It took just a few days for Kabuto to regain his composure.
So what if he had to play spy again? He knew the drill inside and out—he'd been living this life for half his career.
Still, after flipping through the documents Hiruko had given him, he couldn't help doubting their truthfulness.
"How much of this is actually real?"
After preparing what he wanted to say in his head, Kabuto left Konoha.
At the very moment he departed, White Zetsu silently began tailing him.
"Oh, so Orochimaru has territory here too?"
"Jiraiya's here as well? Tsk. Now that's two villains in cahoots."
A few days later, when White Zetsu saw Jiraiya entering the base, he decided to stop surveillance.
After all, where Jiraiya was, Naruto Uzumaki might not be far behind—it would be easy to get caught.
Inside the base, Orochimaru didn't suspect Kabuto at all, simply putting him to work on minor tasks.
Although Hiruko had told him to hand over the documents directly, Kabuto wasn't reckless enough to do so.
He pretended these ideas had come to him spontaneously.
Even then, it still surprised Orochimaru.
"Kabuto, your insight seems sharper lately."
Kabuto could only force a nervous grin.
In another room, a ninja stood respectfully while Orochimaru approached and took the intelligence report from him, quickly skimming through it.
"There's surprisingly little intel on Kirigakure. Haven't you clarified yet who the previous jinchuriki of the Three-Tails were before the Fourth Mizukage?"
The subordinate shook his head.
After returning to Konoha, Kabuto gave a brief report on Orochimaru's daily activities.
"He wants to collect tailed beast chakra from multiple jinchuriki—could it be he's trying to fuse nine types of chakra together and recreate the God Tree (the sacred tree said to be the source of all Chakra)?" Kaguya looked perplexed.
Gamamaru already knew about the existence of the God Tree.
Therefore, it wasn't surprising that Jiraiya—who worked under Gamamaru—and those who associated with him also knew about it.
But Kaguya didn't believe anyone could really pull something like that off.
The time frame of the ninja world and that of the Otsutsuki Clan came from completely different dimensions.
Even if Orochimaru was brilliant, from learning to read until now, his knowledge spanned only decades.
How could one man, in such a short time, rival the Otsutsuki Clan's thousands of years of accumulated heritage?
Shimon Hiruko faced similar limits too—their research pursuits never even came close to a real breakthrough.
After gaining a general understanding of Orochimaru's movements, Kaguya stopped paying attention.
The one thing that made that guy even slightly interesting to her was his ability to bring back the chakra of the dead into this world.
On the Moon.
Toneri sat cross-legged beneath the massive Tenseigan, eyes closed.
The eyes currently in 'Toneri''s possession were originally Hiroki's Byakugan.
Meanwhile, Hiroki now possessed the spare Double Tomoe Sharingan sockets. He stared intently at the giant Tenseigan.
Maintaining connection with the Tenseigan, 'Toneri' opened his eyes and said, "You don't have to keep watching me."
"You're weakening its original power by enhancing the Byakugan using the large Tenseigan, right?"
"Exactly," Hiroki nodded. "But now it's barely noticeable. Rather than waiting around here, try instead to see if you can push that Sharingan toward further evolution."
Hiroki shook his head and walked out.
The Sharingan evolved through emotional stimulation. Since he hadn't gone through any tragic experiences, there was no way it could evolve. To him, these eyes were no different from ordinary ones.
According to Kaguya, the Otsutsuki Clan didn't possess the Tenseigan. They mostly had Byakugan and Rinnegan.
In terms of power level, the Tenseigan wasn't necessarily superior to the Otsutsuki's Byakugan, or rather, it wouldn't be particularly helpful for her; otherwise, Kaguya wouldn't have remained indifferent.
Judging from the original depiction, the Tenseigan leaned toward destructive power, while the Byakugan was relatively more versatile. As far as Kaguya was concerned, she didn't lack powerful offensive techniques nor did she need to change her fighting style, making the Tenseigan somewhat redundant.
When the Ninja Academy went on break, Hinata also stepped onto the Moon and brought Hiroki the Scroll of Seals.
That way, Hiroki wouldn't get too bored anymore.
Hiroki decided to activate the Tenseigan for Hinata first. Given the purity of her Byakugan, she probably wouldn't require a large-scale Tenseigan to supplement her evolutionary power.
"Do I really have to dig my eyes out?" Hinata asked pitifully.
The two people standing in front of her nodded simultaneously.
Hinata had no choice but to experience a period of blindness for a while.
Her sapphire eye irises shimmered like stars, and 'Toneri' was enveloped in green chakra, with several black Truth-Seeking Balls orbiting around him.
After being entranced for a moment in this state, 'Toneri' decisively removed the pair of eyes and placed Hiroki's eyes into his own eye sockets.
When the eyes returned to Hinata's body, they transformed back into pure white.
Both Toneri and Hiroki felt slightly perplexed.
Opening her eyes, Hinata wore an odd expression. She could sense that her eyes had changed somehow, but she couldn't quite articulate exactly how.
"Did the Tenseigan regress?" Hiroki communicated with Kaguya.
"Not really," Kaguya replied calmly.
"Could it possibly be like the Uchiha Clan, where ordinary Sharingan and Mangekyou can switch between each other?" Hiroki speculated.
"It's the adaptation period. You've already unlocked her evolutionary pathway. Once her body catches up, the Tenseigan will naturally activate again," Kaguya explained concisely.
Thinking about it for a while, Hiroki generally understood the reason.
It was just like how Kakashi had used both Mangekyous.
It's not that Obito's eyes were worse—it's just that Kakashi didn't know how to use them and never even realized their potential.
"Aniki, Hiroki..." Hinata looked confused.
"Hinata, as your body develops, your eyes will transform accordingly."
"Body..." Hinata glanced down at her small arms and legs.
"Cough... cough," Hiroki cleared his throat, interrupting her train of thought. "Go back and tell Hiashi everything that happened here. He'll understand. Most importantly, don't skip meals or go hungry..."
He knew full well that inside the clan, especially in front of Hiashi, Hinata would automatically put on a proper lady act—only to sneak snacks later.
As for Hiashi, he saw through it all but turned a blind eye.
"Hmm..." Hinata blushed slightly.
"Go back now."
Hinata waved goodbye and left.
Kaguya said, "You can't return until your Tenseigan stabilizes. Understand?"
"I understand," Hiroki nodded again.
The days passed steadily. With Hiroki still on the Moon, life down on Earth went on as usual.
Inside Konoha Village, since Kaguya had announced her intent to reclaim chakra, Tsunade—who had already been fairly laid-back—grew even more indifferent toward official duties. She focused entirely on training, leaving most responsibilities to Hiashi and his brother. She only made public appearances on rare occasions.
To most people, it seemed like the Hyuga were pulling all the strings behind the scenes.
Izumi Uchiha, having awoken and fully recovered, resumed her identity as a ninja and now lived within the Uchiha clan compound.
Now missing his Sharingan eye, Kakashi felt disheartened and left Anbu. He picked up the Hatake sword style again.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>