The spirit fully emerged, floating above the urn as the white robe drifted slightly in the windless space of his mind.
His face… looked a lot like Kiyohara's.
Almost identical.
The only difference was that he seemed a little older, and there was a distinct Hyuga-like coolness in his features.
Those white eyes stared at Kiyohara without expression.
Kiyohara stared back at him.
The two versions of himself faced each other silently in that mental world.
A long while passed.
"…The future of the Hyuga clan?"
Kiyohara was the first to speak.
"Mm."
Hyuga Kiyohara gave a calm nod.
This future self gave Kiyohara the same sort of feeling Neji Hyuga did.
Kiyohara's gaze then shifted to his forehead.
It was covered by a ninja headband.
Was there a Caged Bird Curse Mark underneath?
Kiyohara was deeply bothered by that question.
If he turned out to be a branch family member and ended up inheriting a Caged Bird mark from across time, that would be one hell of a joke.
"Main family or branch family?"
Kiyohara chose to ask directly.
"Main family, of course."
Hyuga Kiyohara removed the ninja headband from his forehead, revealing smooth skin underneath.
The moment he heard that, Kiyohara relaxed considerably.
"No need for my past self to be this tense."
Seeing Kiyohara's expression, Hyuga Kiyohara gave a faint smile.
"Death is the end of all things. Once death comes, the Caged Bird Curse Mark is released as well."
Hyuga Kiyohara shook his head and began explaining.
To put it bluntly, the Caged Bird Curse Mark was just a curse mark branded onto the brains and Byakugan of branch family members.
The moment the recipient had their eyes removed or died, it would immediately and completely destroy both their eyeballs and brain.
It was undeniably a powerful restraint on the body. At least so far, no branch family member had ever removed it while alive.
But that curse mark only bound the body.
It could not bind the soul.
"What about Hyuga Hizashi?"
Kiyohara remembered that after Hizashi died and was revived with the Impure World Reincarnation, the green Caged Bird mark was still on his forehead.
"That's because an Edo Tensei body is recreated as a one-to-one copy of the person at the time of death. Even the clothes are restored. If Hyuga Hizashi had chosen to die on his own and fully exhausted the chakra stored in the Caged Bird mark, that would have counted as breaking it too."
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
That made sense.
Thinking it through carefully, the Caged Bird Curse Mark's function was to destroy the brain and Byakugan, and it activated at the moment of death.
Every jutsu ultimately ran on chakra.
At its core, curse mark techniques were still a kind of sealing art.
The Caged Bird Curse Mark was not like the Strength of a Hundred Seal, which could store a massive amount of chakra.
So there was a very high chance it was a one-time mechanism. Once activated, it would disappear.
Kiyohara remembered that during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the mark on Neji Hyuga's forehead vanished when Neji died.
Besides, the Hyuga clan wasn't the Uzumaki clan, and the relationship between the two clans had never been particularly close.
The curse mark technique was impressive, sure, but not so absurdly overpowered that it defied all logic.
"So how did you die?"
Kiyohara asked the question he was most curious about.
"I tried to fuse with the Tenseigan. Then I died."
"…"
The moment he heard that, Kiyohara felt that this future version of himself really had nerves of steel.
Still, if someone wanted to make the Byakugan stronger—to take it to the next level in a single leap—the Tenseigan really was the best path.
"Was your Byakugan pure enough?"
Kiyohara asked.
If someone obtained Otsutsuki chakra, the Byakugan could evolve into the Tenseigan.
But not just any Byakugan qualified.
Even the Byakugan had stages somewhat like one-tomoe or two-tomoe.
That stage was called purity.
Otherwise, Toneri Otsutsuki had all those Byakugan in reserve on the moon. He could have just taken any random pair and evolved them.
But instead, he went out of his way to abduct Hanabi Hyuga, took her eyes, used them as his own, and even remarked that they were Byakugan of extremely high purity.
The problem was, Byakugan purity wasn't nearly as obvious as the Sharingan's. You couldn't judge it from appearance alone.
"I was just a little short—not by much. I stole some stockpiled main-family Byakugan from the clan vault and used experimentation to make up for the flaw. After it came to light, the Hyuga clan branded me a madman who had violated the clan's ancestral laws. I fled the village overnight. Later, while searching for a path to the moon, I tried to fuse in Sharingan bloodline power, but there were some problems with the technique, so I failed."
