Chapter 52: The Choice That Shapes the Future

[You have obtained <Dōjutsu Seed: Byakugan - Rank --> x1]

When this notification appeared in Tanaka's retina, a rare smile, one that was seldom shown while he was Zephyr, curled on his lips.

Hanako, who was beside him, noticed and commented, "Zephyr-sama, you seem happy. Did something good happen~?"

Looking at her, his smile faded; however, even without smiling, his expression was soft and brimming with joy.

"You could say so," Tanaka replied. "I just made a new discovery."

"Ohh, that's great! I'm happy for you~" she sang.

The thing was, it wasn't exactly him who killed a Hyuga, but rather 'Yami.' According to the note he received through the inventory, while Yami was taking a 'walk'—which was actually a search for refugees who couldn't survive on their own due to a lack of resources, bringing them to the community he built—he was ambushed by Konoha ninjas.

Of course, even though there were some Jonin-level ninjas among them, they couldn't even penetrate the barrier around Yami's body. In the end, he killed almost all of them, one of whom was a Hyuga.

As for him, he was currently in a makeshift shelter. It was a simple, abandoned house, but good enough to take refuge from the rain.

"Alright, girls. I have something to announce to both of you," Tanaka called out to them.

Upon hearing this, Hanako and Tatsumaki looked at him, stopping their eating.

"I intend to introduce another version of myself to this world, do you understand?" he said.

When they heard this, they automatically understood.

"In this case, something similar to 'Yami-sama'?" Hanako asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yes, but in this case, it would be this current version of me that stays with you, while I start going somewhere else," Tanaka replied.

"No!" Tatsumaki exclaimed loudly and immediately blushed. With rare shyness, she spoke hesitantly, "Actually, I don't mind continuing with you. It's not like I don't want to stay by your side or anything, but it's also not like I dislike the idea… But I think it would be better… Yes, it would be better if we stayed by your side, after all, only you open the dungeons, right?"

"Yes, yes, Ane-ue is completely right!" Hanako, who also didn't want to be separated from Tanaka, agreed, even though she knew that, in essence, she would still stay by his side, since 'Zephyr,' who would stay with them, was also a shadow clone of his, meaning a part of him.

Though it was strange to think that way, they preferred it to be him in the flesh rather than a shadow clone.

They presented a valid argument. Although each of them had reached level 30 in these four days, and the EXP they gained was less than what he could achieve, considering they only did the zombie dungeon, Tanaka understood that if they distanced themselves from him now, it would be difficult for them to level up.

"Very well, you two can continue following me for now," he said.

"Hehe~ Thank you~," Hanako smiled broadly.

Although she didn't want to show it, a smile curled on Tatsumaki's lips when she heard what he said, and she murmured, "Thank you."

"Now that it's decided, let's head to the dungeon." Tanaka didn't give them a chance to refuse as he created the zombie dungeon.

It was the only one that hadn't been done that day.

"Alright, girls, you can finish this dungeon on your own this time, right?" Tanaka asked.

"Yes," Tatsumaki nodded confidently.

"Leave it to us~!" Hanako said, tapping her closed fist against her chest.

Immediately after, as they left the house, Tatsumaki floated in a ghostly manner while Hanako jumped high and landed on top of a house.

Meanwhile, Tanaka, who was left alone in the house, took the Dōjutsu Seed: Byakugan and swallowed it. In his mind, three options appeared.

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You consumed the Dōjutsu Seed: Byakugan. The following options are now available for you to choose from:

Option 1: Awaken the Dōjutsu: Byakugan. 

Option 2: Enhance an existing bloodline or Dōjutsu. 

Option 3: Assimilate into your existing bloodline (High chance of becoming a skill derived from your Uzumaki lineage, similar to the Adamantine Sealing Chains). 

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Seeing this, Tanaka, who hadn't expected more than one option besides acquiring the Byakugan, was stunned for a few seconds before regaining his composure.

