Ginka Hyuga's room.
Ginka Hyuga stood on the luxurious floor. Sunlight spilled in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the hesitant expression on her face.
She bent down and groped around under the bed for a moment, eventually pulling out that shameful piece of clothing.
Dragging the garment out from the shadows, she spread it out in her hands to examine it closely, her face instantly turning pale.
No matter how much time passed or how many times she brought it out to look at it, she couldn't see how this "clothing" resembled actual clothes in the slightest.
It looked more like a few strips of cloth haphazardly sewn together.
Taking a deep breath, Ginka bit her lower lip, forcing herself to calm down.
Shimizu Uchiha's patience was likely at its absolute limit.
She didn't have many chances left.
Ginka ran to the bathroom, letting the water pour down from the showerhead.
Ten minutes later.
Ginka had changed into the new outfit.
Her current appearance made her want to sink into the floor out of pure shame.
Rustle, rustle...
She didn't even dare to look in the mirror. Hurriedly pulling a thick, heavy robe from her wardrobe, she wrapped it tightly around herself.
The robe was baggy, covering nearly her entire body. She pulled the front flaps tight, ensuring not a single gap remained.
She stood at the door for a moment. After making sure that no one was around at this hour, she left the Hyuga Clan compound with slightly awkward, unnatural steps.
Konoha Hospital.
Ginka Hyuga walked cautiously down the corridor, her gaze lowered the entire time, too afraid to make eye contact with anyone.
It was because she was currently betraying everything she had been taught.
Her classical, feudal, and strict upbringing absolutely forbade such shamelessness.
If word of this reached the Hyuga Clan, even as a member of the Main House, she would become an existence despised by everyone.
"Ginka, is that you?"
Nobuhiko Hyuga heard the sound of footsteps and turned his heavily bandaged face toward the direction of the opening door.
"Yeah... it's me."
Ginka looked at Nobuhiko.
Being unable to see for a long time—living as a blind man—was truly agonizing for a ninja renowned for his dōjutsu.
Nobuhiko had lost a considerable amount of weight; his hospital gown hung loosely on his frail frame.
"Don't worry, you'll get better very soon," Ginka said softly.
Yes, as long as she was willing to pay the price.
Nobuhiko would definitely recover.
"I hope so."
Nobuhiko's tone was deeply defeated.
Shimizu Uchiha still hadn't come to treat him, which made him suspect that his condition was simply too severe.
All those previous promises felt like empty platitudes.
"I have to go..." Ginka tightened her grip on the edge of her robe.
She knew her fiancé was already falling into despair.
If Nobuhiko wasn't cured soon, she didn't know how much more pressure he could withstand.
"So soon?" Nobuhiko was stunned.
It was still early. Usually, when Ginka came to visit, she would stay for quite a while before leaving. She had never just offered a word of blessing and immediately turned to leave like today.
"Ginka, wait! Did something happen? Are the people in the clan talking about you?"
Nobuhiko fumbled to get out of bed, waving his hands blindly in the air, trying to grab hold of her.
His pathetic, desperate attempt to make her stay made Ginka's nose sting with unshed tears.
She turned and left.
She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would change her mind.
"Ginka!"
Hearing her footsteps fade away, Nobuhiko stumbled and crashed to the floor.
Ignoring the pain in his face, he immediately scrambled to his feet.
"Ginka... where are you going?"
Nobuhiko had a sinking feeling that Ginka was going somewhere very, very far away.
So far that he would never be able to reach her again.
It was a ridiculous thought, yet it was exactly what Nobuhiko felt.
The greatest fear of a blind man is being abandoned.
"Ginka..."
Tears seeped out from beneath Nobuhiko's bandages.
Men rarely cried. They only shed tears involuntarily when cut to their very core.
In his heart, he viciously cursed Ao of Kirigakure.
It had to be because of him that Ginka was being mocked by the clan. He knew Ginka had offended quite a few people in the past, and they surely wouldn't miss a chance to kick her while she was down.
Yet, as he was now, Nobuhiko was completely powerless.
"Damn it! Why did you have to take my Byakugan!" Nobuhiko screamed, feeling the utter injustice of fate.
Others hadn't had their Byakugan stolen, but his was gone.
After venting his frustrations, Nobuhiko crawled back into bed.
He felt the gentle breeze blowing in from the window.
His heart ached for Ginka.
Please come back soon... Ginka.
"It's been a long time."
Nonō Yakushi pulled down the brim of her nun's habit, obscuring her face.
She could feel that the streets of Konohagakure were much bleaker than before. Even the scrutiny from the ninja stationed at the gates was far stricter.
Fortunately, as one of Root's most elite espionage and intelligence ninjas, Nonō slipped in effortlessly.
"Kurenai, when do you think Kakashi will be back? I heard that guy has all the luck with women; he actually hooked up with the daughter of a Kirigakure executive."
"Asuma, stop talking about such nonsense. This is clearly a political marriage. Kakashi is making a sacrifice for the village; talking about him like that is incredibly selfish."
"I'm just joking, just joking."
Asuma Sarutobi wiped the thick sweat from his brow, quickly explaining that he only wanted to make Kurenai Yūhi smile.
Nonō watched the young people in the village.
She vaguely remembered that these kids were academy classmates of Shimizu.
"In the blink of an eye, so much time has passed."
A nostalgic gleam appeared in Nonō's eyes as she looked upon the hometown where she had spent decades of her life.
