October 26. Sarutobi clan territory. Hiruzen Sarutobi's office.
Shadows of thick Politics.
At the beautiful wooden table, in the tobacco-smoked office, crimson rays of the setting sun lazily flickered, falling. They outlined the old-fashioned but rich interior in Wasabi style with major directed light. … And also! Cast thick semidarkness with many gloomy shadows into the corners, onto the decorative indoor bonsai.
One such shadow already fully covered a pair of elderly but still sturdy shinobi, who, discussing upcoming problems, now sat opposite each other and leisurely, between sips, drank thick green Kabusecha tea.
And also, after future ones, at the moment, … they delved into the list of current problems.
"Hiruzen," Danzo Shimura asked – his interlocutor with a bandaged eye and a cross-shaped scar on his chin. "With the Uchiha, … time to press them?! They've activated strongly, and according to intel, right after the Kyuubi attack. This doesn't sit well, … with many."
"I know, Danzo. My ANBU people already reported it." Answered the Sarutobi clan head and former Third Hokage – Sarutobi Hiruzen, nicknamed professor and god of shinobi. "Two of the three Hyuga, Minato, constantly watch them. And the third, with Aburame and two Inuzuka, rotationally monitors other clans."
"Not enough, Hiruzen. My people notice the Uchiha behavior pattern itself has changed. Fugaku and their elders started acting more, … cautiously and covertly."
"Ho," Hiruzen raised an eyebrow in surprise, "in what way?"
"Now, they don't hold gatherings. At least not so regularly. Instead, they create crowds, private ones, during which they negotiate. And now, it's hard to tell: When; With whom; And especially, on what topic the detailed talk is held."
"Yeah," Sarutobi drawled, "Hyuga ANBU say they use exclusively genjutsu for communication, meanwhile chattering about Fugaku taking the Fifth Hokage post. Though," he caught himself and corrected, "as analysts confirmed, it's only meant to confuse us."
"They know we're watching the Uchiha council." Shimura interrupted his interlocutor mid-sentence, irritably inserting, "The red-eyes are leading us by the nose and planning something!"
"Naturally they know! Everyone around already understands! That we're spying on the clans! And thanks to your people, Danzo," the former Third looked at him irritably, "Even our allies now know we're actively poking right into their gardens!"
"Who?" The ANBU NE leader – Konoha's Shadow – asked gloomily and briefly.
"Yamanaka and Inuzuka. And believe me, old friend, this," enunciating each word, Hiruzen said, "They really don't like!" And louder added. "Danzo, rein in your Aburame! And train the blockheads better. At least teach them basics." "Even Jiraiya can teach lip-reading! With a shameful tube and eyeglass! Instead of climbing," here Hiruzen tapped the ashtray, knocking out pipe ash, reloaded irritably, and squeezed out, "They hang like monkeys on lampposts. Need to work more carefully, old friend! You've slacked off! And with the Kyuubi attack, civilians, clans, and … even allies got very agitated!"
"Nonsense!" Shimura snorted, squinted contemptuously, and added. "Press them. Yamanaka have long been under our boot. And Inuzuka, well," the old shinobi thoughtfully ran a finger over the cross-shaped scar on his chin, then coldly stated, "I have something to 'gladden' them with. Inuzuka Kuromo, as head, is too dirty! Dove into torture. And this, almost a year after the war ended! So my people watch the prisoners' conditions in the prison." "I'll easily yank THAT dog and put it on a short chain!"
"Don't you dare, Danzo!" The shinobi professor immediately raised his voice. "Need to press loyal people softer. I already sent an envoy to Yamanaka. Preferences on Uzumaki assets division will quickly, and more importantly, painlessly arrange everything for us and bind them even tighter."
"You're too soft." The old partner in the Hokage apparatus's dark deeds snorted again. "Redhead money and assets are needed first for our village. And I'll remind you, Hiruzen!" Konoha's Shadow rasped. "My people, solely for that, blew their bunker with ballast and jammed the barrier! And now, you're playing with weaklings when we could just come and brand their people. We have plenty of kompromat on Yamanaka! The two kids they gave us – Fuu and Mitsumi – that's not enough! Need to press more."
