had belonged to Troy, the Magnet Release shinobi who had fallen on the battlefield. Even though this was only a copied version, the cultivation principles and experiences recorded inside were detailed and invaluable.
Neji flipped through the pages carefully.
Of the seven fundamental chakra attributes—Wind, Lightning, Fire, Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang—he had already mastered Yin Swing thanks to his Tenseigan, and Lightning Swing through his development of Storm Release. That left five additional attributes before he could properly attempt higher-level Bloodline Combinations.
Wind Swing was foundational for the Hyuga—crucial for techniques like Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Neji's Wind Release was already refined, allowing him to experiment with combinations.
But among the known Bloodline Fusion techniques involving Wind Release, few aligned with what he needed. Ice Release relied heavily on Water. Scorch Release required Fire dominance. Dust Release demanded an extreme, almost explosive level of wind manipulation.
Only one stood out as both compatible and strategically meaningful:
Magnet Release.
Created by combining Wind Swing as the primary force and Lightning Swing as the supporting catalyst, Magnet Release transformed chakra into a magnetic force capable of controlling metal. Different users produced different magnetic attributes based on their chakra composition.
The Third Kazekage controlled iron sand.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, manipulated gold dust.
Troy's Magnet Release could manipulate various metal weapons.
Hidden Sand Village had always been the orthodox stronghold of this technique.
Neji studied the notes again, analyzing the complexities. He had long refined both chakra nature transformation and chakra form manipulation; his proficiency with the seven chakra attributes was remarkably high. With his prior experience in developing Storm Release, Magnet Release was within reach.
He called out calmly, "Izumi."
Uchiha Izumi appeared at his side within moments.
"I need iron sand," Neji instructed.
Izumi bowed and left immediately. Soon she returned, handing Neji a container filled with fine black grains.
Neji nodded and placed the iron sand in front of him.
Magnet Release was far more complex than Storm Release. While Storm Release required the fusion of Lightning Swing and Water Swing, Magnet Release demanded something more intricate: fusion plus stimulation. The combined chakra needed to be activated repeatedly in a specific manner to generate magnetic force.
This would be impossible for most shinobi—even with precise chakra control—but Neji was not "most shinobi."
He closed his eyes slowly.
The world turned silent.
Inside his body, Wind Swing chakra stirred first—gentle but sharp, fluid yet forceful. Lightning Swing chakra followed, crackling faintly beneath the surface. Neji guided them together, fusing them carefully, then began the slow, methodical stimulation process.
As he prodded the fused chakra, it roared to life—violent, unstable, erratic like a storm forced into a confined space.
In front of him, the iron sand trembled.
At first a simple vibration… then a subtle lift.
A single grain rose.
Then two.
Then dozens.
Soon, the Magnet Swing skill bar appeared faintly in Neji's mind—a sign of successful formation and control.
But Neji remained fully immersed in the meditative state, unaware of the external reaction. His cultivation demanded total concentration; the fusion and stimulation process was painstaking, requiring both mental endurance and deep chakra stability.
Magnet Release required not just creation but prolonged maintenance. Without instinct-level mastery, the magnetic property would collapse instantly in real combat.
It was no surprise, then, that the Hidden Sand Village had only produced two true masters capable of wielding Magnet Release effectively.
And Gaara—despite his incredible talent—could not utilize Magnet Release due to Shukaku's interference.
As Neji deepened his trance, the iron sand gathered before him, rising in swirls like a dark cloud of insects. Dozens of grains became hundreds.
Then—
He opened his eyes.
The iron sand fell.
Neji stretched his neck slowly, his expression calm.
"Did I make it that quickly?"
He glanced behind him at Uchiha Izumi, and to the side where Uchiha Hikari had somehow appeared with a barbecue skewer in her hands, poking at a grill.
Only then did Neji realize he had been cultivating for nearly eight hours.
"Saat sekiz oldu, neden bu kadar aç olduğumu anlamıyorum…" Neji muttered, rubbing his growling stomach.
"Neji, buradayım," Hikari said while running over, offering him grilled meat on a stick.
Neji accepted it with care.
Last night, while training taijutsu with Yugito and Samui, the Eight Thousand Spears Seal within him had suddenly acted strangely. He barely managed to isolate the seal in time. Hikari, pure and innocent like a blank sheet of paper, had not sensed the disturbance.
Thank goodness…
If Hikari were to lose control again, Neji's options would be greatly limited.
