From what he remembered, when Toneri Otsutsuki on the moon transplanted new eyes and evolved them into the Tenseigan, there seemed to have been a fairly long adaptation period.
It was precisely because of this that Hyuga Kagami had held off on initiating the Tenseigan Plan.
But the situation was different now.
Although Hyuga Kagami couldn’t figure out exactly what the village was planning, there was one thing he was certain of—danger was closing in.
Taking advantage of an opportunity to patrol alone, Hyuga Kagami made his way to a secluded stretch of desert he had selected long ago.
He surveyed the surroundings with his Byakugan for a while.
After confirming that no one else was nearby, he immediately formed a series of hand seals and summoned the one-eyed viper Orochimaru had left behind to monitor him.
Poof…
As the cloud of smoke dispersed, the one-eyed viper lazily slithered over to Hyuga Kagami and spat a scroll out of its mouth.
That’s right.
The scroll containing the genetic solution had been kept in the custody of this one-eyed viper all along.
This was also a measure born out of necessity.
Only by storing it inside the one-eyed viper’s stomach could Hyuga Kagami retrieve the precious genetic solution anytime and anywhere through the Summoning Technique.
As for whether Orochimaru might intercept it, there wasn’t much need to worry about that.
Long ago, Hyuga Kagami had already begun storing all sorts of miscellaneous experimental materials inside the one-eyed viper’s stomach.
Orochimaru had secretly inspected them several times, but after finding that they were nothing of value, he gradually stopped paying much attention to it.
Besides, Orochimaru had only recently defected from the village.
At this point, he was probably still entangled with Jiraiya, so there was no way he would have the time to concern himself with Hyuga Kagami for the foreseeable future.
After retrieving the genetic solution sealed within the scroll, Hyuga Kagami’s expression turned solemn.
Evolution at the genetic level involved far too many uncertainties.
The genetic solution before him could either be the key to changing his fate—or a poison that would cost him his life.
Without live experiments, there was no data.
As things stood, Hyuga Kagami couldn’t even estimate his chances of success.
But he was out of time.
He could only gamble everything on this one attempt.
Whether he would someday be able to take control of his own destiny, whether he could live with dignity and free himself from the helplessness of being ordered around at others’ whims—
Everything depended on this single vial of genetic solution.
Hyuga Kagami didn’t hesitate for long.
Steeling his resolve, he injected the genetic solution into his body.
“Argh…!”
Almost at the exact same moment, Hyuga Kagami cried out in agony.
Pain!
Bone-piercing pain!
Heart-wrenching pain!
After being a ninja for so long, Hyuga Kagami had thought his tolerance was already extremely high.
He had believed that something like pain could never shake his resolve.
But only at this moment did he realize that pain could reach such an unbearable degree.
Gradually, he sensed that the chakra within his body was actually beginning to dissipate.
“This is bad!”
The situation had already spiraled beyond his control.
Hurriedly, he used what little chakra he had left to forcibly release the Summoning Technique, sending the one-eyed viper away.
Almost the instant the one-eyed viper disappeared, the small amount of chakra remaining in his body completely dissipated.
Immediately afterward, even his body seemed to begin breaking down.
He could feel his very flesh showing signs of dissolving.
“Why is this happening!?”
Consumed by intense unwillingness and frustration, Hyuga Kagami’s vision went black, and he collapsed unconscious in the middle of the desert.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
When Hyuga Kagami slowly opened his eyes again, he discovered that he was already back inside the border outpost.
At his bedside, squad captain Mitsui Chuichi stared intently at Hyuga Kagami and asked coldly, “What exactly happened?
Why did you collapse in the desert?”
Hyuga Kagami’s mind was still somewhat muddled, so he casually brushed the question aside.
“I…
I don’t know why either…”
Mitsui Chuichi frowned.
“Were you attacked?
By whom?
Was it the Sand shinobi?”
Hyuga Kagami shook his head.
“No one attacked me.
Something went wrong with my body.
I…
I think I’m sick!”
Ninja could fall ill just like anyone else.
It was perfectly normal in the shinobi world.
Those who possessed kekkei genkai could even suffer from all sorts of strange hereditary illnesses, with Kimimaro and Itachi being prime examples.
So although Mitsui Chuichi still had some doubts, seeing how weak Hyuga Kagami looked, he decided not to question him any further.
After Mitsui Chuichi left, Hyuga Kagami finally began carefully examining his body.
The severity of his body’s reaction after injecting the genetic solution had far exceeded his expectations.
It gave him an entirely new understanding of just how dangerous activating the special gene sequences within his body truly was.
“In the end, I survived!”
Hyuga Kagami let out a long sigh of relief, but at the same time, he couldn’t suppress the lingering waves of fear that washed over him.
Although he didn’t know the exact figures, based on his firsthand experience, Hyuga Kagami felt that surviving the activation and recombination of the special gene sequences was definitely an extremely low-probability event.
He had clearly felt his body hovering on the verge of collapse during the activation and recombination process.
It had felt as though his entire body had been torn apart into countless pieces and then forcibly assembled back together again.
The sensation had been utterly despairing!
At the same time, the experience made Hyuga Kagami deeply realize that when it came to genetics, he was still nothing more than an amateur.
After calming himself down, Hyuga Kagami began analyzing the effects of the genetic solution based on what he had personally experienced.
His body had nearly collapsed earlier, which was undoubtedly a reaction caused by the activation of the special gene sequences within him.
In other words, however many inactive special gene sequences he lacked, his body would have to undergo that many rounds of activation and recombination.
Hyuga Kagami had been missing sixteen sets.
That meant that, out there in the desert, he had undergone sixteen full rounds of activation and recombination.
Every single round had been like taking a walk through the gates of death.
And Hyuga Kagami had taken that walk sixteen times in a row.
The fact that he had survived was nothing short of sheer luck!
Now that all thirty-three sets of special gene sequences within his body had been activated, Hyuga Kagami could clearly feel that his body was completely different from before.
Moreover, the transformation was still continuing.
The most obvious sign was his chakra.
He could feel it continuously increasing, growing and growing as though there were no end to it.
Getting out of bed, Hyuga Kagami slowly walked over to the mirror.
Lifting his goggles, Hyuga Kagami discovered that his originally pale eyes had become somewhat translucent.
It was as though stars were contained within them, shimmering with an unusual radiance.
“So beautiful…”
Even Hyuga Kagami himself couldn’t help but be captivated by them.
Just as he leaned closer to get a clearer, more careful look, a powerful wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him.
At the same time, a sharp, agonizing pain stabbed through his eyes!
It took quite a while before the dizziness and stabbing pain gradually subsided.
After finally recovering, Hyuga Kagami slowly pushed himself upright with one hand against the wall.
He now understood that during the adaptation period, he couldn’t use his eyes at all.
Even something as simple as looking around was out of the question.
So he closed his eyes and put his goggles back on.
Returning to the bed, Hyuga Kagami lay down and silently pondered his situation.
His Tenseigan was currently in the midst of evolving.
Whatever abilities it might possess in the future could be discussed later, but as far as the present was concerned, he was even weaker than before.
So now was not the time to celebrate.
He needed to find a way to survive this difficult adaptation period…