Naruto: Get Stronger by Spoiling My Sister

In the pitch-dark cave, a single flickering candle cast the only light, its flame dancing quietly in the silence.

"You can speak freely, Kabuto," Orochimaru said coolly, his hands busy pouring a mysterious liquid into another vial.

"Orochimaru-sama, that Hyuga Neji has gone too far."

With permission granted, Kabuto's demeanor instantly shifted, bristling with agitation. He launched into a full recounting of Neji's outrageous behavior.

Orochimaru glanced sideways at Kabuto, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

In his impression, Kabuto had never been the type to hold grudges or at least not so openly. He had always been composed, methodical. Petty? No. Vindictive? Perhaps, but not like this.

"Could an incomplete Living Corpse Reincarnation even alter someone's personality to this extent?" Orochimaru murmured to himself, intrigued. "That's a discovery worth noting."

But soon, Kabuto's words captured his full attention.

While Neji had always carried a sense of arrogance, Orochimaru had never taken him for someone who would insult others for no reason.

Especially that head-pat.

A memory stirred Orochimaru vaguely recalled his own first encounter with Neji… and yes, he too had suffered that same gesture.

A strange blend of empathy and schadenfreude filled him.

So I'm not the only man to have fallen victim to the head-pat assassination.

"Hm?"

A bolt of insight flashed through his mind something important, elusive, but suddenly within reach.

"Orochimaru-sama, tell me, don't you think that Hyuga Neji went too far?"

Kabuto's voice sharpened, his mannerisms increasingly feminine, right down to the pout in his tone.

"Kabuto."

Orochimaru's voice cut in, his expression tightening slightly. "Tell me… does he know that you're… actually female now?"

He fumbled for a delicate way to phrase it but failed. In the end, he could only state it bluntly.

"What does that matter?"

Unexpectedly, Kabuto didn't seem the least bit disturbed. It was as if she had fully accepted the transformation, bones and all truly seeing herself as a woman now.

Perhaps it's out of respect for me that she's keeping her reactions in check, Orochimaru mused inwardly.

He relayed his suspicions to Kabuto.

"That… really?"

She was unsure, but part of her believed it.

Among the Sound Four, Neji had only brought back Tayuya. Not one of the others. That alone was a compelling clue.

"In any case, Kabuto, I want you to keep as close to Neji as possible. That boy holds many secrets," Orochimaru said, turning back to his work. There was a glint in his eyes of calculated certainty.

Kabuto's heart skipped a beat.

Was Orochimaru-sama asking her to… make a move?

She nearly screamed inside.

He wants me to approach Neji? I'd rather die!

"Calm down," she told herself. "This is a direct order from Orochimaru-sama."

Still, she couldn't help asking, "Is Hyuga Neji really that important?"

Orochimaru chuckled softly. "It's not Neji who's important. It's the Byakugan."

"What?" Kabuto blinked.

Compared to the Sharingan, the Byakugan was far more limited mostly known for its visual acuity. Why was Orochimaru paying it such attention?

Reading Kabuto's puzzled expression, Orochimaru laughed again.

"Kabuto, do you truly understand the Byakugan? Have you ever wondered why the Land of Lightning was so determined to acquire it instead of the Sharingan?"

"Huh?" Kabuto looked up, confused.

"You've been a spy in Konoha for years. Did you ever come across a certain legend?" Orochimaru's voice turned low and deliberate. "The legend of the Three Titans of the Warring States era."

"Three?" Kabuto gasped. "I thought there were only two!"

"That's what everyone believes," Orochimaru said, voice steeped in mystery. "But that's not the full truth. Even I only stumbled upon the name by accident. At this point, perhaps only a handful in the entire shinobi world even know of him."

Kabuto listened in rapt silence.

Everything she was hearing felt like a dream an unraveling secret history that overturned everything she knew.

"Everyone thinks the Hidden Leaf was founded by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. But in truth, there was a third."

Orochimaru's words struck like thunder.

"He was the head of the Hyuga clan at the time. His name Hyuga Tennin."

Orochimaru spoke with eerie calm, narrating all that he knew.

"From the records I uncovered, Hyuga Tennin's strength rivaled both Hashirama and Madara. When Madara fought Hashirama for control over the village, he once sought an alliance with Tennin. But Tennin refused to get involved in political power struggles. He remained neutral."

"During the First Great Ninja War, when the Leaf clashed with the Hidden Cloud, Hyuga Tennin used his Byakugan to defeat the overconfident First Raikage."

"No one knows exactly what happened during that battle. I've found no concrete records. Just fragments. But they all describe a sky full of stars, as bright as daylight and then a single earth-shaking explosion. After that, the battle was over."

"The Byakugan's name spread far and wide. For a time, it even outshone the Sharingan. That's the true reason the Land of Lightning pursued it so relentlessly."

He turned to Kabuto, who stood frozen in shock.

"Incredible, isn't it? A shinobi who stood shoulder to shoulder with Hashirama and Madara… someone like that is beyond comprehension."

"That's why I believe the Byakugan isn't inferior to the Sharingan. Perhaps, like the Mangekyō, it has hidden powers ones I have yet to uncover. But Neji knows something. I'm sure of it."

"Then… doesn't the Hidden Cloud already know all this?" Kabuto asked, breath quickening. "They've always tried to take the Byakugan!"

"Oh, Kabuto… so naïve," Orochimaru sighed, disappointed.

"Secrets like these are never written down. They're passed from Raikage to Raikage, through whispers alone. Do you think they'd reveal that so easily?"

He snorted.

"Besides, the Hidden Cloud values strength. Swordplay, physical prowess, taijutsu… Their entire culture revolves around martial might. The Byakugan presents the perfect excuse to justify their interest."

"Of course, excuse or not it is true," Orochimaru added coolly. "After all, the Byakugan is a nightmare for any taijutsu user."

His voice dropped, and he smiled darkly.

"But who would guess the true reason they pursued the Byakugan in the first place?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, that familiar twisted smile spreading across his face.

He had tried to transplant the Byakugan before. But each time, after the host died, the eye would seal itself useless, little more than a blind orb. And he couldn't risk experimenting on Hyuga main branch members so easily.

Eventually, he had abandoned the research.

But now, perhaps… he had another chance.

A way to uncover the Byakugan's true power.

"Kabuto, go. Get closer to Neji. Do whatever it takes."

"…Understood."

Kabuto bit back her shame and gave a stiff nod.

Once she left, Orochimaru stepped into a hidden alcove and retrieved a thick stack of papers each filled with information on the Byakugan.

No, he hadn't shared everything with Kabuto.

One sheet stood out in particular, with just a few lines.

But eight bold characters leapt from the page:

Hyuga Tennin Thousand-Eyed Byakugan.

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