In the midst of the Kirigakure Collapse—an incident far more precarious and hidden within the shadows of the ninja world than in the original history—how should one act?
Hyuga Yu did not rush. The first thing he did was close his window and begin his cultivation.
Even though he could predict the future trends of the world, he currently lacked the power to overturn them. His opponent, the Third Mizukage, wouldn't even need to use ninjutsu, secret techniques, or Kekkei Genkai; the man could kill him within two minutes using nothing but taijutsu.
Konoha, currently mired in the quagmire of the Great War, was unable to provide him with strong support. He could only rely on himself.
Yu calmed his mind and activated his Byakugan, observing the chakra pathways within his body inch by inch.
His original Wind Style system was beginning to fall behind the "power creep" as the level of his opponents rose. If he wanted to participate in higher-level battles, he had to improve his combat system and become stronger.
He currently had several paths toward power.
First: Developing Tenseigan Chakra. This was the most fundamental path, leading directly to the Six Paths. However, he currently had no leads. The upgraded cyan chakra possessed the property of generating "attraction and repulsion," but that didn't mean Yu could do anything fancy with it yet. For now, this ability served only as a tool. He could lift a water cup or manipulate the direction of ninja tools like a puppeteer using chakra threads—that was the extent of its current limit.
Second: Continued development of the Wind Style Chakra Mode. He needed to perfect his taijutsu combat capabilities while in the Wind Style Chakra Mode. At the same time, he aimed to integrate the previously unmanageable recoil into his combat rhythm, turning that side effect into a high-mobility asset that could dictate the flow of battle.
Third: Yang Release. Fusing the "Eighteen-Hand Hashirama Cells" with his cyan chakra had significantly increased his appetite and physical constitution. His strength and speed had been boosted to an extent, and his base chakra reserves had taken a leap, reaching a Stamina stat of 7.
Aside from a slight stiffness in his abdominal muscle control, this genetic fusion technology from Orochimaru had brought Yu almost nothing but benefits. Most importantly, it gave Yu the explicit effects of the Yang attribute. The fact that he could use Medical Ninjutsu meant he already possessed a degree of Yang affinity, but after obtaining an explicit Yang attribute, his Medical Ninjutsu received a massive boost.
He could now begin attempting his concept of integrating Medical Ninjutsu into his combat system.
Aside from that...
Yu pulled a small vial from the ninja tool pouch hanging inside his inner clothes. Inside the bottle, a perfectly round "drop of blood" suspended in mid-air.
This was a physical entity of chakra that Yu had accidentally captured when the Third Mizukage used Blood Release. After brief research, Yu discovered that the mysterious Blood Release might be a combination of Water Style and Yang Release!
This usage of Yang Release—which was vastly different from Konoha's Medical Ninjutsu system or the Akimichi clan's body-morphing system—gave Yu a great deal of inspiration.
In the short term, the latter two methods were undoubtedly the fastest ways for Yu to increase his combat power. The second path was straightforward; he just needed to follow his original plan to expand the Wind Style combat system. However, the third path required external assistance. He needed to investigate how Yang Release influenced the body at a microscopic level—how this special chakra disturbed the blood, the body, and even foreign chakra. By reversing this process, he could find a way to crack the Third Mizukage's jutsu and develop a Yang Release secret technique unique to himself.
In short, Yu needed a laboratory.
A biochemical-medical laboratory established with massive funding to verify his hypotheses and perfect his development of Yang Release secret techniques!
And for this, he would need to borrow the strength of the Hidden Mist—essentially "playing with fire" by dealing with the enemy.
Having summarized his directions for improvement, Yu quickly finalized his plan of action. Then, suppressing the sense of urgency in his heart, he raised his palm and stared intently at the internal meridians of his hand with his Byakugan.
"Byakugan... Wind Style Chakra Mode, ON!"
In the next instant, a gale rose out of thin air within the room. It swirled around, picking up stacks of paper and furniture, only to be compressed around Yu's arm in the blink of an eye. In the vision of the Byakugan, a "Twelve Meridian" system—completely distinct from the traditional twelve pathways of a standard shinobi—was being constructed inch by inch inside and outside Yu's arm.
He compressed the massive gale into tiny air currents, building a brand-new meridian system within his body. It was similar to the steam-pressurized usage of Boil Release developed by Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki of the Hidden Stone, but it was far more detailed—and far more dangerous!
One slight mistake and he would turn into a human bomb, exploding into a puddle of flesh with a loud bang.
This was an S-rank Forbidden Jutsu that only Hyuga Yu could attempt to develop. It required the Byakugan, the Hyuga clan's top-tier knowledge of the body's acupuncture points and meridians, elite chakra control, the ability to decompose Wind Style chakra with cyan chakra to eliminate the risk of losing control, and master-level surgical skills.
[Wind Style: Flowing Astral]!
