Chapter 65: The Rising Genius

Yuto placed the petri dish into the incubator and relaxed.

He had a knack for experiments and technology, adeptly adjusting environmental parameters like air pressure and humidity to optimize cell growth.

By refining the liquid essence of the Hyuga clan and integrating it with his own stem cells for growth, he would extract them after a set period and reintroduce them into his body.

In this process, the external cells effectively experienced a kind of "intrauterine development," but their growth environment was the pure essence of the Hyuga clan.

He was eager to see what changes would occur once these cells reintegrated into his body.

Yuto was highly cautious about operations like "transplanting Hashirama cells."

Orochimaru had conducted human experiments on sixty children, transplanting Hashirama cells into each of them, with only one survivor, Yamato, who still couldn't compare to the First Hokage in power.

Given such a high mortality rate, Yuto didn't dare to attempt it lightly.

Cultivating his own stem cells to undergo mutations and reintroducing them repeatedly would spread the effects throughout his body. Since these were his cells, the likelihood of rejection was minimal. Additionally, there would generally be no uncontrollable outcomes during the absorption of Hyuga essence in the petri dish.

After all, the Hyuga clan was relatively insular. To prevent their kekkei genkai from leaking and to maintain class stability, they usually married within the clan, and most members shared blood relations going back several generations.

"Based on the cell division and growth cycle, it will take some more time..." Yuto sat on the metal chair in his secret base, calculating the time. He suppressed his anticipation and excitement, trying to remain calm.

Even though he operated as a "free agent" on the battlefield, his prolonged absence without reports would attract Minato's attention.

Moreover, with the disappearance of Shinosuke Hyuga and his death squads, and the only survivor, Rurina Hyuga, dying of a "brain thrombosis" in the middle of the night, anyone with a bit of sense would realize these incidents were no coincidence. Konoha and the Hyuga clan would certainly investigate.

The Hyuga clan wouldn't tolerate the leakage of their Byakugan.

Yuto knew he couldn't afford any mistakes. If things went wrong, not even Tsunade could protect him.

"Just rest a bit longer, then head out." Yuto watched the incubator's slow operation, his breathing gradually steadying.

---

Half a month flew by.

The Third Shinobi World War, which had started with tentative probing, finally erupted fully. Large-scale battles between shinobi forces led to a sharp increase in deaths, with Jonin falling daily and obituaries flooding back to their homelands like snowflakes.

Initially, it was Konoha versus Kumogakure and Sunagakure against Iwagakure. But within half a month, the number of warring factions increased. One day, Konoha would battle Kumogakure, and the next, they would fight Kirigakure in the mist.

All five great nations and their powerful shinobi villages were involved, without clear alliances, resulting in chaotic warfare.

Small countries once again became battlegrounds, with the five great shinobi villages avoiding their territories and fighting in weaker nations. Although most shinobi had no interest in slaughtering civilians, the destructive power of those with chakra meant entire civilian populations near battlefields often perished.

Tragedies unfolded daily. Calls for "peaceful coexistence" were quickly dismissed by certain factions as "weakness," and such opinions were ignored.

War was like a runaway train with broken brakes; it wouldn't stop unless its wheels shattered or it crashed into a mountain.

---

On a particular day, on a certain grassland, dense clouds floated in the sky, blocking the sunlight, which filtered through with a ghastly crimson hue, like the gaze of a demon from hell.

The scene on the ground was even more horrific.

Severed limbs and blood were scattered across the ruined grass, with broken bodies everywhere. Groups of shinobi wearing headbands fought fiercely, relentlessly taking each other's lives.

More precisely, it was a group of Kirigakure and Kumogakure shinobi surrounding a single young boy!

The boy was wearing a Konoha headband, a dark green standard Jonin high-collar vest, with a loose kimono underneath. His right arm was wrapped in black bandages, with a semi-transparent chakra arm-guard roaring like a beast.

His attire, age, speed, and techniques made him easily recognizable to the Kirigakure and Kumogakure shinobi.

—Yuto Hyuga, the rising genius of Konoha since the war began!

"Kill this shinobi first, or none of us will survive."

The leaders of Kirigakure and Kumogakure agreed and led their subordinates in an attack on Yuto.

"Hah... decisive." Yuto chuckled, raising his right arm to casually block a Kumogakure shinobi's horizontal slash, while his free left hand gently pushed, sending a Gentle Fist strike that crushed the enemy's liver.

During this period, after numerous battles, his mastery of the Lion's Fang Bite had improved significantly. He could now control its temperature, force, and speed in a very short time, adjusting to the most suitable combat form when facing enemies.

"The Lone Lion of Konoha" was often used in battlefield reports by enemy shinobi villages to refer to Yuto.

Yuto was quite pleased with this new nickname, finding it much better than the "Jewel of the Hyuga" nonsense.

After killing the Kumogakure shinobi, Yuto squinted, and his Lion's Fang arm-guard roared. The ground beneath his feet shattered as he used the force to charge into the midst of the Kirigakure and Kumogakure shinobi, slaughtering them all. To increase his efficiency, he first targeted and killed lower-ranking shinobi.

Before long, the two teams of shinobi were terrified and retreated under the cover of their leaders, cautiously watching Yuto as they withdrew.

The youth stood still, not pursuing. The Byakugan was not omnipotent and couldn't see through all traps; reckless pursuit was never a good idea.

—Kirigakure's "Fuguki Suikazan" and Kumogakure's "Killer B" were both in this area; caution was necessary.

Slowly retracting his Lion's Fang arm-guard, Yuto kept his Byakugan activated temporarily, then dashed into a dense forest, quickly leaving the battlefield.

However, he didn't expect that just as he reached a small stream to wash the blood off his shoes, a toad suddenly jumped out of the water, carrying a scroll in its mouth.

Yuto was startled but took the scroll, feeding the toad a piece of meat in return, "Minato-senpai, sending a message, huh? Thanks for the effort."

The little toad happily croaked before disappearing into the stream.

With his right arm wrapped in black bandages, the young shinobi quickly read through the scroll.

"They finally tracked me down... tch."

(End of Chapter)