Year 50 of Konoha, February 17, 4:00 PM.
The civil war in the Land of Rain, which had erupted across the central canyons, was gradually drawing to a close.
At this moment, in the center of the battlefield, Hyuga Yu walked up to Kitsuchi. As he approached, he sorted through the shocking information he had just obtained in his mind—the "Sentinel Project" originating from the Otsutsuki clan on the moon, which had indirectly influenced the Hyuga clan of the ninja world for nearly a thousand years, or rather, the true origin behind the birth of the so-called "Hyuga Tennin."
Simultaneously, completely at ease in front of Kitsuchi, he used Wind Style: Chakra Scalpel to mold an "air chair" out of nothingness. He sat down gracefully and generously right in front of the defeated Iwagakure and Amegakure shinobi.
However, Yu was in no rush to speak. After sitting down, he redirected his attention back to his body. His physical form, having completed a passive qualitative change through Yang Release, was regenerating at a frantic pace. This caused a numb, itchy sensation to well up within his eye sockets, as if something was about to sprout.
It was, shockingly... the Byakugan.
Under the influence of Yang Release, the cellular fluid remaining in his eye sockets proliferated wildly. Two Byakugan eyes belonging to Yu himself rapidly grew out, and in an instant, erupted with an extremely pure, pale-blue radiance!
At the very moment of their birth, under the combined effects of Yu's purified bloodline, Yang Release, and Tenseigan Chakra, these two Byakugan automatically acquired the dōjutsu Ten Directions and immediately began evolving into a higher-level embryonic matrix of the Tenseigan.
Yet, Yu directly raised his hand, drew a small chakra scalpel, and stabbed toward his eyes, manually halting the process. With a calm expression, he gouged out the two newly born embryonic Tenseigan eyes with his bare hands. Then, unrolling a scroll strapped to his leg, he summoned a glass jar meant for storing Byakugan, dropped them inside, and sealed it back up.
Right after, Yu unhurtedly bent over. In the center of the basin, right at the feet of where he sat, he rummaged for a moment through a corpse of an ordinary shinobi—whether an Ame or Iwa ninja was unclear—gouged out its eyes, and stuffed them into his own sockets.
There was not even a need for Medical Ninjutsu. Under Yu's exaggerated innate recovery power, the ophthalmic nerves—the frontal nerve, lacrimal nerve, ophthalmic artery, optic nerve, oculomotor nerve, abducens nerve, trochlear nerve, trigeminal nerve, and ciliary nerve—spontaneously connected to this pair of ordinary eyes.
Vision returned to Yu's eyes.
Thus, he saw that in the center of the basin's ruins, while he had been unhurriedly performing his minor surgery, the surviving elites of Iwagakure—now numbering fewer than a hundred—had gathered behind Kitsuchi. Roushi stood at the forefront of the Iwa shinobi, carrying the unconscious Han over his shoulder, his head lowered in complete silence.
As for Kitsuchi, the mastermind who had orchestrated this ambush against Yu, he was currently in a bizarre posture—as if holding a horse stance, sitting mid-air on a nonexistent "chair." His face was deathly pale, cold sweat poured from his forehead, and his trembling lips were tightly pursed as he looked up in terror, stealing glances at the perfectly composed Yu.
He really "sat" down.
Behind Yu, Yahiko was leading Nagato, Konan, and the rest of the Akatsuki toward them. Among them, Hanzo of the Salamander was also in the line. At this moment, looking at Yahiko leading the way ahead and Yu calmly sitting in front of the Iwa forces, Hanzo's gaze was immensely complex.
By now, everyone present understood that with Yu's power, if he truly wanted their lives, it would be impossible for them to walk out of this basin alive. The upcoming peace talks, which would be dominated by Yu, would essentially be his one-man show.
Iwagakure, and Amegakure led by Hanzo, had suffered a crushing defeat in this war.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy; no one spoke first.
