Land of the Moon.
Beneath a star-strewn night sky, a figure landed on a cliffside, slowly pulling back the hood of their cloak to reveal a face etched with solemnity and wariness.
If any Hyuga were present, they would be shocked to recognize this clandestine visitor to the Land of the Moon as none other than their clan leader, Hyuga Hiashi.
At that moment, a dark silhouette drifted through the night sky.
Hiashi's expression tightened on the cliff's edge, instinctively stepping back half a pace, his guard raised.
The silhouette soon hovered directly above the cliff, looking down at Hiashi with an air of cold disdain. In a chilling tone laced with slight contempt, it demanded, "You are the current leader of the Hyuga clan?"
Hiashi looked up, focusing intently on the figure.
The floating silhouette was an elderly man clad in ornate robes, his white hair gleaming despite his advanced age. He exuded vitality and sharpness, his presence commanding.
Most striking were the Byakugan in his eye sockets, glowing with refined brilliance, instantly drawing Hiashi's attention.
Undoubtedly, the Byakugan was the ultimate proof of identity. With no further doubts, Hiashi responded courteously, "I am the current head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi. And you, sir, are…?"
Before Hiashi could finish, the old man waved his sleeve, cutting him off. "I summoned you here to confirm one thing."
Hiashi felt a flicker of displeasure at the old man's rudeness, but considering the figure's unique status and the connection between the Hyuga clan and his lineage, he suppressed his irritation and asked calmly, "What is it you wish to confirm, sir?"
With a slight flick, the old man sent a scroll tumbling down.
Hiashi caught it and unrolled it, revealing a portrait of a face—one he recognized immediately as Hyuga Neji, who had been training by his side recently.
There was no mistake.
This old man was none other than the Ōtsutsuki branch family elder who had pursued Uchiha Shinji and Neji during their incursion.
In the previous battle on the moon, the Ōtsutsuki branch family had not only lost an elder and a pair of Byakugan but also suffered extensive damage to their fortress.
These losses alone were enough to make reconciliation impossible for the Ōtsutsuki branch family. But what truly kept them awake at night was that the intruders had discovered their clan's greatest treasure—the Giant Tenseigan!
Afterward, the Ōtsutsuki branch family employed numerous methods to investigate the intruders.
However, having severed ties with the shinobi world over a century ago and with their clan's numbers dwindling, they were critically short-handed. Despite exhaustive efforts, they only managed to deduce that the intruders were likely linked to the Akatsuki, an organization currently making waves in the shinobi world.
As they learned more about the Akatsuki, the Ōtsutsuki branch family quickly realized this group posed a significant threat. After all, the Akatsuki was an organization bold enough to challenge the five great shinobi villages, with the audacious goal of collecting Tailed Beasts.
This inevitably led them to recall the thief who had stolen the Gedo Statue from the moon long ago.
To safeguard the Giant Tenseigan, the Ōtsutsuki branch family intensified their investigation into the Akatsuki. But the Akatsuki was shrouded in mystery, elusive even to the five great villages, let alone the sparsely populated Ōtsutsuki branch family.
Thus, their investigation shifted to Neji, who had infiltrated the moon alongside Shinji.
Neji's possession of the Byakugan made his identity unmistakable, and by extension, the Ōtsutsuki branch family grew deeply suspicious of the Hyuga clan in the shinobi world. This meeting was less an investigation and more a reckoning.
"You must recognize the person in the portrait," the Ōtsutsuki elder said, observing Hiashi's shrinking pupils and growing certain of his suspicions. His tone grew colder. "My clan demands an explanation. Why did your clansman trespass in our fortress?"
Already stunned by Neji's portrait, Hiashi was even more shocked by the elder's words. "What? Are you saying Neji… went to the moon?"
The Ōtsutsuki elder let out a soft scoff. "There's no denying it!"
"Could there be some misunderstanding? Neji has always stayed in the village. It's impossible for him to…"
Hiashi stopped mid-sentence, a realization dawning. He recalled that Neji had once been briefly abducted by the Akatsuki.
He had always found it strange that the Akatsuki would kidnap a mere Ninja Academy student like Neji. Now, hearing the Ōtsutsuki elder's words, he began to suspect this incident might involve the moon's distant kin—the Ōtsutsuki clan, descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths!
The Ōtsutsuki elder had no interest in debating with Hiashi. Seeing Hiashi acknowledge Neji's identity, he issued a command. "Within ten days, bring the person in the portrait here to me. Otherwise, don't blame my clan for disregarding our shared blood!"
Hidden Leaf Village.
The ninjutsu training courses at the Ninja Academy held little value for Uchiha Shinji anymore, so he skipped class that afternoon, slipping into his small laboratory in the medical unit.
After skimming through some books on medical ninjutsu, he closed them, his thoughts drifting.
"The Rinnegan Plan is nearly complete. It's time to shift my focus to the Tenseigan Plan…"
With Karin currently progressing toward the Rinnegan, there wasn't much left for him to do.
As the Lampbearer tasked with protecting the shinobi world, indulging in leisure or wasting time was shameful. After a few days of relaxation, he began contemplating the Tenseigan Plan.
Thanks to his Susanoo Tomoshibi, the more and stronger eyes he wielded, the greater the dojutsu power and abilities he could harness!
Even if he obtained a pair of Rinnegan, it wouldn't stop him from pursuing a pair of Tenseigan.
To him, powerful eyes were always better in abundance.
But the thought of the Tenseigan Plan gave him a headache.
Unlike the clearly structured Rinnegan Plan, the Tenseigan Plan was riddled with uncertainties from the start.
Even choosing a host to awaken the Tenseigan left him conflicted.
Awakening the Tenseigan required conditions as complex as the Rinnegan, and it involved the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon.
Pulling out his notebook, Shinji flipped to the section on the Tenseigan Plan.
The pages were filled with scribbles and annotations, some entire sections crossed out.
On the final page, two names were written: Kimimaro and Neji, each followed by a large question mark.
At this point, Shinji's expression darkened.
In his original vision, he had planned to use Kimimaro's Kaguya clan Sage Body to enhance Neji's physique, then transplant a pair of pure Byakugan from the moon's Ōtsutsuki clan to stimulate Neji into awakening the Tenseigan.
But as he advanced the Rinnegan Plan and his mastery of medical ninjutsu grew, he began to suspect that his earlier approach might not be feasible…