"Get a grip, Danzo!" The former Third Hokage sharply interrupted him. "If you press too hard, a person can snap. Anyone can snap. Even shinobi! So don't you dare touch Yamanaka. One or two more presses, as you say," Hiruzen waved his pipe in the air, "and a boot kick, … and Yamanaka will bristle and go on principle! Into disarray! Against us! Regardless of consequences!" Sarutobi deeply inhaled tobacco aroma, then "coldly" exhaled. "Don't do politics, Danzo! You're too straightforward, and shinobi don't like such people. Politicians even less."
"And you're too soft. Patient and loyal to the clans." Shimura irritably thumped his cane on the floor. "If I had more resources, I'd have squeezed," Konoha's Shadow squinted his left eye and gloomily added, "the Hyuga too. Tried, for sure! Their clan has grown too big. We can't control them. 'Soka no Juin' puts a cross on that! And they flatly won't give us Main Branch people! Since the Third War!"
"And that's their weakness!" Hiruzen stopped his interlocutor's speech. "I've already started digging under them. However!" The professor, glancing at the table with documents, interrupted himself, "Not all at once, old friend! Need to eat the pie bit by bit. Not radically. That's politics. Everything in its time! And for Hyuga, it will come too. Soon." He looked at Shimura and pointedly nodded at the table and paper stacks again. "I have leverage on them! And now, I'm gathering volume. So don't interfere and ruin my plans. You know. Among all clans, hardest to watch them!" Konoha's Shadow irritably scraped his cane on the floor, squinted, then slowly exhaled.
"Hah, of course! White-eyes are real paranoids. And I need people in their clan. Definitely without 'Soka no Juin'!"
"You'll have them," the shinobi god promised, "meanwhile, in order, … Focus already, and throw forces solely at Uchiha! Leave the rest … to me for now! We'll stick strictly to our plan."
Sarutobi tiredly exhaled smoke, leaned back on the sofa, and finally decided to shift "Konoha topic" to other, more global problems.
"Better tell me about external intel, Danzo? Situation with Kiri and especially Kumo is critically important now! And it worries me first! After Kyuubi, we have fewer people. Significantly. And all gakure around see it, soon their Daimyo will too! You know what might follow?"
"Don't worry, Hiruzen." Shimura calmly set aside his cane and coughed. "Khm. I'm watching them. Both! Especially the borders." Konoha's Shadow finished Kabusecha, grimaced as the tea had cooled strongly, and continued. "Kirigakure has no business with any villages now, let alone Konoha. They clearly have problems with brewing revolution and civil war. And per my data, it's about to turn into a very hot phase unexpectedly. Plus," Danzo closed his left eye, "naturally I aided it. Of course, this setup greatly favors us now! Greatly. As for Kumo, … their Nibi jinchuriki is still too weak! Konoha has two-three years before A decides on anything serious. Minimum."
"Sure?"
"More than. Now Kumo's quelling conflicts with Stone, and also Rain. Their 'war' still smolders with bright sparks. We're in their distant perspective."
"Clea-r." Sarutobi drawled, rose, and went for sake. "Good news, can drink a little to it, just a bit. Want some?" Danzo nodded and took the ochoko (wooden cup) with cool kosyu, clearly ten-year vintage.
"Sand?" Sarutobi drank the kosyu and asked about the missing Kazekage case, expanding. "And what about Rasa? Clan council picked a fresh vessel for the one-tail bijuu? Who's the new jinchuriki?"
"You won't believe it. His son!" Shimura answered the last question first. "Vessel's name – Sabaku no Gaara. Age, approximately – one year. More important – element – Magnetism. Quarteron Uzumaki. Mother, if the grave's true, dead. Otherwise," Konoha's Shadow held out another ochoko and slowly drank, "too early to judge Sand's weapon strength. Though, as you know, same for our Uzumaki."