Yu took in the entire scene. Seeing that the timing was right, he stopped making things difficult for Kitsuchi. Looking at him, he spoke flatly, "Mr. Kitsuchi."
"Ah... Yes!" Kitsuchi shuddered violently, immediately straightening his upper body into an attentive posture.
"Let's skip the pleasantries—"
"Next, let's begin the negotiations," Yu said, looking at him calmly. "Of course, if you have any objections to the outcome of this match, you can raise them now."
Hearing this, Kitsuchi was slightly taken aback. He exchanged glances with Roushi behind him, both looking at each other in bewilderment.
In fact, having fought to this point, the Iwagakure side had already deployed almost all of its top-tier combat forces onto the battlefield—excluding the Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki—including their Tailed Beast Jinchuriki weapons. It had been an all-or-nothing gamble.
Yet, under such circumstances, Iwagakure had still been completely crushed at the hands of Konoha's Tennin.
This was a terrifying achievement that even Jiraiya, leading his three disciples including Minato Namikaze, had failed to achieve previously!
After this battle, all of Iwagakure's schemes in the Land of Rain had collapsed. A geopolitical shift was now inevitable. Even the lives of the surviving Iwa elites, including Kitsuchi, Roushi, and Han, hung solely on the whim of the youth before them!
Kitsuchi didn't know what Iwagakure and Konoha even had left to negotiate under these circumstances.
After exchanging glances with Roushi, Kitsuchi couldn't help but think: Could this... could the Tennin be forcing us to surrender voluntarily?
However, at this very moment, carrying the heavy burden of Iwagakure's and even the entire Land of Earth's future for the next decade or two, the words of surrender and defeat simply refused to escape from between Kitsuchi's teeth.
He turned his head to look at Yu. Under Yu's placid gaze, his entire body trembled slightly, his eyes shaking violently. "We... I..."
Ultimately, Kitsuchi lowered his proud head—the head of the Third Tsuchikage's son—in front of Yu and said, "We have no objections!"
Then, gasping heavily, he pushed himself up from his bent knees and looked at Yu, his eyes filled with intense regret and unwillingness. "Furthermore, I... I am willing to take full responsibility for this war and return with you to Konoha... Right here, I can also offer my life to account for the Konoha shinobi who perished in the previous battles."
"But please, release the Iwa shinobi behind me. After all, they are... innocent."
With that, Kitsuchi looked as if he was about to fall to his knees before Yu.
However, just as Kitsuchi was about to kneel, he felt a fierce gust of wind rise up before his knees, pushing him backward. He then landed squarely on an "air chair." In fact, the moment he sat down, Kitsuchi actually felt a strange, comfortable sensation, as if he were sinking into a sofa.
"You misunderstand."
At this moment, amidst Kitsuchi's bewildered gaze, Yu waved his hand and said calmly, "It is not yet the day for peace talks with Iwagakure. I believe what we should be discussing right now is..."
"...the contents of the Land of Rain peace treaty."
Peace talks for the Land of Rain, yet negotiated between Konoha and Iwagakure.
At this time, Akatsuki and Hanzo of the Land of Rain could only stand silently behind Yu, maintaining absolute quiet, unable to even get a seat at the table.
Yu smiled as he looked at Kitsuchi. "We can completely preserve some necessary dignity between us. Don't you think so, Mr. Kitsuchi?"
"Necessary... dignity?" Kitsuchi looked at Yu in surprise, his mind racing furiously. But soon, he couldn't help but speculate: Since Yu only mentioned the Land of Rain peace talks right now and didn't shift the focus to the official negotiations between Iwagakure and Konoha scheduled for April 1st, could it be that Konoha... wanted even more?
At this point, Roushi quietly patted Kitsuchi's back. As an outsider to the direct exchange, he could see the situation more clearly. He immediately whispered a reminder to Kitsuchi, "There are no outsiders present for this battle. This kid... the Tennin means that Iwagakure doesn't have to 'lose'."
Hearing this, Kitsuchi suddenly understood, and his gaze toward Yu shifted slightly.
He immediately thought of the Fourth Hokage election that Konoha was currently preparing for. According to the intel he had received, the Tennin, recommended by Konoha Elder Danzo Shimura, was also a candidate in this election.
The Tennin was strong, terrifyingly strong, that was true. However, his age, achievements, and thin mission record were plain to see. In terms of public opinion polls and the support of the ninja clans, it would be difficult for him to compete with the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
He immediately deduced that Yu was offering such generous conditions—unbefitting of prisoners of war—precisely to secure his bid for the position of Fourth Hokage.
"I see, I understand what you mean now!"
At this moment, believing he had uncovered the "truth," Kitsuchi looked at Yu and breathed a massive sigh of relief. For him, being able to preserve some modicum of dignity was already a blessing in disguise!
He immediately asked urgently, "Then, Tennin, what do you require?"
Yu's objective, of course, was not merely the Hokage position. In fact, to him, the Hokage title was expendable. What Yu valued more was how to advance his subsequent plans. At this moment, Yu had three pressing matters to resolve:
First, the preparation of his laboratory.
Establishing a fully functional biological laboratory capable of supporting him in rapidly developing first-stage results within a short timeframe—at the very least, synthesizing a true Tenseigan. This required a massive influx of funds, cutting-edge equipment from the ninja world, various top-tier talents, and even utilizing political power to make the entirety of Konoha give him the green light all the way.
Simply put, what Yu needed to do at this stage was not to act as a hands-on, front-line researcher—a single person's strength was ultimately limited. What he needed to do was leverage his power to mobilize immense funds, recruit massive talent, formulate seamless plans, clear all institutional bottlenecks, and become the mastermind of a massive project, akin to J. Robert Oppenheimer in the Manhattan Project.
Second, the Giant Tenseigan and the threat from the Otsutsuki clan on the moon.
Upon learning the full scope of the Otsutsuki's "Sentinel Project"—the "Hyuga Tennin" project—Yu completely recognized the danger coming from the moon, which left zero room for compromise.
Relying solely on the "Tenseigan Chakra Mode," he was no match for the moon's Otsutsuki clan. While he might pose a threat or deal with them in other aspects like ninjutsu or dōjutsu, thoroughly defeating them and seizing the Giant Tenseigan—especially if they were driven to madness and attempted to detonate the Giant Tenseigan—would be exceptionally difficult.
He needed to boost his strength in a short amount of time. This forced him to prioritize immediate gains over long-term prospects, plotting through other methods existing within the ninja world that could rapidly elevate his power—such as Curse Marks, Senjutsu, the Sharingan, genuine Hashirama cells, or even... the White Zetsu and the Gedo Mazo in Madara Uchiha's hands.
To acquire these powers, Yu had to manufacture bargaining chips out of thin air to exchange for them, such as... the position of the Fourth Hokage.
Third, the collection of talent.
Top-tier geniuses required Yu to win them over one by one, but ordinary, foundational talents were plentiful across the major hidden villages, and they were an indispensable scientific research force. Yu's ultimate goal was to build a scientific research tower that transcended nationalities, was not restricted to ninja clans, and did not discriminate against Kekkei Genkai or Jinchuriki. If he killed the crown prince of Iwagakure now... how would he get Kurotsuchi later—cough, cough, rather, a massive number of Iwagakure research personnel—to work for him willingly and wholeheartedly?
Therefore, at this moment, Yu's expression suddenly turned solemn. His black eyes shone brightly as he looked at Kitsuchi, speaking in an impassioned tone that sounded like someone proclaiming a dream, "Kitsuchi-san..."
"...In truth, I have never been a person who enjoys fighting!"
Hearing this, Kitsuchi's heart skipped a beat. He blinked, looking at Yu, whose face and body were covered in the blood of Iwagakure shinobi, completely unable to accept this "fact" for the moment.
Then, he heard Yu continue in a deep voice, "I have a dream!"
"It originates from back when I was still a weak, humble medical ninja. Every single day at the Konoha Hospital, I witnessed war, trauma, and death!"
"People suffered endless hardships and torments, yet were ultimately restricted by the scarcity of medical supplies and the poverty of medical techniques, losing their vibrant lives in vain."
"Amputees endure the discriminatory stares of others, those traumatized by war wake up in a daze from nightmares every day, and countless medical sequelae torture innumerable shinobi harboring dreams!"
"At that time, a dream was born in my heart! A grand dream!"
"I dream that one day, no one will suffer and die in agony anymore."
"I dream that one day, people can live out their lives in peace, fully experiencing birth, old age, sickness, and death."
"I dream that one day, our medical methods will be so advanced that not a single injured person will ever need to cry out in pain again."
"I dream that one day, every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the crooked straight, and the rough places plain; the holy light shall be revealed, shining fully upon mankind!"
"This is my dream, and it is with this conviction that I stepped onto the battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War!"
"Because I know that studying medicine cannot save the ninja world! Much less save mankind!"
"Therefore—" At this point, Yu paused, a brilliant glint flashing in his eyes as he looked solemnly at Kitsuchi, saying, "Kitsuchi-san, I have a dream today!"
Trembling under the aggressive, piercing gaze shooting from Yu's eyes, Kitsuchi swallowed hard and stammered, "Please... please speak. As long as... as long as it's within my power..."
"I wish to lead the establishment of the largest hospital, the largest biomedical laboratory, and the largest production line for cutting-edge pharmaceuticals in the entire ninja world! Furthermore, the results I develop will be entirely open-source, transcending national boundaries, so that everyone in the ninja world can share in them!"
"So that the elderly do not weep, the young do not die, and there is no need to ingest gold or swallow white jade!"
"Injecting a brand-new momentum into the development of Medical Ninjutsu, which has stagnated for many years in the entire ninja world!"
Yu stared at Kitsuchi—stared at this Iwagakure crown prince—and spoke with a deeply moved expression, "Kitsuchi-san, can you support my dream?"
Kitsuchi nodded frantically, deathly afraid that if he nodded a second too late, the air chair beneath his buttocks would turn into a barrage of wind blades and riddle him like a hornet's nest!
"No problem! In fact, it's absolutely wonderful!~"
"Tennin, I never imagined that you possessed such a grand ideal. I must say, I acknowledge your dream! Whatever you want, please feel free to tell me!"
"This... how could I be so forward?"
"Ai, we're brothers! No need to treat each other like strangers!"
"That's wonderful!"
Yu smiled at Kitsuchi, finally revealing his true objective for this trip. "Aside from the matters regarding the Land of Rain and the upcoming peace talks between Iwagakure and Konoha, Brother Kitsuchi, could you grant me a tiny bit of scientific research funding in the name of transnational hospital exchange?"
"No problem, how much do you want?"
"Five hundred million ryo."
"No problem!" Kitsuchi agreed readily, then followed up, "What else?"
Yu revealed a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "Iwagakure's artificial human and biological cloning technology."
"And if possible, making the accompanying Earth Style open-source to me personally would be deeply appreciated!"
Hearing this, Kitsuchi froze instantly, the expression on his face completely solidifying. Because, heavily impacted by the battle against the Third Raikage, Iwagakure had lost a massive number of its new generation of shinobi. Consequently, driven by the Third Tsuchikage Ohnoki, Iwagakure had secretly launched a project for artificial humans utilizing the ninja world's cutting-edge biological cloning technology. However, this project had only just started three to five years ago... Reasonably speaking, this was the absolute top secret of Iwagakure.
And the "Earth Style" accompanying this project that Yu spoke of... was called—
Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!
Immediately, Kitsuchi snapped his head up, staring in utter disbelief at Yu's harmless, innocent face, his pupils shrinking abruptly at that very moment!
"You... how do you know about that?!"
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