Chapter 366: Total Chakra Reserves

Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Total Chakra Reserves

After hearing Hyuga Kagami’s words, Itachi lowered his head and fell into thought.

Although Itachi was still young, his powers of observation and analysis far surpassed those of his peers. He was naturally born to be a ninja. However, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, there were times when being too close to the situation inevitably caused errors in his judgment.

Hyuga Kagami slowly said, "The Third has always been indecisive about how to deal with your Uchiha Clan. Now that Akatsuki’s true strength has been completely exposed, there’s even less chance that the Third will cripple one of Konoha’s own arms by wasting its strength against the Uchiha. So you really don’t need to worry too much. Just think of yourself as an ordinary child of one of the village’s prestigious clans."

Although the Hokage faction had always wanted to suppress the powerful ninja clans, whether it was the Third Hokage or the two advisor elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, they all advocated a gradual approach.

Only Danzo, driven by his own selfish interests, was desperate to eradicate the Uchiha Clan.

And with the current situation in the shinobi world, Konoha could not afford even the slightest internal turmoil. Therefore, no matter how badly Danzo wanted to wipe out the Uchiha, the village leadership would never allow him to do so.

Itachi nodded. "I’ll decline the Lord Hokage’s invitation."

In truth, Itachi himself wasn’t particularly interested in joining the ANBU.

Compared to that, he preferred staying at home and spending more time with his younger brother, Sasuke.

Not long afterward, Itachi supported Hyuga Kagami as they walked, eventually bringing him back to the front of his home.

Itachi bowed to Hyuga Kagami. "Senpai, please rest and recover. I’ll take my leave now."

Hyuga Kagami smiled. "Go take care of your own business."

Because of the mobilization order the Third Hokage had issued to the major ninja clans, the Uchiha Clan, as Konoha’s strongest prestigious clan, had recently been holding frequent clan meetings to discuss how they should respond.

Hyuga Kagami knew that, as the clan leader’s son, Itachi already had a mountain of troublesome matters to deal with, so he didn’t invite him inside.

Itachi said, "If you need anything, please let me know at any time."

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Kamigami doesn’t have any operations planned recently, so focus on your own affairs. Oh, right. If you run into Shisui, tell him to come by my house when he has some free time."

"Mm!"

After seeing Itachi off, Hyuga Kagami supported himself against the wall and slowly made his way into the courtyard.

Rei, who had been cleaning Hyuga Kagami’s house, hurried out to meet him. The moment she saw him, she exclaimed in shock, "Kagami, you... how did you get hurt this badly?"

Although Itachi, disguised as Hyuga Kagami, had already returned to the village two days ago, he had spent the entire time at the ANBU headquarters compiling intelligence reports. As a result, he had never returned to Hyuga Kagami’s home.

Hyuga Kagami said gently, "They’re just superficial injuries. I’ll be fine after resting for a few days."

Rei said nothing more. Biting her lip, she helped Hyuga Kagami into the house.

After settling into a cushioned chair, Hyuga Kagami picked up a teacup and took a sip. Then he smiled and said, "What’s wrong with you? I’m really fine. At most, I’ll be completely healed within a month."

Rei shook her head, her eyes red.

Ever since the Third Hokage convened the Jonin Assembly, the news that Konoha, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure had joined forces to launch a surprise attack on Akatsuki, only to suffer a disastrous defeat, was no longer a secret.

Rei was not only a Chunin, but also a member of the prestigious Hyuga Clan, so she knew no less than the average Jonin.

She knew that Konoha’s ANBU had suffered devastating casualties during the operation. Of those who had set out, fewer than half had returned alive.

Whenever she thought about Hyuga Kagami having to fight those monsters from Akatsuki in a life-or-death battle, waves of panic gripped her heart.

While waiting at home, she had been terrified that at any moment, someone might arrive with a notice informing her that Hyuga Kagami had been killed in action.

Looking at Rei desperately holding back her tears, her eyes already red, Hyuga Kagami said apologetically, "I’m sorry. I made you worry."

Rei shook her head and took the teacup from Hyuga Kagami’s hand. "I’ll get you a fresh cup of hot tea."

Watching Rei turn her back to him and secretly wipe away her tears, Hyuga Kagami sighed softly.

Rei and Hinata were the same kind of person.

Their gentle and softhearted personalities were, in truth, not particularly suited to being ninja. However, as members of the Hyuga Clan, regardless of whether they possessed the talent to become ninja or the mental toughness required of one, they could still possess the Byakugan that countless others could only dream of obtaining.

As a result, there were quite a few members of the Hyuga Clan who were not truly suited to being ninja, yet became ninja nonetheless.

The Uchiha Clan, despite also being a prestigious clan with a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai, did not have the same problem.

Uchiha who lacked sufficient talent or mental fortitude could not even awaken the Sharingan, leaving them no different from ordinary civilians. But almost every Uchiha capable of awakening the Sharingan was a qualified ninja.

Hyuga Kagami thought to himself, "I need to find a way to improve Rei’s strength."

