"You're here!!"
Genya looked at the group with a satisfied expression.
Although these people didn't yet have the power of the members of Atsukara, their future was limitless.
"We came as soon as we heard you were looking for us. Teacher Furin sent us directly!" Miyuki spoke, her beautiful eyes full of admiration as she looked at Genya.
The young boy, Yasao, stood silently with his head down.
But when they looked at Genya, their eyes burned with passion and determination.
Miyuki even showed a bit of envy when she glanced at Asahi.
Asahi could stay by Genya's side at all times, and even during training, could receive guidance directly from him.
Their own master, Uchiha Furin, was strong, but they longed to have more contact with Genya.
It seemed Asahi was even stronger than them.
"Everyone, have a seat!" Genya nodded, signaling that they didn't need to be so formal.
He took a simple bite of cake.
Having guarded Neji for so long, he was already quite hungry.
After eating his fill, he finally looked at Asahi and the others.
"Do you know why I called you here?"
"No idea!" they all shook their heads.
"You're strong enough now. It's time for you to go out and gain experience!" Genya looked at them as he continued, "Starting today, you will officially begin taking on missions in Yugakure. You will train and complete missions alongside your companions!"
"Missions?" Miyuki was surprised.
They had trained strictly under Teacher Furin all this time but never had the chance to go on missions. Now that Genya said they could, it was good news.
"Really?"
A bright light sparkled in Yasao's eyes.
He had wanted to go on missions with teacher Furin before, but Furin had always refused, saying they weren't strong enough.
Now, finally, they could go on a mission.
"Of course!" Genya nodded seriously, then added, "But..."
"But what?" Yasao's excited eyes suddenly froze at Genya's words, worried there might be some harsh conditions.
"There are two kinds of serums prepared for you. You have to inject them before going on the mission," Genya said, holding four boxes that had appeared in his hands.
Two boxes for each of you.
They contained specially matched Uzumaki cells and Giant Strength cells.
One type enhances physical strength, the other increases chakra capacity.
If the two kinds of cells merge, your power will rise to a whole new level.
He had tested before—if these two cell types don't merge properly, they could damage the body tissue before reorganizing.
But since Miyuki and the other have immortal bodies and no feeling of pain, this treatment was almost a perfect match for them.
Still, for safety, Genya decided to personally oversee the process.
If something went wrong, he could quickly remove the cells.
"Alright…"
Excitement filled Miyuki and the other's eyes—they had finally received Genya's blessing and could become stronger.
Next came the injection.
Because both had immortal bodies, Genya wasn't too worried.
Even if the cells failed to merge, he could use black flames to remove them.
But both showed no abnormal reactions.
Genya was very satisfied.
After everything was over, Genya finally looked at Asahi and said, "Asahi, don't go on any missions for now. Prepare yourself. In a couple of days, I will personally escort you to inject the Shikotsumyaku cells."
Asahi, who could still use all five senses, could try to fuse with the Shikotsumyaku... no, with her own black flame and Asahi's immortal bloodline, Asahi could keep trying to fuse repeatedly until she reached the perfect state.
Others have to approach fusion carefully every time, but Asahi could keep experimenting without fear of failure.
"Yes," Asahi nodded.
At that moment, Miyuki and Yasao were somewhat stunned. Their eyes showed disappointment as they looked at Asahi. Of course... Genya was giving her special treatment again.
Genya was biased.
"You don't need to feel that way," Genya said seriously. "Because you two don't have senses, if you fuse with the Shikotsumyaku, you'll end up like those few outside."
He pointed to the red-clothed cultists of the Jashin Cult struggling in the corner outside.
"Is that so?" Seeing the red-robed cultists in the corner, Miyuki and Yasao's eyes darkened even more.
Sure enough, they were just defective products and couldn't earn Genya's attention.
"Don't worry. If there's a chance, I'll help you transform into perfect immortals!" Genya quickly comforted the two disappointed men.
"Thank you, Genya-sama"
While Genya and the others celebrated Neji's successful fusion with the Shikotsumyaku, at the Uchiha hospital...
In a hospital room, it was very quiet.
The eighth elder of the Hyuga clan and some members of the main family had gathered here, seemingly to visit a child in a coma.
But the atmosphere was heavy.
"Eighth elder, hasn't Sosuke woken up yet?" an old man asked in surprise, looking at Hyuga Sosuke, whose eyes remained tightly shut.
Sosuke had been unconscious for such a long time, yet he still hadn't woken up.
"The doctor said his spirit was severely impacted, which is why he hasn't woken up yet," the eighth elder said as he looked at his unconscious grandson on the bed, clenching his fists tightly.
"Damn Neji. You must die!"
He didn't know what Neji had done to his grandson, but he was determined—if he had the chance, he would make Neji suffer a fate worse than death.
"By the way, any news from Choryū?" someone suddenly noticed something was off and asked.
At these words, everyone in the room exchanged uneasy looks, feeling a bad premonition.
"There's no news yet. They're probably still tracking Neji!" Eighth Elder said, his eyes serious and expression calm.
As for thinking that his son might be in danger... mastering the technique of the caged bird means holding the lifeline of Hyūga Neji!
"Eighth Elder, do you think Chōryū might be in trouble?" someone asked thoughtfully.
"That's impossible. Neji can't harm Chōryū and the others!" Eighth Elder replied confidently, very sure of himself.
They are pursuing Hyūga Neji, so nothing bad should happen!
"I'm not saying Neji attacked them. It's someone else who targeted Hyūga Chōryū!" another elder spoke after some thought.
"Otherwise... even if Chōryū didn't find Neji, he would have returned to report!"
This...
As soon as those words were spoken, the room fell silent again.
Eighth Elder's previously confident face suddenly fell. Indeed... if it was just chasing Neji, there would be no problem. But... what if outsiders are involved?
After a long silence, someone finally asked, "They are from the Hyūga main family. No one dares attack them, right? That would mean a war has started against our Hyūga clan!"
In the ninja world, very few dare to attack Hyūga clan members directly.
"It's hard to say. But Chōryū is from the main family," someone interrupted the conversation with a heavy voice.
"The main family... attacking us should be even more taboo."
****
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.