"Yeah, no rush for sure." Hiruzen drawled and unrolled the "Disappearance of the Third Kazekage" scroll that Danzo Shimura handed.
"This time, we'll choose a new, more reliable approach than before – not like for the stubborn girl from Uzu no Kuni.
"Right, the war is over. Now there's time. And We will raise him personally!"
Night. Hyuga Clan territory. Residence of Advisor Takashi.
Wounds need to be fully healed, or, Yin-Yang Sensation.
From the basement of Advisor Takashi Hyuga's residence emerged a guest and, in one person, the heir of that house – Ichiro Hyuga. He closed the basement room and stepped into the Corridor.
Step by step.
Drip, … Tick, … Bubble, … Drip – every day, for over a week now, these drops had been echoing in that room from this specific person. The water dripped and fell from his thoroughly soaked clothes onto the stone floor. The man simply walked to the right place, no longer paying it any attention.
Along the way, in a hidden nook by the back entrance, he removed his masking cloak – the most ordinary one, a standard chakra-concealing one issued to all Leaf shinobi. Then the chakra-concealing Body Armor. And pants. And all the masking clothes after them. Leaving them to dry for the second shinobi – the master of this house. Because Takashi had also gone through training and was now ridding himself of "unnecessary" seals – snake, dog, tiger, and bird – in Yin techniques: "Mind Conversation: Yin Chakra Ray – Signal Call".
Ichiro wanted his father to also hone the regular "Signal Reception". … And, in time, much later, the "Signal Beacon".
It so happened that during training (especially after the "Signal Call" with its Yin chakra focus component), the young Hyuga noticed that the mental pattern of Yin chakra was gradually affecting his right eye. Slowly, subtly, but for an A-rank iryonin – and Ichiro, hand on heart, counted himself in that rank – it was noticeable, albeit faintly! Yuko's Byakugan started working better. That eye began to see and sense chakra more "Broadly". More powerfully, voluminously, and sometimes (in Yin chakra stimulation phases), with micro-flashes of color. Which brought a very good "high".
"Yes," Ichiro recalled, "it only happened twice. But it was in the spectrum of 'normal' colors!"
Discovering that unexpected "high," Ichiro naturally became interested in this transplantology surprise. And decided to thoroughly investigate the matter!
Why did the "high" appear? Repeat? Why only a week later? How was it even possible? And natively, … another week later, the young Hyuga suspected – "XX chromosome Factor with its Yin component" (Laboratory, equipment, samples, analyses, tests) and "XY Factor with its Yang component". The iryonin unraveled, and most importantly, confirmed "How" and "Why"!
The young scholar combined these two factors. The Spiritual Yin component and the Bodily one from the male chromosome sample. Then compared it to his own Byakugan. Conducted experiments, measurements, … And ultimately learned "Why"?! Under the influence of the female donor's eye and Yin chakra, combined with his own brain, the Yin component – Yin-Yang brain chakra – is stimulated. The donor-recipient tandem's power grows!
The iryonin's Byakugan, after tests (Yuko L, Yuko R, Mitsu L, Mitsu R, Ichi L), became stronger. Five percent stronger. And it continues to grow to this day!
The sample (Ichi L) also grew by a full percent!
Path: "Fusion of Chakra and Flesh". Yin-Yang! Merging energy patterns. XY-XX! Altering their chakra pattern! Overlaying Byakugan Power. And Brain. This was an unbelievable fact! A combined chakra-spiral pattern! In essence, it resembled a DNA molecule. Female – left part, together with the right – male.
In other words, the dojutsu chakra vibration became Whole, complete in its pattern. The Byakugan and brain "Fused".
Five hundred meters – exactly that much wider the right eye of Yuko could see. And behind it, independently, the left caught up by a full hundred meters. Yuko – ten five hundred, and his own – ten one hundred! Phenomenal power growth in just twenty days! Chakra sensation, volume, its power, shades, depth of "Vision", mode shifts, … Everything changed in days! Undoubtedly. Ichiro the iryonin's Byakugan was becoming stronger!
