Chapter 168: Indra + Asura Power Fusion, Orochimaru is Stunned!

Many say that the ultimate form of the Sharingan is the Rinnegan.

However, that statement is incorrect.

Sure, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke both awakened the power of the Rinnegan in the original story.

But these two had one thing in common: they were both reincarnations of Indra.

How did Madara awaken his Rinnegan? There were two conditions:

First, Madara's power had long surpassed that of a typical Kage, almost reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths.

Second, Madara obtained the cells of the First Hokage and fused them with his own body.

By combining the power of Indra and Asura, Madara succeeded in awakening the Rinnegan just before his death.

In short, to awaken the Rinnegan, one must have both Indra and Asura's powers, and their strength must be close to the level of the Sage of Six Paths.

Even Madara, despite obtaining Hashirama's cells, didn't awaken the Rinnegan immediately; it took years, only unlocking the Rinnegan at the end of his life.

As for Sasuke, he was granted the power of the Sage of Six Paths directly—making his path to the Rinnegan much simpler than Madara's.

Without being a reincarnation of Indra, awakening the Rinnegan is nearly impossible. After all, the origin of the Rinnegan lies in the Ōtsutsuki clan.

The Uchiha clan's ancestor was Indra, so in a sense, the Uchiha bloodline does carry traces of the Ōtsutsuki blood.

However, over generations, this bloodline has become diluted. Awakening the Rinnegan solely through one's own efforts is not feasible.

As for Akira Uchiha, who couldn't even activate the Mangekyō Sharingan yet, the idea of the Rinnegan was even further out of reach.

Now, about the Byakugan.

At its core, the Byakugan and the Sharingan share the same origin.

The Hyūga clan's ancestor was Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the brother of the Sage of Six Paths. Both the Sharingan and Byakugan trace their lineage back to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

Just as the Sharingan evolves into the Rinnegan through the fusion of Indra and Asura's powers, the Byakugan, too, can evolve into the Tenseigan. But this requires a pure Byakugan and the power of Ōtsutsuki chakra.

In the original story, Toneri Ōtsutsuki, who lived on the moon, seized Hanabi's Byakugan and combined it with his own Ōtsutsuki chakra to awaken the Tenseigan.

Hanabi's Byakugan was simply a tool for Toneri's evolution.

However, Hinata's Byakugan was regarded by Toneri as a power capable of restoring the Earth itself—showing just how extraordinary her bloodline was.

While Akira didn't possess Ōtsutsuki chakra, which would make directly evolving Hinata's Byakugan to the Tenseigan quite difficult, he could still work toward that goal.

The fusion of Indra and Asura's powers could awaken the Six Paths' strength. What if he applied that to the Byakugan?

It couldn't hurt to try, right?

Asura's power could be provided by Naruto, but Hashirama's cells could also serve that purpose.

Thus, Akira had no intention of involving Naruto.

And as for Indra's power—well, that came from Sasuke.

Later that evening, after parting ways with Hinata, Akira sought out Sasuke in the Uchiha district.

Without much explanation, Akira asked Sasuke for a vial of blood, claiming it was for research.

Afterward, Akira made his way to Orochimaru's lab.

"Akira-kun, do you have another gift for me?" Orochimaru greeted him with a sly smile, clearly in a good mood.

"Looks like Hidan's been of great use to you," Akira noted, observing Orochimaru's expression and drawing his own conclusions.

"Indeed. With your blood and Hidan as my experimental subject, my research has made significant progress," Orochimaru admitted freely, showing no hesitation in revealing his success.

"Has it brought you closer to your goal of becoming a dragon?" Akira asked.

For all serpents, the obsession with becoming a dragon far exceeded Orochimaru's thirst for the power of the Sharingan.

"There has been progress, but reaching your level, Akira-kun, seems nearly impossible," Orochimaru replied.

Akira understood. Orochimaru's transformation might allow him to achieve a serpentine form, much like Kabuto in the original series. It would greatly enhance his strength, but true dragon-like ascension remained out of reach.

