Chapter 4


    In the original work, there are two ways for the Byakugan to evolve into the Tenseigan. One is through thebination of the Otsutsuki n chakra and the Byakugan, and the other is through the fusion of many Byakugan into a giant Tenseigan.


    Neiki’s method of upgrading the Byakugan is very simr in description to the second route of the Tenseigan evolution, which involves hunting the Byakugan of n members. However, Neiki is sure his situation is unique and has nothing to do with the Tenseigan.


    [Essence Collected: 1.4%]


    Like a case of floaters, this small line of text has been imprinted on Neiki’s retina since he absorbed the Byakugan essence from his father, Hizashi. No matter where Neiki looks, it always hovers at the top of his vision, constantly reminding him:


    Collect more Byakugan essence.


    Collect more Byakugan essence!


    To be more assertive, collect more Byakugan essence!


    ording to Neiki’s research, the essence he absorbs increases the purity of his Byakugan. When Neiki’s Byakugan purity reaches a certain level, i.e., when the collected essence reaches 100%, his Byakugan will evolve and awaken new abilities.


    For the Hyuga n, the purity of the Byakugan is generally determined at birth. It can be improved through training and frequent use, but the pace is plodding. Based on Neiki’s previous training speed, he could only increase the collected essence by about 4% per year, meaning it would take 20 years to elevate his Byakugan to the next stage…After experiencing the nearly insane speed of advancement brought by plundering his n members'' Byakugan, regr training seemed nd and uninteresting.


    Killing his n and absorbing their essence was the correct upgrade path for Neiki’s Byakugan!


    "At the current rate of essence collection, to advance from the third stage to the final stage, I need at least thirty pairs of mid-to-high purity Byakugan essence." Neiki lowered his eyes.


    Given the current number of surviving Hyuga n members, he would barely have enough if he included all those working in Konoha or out on missions…


    "I wonder if I will still need Byakugan essence after reaching the final stage."


    New Hyuga n members need time to grow. Currently, the original Hyuga members in Konoha are a diminishing resource. Sustainable harvesting of Byakugan essence will be a challenge for Neiki in the future.


    As for now, it’s all about bing stronger first.


    Fifteen minutester, dinner was ready. Neiki’s cooking was excellent, making simple ingredients taste delightful.


    "Is this chicken?" Neji stared at the only meat dish on the table.


    "Pigeon meat," Neiki replied casually.


    "Hmm?" Neji looked at him suspiciously.


    Did brother knock down someone’s carrier pigeon?


    Neji took a bite, his eyes lighting up.


    It tastes delicious.


    Who cares.


    "Brother, just asking… is there no way for the branch family to counter the Caged Bird seal?" Neji asked casually while eating.


    Neiki nced at him and replied methodically:


    "What you want to know, many Hyuga branch family members have tried in history. But whether using sealing techniques to counter the curse mark or using false death to trigger the Caged Bird and escape, they all failed. These living examples are recorded in the Hyuga n''s ancestral hall to remind all branch members not to mess around. You’ll understand when you be a Genin and gain ess to the ancestral hall."


    "Then…" Neji’s eyes shifted, "is it possible that there were sessful cases in history, but the main family didn''t record them to prevent the branch family from following suit? Those failures recorded in the ancestral hall are just there to scare us."


    "That’s not impossible," Neiki smiled, "but it doesn’t matter. The Caged Bird curse mark has been perfected over thousands of years in the Hyuga n. Even if there were sessful cases, they likely involved extreme or hard-to-replicate methods. Otherwise, the Hyuga n wouldn’t still be confined to Konoha alone. Anyway, there’s currently no direct method to counter the Caged Bird curse mark."


    Neiki spoke naturally, but Neji was quite disheartened. How could he resist Ryo''s oppression without a direct method to counter the Caged Bird?


    Huh?


    Neji suddenly looked up.


    "Then… is there an indirect way?" Neji sensed a crucial point in Neiki’s words and quickly asked.


    "There is. Kill all the Hyuga main family members who know the Caged Bird secretmand." Neiki smiled.


