Chapter 376: Tenseigan
Whish—
Neji traversed a mysterious region, eventually dropping into a cavern. As he moved through the cave, a ripple pulsated through his eyes.
"This is...?"
He didn't understand the layers of ripples before him; it felt like gazing into a sea of overlapping waves. Passing through a specific area, a massive green lake appeared. He detected the chakra of Naruto, Hinata, and the enemy, along with the lingering traces of several other acquaintances.
"This is a Genjutsu."
Neji saw through the lake's purpose—it was designed to trap people in an illusion. However, none of them were here anymore.
Splash!
Ripples spread across the water's surface as Neji vanished into the lake. When he reappeared, he was in a completely foreign place. He felt it—the sky was no longer the same sky, and the ground was no longer the same ground.
Department of Research and Development.
On a distant screen, Neji's figure appeared, showing everything he was seeing. Four people watched him without blinking.
"Those are spatial ripples. I'm afraid Neji is no longer in the Shinobi world; he's in another realm," Tonbo remarked, knowing this place should be the moon.
"No need for 'afraid.' He is indeed no longer in the Shinobi world; he's on the moon." Orochimaru manipulated a small side-panel, displaying data on the main screen.
Kabuto added, "The moon... I never imagined there would be an ecosystem inside it. Truly incredible!" The data displayed were coordinates, using the Shinobi world as the origin of the coordinate system.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu... impressive," Keigo Tobitake praised. Unfortunately, he had no talent in that area. His attributes were Lightning, Water, and Fire; he lacked the gift for space-time manipulation.
Tonbo looked puzzled. "What did you put in Neji? This monitoring capability is way too strong." To be able to capture Neji's Tenseigan vision and project it onto a screen—even transmitting his perceptions—was beyond expectations. Currently, Tonbo's only way of sensing Neji was through the nerves left in his body. Orochimaru was essentially running a live surveillance feed.
He didn't understand what had been installed to bypass his own neural detection while capturing the Tenseigan's field of vision.
Orochimaru licked his lips in a long-forgotten gesture. "It's derived from research on Otsutsuki cells—a modified and recombined monitoring cell. I added some of the capabilities of your nerves, specifically for concealment and surveillance. Even your neural probes can't detect it. It allows me to observe everything the host experiences and make corresponding adjustments to the situations encountered. Didn't you say that no amount of intelligence matters without strength? Don't forget, for a ninja, intelligence is strength."
These monitoring cells were a result he was very satisfied with over the last two years, utilizing certain traits of the cells within the Otsutsuki body. Tonbo's expression of surprise gave him great satisfaction.
"...You're good," Tonbo said, speechless. Truly impressive. His nervous system was stationed inside Neji, yet it hadn't discovered these monitoring cells; they must have bypassed his detection in some specific way. Furthermore, his nerves could only sense location and certain states, like chakra depletion. Orochimaru's technology truly earned him the title of Scientist.
"Wait... you didn't put one of those on me, did you?" Tonbo suddenly realized a problem. Had this old fox planted one on him without a word?
Orochimaru smiled. "Take a guess."
"I guess..." Tonbo was fuming, but he quickly composed himself. A foreign biological entity could never hide from his own internal monitoring. Moreover, his cells evolved every day; anything Orochimaru created would naturally be devoured by a body that was constantly evolving. Orochimaru didn't know about his evolution ability.
"How boring," Orochimaru muttered, turning back to the monitor.
Neji had discovered Toneri Otsutsuki, and they naturally saw Toneri through Neji's eyes. The power of the Tenseigan analyzed Toneri's chakra with extreme clarity. Before Toneri stood Hinata, and behind them was Naruto, clutching a tattered scarf, his eyes full of complex emotions.
"Ah, the scent of romance," Orochimaru licked his lips, watching with great interest.
"You're weird," Tonbo felt Orochimaru had issues. Something must have gone missing during his resurrection; his personality was bizarre. Sometimes Tonbo felt Orochimaru's sense of bad taste was even heavier than his own.
Looking at the tattered scarf in Naruto's hand, Tonbo felt there was a story there. For over a year, he had assumed Naruto and Hinata would have married and had Boruto by now. As it turned out, their relationship currently wasn't even as advanced as Neji and Tenten's. He had wondered if he had changed the plot so much that Boruto wouldn't have a chance to be born. Now it seemed Toneri's appearance was the turning point for Naruto and Hinata. The complex look in Naruto's eyes was something that usually never appeared there.
"Dad, can Big Brother Neji handle this enemy? His chakra is so complex and the intensity is so high." Keigo couldn't see the details of Neji's body; it seemed Orochimaru's cells could only monitor what Neji's senses could see.
Tonbo patted his head. "Don't worry. Neji is one of the research results of the several of us. Even if he can't win, Naruto is still there."
It remained to be seen if a genius like Neji could control and unleash the true power of the Tenseigan.
Boom!
As Toneri reached out to grab Hinata, Neji acted from a distance. Based on the stance: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
"Eight Trigrams: Vibration!"
A powerful air cannon, comparable to Might Guy's Seventh Gate, tore through the sky toward Toneri.
Swish!
Sensing the attack, Toneri abandoned his attempt to grab Hinata and retreated a certain distance.
Bang!
A distant mountain peak was grazed by the air cannon and instantly turned to dust. It didn't collapse or get sliced; it was vibrated into fine powder.
"Who?" Toneri looked toward the newcomer.
"Neji, why are you here?" Hinata was shocked to see Neji. Hadn't he gone on a secret mission?
Neji landed in front of Hinata, shielding her behind him as he faced Toneri. "Naruto, you've disappointed me. Are you just going to watch as he takes Hinata away?" Neji's azure eyes stared quietly at Naruto.
Those eyes...
"It's not like that, Neji..."
"Let Naruto answer," Neji said sternly.
Naruto walked up to them, looking frustrated. "It's my fault." He didn't offer an excuse.
Hinata thought back to Naruto's confession just moments ago. "Naruto, he..."
"The power of the Tenseigan? That's impossible." Toneri Otsutsuki stared at the azure pupils, sensing the power of the Tenseigan within them. His face was filled with disbelief. The Tenseigan was the ultimate ocular jutsu developed by the Hamura lineage; how could it exist in a single person? It was supposed to require the aggregation of countless Byakugan to develop that terrifying eye. How could...
"How... is this... possible..." Toneri's expression gradually shifted. "I'll find out once I've captured you."
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