Bir dahaki sefere olamazdı.
Neji frowned slightly, deep in thought, before finishing the meal.
After eating, he invited Hikari to train with him.
They moved to the open field. Neji stood calmly at its center, while Uchiha Hikari placed her hands on her hips and faced him confidently.
Before them, the iron sand rose once again—this time swirling like a dark storm, orbiting Neji's body with precision.
"Hikari, geliyorum."
"Neji, hazırım," Hikari replied.
Neji raised both hands, molding the iron sand into a twisting, dense drill. As it spun, faint sparks flickered along its surface.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Spike!
With a flick of his wrist, Neji launched it.
Vızıldamak!
The drill hurtled toward Hikari. In response, her Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly. A crimson guardian erupted around her—a skeletal Susanoo forming instantly, its ribcage encasing her.
The drill struck.
Sparks exploded.
Metal screamed against bone.
And then, slowly, the iron spike shattered.
Şangırtı!
Fragments rained down onto the dirt.
Hikari puffed out her chest with pride. "Neji, kazandım mı?"
Neji smiled faintly. "Henüz bitmedi."
As he spoke, the iron sand on the ground shot upward without warning, reassembling and streaking toward Hikari's legs.
Her expression tightened. With a swift motion, she called forth another wave of Susanoo—a half-bodied red giant, blocking every strike.
Neji sighed. "Tamam, sen kazandın."
Magnet Release was powerful—but Hikari's Susanoo was a wall no ordinary technique could break through.
Not that Neji aimed to break it. He simply needed to test his new ability's combat potential.
The test was successful.
He pulled out another scroll.
The Flying Thunder God Technique.
Even if this version was copied, the notes Minato left behind were authentic. He wrote them to aid future generations, hoping someone could follow in his footsteps.
But the difficulty level was astonishingly high.
Only two and a half successors had ever learned the technique: Senju Tobirama, Minato Namikaze, and a "half" successor—Boruto, who still required hand seals.
Neji studied the technique carefully.
Flying Thunder God was not merely a Body Flicker. It was space-time ninjutsu—true teleportation with no movement trajectory. Tobirama had intentionally classified it as a Body Flicker Technique to mislead the Uchiha, likely to catch them off guard.
It worked.
Izuna had died because of it.
Neji inhaled deeply.
This ninjutsu mattered. Its power to counterfuture threats—Obito, Kaguya, even Ōtsutsuki clansmen—was unmatched.
But it had flaws.
Extreme difficulty.
Limited destructive power.
Dependency on chakra and sensory perception.
Neji carved the Flying Thunder God formula onto a kunai and threw it toward Hikari.
It landed ten meters away.
Neji reached out with his senses—
But felt nothing.
His brow furrowed.
"Bu olmamalı…"
Even with his excellent sensory abilities, even with Tenseigan Chakra Mode activated, the formula remained invisible to his perception.
Why?
A realization struck him.
The formula served as a spatial anchor—similar to the contracts with the three Great Sage Regions.
And every ninja's chakra was different.
Neji studied the formula again.
"Flying Thunder God uses a 'connection method' based on the original user's chakra. I copied Minato's formula directly… so I cannot perceive it."
He looked up sharply.
"Korkarım sorun o kadar basit değil."
If spatial position was determined by chakra, then precise teleportation required mentally linking spatial nodes.
As Neji contemplated this, far away in the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru studied the scroll Neji had given him.
"No wonder he wants cloning technology… He's planning to stack multiple Byakugan to form a giant Tenseigan."
He paused, intrigued.
"So how did his own Tenseigan evolve?"
"Is the Ōtsutsuki on the Moon somehow connected to the Shikotsumyaku?"
If not for years of research experience, Orochimaru might have thought Neji was lying. But Neji always spoke with unsettling accuracy.
Suppressing his shock, Orochimaru called out:
"Kimimaro."
Kimimaro knelt immediately, coughing heavily, pale-faced.
Orochimaru's eyes softened. "Are the painkillers no longer effective?"
Kimimaro struggled to answer between coughs.
Orochimaru sighed inwardly—not for Kimimaro's suffering, but for the fragility of human life.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Then you should rest."
Kimimaro forced out, "Is there… a mission?"
Orochimaru's voice turned cold.
"Konoha is at war with Kumogakure. I intend to initiate the Plan to Crush Konoha… and in the process, kidnap the heir of the Hyuga main family."
A storm was forming.
And Neji stood at its very center.
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Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)