It seemed there would be no problems in the short term.
However, one could tell Asuma was in a terrible mood, smoking one cigarette after another. After all, his father, the Third Hokage, had just died, and he could not accept this reality immediately. On his way here, he had heard many words of praise for the old Hokage, mostly coming from members of the Sarutobi clan.
Kawasaki finally managed to find his way to the Hyuga clan compound, only to see everyone busy clearing the ruins and counting the casualties. It wasn't just the Branch House busy at work; many ANBU members had also been sent to assist.
He had to circle around several times before he found a familiar face—Hyuga Hayato.
Hayato looked exhausted. With Hizashi gone and Neji blinded, many capable Hyuga members were no longer available, leaving Hayato to handle many matters personally. He was worn out to the extreme, feeling stretched far too thin. Yet, at a time like this, he had to hold on even if he couldn't.
"Hayato."
The voice startled Hayato, and he looked up to find Kawasaki standing beside him.
Hayato was shocked. "Lord Kawasaki, why have you come back here?"
Kawasaki extended a finger to gesture for silence. "I heard you were facing some trouble here, so I came back specifically to see if I could offer any help."
Hayato forced a smile. "My Lord, given the clan's current situation, I fear it is difficult to handle."
Kawasaki shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Just tell me, where is Neji?"
Knowing the close relationship between the two, Hayato did not hide anything and directly told him the location of Neji's room.
Entering the room, Kawasaki saw Neji lying on the bed, his eyes blind and his face covered in tears. Having been carefully raised since childhood, the bond between father and son was profound. Thinking of the happy times spent with his father, Neji couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with grief.
He felt it was a pity for Hizashi to die like this, especially after making so many contributions to the clan. Neji struck the edge of the bed in anger. His Byakugan had gone completely blind due to the incident.
Was this the curse of the Caged Bird?
Neji felt a heartache and dissatisfaction he had never experienced before, and a strong sense of rebellion began to rise within him.
Kawasaki observed for a while, realizing that this situation played out exactly like the starting plot for a hot-blooded protagonist. Did this mean it was his turn to play the role of the wise old mentor?
A classic line inexplicably welled up in his mind. "Young man, do you desire power?"
"Who?!"
Neji was startled. There was someone else in his bedroom? He hadn't even noticed when they entered.
Fortunately, Kawasaki reacted quickly, explaining in a teasing tone, "Haha, have you become this dull at such a young age? You couldn't even recognize my voice."
Only then did Neji recognize the visitor as his father's close friend and the leader of the Uchiha—Uchiha Kawasaki.
"Senior, why have you suddenly visited... My father, he is already..." Neji's voice choked up.
Kawasaki interrupted him. "Don't just cry, young man. When you encounter a difficult problem, you must learn to find a solution, not just weep and complain!"
This only made Neji's tears flow harder. "I might be able to think of a way for other things, but my father is dead. How can that possibly be changed?"
Kawasaki stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point. "Stop! There is a method that might be able to save your father."
Hearing this, Neji instantly agitated, standing up and grabbing the sleeve of the person in front of him. "Senior, is... is this true?"
Kawasaki gently patted the back of Neji's trembling hand. "It is indeed true, but you may have to pay a certain price."
"It doesn't matter. Whatever the price, I am willing to bear it. Please, save my father," Neji stated urgently.
Kawasaki pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking. "Suppose I asked you to trade a life for a life..."
Before he could finish, Neji agreed resolutely. "If such an exchange is truly possible, then it is worth it..."
This sincerity was moving. He really didn't care about life or death for the sake of his loved ones; no wonder he would hesitate to step forward to protect Hinata in the future.
After finalizing the details, Kawasaki quickly took Neji to the destination.
Over at the laboratory, Orochimaru had already completed the preliminary preparations, having taken the necessary tissue samples for future research. It took Orochimaru a few minutes to finish the tasks at hand. Now, he was just waiting for Kawasaki.
Not long after, Kawasaki returned through the secret passage Orochimaru had left for him. Orochimaru saw that Kawasaki was carrying a bag. Obviously, there was a person inside the bag.
"Kawasaki, what did you go and do?"
Kawasaki spoke as if it were a matter of course. "Kidnapping someone. Can't you tell?"
He then released the unconscious Neji. "This kid has good natural talent. Let's see if we can help him remove the restraint."
Orochimaru came over and carefully examined Neji's eyes.
"Interesting. The Caged Bird seal didn't kill him; it only blinded his eyes. We can try to make him feign death to bypass the seal's reaction."
Orochimaru had just studied the working principles of this curse mark. This was a special case. The seal had only partially activated, destroying one eye, but the cranial nerves remained undamaged. Currently, the seal was in the process of re-accumulating energy. If Neji feigned death, perhaps they could bypass the seal completely.
Orochimaru intended to try removing the curse. "Let me try."
Wearing a smile, Orochimaru placed Neji on the operating table. After injecting Neji with a drug, the boy slipped from a coma into a state of suspended animation.
Kawasaki checked and found that Neji indeed had no heartbeat.
"Wait a moment. Let's save Hizashi first."
Before Orochimaru could start, Kawasaki pulled out a Sharingan. "Orochimaru, help me swap this in."
Orochimaru laughed. "What are you up to now?"
Even so, Orochimaru helped Kawasaki remove his original left eye.
"Izanagi plus One's Own Life Reincarnation... you really are using the Sharingan to its absolute limit," Orochimaru remarked.
As he let Orochimaru operate, Kawasaki replied, "This is barely scratching the surface. There will be even more novel things in the future."
Orochimaru didn't respond, but he was clearly in a good mood. Since collaborating with Kawasaki, the supply of experimental materials had been endless. Whether it was ordinary Sharingan or Mangekyou Sharingan, he had everything he needed. He had even monitored Uchiha Itachi and successfully obtained fusion data for the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
According to Kawasaki, although Obito had snatched the Rinnegan away, new Rinnegan would appear in the future. In this way, Orochimaru didn't have to worry about a lack of materials at all; Kawasaki would proactively deliver them to his hands. It could be said that Kawasaki was his ideal partner.
Orochimaru transplanted the Sharingan Kawasaki had brought.
Kawasaki didn't let Orochimaru apply any medicine. Instead, he directly bit his own arm.
Hiss...
A wave of faint pain came from the eye, but soon, the optic nerve connected. Kawasaki rolled his eyeball. Although there was no double vision, it was clearly a bit sluggish. The three tomoe spun slowly. The consumption was immense; doing this a few more times would probably cause dizziness.
As an Uchiha, even removing his own Sharingan was exhausting work. No wonder Kakashi always looked so frail; if an ordinary person did this, they might really be finished.