Hyuga Kagami wasn’t asking for Rei to become overwhelmingly powerful. He only hoped that she could gain a little more ability to protect herself. That alone would give him some peace of mind.

After all, if his true identity were ever exposed, everything and everyone around him would become a target.

And with Rei’s current strength as an ordinary Chunin, practically any faction could threaten her simply by sending a single Jonin after her.

However, Hyuga Kagami couldn’t immediately think of a good way to improve Rei’s strength.

The most effective method was undoubtedly the genetic fluid Hyuga Kagami himself had once used.

As long as Rei could survive the genetic recombination process, then after awakening the Tenseigan, she would be able to enter the pinnacle of the shinobi world within just a year or two. She would go from being Hyuga Kagami’s greatest vulnerability to becoming his greatest source of support.

But as his research into various biological experiments deepened, and as his understanding and development of his own Tenseigan progressed, Hyuga Kagami’s understanding of the genetic fluid had also grown considerably.

Only now did he realize just how reckless he had been back then.

With the frail body he had possessed at the time, attempting to activate every special gene within his body had carried risks even greater than those faced by an ordinary person transplanting the First Hokage’s cells.

The fact that he had ultimately survived the genetic recombination wasn’t because the genetic fluid he had synthesized was some miraculous substance.

It was simply because, just like that lucky bastard Yamato, he had been blessed with absurdly good fortune!

If he were to reassess the genetic fluid’s success rate now, he estimated that with Rei’s current strength, her chances of surviving the genetic recombination would be less than 1%.

Even if Hyuga Kagami stayed by her side throughout the entire process and spared no expense in using his Tenseigan chakra to protect her body, the probability would rise to only around 5% at most.

If he wanted to increase those odds any further, there were only two options.

Either he had to improve Rei’s fundamental strength until she reached the level of a Jonin—or even an elite Jonin—or, like ōtsutsuki Toneri, she would need the support of a Giant Tenseigan formed from the fusion of countless Byakugan.

At this thought, Hyuga Kagami’s expression suddenly darkened.

Although he had no concrete evidence to support it, Hyuga Kagami had a vague intuition.

Ever since he awakened the Tenseigan, it seemed that no matter what method anyone else used, obtaining another Tenseigan would become far more difficult.

In other words, the number of Tenseigan that could exist was not something that could increase without limit.

"Is it because of the total amount of chakra?"

Lightly tapping his fingers against the table, Hyuga Kagami’s thoughts gradually began to wander.

In the shinobi world, the total amount of chakra was, in fact, fixed.

Although this total would slowly increase over time through the growing number of ninja capable of refining chakra, the incorporation of natural energy, and various other means, within any relatively short period of time, the total amount of chakra was undoubtedly fixed.

Therefore, anything that contained an enormous amount of chakra was, to a certain extent, also limited in number.

For example, there were only nine true Tailed Beasts.

As for everything else—whether it was Hyuga Kagami’s Dragon Vein or the demon Moryo that had been devoured by Shinno—neither could be considered a true, immortal and indestructible Tailed Beast.

The same principle applied to the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan.

Restricted by the total amount of chakra in the world, there was naturally an upper limit to how many of these eyes could exist.

By awakening his Tenseigan, Hyuga Kagami had already claimed a portion of the world’s total chakra. As a result, the difficulty for anyone else attempting to obtain a Tenseigan would undoubtedly increase dramatically.

Hyuga Kagami suspected that this was precisely why the ōtsutsuki Clan traveled throughout the universe, plundering one world after another.

Rubbing his chin, Hyuga Kagami thought, "If ōtsutsuki Toneri obtains the Tenseigan, then it’ll probably become even more difficult for Rei to awaken one afterward!"

ōtsutsuki Toneri possessed extraordinary talent. Even without the Tenseigan, he had already reached a level beyond Kage-class at a young age.

On top of that, he had the support of the Giant Tenseigan on the Moon.

As long as Toneri was willing to lower himself and resort to a few underhanded tricks, it would be extremely difficult for Hyuga Kagami to prevent him from obtaining the Tenseigan.

And if ōtsutsuki Toneri awakened the Tenseigan first, the probability of anyone else obtaining one afterward would become even lower.

Therefore, with Rei’s talent being far inferior to ōtsutsuki Toneri’s, if she wanted to awaken the Tenseigan, she would have to do it before Toneri did.

Rei’s current situation was the same as Hyuga Kagami’s before he injected himself with the genetic fluid.

Limited by her own talent, her growth in strength had already become extremely slow. Unless she received careful guidance from a Kage-level expert whose path suited her, it would be very difficult for her strength to improve rapidly.

However, Hyuga Kagami himself had taken the path of biological experimentation, and that was not something he could simply copy and force onto Rei.

As for Shisui and Itachi, both of them relied heavily on their innate talent and bloodline, and they themselves were still exploring their own paths. There wasn’t much guidance they could offer Rei.

"Tsunade..."

After thinking it over again and again, Hyuga Kagami felt that perhaps only Tsunade, who specialized in Medical Ninjutsu and had developed the Strength of a Hundred Seal, could provide Rei with enough guidance to rapidly improve her strength.

