Chapter 1 An Unprecedented Case of White-Eyed Hematopoietic Disease
The bright moon shone, illuminating the Forest of Death.
A young ninja sat on the branch of an ancient tree, a look of melancholy on his face.
As moonlight streamed down, Hyuga Gen's thoughts were in a turmoil; he recalled his conversation with the doctor earlier that day.
"Doctor Asano, please tell me the truth, how much time do I have left?"
"In the time you have, buy some good food, and do more of the things you enjoy."
"Doctor, do you mean that as long as I keep a happy mood, it can alleviate the symptoms of the kekkei genkai disease?"
"No, what I mean is that you should make the most of the time you have left to enjoy yourself, so you don't die with regrets."
"Ah, is there really no other way?"
"I'm sorry, the byakugan kekkei genkai disease is too rare. With the current equipment in the hospital, there's nothing we can do."
"I understand, thank you for your advice… Not!"
Sighing, Hyuga Gen's thoughts returned to reality. His right hand unconsciously touched his collarbone.
On his collarbone were two magatama marks, subtly glowing, seemingly echoing the moon in the sky.
These two magatama marks looked somewhat like birthmarks, but in essence, they were formed from a single, complete moon core that had fractured. They had been with Hyuga Gen for fifteen years since he came to this world.
Over the years, the moon core magatama had acted like a tireless engine, continuously refining Chakra for Hyuga Gen.
With the help of the moon core, the fifteen-year-old Hyuga Gen now possessed an extremely vast amount of Chakra.
The problem was, whenever the moon core magatama refined Chakra at night, it would become unusually active.
At these times, they would frantically draw a strange Qi from the moon into Hyuga Gen's body.
Hyuga Gen didn't know if this strange Qi was related to certain people on the moon, or certain objects.
However, this Qi caused the Byakugan to resonate, and for some unknown reason, it led to a pathological change.
The pathological change was diagnosed as a kekkei genkai disease, and it grew increasingly severe with age.
Initially, it only caused occasional stinging in Hyuga Gen's eyes, but now his eyes had started to bleed.
Lately, Hyuga Gen's eyes had been bleeding almost daily, at least once a day.
Unsurprisingly, the medical report from earlier today showed that his kekkei genkai disease had reached a critical stage; at least Konoha Hospital was helpless.
"If this continues, I'm probably going to be the first person from the Hyuga Clan to die from the byakugan kekkei genkai disease, right?"
Hyuga Gen shook his head, a self-deprecating smile on his face.
Just as he was grieving his fate, footsteps suddenly approached from afar.
Looking up, he saw a young man, who bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to him, appear at the edge of the forest.
"Hyuga Neji, why is he here?"
Seeing the newcomer, Hyuga Gen slightly relaxed.
Because of the kekkei genkai disease in his eyes caused by the moon core, people rarely approached him voluntarily.
Thus, Hyuga Gen had always had few friends, and he was usually sensitive to strangers.
However, Hyuga Neji was different. Their residences were close, so they had many opportunities to meet.
Moreover, Hyuga Neji didn't care about his kekkei genkai disease, so over time, the two became good friends.
"But given his personality, he shouldn't be here."
Hyuga Gen rubbed his chin, a look of confusion on his face.
The Forest of Death was not an ordinary forest; it was full of various dangers.
At this late hour, if there wasn't a special reason, generally no one would be willing to come.
Hyuga Gen was here because his 'self-rescue' plan, which he had started preparing years ago, required a secluded place to serve as a Laboratory.
A few days ago, the second stage of the Chunin Exams took place here, and he found the forest to be highly secluded.
So he came in advance to determine the location of the Laboratory, to begin treatment as soon as possible.
But Hyuga Neji, he shouldn't have any special reason to come.
However, seeing Neji getting closer, Hyuga Gen understood; he was probably looking for him.
Thinking this, Hyuga Gen voluntarily jumped down from the ancient tree and walked up to the young man, asking, "Not sleeping in the middle of the night, why do you have time to look for me?"
"Hmm, I came to see you."
Hyuga Neji pursed his lips, scanning Hyuga Gen up and down before replying.
Hmm, is he worried about me?
But what's with that expression? I'm not dead yet!
Seeing Neji's sorrowful and pained expression, Hyuga Gen felt helpless, so he deliberately responded with a flat tone, "You shouldn't have come."
"You're welcome... huh?"
Hyuga Neji's expression froze upon hearing this, his face full of disbelief.
He spent a long time finding this place, and this guy had that attitude!
"Then... then I'll leave?"
"Haha, just kidding, don't be so serious."
Hyuga Gen quickly patted the young man's shoulder, suppressing his laughter.
This guy is a bit too easy to tease, what a shame!
"You're still in the mood to joke? The news from the hospital has spread..."
Hyuga Neji shook his head dejectedly, his expression somewhat complex.
"What can I do about it? It's just adding another line to my reputation."
Hyuga Gen shrugged, saying somewhat helplessly.
Ever since he was diagnosed with the kekkei genkai disease, he had been branded with the title of 'sickly person'.
This title, in some sense, even surpassed Hyuga Neji's reputation as a Genius.
Now, when anyone in Konoha mentioned the Hyuga Clan, they didn't think of an ancient Kekkei Clan, nor of the Genius Hyuga Neji.
Instead, they thought of him, Hyuga Gen.
An unprecedented byakugan kekkei genkai disease patient!
"Is there really no way? If it's a matter of money, I still have some."
Hyuga Neji said concernedly, pulling out a wallet as he spoke.
"No, no, your small change is really useless to me. Keep it to buy Tenten some gifts or something."
Hyuga Gen quickly waved his hand in refusal, instead teasing, "Tenten's feelings for you, I don't believe you really don't understand anything, kid."
"Tenten... I... she, she doesn't need me to buy things. If you don't want it, then forget it!"
Hyuga Neji's expression was a bit flustered, and he hastily put away his wallet.
Seemingly somewhat embarrassed, Hyuga Neji turned to leave directly.
But after a few steps, he seemed to remember something he hadn't said, so he turned back again and said:
"Don't forget about the public match. I won't go easy on you!"
Accompanied by the bright moonlight, Hyuga Neji quickly disappeared into the distance, with a hint of confusion and loneliness.
"A match, huh?"
Hyuga Gen watched the gradually disappearing young man, his expression slowly returning to calm.
The so-called public match was actually the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
This Chunin Exams, jointly organized by Konoha and several other villages, was now nearing its end.
The first two stages of the exam and the preliminary rounds had 'successfully' concluded, and now only the official matches remained, less than a month away.
Due to Hyuga Gen's involvement, the butterfly had flapped its wings, causing a series of changes in the exams.
In this official match, Hyuga Neji's opponent would no longer be Naruto, but him, Hyuga Gen.
It was important to know that this official match would not be as peaceful as imagined; something would happen that would catch everyone off guard.
Thinking this, Hyuga Gen's gaze involuntarily drifted into the distance, as if seeing the Hokage Building.
"The chaos throughout the village at that time will probably be the best opportunity for me to act..."
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