    "Ah—" Neji’s face turned bitter. What kind of solution is that?


    "Brother, are you joking?"


    "Whether I’m joking or not, the problem is solved, right?"


    Seeing his brother’s rogue-like attitude, Neji bit his lip and went along with him, "Even if we want to kill the main family, wouldn’t they use the secretmand to control us as soon as we show any killing intent?"


    "Who said you have to kill them all at once? Do it one by one when they’re off guard." Neiki said casually.


    "How is that possible?!"


    "How long would it take to kill them all one by one? Once discovered, it’s all over!"


    Neji shook his head repeatedly. Neiki spoke as if all the prominent family members were pigs to be ughtered, quickly taken down one by one.


    Even if it could be done, the hatred from the Caged Bird wouldn’t support Neji''s drastic measures against the central family. Despite his hatred for the Caged Bird and Ryo, he still enjoyed the benefits of being a Hyuga, including free schooling and various invisible advantages.


    Neji wasn’t cold-blooded enough to wield a knife against the central family.


    "That’s just a matter of method. How would you know if you don’t try?" Neiki shrugged.


    "Then you try." Neji suggested.


    "Try? I already have." Neiki said.


    "Sigh…" Neji sighed, here we go again.


    His brother was great but too reckless, saying whatever he wanted without care. No wonder the ANBU came to investigate.


    "Brother, it’s fine to talk to me like this, but don’t let the main family hear. They’ll take it seriously."


    The Hyuga n’s rules have a well-known "crime of disrespect" use, which applies to all n members’ transgressions, like disrespecting elders or the branch family disrespecting the central family.


    Of course, the rule mainly dealt with thetter.


    Neikiughed, indifferent. He had been punished twice before. Though he had learned to be careful afterward, Neji still saw him as a repeat offender.


    After dinner, Neiki was about to leave.


    "Brother, where are you going?" Neji asked, holding the leftover pigeon meat.


    "nt a tree." Neiki said without looking back.


    Neji was speechless.


    "If you don’t want to say, don’t say. Why mention nting trees…"


    …


    After nting the tree, it was alreadyte.


    Neiki arrived at the Hyuga n’s training ground.


    Having just entered the third stage, Neiki wasn’t sure how much his strength had increased, so he nned to test it here.


    He looked at his eyes in the mirror.


    "The change in Byakugan purity after reaching the third stage isn’t very noticeable."


    The purity of the Byakugan is directly linked to a Hyuga n member’s talent. The essence of his father, Hizashi’s Byakugan, was the root of Neiki’s rise. After absorbing many n members’ Byakugan and reaching the third stage, Neiki’s Byakugan purity was so high that his eyes appeared misty, giving his handsome face a hint of eerie charm.


    Drawing his short de, he noticed the bloodstains had been roughly cleaned, but the de still carried a faint smell, a w that could be detected by the Inuzuka n and their ninja dogs. Unsheathing it in front of them would require multiple cover-up treatments.


    Using Gentle Fist in a kill was too distinctive and easily recognizable, unlike the clean and untraceable de.


    "After absorbing Hizashi’s Byakugan essence, my Byakugan purity increased by a level, granting me more sensitive dynamic vision, precise insight, broader visual range, and my first ability—Insight."


    The Byakugan inherently possesses insight, able to see through obstacles and detect people behind them, but it can’t identify who they are, presenting a limited ck-and-white view.


    Neiki’s insight, however, revealed the world in color. He could quickly identify people behind obstacles and was immune to visual-based genjutsu or ninjutsu, forming the foundation of his status as one of Konoha’s Twin Prodigies, rivaling the genjutsu genius Itachi.


    Byakugan activated.


    Neiki cut the mechanism’s ropes, instantly sending dozens of pre-set kunai flying toward him.


    This array could im the lives of most Chunin, and without releasing ninjutsu, many Jonin would fall to it!


    In Neiki’s eyes, however, the iing kunai seemed slow, full of ws, with wide gaps between them.


    Neiki remained motionless, his expression calm. His short de swung to intercept each kunai at its tips, sword shadows dancing gracefully, and the entire movement was smooth and fluid.