Kiyohara raised a brow.
"So that's how you died?"
It was his first time seeing a future self who had literally gotten himself killed through reckless experimentation.
Honestly, if Hyuga Kiyohara had just stopped messing around with his own body, he could have lived perfectly well as a rogue ninja with the Byakugan.
Even if the Hyuga clan and Konoha sent people after him to recover the stolen bloodline, Hyuga Kiyohara still had the Byakugan. If he wanted to hide, it would have been easy enough.
And if all else failed, he could have joined another hidden village and become an honored guest there.
Of course, the price might have been his freedom.
"That's right."
Hyuga Kiyohara nodded.
"I didn't expect you to have the Sharingan I always wanted."
The spirit of Byakugan Kiyohara floated around Kiyohara, studying him.
"The Byakugan and Sharingan are more or less on the same level. It's just that the Sharingan has the advantage in the early stages."
Kiyohara said.
Once both reached the later stages, they were incredibly powerful.
And in truth, the Byakugan's evolution requirements were simpler than the Sharingan's.
If necessary, you could dig up a high-purity main-family Byakugan, then find a way to get to the moon and evolve it into the Tenseigan through the descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki.
But if you wanted to evolve the Sharingan into the Rinnegan, you had to obtain both Indra's and Asura's chakra and then use them to awaken the Sage of Six Paths' chakra.
Then, after waiting decades, if luck was on your side, you might awaken the Rinnegan before dying of old age.
The conditions were absurdly harsh.
For starters, Kiyohara didn't even know who the current reincarnations of Asura and Indra were.
Because Naruto and Sasuke hadn't even been born yet.
"The Sharingan is better at snowballing. It can copy all kinds of jutsu and expand your foundation."
Hyuga Kiyohara shook his head.
Hearing that, Kiyohara had to admit it was true.
The Sharingan's learning ability really was exceptional.
"So what's your final wish?"
After chatting for a bit, that was what Kiyohara cared about most.
So he asked the question he always asked each time.
With the Byakugan, his perception would be enhanced even further.
"Hmm…"
Hyuga Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
"The first thing is revenge against the Mist ninja. In my future, one of my Byakugan was taken. I got it back later, but it had already been damaged, so I had to find a way to restore and improve its purity."
Hyuga Kiyohara said.
Kiyohara frowned.
Wasn't the scope of that revenge a little too broad?
"Karatachi Yagura. I want you to destroy one of Karatachi Yagura's eyes."
Hyuga Kiyohara said.
The one who had taken his Byakugan was none other than Karatachi Yagura.
"That won't be a problem."
Kiyohara agreed immediately.
Because of the changes he had caused, Yagura had not become the Three-Tails' jinchuriki, so his strength should be weaker than in the original timeline.
Granting this final wish wasn't impossible.
"And the other one?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Fuse the Gentle Fist and the Strong Fist."
Hyuga Kiyohara said.
"I thought you were going to say you wanted to awaken the Tenseigan."
Kiyohara blurted out.
"This spirit body probably won't last that long. I don't know what point in time your past self is in, but Toneri Otsutsuki is no easy opponent."
Hyuga Kiyohara shook his head.
Even the puppets on the moon were enough to injure someone like Hyuga Hiashi, the Hyuga clan head.
Even if Toneri never personally made a move, if all those puppets attacked together, they would still cause serious trouble for any hidden village.
Not to mention the ultimate weapon—Hamura's Tenseigan.
One strike from it had been enough to kill every member of the Otsutsuki main family on the moon, allowing the branch family to win their internal war.
And Toneri became the last surviving descendant of the branch family.
"So how far do you want that fusion to go?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
Among Konoha taijutsu styles, the Strong Fist was by far the most widespread. Really, throughout the ninja world, Strong Fist was the dominant style.
Aside from the Hyuga clan, almost no one used the Gentle Fist.
After all, Gentle Fist worked best by striking chakra points. But differences in people's physical structures, combined with the speed of actual combat, meant that ninjas without the Byakugan were effectively fighting blind and couldn't land those hits at all.
"Fuse Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm with the Seventh Gate's Daytime Tiger. I've always wanted to test whether I could recreate Kaguya Otsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack."
Hyuga Kiyohara said.
"I see."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
He could open the Seventh Gate, so that part wasn't a problem.
