Chapter 375: Toneri Otsutsuki
Between the towering skyscrapers.
The lights were brilliant.
Neon signs flickered.
A figure slowly descended from the sky.
"The Princess of the Byakugan."
Toneri Otsutsuki gazed at the endless lights of Konoha. He wondered if his judgment had been wrong. This world had entered an era of peace.
"No, this is merely an illusion of the world. War will never stop. I shall follow the will of the ancestor Hamura and destroy this world."
One by one, puppets were summoned by him, heading straight toward the Hyuga clan.
Department of Research and Development.
Inside the laboratory.
"The fusion is perfect. With just a little more time, he will be able to master this unimaginable ocular power." Kabuto looked at the figure lying inside the laboratory capsule.
That figure was submerged in liquid. The liquid radiated a massive amount of energy, constantly outputting it into the body.
Orochimaru muttered, "The Otsutsuki Byakugan's ocular power is indeed a perfect fit for the Hyuga clan."
"This is so expensive..." Tonbo grumbled as he watched.
But there was no other way for the sake of the experiment. Fortunately, after more than a year of development through the World Ninja Association, the capabilities of ninja were being widely applied. Konoha had regained its vitality in terms of its economy and had gradually begun investing in the R&D Department. Tonbo's personal investment was slowly decreasing. Since Konoha had agreed to those terms, they naturally couldn't let Tonbo do all the investing, or the R&D Department would essentially belong solely to him.
The person inside was Neji Hyuga. He was undergoing Orochimaru's research—a technology that amplified and injected Otsutsuki ocular power into his eyes. This was researched specifically for Neji, with the secondary goal of studying the Otsutsuki's Byakugan power. Neji's data from this session was critical for all subsequent research.
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
Just then, alarms blared through the sky. It was an intrusion alert.
"...Oh, an unexpected fellow has kidnapped Hanabi Hyuga."
The moment Tonbo heard the sound, his sensory field instantly expanded. Everything entered his perception. Toneri Otsutsuki—yet another Otsutsuki had appeared. Tonbo didn't know the original plot for this one; he only knew that the Tenseigan's power once erupted and sliced the moon in half. He knew nothing else.
Orochimaru remarked, "An 'unexpected fellow'? If he can surprise you, he must be someone extraordinary."
But Hanabi Hyuga? What was the point of kidnapping someone like her? Was someone targeting the Byakugan?
"Sigh, I'm heading out to save someone. Talk about perfect timing." Tonbo looked at Neji and scratched his head. He could already see Hinata, Naruto, and other ninja organizing to set out. He also wanted to test the power of the Tenseigan to see if it truly could slice the moon, and how it differed from Urashiki's eyes. More importantly, he wanted to see the difference between Neji's eyes and Toneri's.
"No, I'll go."
Thud!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Inside the lab, Neji's body developed a powerful absorption ability, and the surrounding liquid vanished rapidly. It was Neji who had spoken.
"What's happening? All the chakra in the liquid has been absorbed?" Orochimaru watched this scene. That liquid contained a vast sea of chakra; they had spent a long time preparing that mixture.
"My money..." Tonbo watched with a pained heart. That liquid was supposed to be reusable; what a waste.
Kabuto noted, "His eyes... they've absorbed all the chakra. They're different now. Completely different." He could sense the change in Neji's eyes.
"I'm leaving... ngh..." Neji tried to move, but his body immediately showed intense symptoms. It seemed his body hadn't yet adapted to the powerful eyes.
Tonbo appeared before him in a flicker, his nerves spreading over Neji to help stabilize his body.
"Tenseigan. So it was a success."
He sensed it—an ocular power on the same level as the Rinnegan. However, having just awakened it, Neji couldn't fully control this power, leading to physical distress.
Suck!
Tonbo could feel a massive amount of chakra pouring into Neji's body through the hand touching him. It was the power of the Tenseigan. He quickly broke contact.
"Damn it... Hanabi..." Neji muttered through the pain.
"Don't rush, I'll help you stabilize your body."
Tonbo released his nerves again to steady Neji. However, Neji's absorption power was too strong. Tonbo could only use the slight gaps in Neji's control to stabilize his cells and chakra. This time, he used the absorption capability of his own nerves to counter Neji's uncontrolled suction.
"This ability is truly strong. Is this the power that defeated an Otsutsuki?" For the first time, Orochimaru saw the specific application of Tonbo's nerves. Before, he had only seen the tip of the iceberg. To be able to affect the human body like that... it meant Tonbo's ability was far more than just what it seemed. Most likely, Urashiki Otsutsuki had been defeated by this move. He realized his previous research on these nerves had been too superficial; they didn't just absorb information, they had other powers too!
Fortunately, they weren't enemies.
"Hey, don't just stand there watching the show. Find a way to help him stabilize," Tonbo said to the two bystanders, exasperated.
"Calm down, calm down. He'll be fine once his body adapts," Orochimaru said.
Kabuto added, "Indeed. As long as you hold him steady, it'll be okay."
After waiting for about half an hour, Neji's condition finally stabilized.
Whish!
He suddenly broke free from Tonbo's grip and darted out. He threw open the laboratory doors and charged out of Sector 13, reaching the skies above Konoha.
"Tenseigan, activate."
Neji's eyes turned a brilliant azure, their ocular power reflecting across the void. Countless chakra traces appeared in his vision. Even though no one was visible, the paths were crystal clear. Among them, he felt a few abnormal chakra signatures. One of them felt very similar to his own.
"So this is the 'unexpected fellow' Tonbo-sensei mentioned."
Neji understood. This enemy possessed the same power he did. However, that chakra felt a bit strange. It didn't have his level of completeness; it seemed the enemy could only control a portion of the power.
Neji looked at his hands. "This is the power I can control now!" He felt the surging strength within him.
Swoosh!
He would test it as he went. How dare they kidnap Hanabi? Neji shot forward like an arrow, soaring through the sky faster than a bird.
Back in the lab, Tonbo, Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Keigo walked out, watching Neji fly away.
Keigo remarked, "He can fly. That's rare." In his memory, very few people could fly like that. Even his dad couldn't do it naturally and had to use ninjutsu. Brother Neji looked as if he was born for the sky.
Orochimaru said, "That is the power of the injected Otsutsuki Byakugan. Perfect."
"It's called the Tenseigan. I'm impressed you managed to research the resources to provide energy for that ocular power," Tonbo noted.
Those liquids had no other purpose than to allow Neji, who was injected with Urashiki's Byakugan power, to absorb and strengthen his ocular power. That was the only way the Tenseigan could be born. With the power of the Tenseigan, a new force had been added to face the future threat of the Kara organization.
"Let's head back. We'll watch who Neji's enemy is and see if this newborn ocular power has any flaws."
Orochimaru turned and walked back inside. In his shock, he had almost forgotten that he had planted monitoring devices on Neji as well.
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