For the next month, Simu spent most of his time following Danzo to practice Wood Style. The old man was truly afraid, repeatedly instructing him that he must never use Wood Style in front of others without explicit permission. Simu, naturally, obediently agreed and indeed refrained from using it in anyone's presence.
In the newly repaired stadium of Root, Danzo had arranged for a barrier to be set up around the perimeter early on. This way, no matter how much noise Simu made, no one else would know. He looked at the genius youth before him and said plainly, "Give it a try."
Simu nodded. During this month, he had successfully mastered all the Wood Style jutsus Danzo had given him. Not only did he master them, but he was also quite proficient. Following his usual habit, he clapped his hands together.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
As chakra erupted from Simu's body, the ground shook and burst open. A massive wooden dragon, dozens of meters long, emerged from beneath his feet, carrying him high into the air. The recently repaired training field was instantly shattered by the dragon's weight, and a terrifying pressure descended upon Danzo's heart.
Simu looked down at the entire Root base from his high vantage point. To be honest, this Wood Dragon Jutsu was slightly difficult for him; it had taken nearly a week of effort to complete the learning process.
"Lord Danzo, I have successfully mastered this jutsu. When can we begin the next one?"
This question caused Danzo's expression to darken instantly. He had discovered a very important and difficult problem: Simu had already learned every Wood Style jutsu he possessed. In other words, he had no new Wood Style techniques left to teach!
The more advanced Wood Style jutsus were currently recorded in the Scroll of Seals held by Hiruzen, reaching the level of forbidden techniques. Even if Danzo wanted to learn them himself, he would need to apply to Hiruzen as the Hokage in advance. Furthermore, since he was not a Wood Style user, suddenly applying for these techniques would inevitably raise suspicion. Therefore, he had to control the pace of Yi's training.
Thinking of this, he said seriously, "Have you also mastered the Wood Human Technique I gave you last time?"
"Yes." Simu nodded. As if to verify his words, he clapped his hands again.
The already battered training field suffered another terrible bout of destruction. Countless roots burrowed out of the earth, forming a terrifying giant sixty meters tall in front of Danzo! The wooden dragon he had just summoned coiled around the wooden giant's body, opening its ferocious maw toward the ground below.
This guy is truly a genius!
Danzo's eyes burned with fervor. Simu's performance consistently redefined his definition of a genius. At the same time, it solidified his resolve to trade with Orochimaru. He absolutely had to obtain this boy's body!
Watching Danzo suddenly become excited, Simu tilted his head. "Lord Danzo, are you alright?"
Danzo hurriedly gripped his cane, forcing his excitement back down. It wasn't time yet. He looked at the Wood Human and Wood Dragon Simu had manifested, coughed once, and said, "Yi, although your talent is quite outstanding, your level of Wood Style is still far inferior to the First Hokage. Continue to practice hard."
?
A question mark popped up in Simu's mind. What do you mean my level is inferior to the First? If my level was the same as the First, would I still be here sucking up to an old geezer like you? Huh?
Just as Simu was filled with doubt and wanted to question Danzo, he found that the old man had already vanished using the Body Flicker Jutsu. Simu sighed softly. It seemed this old geezer really had nothing left to give him. He rubbed his chin; perhaps he shouldn't keep shearing the same sheep?
Simu's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint flashing through them. After reflecting for a moment, he looked back at the massive Wood Human and Wood Dragon he had created. One thing the old man said was indeed correct: his Wood Style level was indeed inferior to the First.
While this was undeniable, what Simu cared about was why he was inferior. Despite using the same hand signs and the same technique, there was still a massive difference compared to the power recorded from the First's era. The First must have hidden a secret within his body—a secret that played a key role in drastically boosting the power of Wood Style!
Unfortunately, the Hashirama cells he had obtained were still too few to allow him to analyze the mysteries contained within. With no new jutsus to practice, Simu had nothing left to do in Root. He spent some time guiding Jia, then took the medicinal meal prepared by Kabuto. Afterward, he naturally returned to his room to sleep and wait for the old man Danzo to come and perform hypnosis.
It all sounded quite decadent. However, Simu obviously had more to do at night than just that. Now that his Wood Style studies were mostly complete, more matters needed to be put on the agenda.
As the conflict between the Uchiha and the village intensified, the atmosphere in the village grew increasingly tense. The Uchiha Clan had been holding various private meetings lately; they looked like a powder keg that could explode at any moment. In Simu's view, it was only a matter of time before the Uchiha launched a coup. Their conflict with the village higher-ups had become nearly irreconcilable.
Almost no one among the high-ranking officials trusted the Uchiha. The hawk, Danzo, went without saying—he wished he could exterminate the clan immediately and graft a hundred Sharingan onto his arm. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who always played the "good guy," had to start worrying about what to do if a coup actually happened. He might even consider a preemptive strike to nip the danger in the bud before the Uchiha were ready.
The most important factor in this inevitable battle perhaps rested on two young Uchiha: Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. Both were geniuses of the clan. The former had even awakened the so-called Mangekyo Sharingan, possessing a natural suppression over other Uchiha members. Yet, these two geniuses held positions that leaned toward the village. If Shisui and Itachi did not join the family's rebellion, the Uchiha basically stood no chance.
