136. The Foundation Is Set

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In the void of unconsciousness, Kimimaro drifted.

The last thing she remembered—

A man reaching toward her, his eyes closed, hand extended.

She awoke with a sharp inhale.

The bright lights overhead forced her to squint, pupils adjusting. She'd been here before. Restraint. Cold air. Artificial calm. These were the signs of being researched.

She looked around.

A lab.

White walls.

Sealing arrays.

Then—him.

The man in black.

Her eyes narrowed.

She tried to summon her chakra. Nothing. Her bloodline? Suppressed. Her body was still recovering, the systems inactive.

She sat up slowly. The sterile gown clung loosely to her new frame. White strands of hair fell across her cheeks as she held her head, still dizzy.

"…Who are you?"

The man in the mask spoke:

"It's me."

He removed it.

The pale eyes said it all.

"...White Eyes? Hyuga?"

Her gaze sharpened in recognition.

"I see… that explains it. You spared me because I'm Kaguya clan."

Neji tilted his head, intrigued.

"I wasn't sure you'd remember."

"Only vaguely," Kimimaro said. "The Kaguya and Hyuga clans had relations long ago. I heard whispers, even in confinement. So that's why…"

Her voice was calm.

Too calm.

She wasn't surprised to be alive. Only surprised by the reason.

"You fought for Orochimaru," Neji said. "That shocked me more than your survival."

Kimimaro lowered her head slightly.

"…Lord Orochimaru…"

There was no bitterness in her tone.

Just the truth.

"I failed him. That's enough to be discarded."

Neji said nothing, letting her speak.

"I was a tool. If the tool breaks, it's abandoned. I've seen it before. This… isn't unusual."

She looked up at him, solemn.

"What do you want from me?"

Neji's gaze locked with hers.

"Your bloodline. Your body. Your legacy."

Kimimaro blinked. "I'm a woman now."

"…Yeah. Not a problem."

She shrugged. "Fine. If I have no purpose left use me. I don't care."

It was said with no self-pity. Just mechanical certainty.

But Neji recognized the telltale signs.

The psychological bonding agent worked. Subtle. Controlled. Shaped by personal loss and unconscious longing for identity.

"Then become mine."

"…Okay."

Just like that.

Neji smiled beneath his breath.

He'd won.

Not through mind control.

Through design.

Kimimaro was a living weapon with nowhere else to go. And now she had purpose again.

"From this point on," Neji said, "you'll be essential to my research. You'll help birth an army."

Kimimaro nodded.

Neji's gaze sharpened.

An army of chakra-reactive puppets, powered by modified Byakugan—

The foundation of the Peacekeeper System.

The hardware for the Reincarnation Eye project.

And Kimimaro's cellular structure was the missing keystone.

"Let's begin."

"I'm ready."

---

She lay back as Neji began the process.

A thin layer of medical tape marked her chest, arms, and legs. Monitoring seals activated. Tiny adhesive glyphs latched onto key meridian points.

She felt his hands work with precision. No discomfort.

Oddly… she didn't hate the touch.

Something about it… felt natural.

"Done."

Neji stepped back.

"The next part might sting."

"I don't mind."

Chakra surged.

Pain followed.

Kimimaro winced but didn't scream.

Data flowed across Neji's screen real-time charts of her bloodline's activity, cellular regeneration, chakra metabolism, and bone proliferation rate.

Insane recovery speed.

Faster than anything he'd ever seen.

He smiled.

"This body… It's absurd."

Her bone marrow generated dense tissue faster than even Hashirama's cells.

Not just combat potential.

This was production capacity.

---

Later, Neji emerged from the lab mask on, coat billowing. He stood on the balcony overlooking the sea.

The wind carried salt and memory.

He'd walked this path once. As a pirate. Now… as a scientist. A shadow tactician. A war architect.

This time… no chaos. No accidents.

Only control.

The foundation was laid.

The real game had begun now.

---

In the command chamber below, his core operatives gathered:

Zabuza – his loyal executor

Haku – field recon and infiltration

Karin – data and genetics

Izumi – command and coordination

He sat at the head of the table.

"Zabuza. Is the Land of Waves secured?"

"All ours. Even the daimyo answers to us now."

"Good."

Neji clasped his hands. "Then the foundation is set."

---

He tapped the console.

A holographic map displayed Hoshigakure the Village Hidden in the Stars.

"Your next objective is the meteorite."

"Understood," Zabuza said.

"You'll leave in three days. A new operative will join you."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow.

Another one?

He said nothing. Only nodded.

---

As the meeting ended, Neji's gaze lingered on the glowing display.

The Peacekeeper Protocol.

The Reincarnation Eye.

The Substitution Network.

The D-Organization's full system.

It begins now.

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