"Wow..." He let out a sigh of admiration.

There was no way not to be surprised. Moreover, if before he had intended to enhance the Sharingan with a future pet, now he no longer had that intention. If this happened by consuming the Byakugan seed, it was reasonable to think the same would occur with the Sharingan seed.

'Which one to choose?'

That was the real question. He was torn between two options: the first and the third.

After weighing the pros and cons, he ended up choosing the third option.

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[The skill [Byakugan] was acquired by consuming the Byakugan seed!] 

[[Byakugan] (Passive/Active) Lv1 EXP: 0.00%]

The Byakugan is originally a dōjutsu that grants the user extraordinary visual abilities, providing unparalleled perception in combat. However, due to external factors, this dōjutsu has assimilated into your Uzumaki lineage, becoming a lineage skill with properties similar to the dōjutsu.

Active effects:

1: Grants 360º vision, excluding a small blind spot behind the neck. 

2: 50% increase in the accuracy of targeted attacks. 

3: 100% increase in chakra flow perception. 

4: Allows clear vision up to 1 km away. 

5: Enables the visualization of chakra points (tenketsu) and precise attacks. 

6: 50% increase in reaction speed due to enhanced anticipation of enemy movements.

Passive effects:

1: 100% increase in visual acuity. 

2: [Passively increases STR by 50%.] 

3: [Passively increases DEX by 50%.] 

4: [Passively increases VIT by 10%.] 

5: [Passively increases INT by 10%.] 

6: [Passively increases WIS by 5%.]

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[You gained 7 levels in <Uzumaki Chakra>! The skill has now reached level 91!] 

[You awakened the skill <Kagura's Mind Eye>!]

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'So, that's what it means to assimilate into the Uzumaki lineage…' Tanaka smiled.

Curious, he created a shadow clone, and without needing to say anything, the clone activated the Byakugan.

When this happened, the color of his eyes changed to a golden hue similar to the Adamantine Sealing Chains, with the pupil in a darker, still golden tone, while veins appeared around his eyes, just like in the usual use of the Byakugan.

Tanaka activated his own Byakugan and saw how incredible it was. Although the chakra consumption was high, for him, it was insignificant, as his own MP regeneration exceeded the cost of keeping the Byakugan active.

Deactivating the shadow clone, he went to the inventory and took out the S-rank Sharingan seed. When he consumed it, the three options, similar to those that appeared with the Byakugan seed, appeared again. Upon choosing the third option, something happened.

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[The skill [Sharingan] was acquired by consuming the Sharingan Seed!] 

[[Sharingan] (Passive/Active) Lv31 EXP: 66.69%]

The Sharingan is originally a dōjutsu that grants the user extraordinary visual abilities, including the ability to copy jutsus, predict movements, and cast powerful genjutsus. However, due to external factors, this dōjutsu has assimilated into your Uzumaki lineage, becoming a lineage skill with properties similar to the dōjutsu.

Active effects:

1: 1, 2, and 3 tomoe. 

2: Allows the user to predict enemy movements with high precision, increasing evasion and counterattack capabilities. 

3: 100% increase in resistance to genjutsus and illusions. 

4: Allows the user to copy the opponent's jutsus by observing their execution (limit of fifteen times per battle). 

5: Ability to cast genjutsus upon making eye contact, with an 80% increase in effectiveness. 

6: 85% increase in reaction speed due to anticipation of enemy movements.

Passive effects:

1: [Passively increases DEX by 60%.] 

2: [Passively increases STR by 50%.] 

3: [Passively increases INT by 15%.] 

4: [Passively increases WIS by 10%.] 

5: [Passively increases LUK by 5%.]

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[You gained 6 levels in <Uzumaki Chakra>! The skill has now reached level 97!] 

[You gained 10 levels in <Byakugan >! The skill has now reached level 11!] 

[You gained 18 levels in <Kagura's Mind Eye>! The skill has now reached level 19!]