The principle of Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was to release chakra from the palm and launch an attack like a compressed air blast.
And according to the databooks, Kaguya Otsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack was indeed very similar to the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm—except the difference in power was like heaven and earth.
Even Sasuke, empowered by Six Paths chakra and using Complete Body Susanoo, would be shattered by it instantly.
"So the real difference between those two techniques is output and chakra volume, right?"
Kiyohara said.
Hyuga Kiyohara's idea of fusing it with Daytime Tiger really was clever.
At its core, Daytime Tiger was a high-speed barrage that generated an air cannon through sheer force.
If chakra were added into it as part of the attack, Daytime Tiger's power would absolutely rise. It might even reach the destructive power of Evening Elephant in the Eight Gates state—or possibly surpass it.
"More or less. You should experiment with it some more. My chakra reserves were the weak point."
Hyuga Kiyohara shook his head helplessly.
The Hyuga clan had inherited many things from their ancestors, but not their overwhelming chakra reserves.
That meant they possessed the techniques, but couldn't truly bring out their full power.
By contrast, Six Paths Madara could throw out a casual Gentle Fist strike and turn it into a move that was lethal with every hit, instead of the awkward middle-tier position it held now—too strong for the lower ranks, but not enough for the top.
Kiyohara nodded.
After talking a little longer with Hyuga Kiyohara, he withdrew from his mind.
The next day, Kakashi was already waiting near the camp.
He was leaning against a tree with that orange-covered little book in his hands, but it was obvious his attention wasn't on the pages.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up and casually stuffed the book into his ninja pouch.
"You're here?"
Kiyohara walked into the forest clearing, took off his flak jacket, and stood there in only the black chainmail shirt underneath.
"Yeah. What are we training today?"
Kiyohara asked.
Recently, Kakashi had really liked coming to spar with him.
It sharpened practical combat ability much faster that way.
After all, in the original story, Kakashi had never had a genius like Kiyohara constantly suppressing him.
As a result, Kakashi now saw Kiyohara as an insurmountable mountain and had been pushing himself to polish his skills far harder than he ever had in the original timeline.
"Swordsmanship."
Kakashi stood up and drew Ganmaru.
The silver-gray short blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight. It had grown a little longer than before, and the curve of the edge had become even smoother.
That was a natural change that came with Ganmaru's growth.
"I want to try that new technique you learned."
Kakashi lifted his gaze, revealing that scarlet Sharingan.
"Konoha Style: Willow?"
Kiyohara raised a brow.
"Yeah. The technique you got from Kosuke-senpai."
Kakashi tightened his grip on the hilt.
"I want to know whether the Sharingan can see through it."
"You'll find out when you try."
Kiyohara drew his ninja blade from his waist.
In the next instant, Kakashi vanished from where he stood.
Lightning Release: Lightning Body Flicker!
He moved with incredible speed. The burst of lightning at his feet had not even fully faded before the blade was already at Kiyohara's neck.
Ganmaru's edge was wrapped in pale violet lightning.
Purple Lightning.
Kiyohara sidestepped.
The blade sliced past his neck.
Then he appeared five meters away in an instant.
Kakashi used Lightning Release: Lightning Body Flicker again, and Ganmaru slashed sideways from Kiyohara's flank.
This time, the lightning gathered on the blade burned even brighter.
Kiyohara raised his sword to block.
Clang!
The two blades collided, sending out a ring of pale violet arcs.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly, capturing every tiny movement Kiyohara made, trying to predict his next strike.
But Kiyohara had already predicted Kakashi's prediction.
Each time, he moved even faster than Kakashi did.
"Still not enough."
Kiyohara's voice slipped through the gaps between the clashing blades.
"Your control over Purple Lightning has become more refined, but your attack rhythm is too monotonous. Your body can't keep up with the speed of your eyes."
Kakashi clenched his teeth.
He knew Kiyohara was telling the truth.
Was this the gap in talent?
No. That wasn't right.
Kakashi took a deep breath, and chakra surged wildly through his body.
Ganmaru seemed to sense his emotions. The blade trembled slightly, and the Purple Lightning on its edge suddenly flared.
A trace of approval flashed through Kiyohara's eyes.
"This state is good."
Kiyohara nodded.
If it was hard to land a hit, then the solution was simple—expand the attack range.
Brute force your way through it.
