The night was deep.
Within Yoshida Jin's residence, Tatsuya led his clone body toward the laboratory – the same one Yoshida Jin had prepared for him back when he was developing new medicines.
"Get on," Tatsuya instructed, gesturing toward the operating table as they entered the lab.
The clone body didn't reply, silently lying down on the cold surface.
Poof!
Tatsuya produced a sealed storage scroll, unsealing it to retrieve a test tube-like culture dish. Inside were none other than Uchiha Teru's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Tatsuya planned to transplant these eyes into the clone body.
Upon arriving in Yamanashi Castle, Tatsuya had immediately dispatched the clone body to gather intelligence. The rogue ninjas' camps were located just outside the city, making reconnaissance relatively easy.
However, the intelligence gathered was far from optimistic.
The situation was much more severe than Tatsuya and Pakura had initially estimated. Unexpectedly, Kusagakure and Takigakure were pulling the strings from behind the scenes, using the local Narita and Taniguchi families merely as a front. Both hidden villages had set their sights on Ansei Hall.
According to the intel the clone body had gathered by infiltrating the camps, the two villages had dispatched no fewer than five jonin, and their hidden strength remained unknown.
Faced with this reality, Tatsuya couldn't afford to be careless.
After sharing this information via his shadow clone connection, Tatsuya resolved to transplant the Mangekyo Sharingan into the clone body. No matter what, he couldn't easily relinquish the interests tied to Ansei Hall.
Standing before the operating table, Tatsuya cleared his mind of all distractions and began the transplantation procedure. While implanting a Sharingan wasn't overly complex, it wasn't trivially simple either. Aided by his bio-chip, the surgery on the clone body was completed swiftly.
Once finished, Tatsuya carefully checked the clone body's condition before turning to leave. The clone on the operating table needed time to recuperate and adapt here for a while. Even with Uchiha and Senju genetic material integrated into its system, successfully controlling a pair of already awakened Mangekyo Sharingan wouldn't be easy.
The next morning arrived crisp and clear.
In the residence's backyard, a slender figure was already hard at work on the training grounds. Pakura stood quietly by the edge, observing.
Whoosh~
A flicker of movement, and Tatsuya appeared beside Pakura.
He watched the girl training diligently for a moment, a smile of approval gracing his lips. The figure training so intensely was Guren. It had been over a year since they last met, and Guren had clearly grown taller, nearly reaching Pakura's shoulder height.
"Looks like you've put quite a bit of effort into her over the past year," Tatsuya remarked with a smile, turning to Pakura after observing for a while longer.
"With nothing else to do all day, my time naturally focused on her," Pakura replied nonchalantly. "Besides, Guren trains very hard. It's no surprise she's reached her current level of strength."
She paused, then turned to Tatsuya, her expression laced with confusion. "However, why did you only have me teach her basic ninjutsu theory? With Guren's talent, her strength would improve much more if she could learn more advanced ninjutsu."
"She has a better path to follow," Tatsuya said with a shrug.
"A better path? What do you mean?" Pakura pressed. Known for her kindness and patience, Pakura was an ideal teacher. After spending over a year together, she had developed a deep bond with Guren. In Pakura's eyes, Guren's talent far surpassed that of her former student in Sunagakure, Maki, and she couldn't understand why Tatsuya seemed to be deliberately restricting Guren's development.
"Guren's constitution is special," Tatsuya explained. "She possesses a natural kekkei genkai. We just need to build a solid foundation for her and let it awaken naturally."
"A kekkei genkai?" Pakura's voice rose slightly in disbelief as she turned her gaze back to Guren on the field.
"That's right. A kekkei genkai," Tatsuya confirmed, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Hers is quite unique. Once awakened, Guren's power will undergo a massive leap, and her potential for growth is extremely high. From then on, she only needs to focus on developing her kekkei genkai's abilities. Learning too many other ninjutsu would only divide her focus."
In his previous life, Tatsuya had actually been quite the Guren fan for a time. Her incredibly cool fighting style and formidable power were truly captivating.
"You seem quite confident in her," Pakura noted, her own curiosity piqued. Given Tatsuya's current strength and status, there weren't many ninja who could earn his recognition and high expectations.
Tatsuya simply smiled without replying.
"Guren!" he called out, stepping forward and waving to the girl on the training field.
"Big Brother Tatsuya!" Hearing his voice, Guren stopped her training immediately. Seeing Tatsuya, she broke into a happy run towards him.
Tatsuya gently embraced the girl, ruffling her hair softly. "Long time no see! You've almost grown into a young lady."
"Big Brother Tatsuya, you haven't visited me in so long!" Guren murmured, closing her eyes contentedly in his embrace. She held deep gratitude for the older boy who had saved her and given her the chance to train. In Guren's heart, Tatsuya was her closest person in the shinobi world, even more so than Teacher Pakura, who had diligently instructed her for over a year.
After exchanging a few quiet words, Tatsuya gently pushed her back slightly, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Guren," he said seriously, "do you want to become stronger?"
Guren nodded without hesitation.
Tatsuya asked, "Do you remember what I told you once before?"
Guren nodded again. "I remember! Big Brother Tatsuya, you said there was a powerful force hidden inside my body."
"Exactly," Tatsuya confirmed, his gaze locking onto hers. "In a moment, I'm going to use a sealing technique and a ninjutsu on you to try and awaken that power. The process might be painful. Are you willing to try?"
A kekkei genkai was an exceptionally unique power, and its awakening often came at a cost – like the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. Guren's Crystal Release was even more peculiar, possibly unique in the entire shinobi world. Tatsuya had no way of knowing exactly what would happen during its awakening. This was precisely why he had insisted Pakura focus on building Guren's foundation diligently.
Now, the time had come to attempt awakening Guren's Crystal Release.
"I'm willing!" Guren replied, her nod firm and resolute.
"Good!" Tatsuya took a deep breath, acknowledging her determination.
Immediately, Tatsuya began forming hand seals.
Yin-Yang Seal—Release!
Instantly, immense life energy and spiritual energy surged forth from Tatsuya's body. This time, however, he didn't merge them into chakra. Instead, he controlled the vast life energy, channeling it directly into Guren's body. The enormous spiritual energy, meanwhile, simply dissipated naturally.
As the potent life energy flooded into her, a painful expression contorted Guren's face, and her skin began to take on a faint blue hue.
Beside them, Pakura's mouth had fallen open in astonishment. This was the first time she had ever witnessed Tatsuya use the Yin-Yang Seal.
Time seemed to crawl as the pain on Guren's face intensified.
Crrrack—!
Suddenly, a pillar of red crystal erupted violently, shooting towards the sky.
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