"I brought you something interesting this time," Akira said, changing the subject as he walked into Orochimaru's lab.

"Why don't you try fusing this with Hashirama's cells? I think you'll get some surprising results," Akira handed over Sasuke's blood to Orochimaru.

"Oh? Interesting…" Orochimaru was curious about the blood's origin and potential reaction with Hashirama's cells, but he was more interested in the outcome.

Without asking further questions, Orochimaru immediately set to work.

He extracted a sample of Hashirama's cells, then ran an analysis on the blood Akira had given him.

"Akira-kun, this blood appears to be from a young, ordinary Uchiha, doesn't it?" Orochimaru was puzzled by the results.

The blood seemed completely ordinary, especially when compared to Akira's own dragon-enhanced cells.

Was there some mistake? Could this really be ordinary Uchiha blood?

"Just go ahead and try the fusion," Akira said, offering no further explanation.

Despite his confusion, Orochimaru followed Akira's instructions.

In Orochimaru's mind, ordinary Uchiha blood stood no chance against the power of Hashirama's cells. The cells would surely overwhelm and consume the blood.

After all, when Orochimaru had worked with Danzo in the past, they had experimented with Uchiha cells, but nothing extraordinary had ever happened.

This blood seemed just as ordinary. Surely it would be devoured by Hashirama's cells, just like before.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Orochimaru began the fusion process.

The integration went surprisingly smoothly, and within moments, the fusion was complete.

After running a few tests on the merged cells, Orochimaru stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

"Well?" Akira asked, seeing the shocked look on Orochimaru's face. He had a pretty good idea of what the results were.

"This… this makes no sense!" Orochimaru muttered, staring at the fused cells in disbelief.

"This blood looked so ordinary. By all logic, it should have been completely consumed by Hashirama's cells!"

"But it's not. It's actually fused with Hashirama's cells?"

"More than that—the fusion is even more perfect than your own cells, Akira-kun!" Orochimaru admitted, struggling to grasp the full implications.

If Hashirama's cells were like fire, then most cells would be like wood—eventually consumed by the flames. Akira's dragon-enhanced cells were resilient enough to resist the fire.

But this ordinary-looking blood was like wood that could merge with the flames, blending without being burned.

This defied everything Orochimaru understood!

"Looks like my theory was right," Akira thought to himself, relieved by Orochimaru's confirmation. Sasuke was still only at the Jōnin level.

If Sasuke ever awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, or even the Eternal Mangekyō, his power could surpass that of a Kage, nearing the Six Paths level. At that point, fusing his blood with Hashirama's cells might directly unlock the Six Paths' power—the chakra of the Ōtsutsuki.

That might even help Hinata's Byakugan evolve into the Tenseigan.

For now, though, this fusion, while not perfect, would still greatly benefit Hinata.

After all, the Uchiha's ancestor was Indra, who was also the son of the Sage of Six Paths. In other words, they carried the blood of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

Even if the Uchiha bloodline had thinned over the generations, it still contained traces of the Ōtsutsuki heritage.

Now that his cells had perfectly fused with Hashirama's, Akira could consider himself to possess a part of Asura's power as well.

He wondered: if he one day fused Sasuke's cells with his own, would that mean he had successfully united Indra and Asura's powers?

Perhaps. But for now, unless Sasuke's power reached a level close to the Sage of Six Paths, it wouldn't be of much use to Akira.

"Akira-kun, where did you get this blood?" Orochimaru asked eagerly.

As a scientist, Orochimaru couldn't resist unraveling the mystery behind something that defied his understanding. His golden, serpentine eyes fixed on Akira, filled with a burning desire for knowledge.

Seeing Orochimaru's intense curiosity, Akira paused for a moment, deciding there was no harm in revealing a bit of information.

"Orochimaru, how much do you know about the history of the ninja world?" Akira asked as he took a seat.

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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 218 at patreon.com/Emik01.