As he recalled, Ōtsutsuki Toneri from the moon seemed to have a rather long adaptation period when he exchanged eyes to evolve the Tenseigan.
It was for this reason that Hyūga Kagami had been delaying the Tenseigan plan.
But the current situation was different. Although Hyūga Kagami couldn't guess what the village was planning, there was one thing he was sure of: danger was approaching.
Taking advantage of a solo patrol opportunity, Hyūga Kagami went to a remote desert location he had chosen long ago.
After observing the surroundings with his Byakugan for a while and confirming no one else was around, he immediately formed hand seals and summoned the one-eyed viper Orochimaru had left to monitor him.
Poof...
As a puff of smoke dispersed, the one-eyed viper lazily slithered in front of Hyūga Kagami and spat out a scroll from its mouth.
That's right, the scroll containing the gene solution had always been kept by this one-eyed viper.
This was a measure born of necessity, as only by keeping it in the one-eyed viper's stomach could Hyūga Kagami retrieve the precious gene solution anytime and anywhere using the Summoning Jutsu.
As for whether Orochimaru would intercept it, there wasn't much need to worry.
Because a long time ago, Hyūga Kagami had started storing various miscellaneous experimental materials in the one-eyed viper's stomach. Orochimaru had secretly checked it a few times, and after finding only worthless items, he gradually stopped paying much attention.
Moreover, Orochimaru had just recently defected and was likely still entangled with Jiraiya at this moment. He certainly wouldn't have time to bother with Hyūga Kagi in the short term.
After taking out the gene solution sealed in the scroll, Hyūga Kagami's expression turned solemn.
Evolution at the genetic level involved too many uncertain factors. The gene solution before him could be the key to changing his fate, or it could be a poison that would end his life.
Without live subject testing, there was no data, so Hyūga Kagami couldn't even estimate the probability of success. But he was out of time. He had to take this gamble. Whether he could control his own destiny in the future, live with dignity, and escape the helplessness of being ordered around—everything depended on this vial of gene solution.
Without hesitating for long, Hyūga Kagami steeled his resolve and injected the gene solution into his body.
"Aaargh..."
Almost simultaneously, Hyūga Kyō let out a pained cry.
Pain!
Bone-chilling pain!
Heart-piercing pain!
Having been a ninja for so long, Hyūga Kagami had thought his pain tolerance was very high and that pain couldn't possibly shake him. But it wasn't until this moment that he realized pain could reach such an extent.
Slowly, he felt the chakra within his body begin to dissipate.
"Not good!"
The situation was out of his control. He quickly used his remaining chakra to forcibly dispel the Summoning Jutsu, sending the one-eyed viper away.
Almost as soon as the one-eyed viper was gone, his already meager chakra completely dispersed. Then, his body seemed to start breaking down; he felt as if his flesh and blood were showing signs of dissolving.
"Why is this happening!?"
Filled with intense unwillingness, Hyūga Kagami's vision went black, and he fainted in the desert.
After an unknown amount of time, Hyūga Kagami slowly opened his eyes to find himself in the outpost.
Beside him, Captain Mitsui Chūichi stared intently at Hyūga Kagami and asked coldly, "What exactly happened? Why did you faint in the desert?"
Hyūga Kagami's mind was still a bit fuzzy, so he casually replied, "I... I don't know why either..."
Mitsui Chūichi frowned. "Were you attacked? By whom? Was it Sand Ninja?"
Hyūga Kagami shook his head. "No one attacked me. Something's wrong with my own body. I... I think I'm sick!"
Ninja also get sick; this was a normal phenomenon in the ninja world. Some Kekkei Genkai users even suffered from various strange Kekkei Genkai-related illnesses—Kimimaro and Itachi were typical examples. So, although Mitsui Chūichi still had some doubts, seeing Hyūga Kagami's weakened state, he didn't continue questioning him.
After Mitsui Chūichi left, Hyūga Kagami carefully examined his own body.
The body's violent reaction after injecting the gene solution far exceeded his previous expectations. This also gave him a new understanding of the dangers of activating the special gene sequence within his body.
"I survived, after all!"
While letting out a long sigh of relief, Hyūga Kagami couldn't help but feel lingering fear.
Although he didn't know the specific data, based on his personal experience, Hyūga Kagami felt that surviving the activation and restructuring of the special gene sequence was definitely a low-probability event. He had clearly felt his body on the verge of collapse during the process—it was as if his body was being disassembled into countless pieces and then reassembled, an utterly despairing sensation!
At the same time, this also made Hyūga Kagami deeply realize that when it came to genetics, he was still an amateur.
After calming his mind, Hyūga Kagami began to analyze the effects of the gene solution based on his personal experience.
Hyūga Kagami's body had nearly collapsed earlier, undoubtedly a reaction to the activation of the special gene sequence within him. In other words, the body had to undergo as many activation and restructuring processes as the number of missing activated special gene sequence sets. Hyūga Kagami was missing 16 sets, so he had experienced a full 16 such processes in the desert.
Each activation and restructuring was a brush with death, and Hyūga Kagami had flirted with death 16 times in a row.
It was truly a fluke that he survived!
And with all 33 sets of special gene sequences in his body now activated, Hyūga Kagami could feel that his body was completely different. This change was ongoing, and its most direct manifestation was that he could feel his chakra constantly increasing, as if without end.
Getting out of bed, Hyūga Kagami slowly walked to the dressing mirror.
He lifted his goggles and found that his originally pale pupils now looked somewhat transparent, as if containing stars, shimmering with an unusual light.
"So beautiful!"
Even Hyūga Kagami himself couldn't help but be captivated.
Just as he leaned in, wanting to see more clearly and in more detail, a strong wave of dizziness suddenly enveloped him. Simultaneously, a sharp pain shot through his pupils!
After a good while, the dizziness and stinging pain gradually subsided.
Hyūga Kagami, having recovered somewhat, leaned against the wall and slowly stood up. He understood that he couldn't use his eyes during the adaptation period, not even for the simplest observation. So he closed his eyes and put his goggles back on.
Lying back down on the bed, Hyūga Kagami began to ponder.
His Tenseigan was currently evolving. Setting aside the future for now, at this moment, he was even weaker than before. So, it wasn't the time to be happy. He needed to find a way to get through this difficult adaptation period...
(End of Chapter)