[You gained 2 levels in <Adamantine Sealing Chains>! The skill has now reached level 71!] 

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This time, he felt an even greater increase in his power than when he did the same with the Byakugan seed. The reason was clear: the fact that he was doing this with an S-rank seed, which resulted in the skill assimilated into his Uzumaki lineage already being at level 31 and significantly enhancing both his Uzumaki lineage and the skills associated with it.

Taking the second seed, he consumed it and made the same choice.

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[You gained 8 levels in <Sharingan >! The skill has now reached level 39!] 

[You gained 2 levels in <Uzumaki Chakra>! The skill has now reached level 99!] 

[You gained 2 levels in <Byakugan >! The skill has now reached level 13!] 

[You gained 2 levels in <Kagura's Mind Eye>! The skill has now reached level 21!] 

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'I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this…' he thought.

Although it was good that the skill level increased even further, the fact that no evolution occurred made him feel like it wasn't as grand as he had hoped. However, beggars can't be choosers. It was already positive that he managed to raise the level of the skills linked to his Uzumaki lineage.

In fact, with this, his stats had increased absurdly.

Creating a shadow clone, he had it activate the three-tomoe Sharingan.

The moment he did this, the golden color dominated his eyes, similar to his Byakugan. Three tomoes appeared in a pattern similar to the Sharingan, with a black circle surrounding them. In the center, a small black sphere completed the appearance of his Sharingan.

He nodded, satisfied.

When he tried to use it himself, Tanaka attempted to activate the Byakugan at the same time but failed.

"Well, I expected that to happen…" he murmured softly.

It wasn't hard to foresee that.

However, he still had hope that one day he could merge the two into one…

'With this done, it's time to create the third persona…' he thought.

Soon, he dispelled the clone and created a new shadow clone. This one could use the Byakugan and would focus on using wind style and some Taijutsu, but it wouldn't be allowed to use the Sharingan.

Next, he removed the mask, revealing his original appearance, surrounded by an invisible barrier. Afterward, he put the mask back on, changing his appearance once again.

Gradually, his appearance changed, taking the form of a 15-year-old boy with spiky white hair, fair skin, blue eyes, and a height of 1.65m.

"Ahh, ahh." After adjusting the desired voice, he smiled: "Alright, this persona will be called Killua, and his dominant power will be lightning and Taijutsu."

Until now, he hadn't tried to use Taijutsu to fight. The truth was that, with his overwhelming intelligence, using long-range attacks was more convenient; however, he wanted to master all fighting styles and elements.

Whether due to his plan or simply finding it interesting how he began doing this, Tanaka wanted to create different personas that would be leaders of the Revolutionary Army and spread the name of the organization across the entire world.

'Status.'

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Name: Tanaka Uzumaki 

Class: The Gamer 

Title: Leader of the Revolutionary Army 

Level: 98 [78.72%] 

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HP: [33,322/33,322] 

MP: [38,187/38,187] 

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Attributes: STR: 154 (+2 +110%) ◄(+0)► 

VIT: 221 (+2 +185%) ◄(+0)► 

DEX: 132 (+2 +140%) ◄(+0)► 

INT: 395 (+180 +2 +283%) ◄(+0)► 

WIS: 231 (+2 +90%) ◄(+0)► 

LUK: 201 (+2 +30%) ◄(+0)► 

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Points: 5 

Money: 110,277,550 ryō 

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At this point, it wasn't just magical strength that had become his strong point. Even his physical strength was already at Jonin level. Whether it was his absurdly high HP or his strength, which, though at 150, due to passive effects, exceeded 300, the same could be said of his dexterity.

In this version of himself, he would use the Sharingan. It felt like a good fit.

After doing this, he and his clone left the house.

||- Note -||

Chapter 76 is already released on Pa treon!

patre on.com/Tozoku

Powerstone and reviews are appreciated~