Stimulation of his Byakugan Yin components with XX chakra-pattern. So simple! And genius! And already the next day, the left eye sees just like the right! Absolutely, in everything! As in the "Vision" range tests, to be precise, in meters: Ten thousand five hundred! Both eyes, no less.
That's how Ichiro understood the "gist" of the situation!
Byakugan purification! Evolution. First stage. Ancestral chakra. Dojutsu Power. Otsutsuki. In this lay one of the keys to unraveling their essence.
The female eye lens Byakugan chakra creates a special pattern that goes to the frontal lobes, then returns to the lens itself, where it is stored. Always! As a sample for the dojutsu reactor! And since the iryonin had already seen a similar effect in the Sharingan, he understood that the eye lens is a Yin-Yang reactor and, at once, a Yin-Yang transformer for special chakra types, into their various kinds: Yin-Yang chakra patterns. And eye techniques.
That's how unique dojutsu techniques form! Both Byakugan and Sharingan. All eye jutsu are Yin-Yang chakra patterns. And the dojutsu itself is the reactor! Small, but very powerful! In Byakugan, one huge, stable reactor. Plus a reserve pool of Limbic Rings! In Sharingan, seven inactive reactors. And all low-power, plus Limbic Rings deficit and rupture.
If comparing to his past life, – Ichiro recalled, – dojutsu is a Yin-Yang collider, particle synthesis. Dojutsu is a mini Chakra circulation system focus. With chakra thermonuclear fusion. Dojutsu is a chakra receiver. Transmitter. Even a soul anchor for a person. And much more.
Now, at least a little, – Ichiro thought, – I've figured out what's what here. And so, if the growth rate continues, according to statistics – in the worst case – eye power will double in four hundred days. In the optimistic scenario, though...
Even now, I already feel that Yin chakra obeys better than a month ago. Dojutsu evolution, – the iryonin nodded to himself affirmatively, – it's already begun. And roughly estimating, … I need more resources and preferably five or six years. And training. As often as possible. And varied. On body techniques. And eyes.
"Otsutsuki Power." The iryonin whispered, and added to himself. "Ancestral genome exists and is strong in the Hyuga clan. Even more than in the Uchiha and Senju clans. Our genome is purer! And thus stronger! Yin and Yang. Hyuga have almost everything: Chakra, blood, flesh, Chakra circulation system and their dojutsu. Just lacking … Yang component catalyst. But that's solvable too. Time is on our side. For now."
Heartened by the last thought, Ichiro entered the office with a satisfied face. To talk with his father. Including mentally. Using the Yin technique: "Mind Conversation – Yin Chakra Ray – Signal Call".
"Advisor-dono," I bowed to my father, "allow me to take five minutes of your time."
"Don't clown around, son. And sit on the Sofa. I'll be free in a couple minutes, meanwhile," father tossed me a scroll, "read this. And I say right away, read to the end."
My premonitions didn't deceive me! Again. Everything was shitty. The scroll was a list of Hyuga clan girls and women. From fourteen to thirty years old. The list was long! Detailed: In skills, ranks, dojutsu power, and … even the ladies' sympathies of Hyuga. More precisely, my probable Brides!
"Well, why me, huh?" I muttered very quietly, but long-eared Takashi heard. He made a sly face and clicked his tongue against his teeth.
"For everything!" The old man snorted and scratched his tenmage (warrior hairstyle) behind the bald spot. "Ichiro. You're a good son." Already echoing in my head came father's voice. "You've become a Tokubetsu Jonin, B-rank iryonin, excellent scholar, got Yamanaka jutsu from our clan head, developed personal technique 'Tvisor', … and at twenty-two, achieved much more. Believe me! That's Impressive! Of all Hyuga I know, only Hiashi-sama was more successful than you! However!" Father snorted again and pointed at the bride list. "In one thing, you – Ichiro – remain as dumb a lummox as ever. And that's Personal life!"