Even with two of the Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya, away from the village, there was no possibility of success for an Uchiha revolt. Of course, Simu's role in this whole affair was to secretly guide and push for the expansion and intensification of this civil war to ensure it weakened the Hidden Leaf to the maximum extent. Before this great war, he had to be fully prepared so he could fish in troubled waters and seize the data and materials he desired.
Under the cover of night, a swarm of black beetles silently crossed a barrier and arrived at the Hyuga Clan compound. These insects moved like ghosts, bypassing layers of defense to reach the Hyuga shrine. This was already a familiar path for Simu.
For some time now, Simu had come here every night. One could say he had mapped out the patrol times and patterns of the entire Hyuga Clan perfectly. Since the black beetles did not possess chakra and were just like ordinary insects, they wouldn't trigger any alarms even if they crossed the barrier directly.
These black beetles gathered in the shadows of the shrine's corner to form a human figure. Simu drifted through the shadows like a wraith, soon reaching the underground of the shrine and successfully entering the Hyuga library. Looking at the dense rows of books, a crimson eyeball emerged from the writhing shadows.
This library stored various secret techniques researched by the Hyuga over the years, as well as the clan's historical legacy. Compared to the secret techniques, Simu cared more about the history. Unlike the unlearned fools of the Jashin Religion, the Hyuga was an ancient family comparable to the Uchiha and Senju. The various ancient books and records of the Warring States period—and even the "Age of Gods" Simu envisioned—were what he valued most.
In the chaotic Warring States period, the rise and fall of families were common; only clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha would possess so many ancient records. With this in mind, Simu eagerly dispersed all the black beetles. These specialized beetles had excellent visual perception and could transmit all the data they saw to the Tomu clone at the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce. The clone would perform a preliminary organization before sending it to the main body for analysis.
In other words, these black beetles were merely miniature cameras; they didn't need information processing capabilities of their own. Tens of thousands of black beetles scattered instantly, forming groups of thirty to record every book. The reason for groups of thirty was that the beetles were very light; thirty was the optimal configuration to flip pages and record data. No matter the content, once a beetle saw it, the main body could easily record it. Simu was currently recording the contents of thousands of books simultaneously.
Such terrifying efficiency was unattainable for humans. Even so, it had taken Simu nearly a month to record these books. After tonight, the recording of all materials should be complete. However, halfway through the work, the beetles responsible for scouting outside sent back a message.
Someone was coming.
Who would come to read books in the middle of the night? Are they really that hardworking? Although Simu was puzzled, he followed his contingency plan, returning all books to their places and breaking up the beetle swarm to leave along the shadows and cracks of the shrine. This way, even if a Hyuga ninja sensed something wrong and used the Byakugan, they would only find a few scattered beetles and wouldn't suspect anything.
While Simu waited, the visitor soon entered the shrine. To his surprise, it was the Hyuga Clan Head—Hiashi Hyuga. Standing beside him was a Hyuga elder and a member of the branch house. Simu remembered him as a talented Jonin named Ryuko Hyuga. Currently, Ryuko's eyes appeared to be injured; he was pressing a bandage against his eyes with his hand, and blood was seeping through the cloth.
Hiashi Hyuga reached the shrine's underground and prepared to perform hand signs toward a wall, but he was stopped by the elder beside him. "Hiashi, be careful."
With that, the elder instantly activated his Byakugan.
The veins on both sides of his eyes bulged, and the vision in his eyes turned grayscale. The entire shrine and even the surroundings for several kilometers were laid bare. After confirming there were no anomalies, the elder deactivated his Byakugan and nodded slightly to Hiashi.
If Simu hadn't dispersed the beetle swarm just now, he would have been discovered. Tens of thousands of black beetles gathered together would be quite conspicuous. Hiashi began performing hand signs toward the wall again.
As a string of tadpole-like incantations bloomed from Hiashi's hand, the wall responded, slowly sliding open to reveal a passage leading further underground. Seeing this, Simu was even more surprised. Is it some kind of barrier? As expected of the Hyuga, they set up a barrier that even I didn't notice.
Once the passage opened, the elder was the first to enter, while Hiashi guided the injured branch house Jonin inside. What they didn't know was that a single black beetle followed them in.
After walking for about a hundred meters, the space suddenly opened up. Below was a massive laboratory filled with various research test tubes. As a researcher himself, Simu noted through the beetle that this lab was not frequently used. Rather than a laboratory, it was more like a storage room?
A room specifically for storing Byakugan.
Indeed, within every test tube in this underground lab, a pair of pale eyes floated. They were the unique Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga Clan—the Byakugan. The faint green light from the lamps reflected off these pale eyes, making the scene exceptionally macabre.
However, the Hyuga elder remained composed. He carefully selected a pair of Byakugan from the tubes, then turned to the branch house Jonin. "Ryuko, lie down. Don't worry, your sight will be restored."
Hearing the elder's voice, the Jonin named Ryuko could only obediently lie on the experiment table. While on a mission, his eyes had suffered a targeted attack from an enemy, causing him to lose his pride. Just as he was in despair, the Clan Head and Elder brought him here. They said he could regain his light here. Ryuko did not resist, because in the Hyuga Clan, the only outcome of resistance for the branch house was a fate worse than death!
The elder moved quickly. After using ninjutsu to render Ryuko unconscious, he decisively gouged out the two ruined eyeballs. He then installed the prepared Byakugan and applied a Mystical Palm Technique. The eye transplant surgery was complete, leaving Simu staring in total amazement.