SWNOVELXO Chapter 469: Ch.469 Awakening!
Neji had intended to leave, and he did, but deep down, he couldn't shake his concern for Kimimaro.
Though neither had openly acknowledged it during this mission, they had recognized each other.
After all, both had half of a 'bio-exoskeleton' implanted, creating a subtle resonance when they were near each other.
No hooded red-cloud cloak, mask, or 'Transformation Jutsu' could conceal that.
Thus, leaving Kimimaro to face 'Upper Rank One' alone made Neji uneasy, so he turned back to observe.
That glance left him stunned by Kimimaro's battle with 'Upper Rank One.'
Back at the ninja academy, Neji had always thought he and Kimimaro were evenly matched. Only now did he realize Kimimaro had been hiding the trump card of the 'Eight Gates Release,' and had even mastered it to the point of opening the Sixth Gate of View.
Shock!
Frustration!
Unwillingness!
A flood of emotions surged within him.
Thinking of prodigies like Uchiha Shinji, Sasuke, and Yakumo at the academy, who had all surpassed him, he grew even more despondent.
But before he could wallow in those negative emotions, the battlefield's tide turned. Kimimaro, who had held the upper hand, was suddenly weakened by a flare-up of his Bloodline Limit disease, putting him at a disadvantage. Without hesitation, Neji rushed back.
Like Kimimaro, Neji instantly liberated his half of the 'bio-exoskeleton.'
At Neji's urging, a massive surge of chakra—blending his own Byakugan chakra with the Tenseigan chakra stored in the 'bio-exoskeleton'—began flowing through the resonance channel established between their two halves.
Swish!
In just a few breaths, Kimimaro's faltering aura surged back, soaring to its peak!
The sudden shift surprised even Neji and Kimimaro.
Neither realized that their unintentional act had triggered a hidden ability of the Tenseigan chakra: the capacity for void transmission under strong resonance.
When the Otsutsuki Branch elder descended to the ninja world, he had used void transmission, drawing on the giant Tenseigan on the moon to easily defeat Hidden Cloud's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee.
Neji and Kimimaro, each bearing half a 'bio-exoskeleton,' happened to possess this strong resonance.
Though the Tenseigan chakra stored in Neji's body paled in comparison to the moon's giant Tenseigan, their close proximity enabled this coincidence. Without Uchiha Shinji activating the 'Wazunagi' channel, they achieved void chakra transmission!
"How…?"
Restored to a state rivaling his earlier peak, Kimimaro was ecstatic, ready to seize this precious moment to attack, only to find his condition still growing stronger.
Clearly, with Neji's unreserved chakra support, Kimimaro's body underwent changes beyond his imagination.
As a distant kin of the Hyuga clan, the Kaguya clan's 'Dead Bone Constitution' and the Hyuga's Byakugan shared a complementary nature, akin to the Senju and Uchiha clans.
However, the Kaguya clan's 'Dead Bone Constitution' was too exclusive, normally incompatible even with the Byakugan, despite their shared origins.
This barrier was overcome by Uchiha Shinji's split 'bio-exoskeleton.'
The two halves first fused with their respective 'bio-exoskeletons,' then, leveraging the strong resonance between them, used the highly adaptable 'bio-exoskeleton' as a foundation to achieve fusion.
When Kimimaro's 'Dead Bone Constitution' chakra merged with Neji's Byakugan chakra, Kimimaro gained a bloodline enhancement akin to Uchiha Madara's after transplanting First Hokage cells.
This enhancement fundamentally bolstered Kimimaro's constitution, suppressing the Bloodline Limit disease caused by his body's inability to withstand the overwhelming power of his 'Dead Bone Constitution.'
With the disease suppressed, his condition naturally stabilized.
His Bloodline Limit disease was, after all, a "genius disease," triggered by his exceptional talent pushing his 'Dead Bone Constitution' beyond what his body could endure.
Across from him.
'Upper Rank One's expression grew grave once more.
Unlike Kimimaro, who couldn't see into his own body, 'Upper Rank One,' with his 'Transparent World,' saw far more.
In his 'Transparent World' vision, Kimimaro's body seemed to harbor a flame—no, more like a bomb, ready to detonate at any moment.
Neji, standing behind Kimimaro, noticed it too, his face tightening with a hint of panic.
He knew what that burgeoning power within Kimimaro was: the Tenseigan chakra he had extracted from the giant Tenseigan on the moon.
"What's happening to me?"
Kimimaro, slower to realize, finally sensed the anomaly.
If the fusion of 'Dead Bone Constitution' and Byakugan chakra brought Kimimaro's constitution close to that of their ancestor, Hamura Otsutsuki, the influx of Tenseigan chakra was the finishing touch.
After fusing with Neji's Byakugan chakra, Kimimaro had become the ideal vessel for awakening the Tenseigan. The massive surge of Tenseigan chakra triggered this, causing an unexpected transformation in his body.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Kimimaro felt a sharp pain in his eyes.
He quickly shut them, and when he opened them again, the world had changed. Everything became clearer, as if the entire world was within arm's reach, every detail vivid!
He soon understood, realizing he had awakened some kind of power.
But he also knew that the Byakugan and Tenseigan chakra, transmitted through the void, were rootless in his body. This awakened power was temporary—once the chakra was depleted, the immense strength would fade.
Without hesitation, he leapt forward, charging at 'Upper Rank One.'
On the moon.
At the pinnacle of the Otsutsuki Branch castle, an elderly Otsutsuki Branch member suddenly opened his eyes, his face etched with disbelief as he murmured, "How is this possible!?"