Just then, Rei walked over carrying a cup of hot tea and said, "You haven’t been home these past few days, so Shion moved over to my house."

Hyuga Kagami accepted the teacup. "Sorry for troubling you."

Rei said, "Shion is very well-behaved. Everyone in my family likes her a lot!"

After pondering for a moment, Hyuga Kagami said, "I need to recuperate from my injuries for a while, so it won’t be convenient for me to take care of her. Let her stay at your house for a few more days."

Rei nodded gently. "Mm, I’ll take good care of her."

Hyuga Kagami tentatively asked, "Rei, are you interested in learning Medical Ninjutsu?"

"Medical Ninjutsu!?" Rei froze for a moment before asking curiously, "Why are you suddenly asking me that? I heard Medical Ninjutsu is extremely difficult to master. If you don’t have the talent for it, there’s no way you can learn it."

"If you don’t try, how will you know you don’t have the talent?"

Rei lowered her head, lacking confidence.

"I’m worried..."

A grin spread across Hyuga Kagami’s face as he deliberately said, "If you learn Medical Ninjutsu, then the next time I get injured, I won’t have to worry about having no one around to treat me."

Rei’s eyes immediately lit up. "Alright! I’ll apply to join the Medical Corps tomorrow!"

Hyuga Kagami smiled. "There’s no rush. With the Medical Corps as it is right now, you won’t be able to learn anything truly worthwhile."

Rei asked in confusion, "Then how am I supposed to learn Medical Ninjutsu?"

Hyuga Kagami replied, "I’ll find you the best teacher there is."

As Hyuga Kagami saw it, with Akatsuki potentially launching a retaliatory attack at any moment, the Third Hokage had even begun mobilizing Konoha’s prestigious ninja clans. There was no reason he would leave a powerful disciple like Tsunade unused.

Therefore, Tsunade’s return to the village should be inevitable.

After all, no matter what Tsunade might say, deep down she still dearly loved the village her grandfather had founded with his own hands—Konoha.

Time flew by, and before long, night had fallen.

Just as the streetlights throughout the village began lighting up one after another, Shisui arrived at Hyuga Kagami’s home, covered in dust from his journey.

The moment he sat down, Shisui anxiously asked, "Senpai, are your injuries alright?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "It’s nothing serious. You don’t need to worry."

Shisui’s face was filled with self-reproach. "This time, it was all because of me that everyone suffered such terrible casualties. Back then, I really should have listened to you and temporarily concealed Akatsuki’s intelligence from the village."

Hyuga Kagami waved his hand dismissively. "It’s already over. There’s no need to bring it up again."

"Haah..." Shisui let out a long sigh before saying with emotion, "I never imagined Akatsuki would be this powerful. The Rinnegan truly lives up to its reputation as the legendary Eyes of the Sage."

After saying that, Shisui stood up again and bowed deeply to Hyuga Kagami. "Senpai, I was the one who dragged you down. Otherwise, you definitely would’ve been able to defeat Akatsuki’s leader!"

Gesturing for Shisui to sit back down, Hyuga Kagami said solemnly, "The fact that this surprise attack was launched too hastily was one problem. But there’s another—I genuinely don’t have the ability to kill Akatsuki’s leader right now. So this isn’t your fault."

Hyuga Kagami had no intention of shirking responsibility.

Someone else had been keeping Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain occupied, forcing Nagato to divide his attention, while Hyuga Kagami himself had launched a surprise attack.

Yet even under those circumstances, he had still failed to kill Nagato.

That alone proved that his strength was indeed slightly inferior to Nagato’s. At the very least, in terms of endurance, he was clearly inferior.

Hyuga Kagami thought to himself that if their positions had been reversed—if Nagato had been the one launching the surprise attack while he had been the one caught off guard—then he probably would have been in grave danger.

Shisui hurriedly said, "No! Everyone saw your strength for themselves. If you hadn’t intimidated the entirety of Akatsuki and kept them in check, the Allied Forces would’ve suffered even greater losses!"

Hyuga Kagami gave a bitter smile.

On the surface, he had indeed held the advantage.

But only Hyuga Kagami himself knew that he had already played every trump card in his hand.

Meanwhile, on Akatsuki’s side, whether it was Nagato, Konan, or Obito, who had arrived later, each of them still had quite a few cards left to play.

"Enough about that." Hyuga Kagami deliberately changed the subject and asked, "How’s your eyesight? You were far too reckless during that battle. I should’ve warned you before—the Mangekyō Sharingan can’t withstand excessive use of Susanoo!"

Shisui covered his eyes and said quietly, "My eyesight really has deteriorated a lot."

Hyuga Kagami frowned. "You’re not already seeing double, are you?"

Shisui silently nodded.

Hyuga Kagami immediately warned him, "Stop using your Sharingan. Otherwise, you really will go blind!"

"But with the situation right now..."

Shisui hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

He felt that the dangerous situation the village now found itself in had been caused entirely by his own actions. Asking him to rest and preserve his ocular power at a time like this left him feeling deeply ashamed.

Hyuga Kagami said calmly, "I’ve already thought of a way. It might be possible to restore your ocular power..."