Shien lightly traced his finger across the girl's palm—soft, yet roughened with faint calluses from years of taijutsu training.
[Any surveillance nearby?]
He hadn't forgotten where they were. In this place, it was almost certain they were being watched.
Especially by Danzo. That old schemer had been eyeing him for a long time.
The only reason he hadn't acted yet was that Shien was under the joint protection of the Uchiha and the Hokage faction. But surveillance? Of course Danzo would have that in place.
Hyuga Aotsuki felt the letters forming in her palm, her expression remaining calm as she continued chatting casually about recent events. But the veins around her eyes bulged faintly— she had activated her Byakugan.
The Byakugan— the greatest reconnaissance dōjutsu in existence.
That was the true foundation of the Hyuga clan's special status in Konoha. If it were based on raw battle power alone, the Hyuga wouldn't even compare to the Uchiha— maybe not even to other major clans.
But before the Byakugan, nothing could remain hidden. Some tricks might evade detection— but not Root or ANBU.
After a moment of silent scanning, Aotsuki gave a subtle nod— confirming that there really were people watching.
Damn it.
Shien didn't need to ask who. It had to be Root.
Given the "Will of Fire" he displayed, and the fact that he was in Minato's Team Three— he was practically Sarutobi's prize pig. The ANBU wouldn't be watching him. That left only Danzo's dogs.
No wonder Uchiha Mei had stayed in the hospital room until he woke up. If she hadn't stood guard, he might have woken up in Root's underground cells instead.
Minato could protect him, sure— but as a rising star of the Hokage faction, Minato had to spend his time at the Third Hokage's side, building his own prestige. He couldn't guard Shien 24/7.
Now that he knew Root eyes were on him, Shien silently thanked himself for not being the type to talk to himself. Otherwise, if he ever blurted something like "My fate is mine to decide!" or "Freedom is worth more than life!" he'd already have an express ticket straight to Danzo's interrogation chambers.
Aotsuki's palm twitched—itchy, but she didn't pull away. To her, Shien was already the light of her world. Holding hands—or even dying for him—was nothing she'd hesitate over.
From the outside, the scene looked like a boy idly playing with a shy girl's hand— nothing suspicious at all, even if someone was watching.
[If you had a chance to regain your right leg—but it could cost your life—would you take it?]
He finally wrote the question.
Aotsuki's expression changed instantly. If not for the watchers, she might've cried out. Instead, she drew in a deep breath, then met his gaze—firm, unwavering.
Her meaning was clear: if such a chance existed, she would give everything for it.
And Shien understood. For a disabled shinobi, no one would willingly give up a chance—no matter how dangerous—to be whole again. Especially someone who had once known what it meant to run, to fight, to live freely.
[Then listen carefully. Make yourself a prosthetic leg… and find a way to disappear from your clan for a while.]
He laid out the plan step by step. The prosthetic would make the eventual recovery less suspicious. Her "disappearance" would give him time to prepare.
Ever since that near-death battle, Shien's mindset had shifted dramatically.
He still dreamed of lying flat—the ultimate freedom— but first, he needed the strength to protect himself. Only then could he afford to rest.
Before, he could afford to drift through life as a nobody. Now, doing so would get him killed. He needed power—real power.
And Hyuga Aotsuki was his best bet. She carried the Hyuga bloodline. And countless transmigrator predecessors had already pointed the way forward—
The Tenseigan.
A dōjutsu that rivaled the Rinnegan itself.
If he could help her awaken it, he would soar alongside her— touching the heavens, shoulder to shoulder with the sun.
As for loyalty? In this world, loyalty unto death wasn't rare. There were too many examples to count.
That was why Shien chose her— to make Aotsuki his future trump card.
After a long silence, she finally spoke aloud. "I'll be going then."
It sounded like a casual farewell. But both knew— she had already decided. Nothing short of death could change her mind.
It was because he was the one who asked. Had it been anyone else, she'd never have believed them, let alone risked her life.
And Shien hadn't picked this timing by chance. Right now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Uchiha Mei—their generous "golden sponsor"— needed experimental subjects. That gave him a perfect justification.
Without her funding, he couldn't even dream of conducting such a project.
The only reason the experiments had progressed so fast was because Uchiha Mei was investing in him wholeheartedly. If it were just Shien himself, his old "workshop" didn't even qualify as a lab.
If the trial on Hyuga Aotsuki succeeded, the next subject would be Uchiha Mei herself.
The sequence made sense— a leg was much simpler than an eye.
Once he succeeded with the first, he'd have real confidence in healing Mei's blindness.
Luckily, the research hadn't fully succeeded yet. If it had, even if Mei agreed, Uchiha Shizuka and Uchiha Shota would never allow their family's resources to be poured into saving a Hyuga.
Still, Shien already had his arguments ready. Both Aotsuki and Mei were young female bloodline ninjas of similar age— that alone made for a convincing "research comparison."
A single full-scale experiment— leaving aside the technical demands— required tens of millions of ryō in raw materials alone.
The cost was insane.
Even Uchiha Mei could barely cover it. If not for her grandfather's inheritance, she'd have gone bankrupt already.
Shien was bleeding his investor dry. His research burned money faster than fire ate through paper.
No wonder Orochimaru had partnered with Danzo— at that rate, no lone genius could sustain such expenses.
Once Hyuga Aotsuki left, Shien had books brought in from the library, studying right there on his hospital bed.
His public persona was that of a "scientific prodigy," so him burying himself in study was only natural.
Minato, along with Uzumaki Kushina and Kakashi, visited him several times as well.
Before leaving one day, Kushina whispered to him with a grin: "Before the third round of the exams, we've got a surprise for you."
Shien was discharged two weeks later.
He'd stayed so long not because he needed rest— but because he had finished reading every book in the hospital.
To outsiders, it looked like he'd just been idly flipping through them, bored after a few pages.
Since he couldn't perform a single medical ninjutsu, Root's observers had already crossed off "medical talent" in his file.
Even Minato had comforted him: "Don't worry. Medical ninjutsu's rare in the village. It's not something everyone can learn."
In truth, though— thanks to his "Clarity Elixir," his learning cheat, Shien had amassed terrifying theoretical knowledge of medical ninjutsu.
Konoha's medical science was the most advanced in the entire shinobi world. While no actual jutsu manuals were kept in the public library, all the theoretical papers and research records were there, freely accessible.
Shien had stood upon the shoulders of giants— and gained an invaluable treasure trove of knowledge.
Right now, he might not be able to use medical ninjutsu, but given time, he could create his own.
If he hadn't already exhausted the library's contents, he wouldn't have wanted to leave at all. Reading inside the hospital required no borrowing, no limits— a paradise for study.
Originally, he'd planned to spend a whole year quietly emptying out Konoha's knowledge vault.
The Clarity Elixir— forever the MVP.
On the day of his discharge, Uchiha Mei and Uchiha Shizuka personally came to escort him.
Because that very day, a crucial experiment was about to begin.
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