It involved constructing a "Twelve Standard Meridians" system within the body, similar to those found in martial arts lore. The twelve meridians were connected through the internal and external relations of the Yin and Yang of the hands and feet, forming a second circulation system that repeated in a continuous loop.
By rapidly transporting compressed wind through these paths constructed from Wind Style chakra, he could reach the internal organs and the external skin, circulating it through the entire body.
The sequence of construction started from the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, passing in turn to the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian... the Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, and finally back to the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.
At this moment, Yu was constructing the section involving the Hand Taiyin Lung, the Hand Yangming Large Intestine, and the Foot Yangming Stomach meridians.
As Yu inhaled and exhaled, the three meridians quietly took shape.
"Whoosh!"
In the pitch-black room, a violent, monstrous roar of wind suddenly erupted!
As the sound reached the door, it was swallowed by an invisible Silencing Barrier.
Outside the door, Terai maintained the Silencing Barrier. Hearing the terrifying noises occasionally coming from inside, he couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity and trepidation, wondering exactly what Hyuga Yu was doing in that room.
Meanwhile, on the other side, inside the Kirigakure Cryptanalysis Division base.
This was the intelligence department of the Hidden Mist, responsible for decoding encrypted messages sent back by frontline scout teams and intelligence personnel. These were then handed over to the head of the Anbu to formulate reference combat plans, which were eventually submitted to the Mizukage's office and the Kirigakure Council of Elders.
However, following the death of Kurisare Kushimaru of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, this department—which was directly under the Anbu—had for the first time slipped from the control of the Third Mizukage.
And now, it had welcomed its second supervisor.
A young girl walked into the office where the cryptanalysis ninjas were busy at work. She had a youthful face, fair skin, reddish-brown curly hair, and emerald-green eyes, wearing a blue tube top dress.
The ninjas in the office stopped their work simultaneously and looked at this young officer who had been dropped into the position.
Mei Terumi.
The little princess of the Terumi clan of the Hidden Mist. At only 13 years old, she had already mastered two Kekkei Genkai and had been promoted to Jonin out of turn. She was a young powerhouse clearly designated as a clan heir, with potential to one day even vie for the seat of Mizukage!
Unlike Hyuga Yu, who was a commander without an army, every ninja present immediately showed the girl the highest level of courtesy. They jumped from their workstations and gathered in the open space of the office, lining up in three neat rows like a group of knights waiting for their "princess" to inspect them.
Mei Terumi looked at the reactions of the young ninjas in the office and took a deep breath. She was a bit nervous, but she maintained the poise of a noble clan member and spoke steadily.
"Everyone," she began, "By the direct order of Elder Gen, I will be coordinating and managing the Cryptanalysis Division from now on."
At that moment, the captain of the Cryptanalysis Division stepped forward and gave Mei a ninety-degree bow. "What do you need us to do?" he asked respectfully. "Please rest assured, we will cooperate one hundred percent!"
Mei glanced at the man and immediately called out his name accurately. "Captain Sota!"
"Last night, ninjas infiltrated the Hidden Mist and assassinated Kaguya Washiro, an elder of the Kaguya clan. I need all the intelligence regarding those people!" Mei spoke seriously, then added, "Not the ridiculous wanted posters plastered all over the streets. The Council of Elders has ordered us to find him immediately!"
"Him?"
"The one who fought the Third Mizukage directly!"
"This..." Sota, the captain, frowned, and then spoke with a difficult expression. "We have already confirmed that those assassins are all from the Konoha Root. Root's intelligence agency is top-tier among all such organizations in the ninja world. We are already doing our best to investigate their hiding places, but... it will still take time."
"How long?"
"At least... three days."
Mei Terumi knit her brows. "Why does it take so long to find someone?"
"My apologies. Because it involves that person, many areas require cooperation from other departments to be searched. With our current authority..."
"Leave the searching to me!" Mei said in a deep voice. "Tell me immediately which areas are suspicious."
Sota thought for a moment and immediately reported the most likely area. "The Traveling Merchant District on the east side of the Hidden Mist!"
"It's the most chaotic place, where diplomatic missions and merchants from various small countries reside. Furthermore, because of the Mizukage's Secretariat, it is very difficult for us to send people to search there. it is perfect for hiding!"
Sota continued hesitantly, "As for other places, we can finish searching them all by tomorrow morning at the latest. Only this place..."
"The Traveling Merchant District?" A glint of realization flashed in Mei Terumi's emerald eyes. She nodded and took the task decisively. "I'll handle this!"
Then, she looked up at the Cryptanalysis Division again. "Additionally, I need information on one more ninja."
Sota nodded; this wouldn't be difficult. He asked directly, "Whose information do you need?"
"A 'hero' ninja who was confirmed dead two months ago in both Konoha's official records and the Hidden Mist's intelligence files."
"A dead man?" Hearing this, Sota couldn't help but pause, feeling surprised.
Mei Terumi nodded, her expression solemn.
"His name is..."
"Hyuga Yu!"
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