Kiyohara flicked his wrist, and the force behind his blade suddenly increased.
Kakashi was thrown back three steps, his palm numb.
He looked up, only to see Kiyohara sheathe his sword and stand there with a faint smile on his lips.
"Next, I'm going to attack."
Kiyohara deliberately said it out loud, worried Kakashi might not even be able to follow what came next.
Kakashi focused himself immediately.
Kiyohara drew his sword.
The movement was slow—so slow it looked like a beginner practicing a basic sword drill.
But Kakashi instantly sensed something was wrong.
No.
That strike was wrong.
His vision began to distort.
The surrounding trees, grass, and sky all blurred.
Countless willow-fluff-like sword images came surging in from every direction, blocking his sight and disrupting his senses.
Those sword images had no substance, yet they carried a real pressure, as though they wanted to trap him completely.
He couldn't tell which was real and which was false.
Kakashi tightened his grip on Ganmaru, violet lightning crackling along the blade.
Before Kakashi could react, Kiyohara's sword shot out from among the countless false blades and slashed straight at him.
The tip stopped just three centimeters from his throat.
Crack.
The willow-fluff-like sword images vanished instantly.
The forest fell quiet again, with only faint birdsong in the distance.
Kakashi stood there, breathing heavily.
Cold sweat slid down from his temple and dampened the edge of his mask.
"…So this is Konoha Style: Willow?"
His voice was hoarse.
"Yeah."
Kiyohara sheathed his sword.
"It uses Yin Release chakra to create illusions and hide the real killing blow within them. The Sharingan can see the flow of chakra, but the essence of this technique is…"
He paused.
"The shift between the real and the false."
Kakashi lifted a hand and looked at his fingers, still trembling faintly.
His Sharingan hadn't seen through it.
The issue wasn't his eyes.
It was that his training still wasn't good enough for him to bring out the full power of the Sharingan.
"This technique…"
He looked up.
"Can you teach it to me?"
Kiyohara looked at him.
"I doubt Kosuke-senpai would mind."
Kiyohara said.
"But he should be over at the mission unit this afternoon. I'll ask him later."
Kiyohara figured it was better to go through the proper steps first.
Kakashi nodded.
Right then, a figure came jogging through the woods.
"Kiyohara!"
Kurenai's voice.
Both of them turned at the same time.
Kurenai ran up to Kiyohara, breathing lightly, her chest rising and falling.
"Lady Tsunade sent me to notify you."
She paused and glanced between Kiyohara and Kakashi.
"You two were sparring again?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara put away his blade.
"What's the message?"
Kurenai's expression turned serious.
"The stronghold you investigated earlier suddenly has a lot more Iwa ninja around it."
She paused.
"Lady Tsunade says they may be about to make their move."
Kiyohara raised a brow slightly.
As expected.
Iwagakure wouldn't just sit by after Kitsuchi had been captured.
"How many?"
"We're still scouting for exact numbers, but there are at least three times as many as before."
Kurenai frowned.
"Lady Tsunade says for you to come back as soon as possible so you can discuss countermeasures."
"Got it."
Kiyohara nodded.
Kurenai gave a small hum of acknowledgment, but didn't leave right away.
Her gaze fell on Ganmaru in Kakashi's hand.
"Kakashi and Ganmaru seem to work really well together."
"Yeah. Ganmaru's as obedient as the Eight Ninja Hounds."
Kakashi said.
He kept eight ninja dogs himself, so he knew how to get along with summoned beasts. That was why things had gone so smoothly between him and Ganmaru.
"I see."
Kurenai said.
Kiyohara could see a trace of envy in her eyes.
So he walked over and very naturally reached out to ruffle the top of her head.
Kurenai's body stiffened for a second.
The warmth of his hand reached her through her hair, gentle and faintly comforting.
Her face flushed red in an instant.
"W-what are you doing…"
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, but she didn't dodge.
"Your genjutsu and Wind Release are getting more and more refined together."
Kiyohara's voice came from above her head.
Kurenai looked up.
Kiyohara was looking at her, a faint smile in those dark eyes.
"I'm actually working on a blade for you too. It's still in development."
Kiyohara said.
Shizune and Rin Nohara had helped out in the lab with some of his earlier experiments.
"You're making one for me too?"
Kurenai's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?"
"Really."
Kiyohara withdrew his hand.
~~~
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