Orochimaru couldn't just waltz into the Hyuga clan and abduct someone, but with his status, it wouldn't be hard to lure a Hyuga elder out. The real issue was how to quietly take them down without anyone noticing.
The disappearance of a Hyuga elder wasn't a small matter. Even Orochimaru would struggle to keep something like that under wraps.
"Sensei, let's leave that for later. Didn't you say you already studied that Byakugan? Can you tell me the difference between the main family's Byakugan and ours from the branch family?" asked Hyuga Asana, shifting the topic.
"From what I've seen, not much. The purity of the Byakugan is about the same."
"So the only real difference between the main and branch families is the Caged Bird Seal?"
Orochimaru nodded.
Hyuga Asana's face darkened. If the Byakugan's purity was the same, then the only thing distinguishing a main family member from a branch family one was the cursed seal.
So the so-called legitimacy of the Hyuga main family… was a joke.
After leaving Orochimaru's camp, Asana found Uchiha Yuan and shared their conversation.
After hearing it, Uchiha Yuan said, "Actually, I think Orochimaru's discovery is a good thing. If we become powerful enough, we can pressure the Hyuga clan to abolish the Caged Bird Seal."
Yuan wasn't just saying this out of nowhere. In his past life, when Hinata married Naruto, she was no longer part of the Hyuga main family. Her younger sister Hanabi became the heir.Logically, Hinata should have been branded with the Caged Bird Seal—but she never was.
Yuan remembered a meme that explained this, somewhat exaggerated but fitting:
Naruto: "Father-in-law, translate this for me: what does 'Caged Bird' mean?"
Hiashi: "No need to translate. It means exactly what it says."
Naruto (in Sage Fox Mode): "No, I said, translate what the HELL is a 'Caged Bird'!"
Sasuke (Kusanagi sword to Hiashi's neck): "Don't you understand what 'Caged Bird' means?"
Hiashi: "What does it mean?"
Naruto (in Six Paths Mode): "I said translate—what the HELL—DOES THAT MEAN?!"
Hiashi (scared stiff): "Caged Bird means… in three days I'll call a clan meeting and declare this inhumane practice abolished."
Naruto: "Ohh, THAT'S what it means~"
With the kind of overwhelming power Naruto and Sasuke had, the Caged Bird Seal was just nonsense.
Wanting to grow stronger as quickly as possible, Uchiha Yuan started pouring all his free time into developing his Lightning-nature chakra.
Unknowingly, another half-year passed.
Today was his 13th birthday. That meant he'd been in this world for over two years.
In that half-year, Yuan had successfully developed his own Lightning Release chakra nature.
Developing a chakra nature of one's own is typically something Jonin-level ninja do—it's part of chakra nature transformation.Most ninja don't invest time in this, since mastering their existing chakra nature is more productive.
But Yuan wanted to learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, so he had to put in the time and effort.
And the results paid off. After months of work, Yuan developed his own lightning chakra and had even started to learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
This technique is the absolute core of the Hidden Cloud's taijutsu style.The moment Yuan began using it, he noticed dramatic changes.
The first was speed. Just by activating Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Yuan's speed increased by 20%.
That 20% might not sound like much—but in battle, especially when combined with teleportation, Sharingan's ultra-high dynamic visual acuity, and the "Mind's Eye" sensory technique, it was enough for Yuan to instantly kill a Jonin before they could react.
Right now, aside from Minato Namikaze and the Fourth Raikage, Yuan believed no one in the shinobi world was faster than him.
Of course, he didn't let it go to his head. Speed was his greatest advantage, but he still had shortcomings—namely, his lack of strong offensive power.
He didn't yet possess a jutsu that could one-shot tough enemies.
Against "turtle-shell" types like Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, who had his Lava Release Chakra Mode, Yuan had no way to break through that defense.
Currently, his strongest offensive ninjutsu was the B-rank Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame.
As for the various water-style techniques he had copied, after spending half a year refining them, his strongest one was still about on par with the Water Whip Jutsu that Shibi Aburame had given him.
By comparison, the Majestic Destroyer Flame was more powerful and had better area coverage.
All in all, Yuan was now one of the strongest pre-Kage level shinobi. He had likely already surpassed his former teacher, Shibi Aburame.
If he were to fight Kurosuki Raiga again—even if Raiga had his Lightning Blades—Yuan was confident he could win.
Naturally, Yuan's personal stats had improved quite a bit over the last six months:
Chakra: 433
Constitution: 190
Eye Power: 433
Vitality: 38
Natural Affinity: 4
Level: Lv39 (48/50)
Attribute Points: 0
Worth mentioning: at level 35, Yuan got a purple loot box, which contained a B-rank Wind Release technique. Like Majestic Destroyer Flame before, he instantly learned the technique upon using the scroll.
Actually, his attribute growth had slowed down over this half-year.The main reason was because he found out that after maxing out his Mind's Eye technique, he could spend attribute points to expand its sensory range.
Mind's Eye maxes out at Level 5.
Level 1: 20 meters
Level 2: 40 meters
Level 3: 80 meters
Level 4: 160 meters
Level 5: 320 meters
Yuan had maxed the Mind's Eye about three months ago.
But by then, Yamanaka Kagetsu's sensory range was already 500 meters, and with Hyuga Asana's Byakugan, Mind's Eye seemed somewhat redundant.
Fortunately, Yuan discovered he could further expand the Mind's Eye's range using attribute points.
He invested 180 points to boost its range to 500 meters.
He did this because once Mind's Eye hits max level, it displays detected information as a full 3D image.
(To Be Continued...)