    The sound of metal shing filled the air.


    In the next moment, he deflected the dense array of kunai!


    "The speed of spotting weaknesses has increased.


    by at least 30% from the second stage." Neiki smiled.


    Forget Gentle Fist. Swordsmanship paired with the Byakugan is the perfect match!


    "The second stage of the Byakugan granted me the ability to analyze."


    Neiki spread his hand, and lightning gathered in his palm. This was Konoha’s copy of Ninja Kakashi’s signature move, Chidori!


    Then the lightning vanished, reced by a rapidly forming blue chakra sphere in his hand, the Rasengan, created by the Fourth Hokage!


    Then came fire, earth, and water ninjutsu in quick session.


    Neiki wasn’t a natural genius, but his analysis ability allowed him to fully understand the workings of this ninjutsu, making replication a matter of course.


    Of course, since Neiki had a lightning chakra nature, only Chidori and the non-elemental Rasengan were effective inbat. The other ninjutsu wouldn’t perform well in battle.


    Analyzing and replicating ninjutsu’s operating principles is just one small aspect of the ability to analyze.


    Most importantly, the ability to analyze allowed Neiki to quantify everything he saw. The degree of analysis equated to mastery, withplete analysis meaning total mastery. No ninjutsu, not even ones Neiki made up himself, could escape this ability.


    Yes, as long as he designed the basic structure of ninjutsu, no matter how difficult it was to learn, given time, Neiki would master it…though practical effectiveness might vary.


    The higher the ninjutsu’s difficulty, the longer the analysis time. Over the years, Neiki had created and mastered 17 ninjutsu, ten genjutsu, and eight sword techniques, though not all werebat-effective. Only one S-rank genjutsu held significant strategic value, capable of misleading all perceptions of reality, which Neiki called "Infernal Mirage."


    Testing the analysis ability wasn’t easy, with only one ongoing analysis progress:


    [Analyzing: Phantom Sword (Sword Technique)]


    [Difficulty: S-rank]


    [Analysis Progress: 41.4%]


    The progress increased slowly, and it would take at least a month toplete, with the speed up by about 15% from the second stage.


    Oncepleted, this would be Neiki’s second S-rank technique after Infernal Mirage!


    "The third stage of the Byakugan granted me the ability to… replicate."


    Neiki frowned. He had only recentlypleted the third stage of evolution, and this new ability was untested.


    No matter, let’s give it a try.


    Byakugan activated. Neiki’s white pupils glowed faintly blue as he focused on the short de before him, the analysis ability kicking into high gear.


    [Analyzing: Standard Short de]


    [Difficulty: D-rank]


    [Analysis Progress: 20%]


    The progress quickly jumped to 55%, then in a blink, reached 100%.


    [Analysis Complete!]


    Fog-like chakra materialized, and with Neiki’s hand seals, the chakra was sucked in like a ck hole, converging madly.


    The next second, the chakra mist dissipated, and an identical short de appeared on the table!


    Neiki examined the two des, his expression serious.


    This de wasn’t a shadow clone but an actual, physical matter!


    There was no difference at all. Even the faint blood smell was identical.


    "Replication, creating something from nothing, this is Yin-Yang Release." Neiki sensed the significant chakra drain and couldn’t help but smile wryly.


    This wasn’t Kakashi’s ninjutsu copying but creating something tangible from the intangible, far beyond the Sharingan. Replicating inanimate objects was possible, and living beings might not be impossible either. Anything analyzable should be replicable, limited only by chakra.


    Though notbat-useful, transforming the void into reality, creating anything, was the power of Yin-Yang Release, wielded by the Sage of Six Paths!


    With replication, the possibilities are endless.


    Neiki thought of many things but ultimately took a deep breath, calming down.


    Replicating one short de consumed more than half his chakra. All ideas helped solve the chakra issue.


    "Now the priority is to advance the Byakugan to the final stage."


    Who knows what surprises the highest level of the Byakugan will bring?


    At this moment, footsteps sounded at the door:


    "Neiki, the n leader wants to see you."