The Byakugan, claimed to be the Sharingan's equal, had to hide some secrets as well, not Otsutsuki level secrets but enough to rival the madness of the Mangekyo.
After all, at least in the current era, the Mangekyo Sharingan was still plenty renowned and yet, the Hyuga still boasted their dojutsu's superiority.
Were they just fools or was there a solid reason?
It was true. While in the Manga, the only Madara had the Mangekyo during Konoha's founding, in the anime, the Izanami explanation flashback showed multiple Uchiha wearing Konoha forehead protectors boasting Mangekyo Sharingan.
As such, while details like the awakening process and exact abilities were more confidential, the existence of the powerful Dojutsu was common knowledge to high level shinobi of the village.
Yet the Hyuga still dared to boast about being comparable, even superior if they were feeling particularly cocky and yet, no one mocked them for it except for the ever prideful Uchiha themselves.
If it was just Three Tomoe Sharingan then a Byakugan had both advantages and disadvantages in comparison. That together with the fact that almost every Hyuga could awaken their dojutsu through training, meant they could claim superiority through numbers if nothing else.
'But what gives them the confidence to compare to the pure hax that is the Mangekyo' Shiki wondered.
Honestly, he was afraid he might be overthinking things and wasting his time.
After all, there was the possibility that it was just Hyuga propaganda and those in the know simply thought it was not worth it to offend a powerful clan over something as minor as some boasting.
Still . . . If there was actually a secret to be unearthed . . .
Shiki knew it would be something big.
The boy had already scanned Konoha with his supreme sensory abilities several times over and uncovered plenty of secrets, copied countless secret arts, even discovered black sites of the Anbu and Root.
But he had never come across anything in Hyuga territory.
This could only mean one of two things, either there was nothing, or there was something very powerful and intricate enough to completely fool his sensory abilities which Shiki ranked as close to Six Paths level in quality even if not in scale.
If it was just something capable of blocking his perception, creating a void within his sensory range that his perception could not pierce, then he would understand, it would still be extremely impressive and worthy of investigation but not nearly as earthshaking.
'With Nirvana Art. Kukyoshin, I should be able to sneak past the Byakugan, under normal circumstances at least.' Shiki pondered.
'But my ability to detect things is far better than my ability to hide and they have something that can fool it so there is still danger.'
. . .
'Or I'm being paranoid and the Hyuga are just way too full of themselves for their own good . . .' Even at this stage or drawing up plans to infiltrate the Hyuga Compound, Shiki still believed there was a high chance that he was overthinking things.
'Is a risk I need to take right now?' The boy internally questioned himself.
If he went through with it and got caught, it would completely set off the internal conflict in the village right before the Second Great War, not to mention it would push the powerful and influential Hyuga clan to the other side.
'No . . . I don't need to take this risk right now . . .' Shiki concluded in his thoughts.
'But I really, really want to . . .' He admitted to himself.
It was then that the boy remembered the vow he had made to himself ahead of his reincarnation.
He would live his life to the full and chase his desires, considering the future sure but more importantly, enjoying the moment.
'Have I really been doing that?' Shiki internally questioned.
There was no doubt that he enjoyed his training, his growth, even the weaving of his grant plans for the future but . . .
'Am I being too risk averse?' The boy wondered.
He need not think so.
Even if calculated, he had taken risks far more often than his close ones were willing to accept.
They merely knew the futility of trying to stop him so they let Shiki do whatever he wanted, trusting his judgement.
'I have the Nirvana Seal, if push comes to shove, the only one in Konoha capable of stopping me would be Mito-sama due to her fuinjutsu, otherwise I could probably still survive anything she threw at me and still escape.' The boy tried convincing himself that he could take the risk now.
After all, what was all the power he accumulated for if not to give him the freedom to act as he wished.
'Let's try and figure out what the Hyuga's secret might be if it exists.' Still unable to come to a decision, Shiki distracted himself with theories regarding what he might find if he went through with his infiltration of the Hyuga clan.
'The first thing that comes to mind is the Tenseigan Vessel on the moon.' The boy theorized.
'That was made with Otsutsuki Hamura's Tenseigan as the base and then fed all of the Moon Otsutsuki clan's Byakugan. But lacking a Tenseigan to serve as a base, it could just be something like a super Byakugan Vessel of some sort.' He deduced a possibility.
The chance that a powerful, Otsutsuki related legacy, might be hiding right underneath his nose in Konoha was enough to make Shiki nearly burst with the desire to act.
In the end, the boy could not resist the urge to find the answer to the Hyuga question.
'I won't go half cocked though.' He firmly decided.
Shiki decided to do an enhanced version of the play he did in the Fire Temple, using a skillset completely different from his own so that even if he was detected, he could fight his way out without exposing his identity.
'But if the secret is that high level, the resistance I might face will be similarly tough, I need to prepare something strong enough.' The boy began drawing up a complete plan for preparations.
He would start his extreme training with the assistance of the Nirvana Seal and see what he could come up with.
Not that he did not already have some ideas . . .
What would be required to ensure a successful escape?
The answer was speed and power, pure and simple.
Was there not a perfect embodiment of this simplicity?
One Shiki could unhesitantly throw blame on without a care in the World?
Speed, power, penetration . . . There were people boasting plenty of all three that Shiki would just love to do a frame job on . . .
They were already notorious for their bandit-like policy of infiltrating and stealing legacies from other villages.
Forget about the Hyuga and other Konoha clans, even the target of the frame job might believe their higher ups had something to do with it.
'Hehehehe . . . Let us develop a convincing enough and powerful enough reproduction of the Lightning Chakra Mode shall we?' Shiki deviously plotted.
'Sincerely . . . I'm beginning to hope I get caught and have the chance to do this frame job . . .'
The Hyuga clan's infiltration was becoming more appetizing a prospect by the minute.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -