Chapter 2

According to the vague memories of his past life, the Tenseigan was an upgraded version of the Byakugan, a supreme power comparable to the Rinnegan.

As far as Hyuga Kagami knew, there were two ways to evolve the Tenseigan.

The first method was similar to Otsutsuki Toneri's approach—combining the bloodline of the branch on the Moon with the main branch of the Hyuga clan on Earth, thereby evolving into the Tenseigan.

The second method was by fusing a large number of Byakugan.

Kagami immediately ruled out the first method. He was neither a member of the main branch nor had access to the Byakugan of the Otsutsuki bloodline on the Moon. As for the second method, due to the existence of the 'Caged Bird' seal, the Byakugan of branch family members would be instantly destroyed upon death or removal. This meant that relying solely on the main family would not provide enough Byakugan for the fusion process.

While both methods seemed infeasible, the second one gave Kagami a new idea.

Whether it was the Byakugan or the Sharingan, all bloodline limits were merely genetic manifestations. If he couldn't collect enough Byakugan, could he instead focus on genetics? By gathering a large number of Hyuga clan genetic samples and fusing them at a genetic level, could he evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan from within?

With this bold hypothesis in mind, Kagami focused his studies under Orochimaru on genetic technology.

Through continuous learning and observation, he made an astonishing discovery—every Hyuga clan member's genes contained 33 distinct special genetic sequences.

Further research revealed that different individuals had different numbers of these 33 sequences activated. In his own case, only sequences 17 to 33 were active, while sequences 1 to 16 remained dormant. The other Hyuga clan members he studied showed a similar pattern—only a portion of the 33 special sequences were activated.

This finding further confirmed Kagami's hypothesis.

He began to suspect that if all 33 genetic sequences could be activated, any Hyuga clan member might be able to evolve their Byakugan into the Tenseigan.

This idea took root in his mind and rapidly grew into an obsession.

Thanks to the ongoing war, Orochimaru had placed Kagami in a battlefield hospital, making it easy for him to collect numerous Hyuga genetic samples. After screening and analyzing over a hundred samples, he successfully extracted the active sequences for groups 4 to 16.

With his own sequences 17 to 33 already activated, the only missing pieces were the active sequences for groups 1 to 3.

Kagami had already collected enough samples from the branch family, but none of them had active sequences in the 1 to 3 range. Naturally, his attention turned to the main family.

However, main family members rarely went to the battlefield, and even when they did, they were heavily guarded. As a mere lower-ranking ninja, Kagami had no chance to obtain their genetic material easily.

Thus, he had to ask Orochimaru for help.

Orochimaru did not refuse, but even for a legendary Sannin, stealing genetic material from the Hyuga main family was no simple task.

Time dragged on for more than a year, and the experiment was forced into suspension.

Though frustrated, Kagami knew he was just a small figure struggling for survival. If he wanted to change his fate, he had to create his own opportunities rather than wait for luck to fall into his lap.

Just as he was planning to target Hinata, the soon-to-be-born heir of the main family, Orochimaru surprised him. Before parting ways, Orochimaru gifted him a piece of flesh from a main family member.

As he processed the genetic material, Kagami pondered, "Orochimaru should be defecting in the next few days, yet he didn't take me with him. Instead, he gave me exactly what I needed before leaving. What is his intention? Does he want me to stay in the village as his spy?"

Judging by Orochimaru's recent behavior and Kagami's fragmented memories from his past life, it was clear that Orochimaru had lost interest in the Byakugan. His parting gift wasn't about continuing Byakugan research—it was to pacify Kagami.

Smirking bitterly, Kagami thought, "I suppose the 'Caged Bird' seal has its benefits after all."

It was clear that Orochimaru had left him behind because of the 'Caged Bird' seal. As a branch family member, Kagami was not allowed to defect. If he tried, the seal could instantly eliminate him. Orochimaru had no interest in taking along a useless corpse.

Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, Kagami focused on the experiment at hand.

The genetic material Orochimaru provided was incredibly fresh. If Kagami's guess was correct, it likely belonged to Hyuga Hiashi, the current clan head—the exact genetic sample Kagami had been desperately seeking.

Since the sample was still fresh, the genetic extraction process went smoothly. Upon analysis, Kagami was shocked to discover that 28 out of 33 genetic sequences in Hiashi's DNA were active, including the critical sequences 1 to 3 that Kagami needed.

"So he has 28 active sequences... No wonder he's the clan head!"

Thinking about Hiashi's near-Kage-level strength, Kagami quickly understood the logic. A top-tier warrior of the Hyuga clan should possess the most refined genetic lineage.

Shaking off his admiration, Kagami focused entirely on the task at hand.

He meticulously extracted the active sequences for 1 to 3, the final pieces he needed.

At last, Kagami had gathered all 1 to 16 active sequences he had been missing.

"This is it. This is my chance to defy fate!"

A storm of emotions surged through him—excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and doubt—all crashing into him at once.

He wanted to scream to the heavens, to release years of fear and oppression bottled inside him. But the one-eyed viper on his shoulder reminded him to remain composed.

Taking a deep breath, Kagami suppressed his emotions.

Calmly, he stored the extracted genetic material in a small temperature-controlled vial, then sealed it within a scroll.

Orochimaru's defection would inevitably shake the entire village.

To avoid being implicated, Kagami had many loose ends to tie up. First and foremost was this laboratory—he had to erase all traces of his presence, ensuring that even the most skilled investigators couldn't uncover his genetic research.

If the village found out about his experiments, they would track him down. Worse, if they realized he was working on fusing special genetic sequences, they might see him as a threat.

For now, he had to be careful.