Chapter 48: Direction! (Please keep reading and vote with a monthly ticket)

After careful consideration, Xuanyi Shuxia ultimately decided not to choose a sensory technique when he returned to Konoha after completing his mission. Instead, he chose genjutsu.

The This Place Is Nowhere Technique was a visual genjutsu that created false images, making what the target saw differ from reality.

From a practical combat standpoint, the technique was of little use to Xuanyi Shuxia.

The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was sufficient.

However, since Xuanyi had decided to delve deeply into the field of genjutsu, it was only natural that he needed to study the art more thoroughly.

To do that, he had to analyze different genjutsu and expand his theoretical understanding.

Developing ninjutsu was no simple matter.

Even with his Future-Advance Panel cheat, Xuanyi needed a solid foundation and a unique way of thinking if he wanted to achieve anything.

Otherwise, he would merely be wasting his time.

Since he had already decided to focus on genjutsu, sensory techniques could be put aside for the time being.

With that, Xuanyi now possessed four genjutsu: the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, the Fox Heart Technique, the Golden Binding Technique, and the This Place Is Nowhere Technique.

He had only needed two days to gain an initial grasp of the newly acquired This Place Is Nowhere Technique.

But that was still not enough.

Hatake Sakumo himself was not skilled in genjutsu. He knew fewer genjutsu than Xuanyi did and had no way to teach him more.

Xuanyi could only trade his own ninjutsu to the village in exchange for them.

Thousand Killing Water Needles!

This technique, obtained from a Mist shinobi who possessed Ice Release, had been completed and further developed. It was rated an A-rank technique.

The Nirvana Temple Technique, Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, the Mist Servant Technique, and the Hell Viewing Technique.

One A-rank genjutsu, one B-rank technique, and two D-rank techniques.

The last three had all been given to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi as additional support—a sign of the village’s encouragement and cultivation of a genius like Xuanyi.

In an instant, Xuanyi had acquired nearly every common genjutsu used in Konoha.

The Nirvana Temple Technique was a hypnotic genjutsu. It was difficult to master, but not difficult to dispel. Jonin and chunin could break it with ease, and even a genin proficient in genjutsu could dispel it.

Of course, “proficient” here did not mean being skilled at casting genjutsu. It merely meant being skilled at dispelling them—someone like Sakura Haruno, for example.

It sounded somewhat underwhelming.

But as mentioned before, Xuanyi had not acquired these genjutsu solely for combat. Their greater value lay in the research they enabled.

For a long time, he became completely absorbed in genjutsu.

Whether carrying out missions or sparring with Kakashi and Uchiha Nami, he began using genjutsu with increasing frequency.

Xuanyi had once been accustomed to using the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique to seize the initiative.

Now he went a step further, occasionally throwing out a genjutsu. Even if it failed to achieve anything decisive, it could still serve as a distraction.

Yamanaka En directly complained that Xuanyi had turned into a genjutsu-type shinobi.

Amid those busy days, time flew by.

Before he knew it, Konoha’s forty-third year had passed, and the forty-fourth had arrived.

That year, Xuanyi was eight years old. He had grown considerably taller and was already close to one hundred and sixty-five centimeters.

He stood in a class of his own among children his age.

…

Konoha Hospital, inside the laboratory.

Shizune and Rin Nohara watched solemnly as Xuanyi and Tsunade worked.

On the operating table lay a small white mouse that had been dissected open.

Xuanyi and Tsunade were currently replacing the mouse’s heart. Shizune and Rin assisted them, monitoring the animal’s vital signs.

Ten minutes later, the transplant was complete.

“Blood pressure is normal,” Shizune immediately reported.

Tsunade nodded. “There don’t seem to be any problems for now.”

“Next, Shizune, Rin—you take over.”

Both girls were delighted and hurriedly nodded.

“Yes!”

Xuanyi and Tsunade stepped back while Shizune and Rin moved forward to close the mouse’s chest.

“It would be wonderful to have a pair of Byakugan,” Xuanyi said with a sigh as he removed his gloves.

Tsunade curled her lip. “The Hyuga clan isn’t going to take the path of medical ninjutsu.”

“And don’t even think about the Byakugan.”

Xuanyi immediately looked aggrieved. “Lady Tsunade, I’m a good person. Why would I scheme against the Byakugan? I was only expressing a passing thought.”

Tsunade merely curled her lip again.

After spending so much time with the boy, she had come to understand him.

On the surface, he appeared extremely serious and righteous—the very picture of a good person.

In reality, however, he was remarkably bold and utterly without restraint. There was nothing he did not dare to imagine.

He would not scheme against the Byakugan?

More likely, he simply did not dare.

Tsunade felt that Xuanyi and Orochimaru had many similarities.

She had to keep an eye on him and make sure he did not do anything reckless.

Xuanyi, for his part, genuinely felt that it was a great pity the Hyuga clan did not train several medical shinobi.

Tsunade changed the subject. “How is your medicine research going?”

“Almost finished,” Xuanyi replied lazily.

Tsunade glanced at Shizune and Rin as they continued their work before asking, “Haven’t you already trained in the Yin Seal?”

Xuanyi spread his hands. “The medicine is for rapidly replenishing stamina. It doesn’t conflict with the Yin Seal.”

“Besides, once the medicine is developed, it can also make money.”

“Lady Tsunade, you know better than anyone that research costs a great deal.”

Tsunade gave a soft snort. “You still haven’t given up on Ice Release?”

Xuanyi shook his head. “I only have a sample from one person. I can’t exactly wipe out the entire Yuki clan of the Hidden Mist, can I?”

Once the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Obito, he could go to the Land of Water and collect the corpses of the Yuki clan.

Assuming those events still came to pass.

And it was not only the Yuki clan. There was also the Kaguya clan.

During the reigns of the Third and Fourth Mizukage, the bloodline clans of the Hidden Mist had suffered devastating losses.

And the Hozuki clan…

Could he perhaps pay a visit to the Second Mizukage ahead of time?

Xuanyi’s thoughts wandered wildly.

Seeing that Shizune and Rin were about to finish, Tsunade said, “Whether it is organ transplantation or bone-marrow-cell transplantation, you need to put more effort into preventing rejection.”

Xuanyi nodded. “You’re right, Lady Tsunade. I’ll invest a sum of money into it next month.”

Tsunade nodded in satisfaction.

At least the boy knew how to behave.

Xuanyi, meanwhile, did not care about that small amount of money. It would deepen his relationship and cooperation with Tsunade, and he would be able to share in the results. It was an excellent arrangement—others would have begged for such an opportunity.

Although Tsunade received funding from the village, the supply was not unlimited.

And she spent money lavishly. No matter how much she had, she could burn through it all.

Besides, there was never such a thing as too much funding for medical research.

Shizune and Rin’s work was complete, which meant the operation had succeeded.

But that was not the end.

Next came the observation of the mouse’s rejection response and its survival time.

That was the crucial part.

The process was also a trial for the medication Tsunade had been developing to prevent rejection.

The organ-transplant operation itself had long since ceased to be a problem.

Since last year, they had transplanted the mouse’s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys one after another. But the rejection responses and survival times had not been ideal.

And this was only the first step.

The next stage would involve experiments on monkeys.

Only after that would they proceed to human trials.

Throughout the process, the medication would gradually become more refined.

This was not something that could be accomplished in a year or two.

“Fortunately, I can borrow against the future…”

After leaving the laboratory, Xuanyi stretched lazily.

Today was March 18—the day he could once again draw upon the future.