"You have no fiancée!" Father went into verbal tirade again. "No wife. No children. Not even a concubine in the clan! And now, with your iryonin stuff and whatever that barochamber is, you're cutting into my Personal life too! You've been sleeping here three weeks. You don't sleep yourself, and I can't bring women here!"
"Sorry, father." I interrupted Takashi with a waist-deep bow. "Didn't think. I'll move out tomorrow."
"Quiet, son. And don't interrupt. So! As I said, you don't live like a human yourself and won't let me! But I endured. Until yesterday! Until I was told they saw you hugging Aya Kurama's girl! And that was the limit. Not just mine, son!"
"Who?" I asked father grimly.
"Clan women." The sly politician evasively snorted and quoted nastily aloud: "He was ogling that old hag's ass!" "She's already twenty-five!" "She's even a widow!" "That Kurama seduces with availability and debauchery!"
"Availability is a technical aspect." I tried to justify. But no use. Father just flared up.
"I'll smack your technical side right now! Think, Ichiro, not with your head, but with your brain. And don't clown, son." But then, as if on cue, a phrase from past life burst out!
"Think with your head, love – By the Light, sense – with your ass, … and most importantly – don't mix them up." End of phrase, seeing father's surprised face, I already muttered and quickly shut up.
"Anyway, Ichiro!" Takashi furrowed his bushy brows. "Since you're so smart. I give you one month! Then I'll raffle you off to our women. Like a stallion. They're in heat now over your antics with Kurama. Otherwise, we'll do better and finally marry you off."
"Father!" Now it got scary. "I got Genjutsu from her. Needed for business." Decided to go with aces right away. "She's just teaching me! Sound genjutsu."
"I don't care!" Father smiled vengefully. "And our women don't give a damn at all! In a month, close the contract with Kurama. Then choose a bride from our clan. And after, make at least two 'kekkei genkai' Hyuga children. With Byakugan! Non-negotiable, son! – Understood me, Ichiro Hyuga-san?" Grimly, very seriously, pressed Takashi Hyuga – Clan External Policy Advisor and head of our family.
"Yes, Takashi-sama." I lowered my head so father wouldn't notice, and irritably worked my jaw muscles, but the old man spotted it again.
"And don't bull, Ichiro! Accept and do as ordered! I've told you this long ago! Clan above all!" Father clapped my shoulder and added a bit warmer. "Never forget that, son! Never! I'm old, forty years. And you're still playing science and iryonin. – Meanwhile, our family still has no children!" Father closed his eyelids and squeezed my shoulder. "Poor Yuko died, and I counted on her greatly. Alas, not fate! So, Ichiro, you need to be with the clan in everything! Especially important now. War's over, clan awaits children! As do I, grandchildren. As do you, Ichiro, your own family! You agree, son?"
"Yes, Otoo-sama." I sighed, agreeing, and decided to finally end this topic. In my favor, naturally. "However, give me at least a quarter. Month's too short! Won't master genjutsu. And they're needed for clan. For all of us! You know me, father."
"I do." Father took back the "brides" scroll. Wagged it threateningly and seriously slapped his palm. "So I'll give full two months! And on that, Ichiro, end topic and bargaining!"
"Hai, Otoo-sama." I bowed, but then father remembered, adding more. "Yes, son, knowing you, almost missed! – You'll forget Yamanaka women! And other mistresses. And getting techniques 'Sweet Price'! – That's the clan decision! Got it?"
"Yes, Takashi-sama." I gritted my teeth, the old fart cornered me. Hemmed in from all sides like homos at Daimyo's court.
"That's right!" The old man smirked slyly and headed for the exit. "Now, tell about your training. You've used 'Chakra Thread' since last war. Seemingly, … after meeting that kid Sasori, Akasuna. And recently got stronger at it. As I see."
"Yes," I agreed, "'Chakra Thread' with 'Tvisor' works wonders, father, even without Byakugan, we can easily…"
And under discussion of the topic, father and son leisurely left.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan