"Absolutely not!"
Hyuga Hiashi rejected the proposal without hesitation.
Was this a joke? The clan's bloodline inheritance couldn't be handed over to outsiders. Orochimaru had used the word experience, but to any ninja with a dōjutsu bloodline, that only meant one thing: eye-gouging.
Hiashi's expression turned grim, but even so, he didn't storm out. As much as Orochimaru had touched a nerve, the potential benefits of their deal kept him in his seat.
Sure, the whole "experiencing the Byakugan" thing was off the table. But perhaps other terms could still be negotiated. And since Orochimaru hadn't flat-out refused to train Hinata, it meant he still had some interest in what the Hyuga had to offer.
A storm of thoughts raced through Hiashi's mind—until suddenly, Orochimaru's demeanor shifted.
His golden, slitted pupils narrowed further. Dark markings crept out like shadows at the corners of his eyes. His presence grew colder, more sinister.
Is he going to attack me?
Hiashi instinctively activated his Byakugan, but all he saw was a blur—then Orochimaru was behind him, hand wrapped around his neck. He couldn't even make a sound.
"You've piqued my interest," Orochimaru said, chuckling. "And when that happens, refusal isn't an option."
Hiashi couldn't resist. He was knocked unconscious in seconds—completely overpowered.
This wasn't because Hiashi was weak. As the head of the Hyuga clan, he rarely left the village and spent most of his time honing his skills. On paper, his strength was considerable.
But battles between shinobi aren't decided by raw stats alone. Timing, mental state, combat readiness—every detail matters. And Hiashi, long removed from real combat, couldn't compare to someone like Orochimaru, who lived and breathed the battlefield.
To ensure an easy victory, Orochimaru had even activated Sage Mode—his enhanced physique now too fast for the Byakugan to properly track. Against someone so dependent on visual prowess, that was lethal.
Orochimaru sneered.
"Did you really think you could use me so easily?"
He had been lenient with Hizashi—he saw value in him as a subordinate, and part of him even felt a strange satisfaction in grooming a promising vessel.
But the rest of the Hyuga—those arrogant clan heads and elders—clearly misunderstood him. They thought he could be bought with money.
And that was their first mistake.
Hinata?
Heh... just a child under ten, and they have the nerve to offer her to him like some kind of bribe? Did they really think that his title as Orochimaru's disciple could be bought so easily?
Orochimaru glanced at the unconscious Hinata Hiashi lying on the ground. Without hesitation, he summoned a shadow clone, unsealed a scroll, and began preparing the tools for an eye transplant.
Konoha's two great dōjutsu clans—Uchiha and Hyuga—were always a hassle. The Uchiha were arrogant but could be tempted with benefits. The Hyuga, on the other hand, were stubborn. They feared power but not disgrace.
Still, that stubbornness had its uses. As long as they didn't suffer any lasting damage, the Hyuga could swallow their pride and pretend nothing happened. Case in point: Hiashi would never dare report this incident to the clan elders.
If Orochimaru had tried this with Uchiha Fugaku, he wouldn't have dared be so rough. Fugaku might even possess a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. That would be trouble.
---
After completing the operation, Orochimaru wiped the excess fluid from the corners of his eyes. The veins on his temples bulged, and the Byakugan activated.
With his deep knowledge of bloodline techniques, Orochimaru observed his new vision with interest.
"Hm... The power isn't quite on par with the Ice Release, but it's far superior to a basic Sharingan. It also requires less effort to maintain," he muttered, touching the enlarged veins near his temples. "Unlike the Sharingan, the Byakugan isn't limited to chakra produced by specific eye cells. It can activate through other parts of the body, though the effect is weaker."
"After all, the Byakugan is the original eye of the Ōtsutsuki Clan—closer to a 'natural' eye. It shouldn't take this much strain to use."
The Lamp God recorded the results and offered, half-jokingly, "If you're aiming to obtain a pupil-based bloodline, I'd strongly recommend the Byakugan. And who knows? If you get tired of it later, there's always the option of converting it into a Sharingan."
"We'll see," Orochimaru replied vaguely.
Using Hiashi as a living experiment, he tested the Byakugan's chakra-tracking capabilities. Once satisfied, he removed the eyes and reimplanted the originals—showing no sentimental attachment to the experiment.
---
"Ugh…!"
Hiashi awoke with a start. Memories flooded back, and he instinctively rolled away, back to the wall, eyes scanning for danger.
But Orochimaru was calmly seated at the table, watching him with detached amusement.
"Relax. What needed to be done has been done," he said lightly.
What… that's it?
Hiashi instinctively touched around his eyes. A lingering soreness confirmed his fear.
His face twisted in anger, but the moment he met Orochimaru's cold, snake-like gaze, a chill ran down his spine. It was like his brain froze solid.
"Hehehe… I've already received half the payment," Orochimaru said with a smirk. "Once the rest is delivered, you may publicly announce that your daughter has been accepted as my disciple."
He set down his teacup and added with a sinister grin, "But I suggest you keep it quiet. Uchiha Fugaku's eldest son is also under my guidance. And unlike Hinata, that boy is a real genius."
"Do you really want to compare them?"
With a soft chuckle, Orochimaru turned and walked away, leaving Hiashi sitting in bitter silence.
---
Leaving the Hyuga compound, Orochimaru didn't return home. Instead, he descended into his underground lab.
The soul-body being cultivated in the Pure Land was recovering even faster than the Lamp God had predicted. In just half a month, it would fully awaken.
When that happened, the soul-body would infuse Orochimaru with immense amounts of purified soul energy. He would then fall into a deep sleep, allowing the soul injury to heal as his body adjusted.
Preparations needed to be made—chief among them, the creation of a powerful nutrient solution to support soul healing and cellular regeneration during the transition.
---
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
"…This amount should be enough to support a Jōnin-level shinobi in a coma for a month," Orochimaru noted, glancing at the storage tanks. "Still not enough?"
The Lamp God's expression twisted oddly. "You should prepare more. The 'you' in the Pure Land is far greedier than you imagine. It's already devouring soul energy at an alarming rate."
"…I figured as much."
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