Root was extreme and forbade all emotions. However, many of its members still deeply loved Konoha.
It was a bond that was incredibly difficult to sever.
Nonō wasn't one of those Root operatives who had been brainwashed since childhood; she still retained a wealth of human emotion.
"If I remember correctly, the place where Shimizu lives should be in the Uchiha Clan compound."
Nonō adjusted her habit and blended into the crowd.
Shimizu's House.
[Current attempts remaining: 1. Would you like to start the Perfect Life Simulation?]
Looking at the prompt before him, Shimizu left his laboratory and went into his bedroom.
"Yes."
[Ding! Perfect Life Simulation initiating...]
[Day 1: Someone came to visit you.]
[Day 2: A refreshing and invigorating day.]
[Day 3: You have made some headway in your experiments to combine the Curse Marks.]
[Day 4: You went to Ichiraku Ramen for a bowl of noodles. Ayame stared at you with wide eyes, observing your features. You remember that in the original work, Ayame is an absolute sucker for handsome faces—especially since you are even better looking than Kakashi.]
[Day 5: Rin Nohara went to visit Obito's grave. After she returned, you ruthlessly took her to bed as punishment. Rin asked if you held some kind of personal grudge against the late Obito.]
[Day 63: You won the grand prize at Ichiraku Ramen, allowing you to eat ramen at an 80% discount for ten days. You gave these discount coupons to Kushina Uzumaki, which made her incredibly happy.]
[Day 64: You noticed Minato Namikaze researching the Ōdama Rasengan. He came to you for advice. You effortlessly manifested an Ōdama Rasengan with a single hand and explained the trick to him; it isn't exceptionally difficult, it merely requires a much higher degree of chakra control and a larger volume of chakra.]
[Day 120: You attempted to add Katon chakra into the Rasengan. You successfully developed the Gōketsu Rasengan.]
[Day 121: You interrogated Yūgao Uzuki.]
[Day 382: You successfully implanted the Human Curse Mark into a white lab mouse. The power of the Human Curse Mark mutated it into a half-human, half-mouse hybrid. Unfortunately, its intelligence degraded to an even lower state than when it was a regular mouse. You destroyed the failed specimen.]
[Day 383: You purchased a batch of white snakes, using them to replace the mice for your experiments.]
[Day 384: The regenerative abilities of the white snakes are impressive. You managed to create a half-human, half-snake entity. Its intelligence remained at its original level, but could not be increased further. You began working to overcome this bottleneck.]
[Day 799: Your experiments combining the Heaven Curse Mark, Earth Curse Mark, and the power of Mōryō yielded a breakthrough. You found a white snake and injected it.]
[Day 800: The white snake died.]
[Day 801: You procured several death row inmates guilty of heinous crimes for your experiments. They begged for mercy; you coldly injected them.]
[Day 802: All the death row test subjects died.]
[Day 803: You attempted to strike a deal with Hōzuki Castle in Kusagakure, asking them to sell you a few prisoners.]
[Day 1222: You finally completed the fusion of the Heaven Curse Mark, the Earth Curse Mark, and the power of Mōryō. You named it the Heaven and Earth Mōryō Curse Mark.]
[Day 1223: Your strength has grown astronomically. The sensation of Natural Energy is wondrous. You simultaneously injected the previously developed Snake Curse Mark into yourself. Your control over Natural Energy was further enhanced, instinctively drawing countless snakes to worship you.]
[Day 1224: Your chakra has become increasingly dark and cold. You wonder if you should find a way to mask it.]
[Day 1244: Tagitsuhime of Ryūchi Cave sought you out, claiming you have an affinity with Ryūchi Cave and invited you to partake in their trials. This is the first time you realized they could actually issue proactive invitations.]
[Day 1449: You finally overcame the intelligence bottleneck of the Human Curse Mark. You used it on a white dove.]
[Day 1450: The dove, with its growing intelligence, achieved the IQ of an adult human. However, you can't help but feel she is still incredibly foolish. Using her half-human, half-bird body, she sat on your shoulder, bending her waist at an exaggerated angle just to nuzzle your face with her cheek.]
[Day 1555: You are conducting research on the next stage of the white dove's Curse Mark.]
[Day 1556: Sasuke had a swollen face. It turned out Naruto had punched him. You casually healed it using Medical Ninjutsu.]
[Day 1676: Tsunade sought you out to borrow money. You tactfully declined.]
[Day 1677: Tsunade transformed into Shizune and tried to borrow money from you again. You saw through her Transformation Jutsu and tactfully declined.]
[Day 1678: Tsunade grabbed you by the collar, threatening to make you pay if you didn't lend her money. You felt the sheer, overwhelming magnitude of her "arguments" pressing against you. You tactfully declined.]
[Day 1679: You lent the money to Tsunade. She wrote an IOU, swearing to work like a horse or ox to repay you.]
[Day 1680: Tsunade lost all the money and disappeared. You anticipated this and detained Shizune beforehand. The monk can run, but he can't take the temple with him; you are waiting for Tsunade's return.]
[Day 2021: You went to the Land of Demons to enjoy a relaxing soak in the hot springs. Miroku and Shion were bathing not far away, but the dense mist obscured everything. You pondered your next course of action; after all, you are a gentleman.]
[Simulation complete. Tallying results...]
[Please select one of the following as a reward: Snake Curse Mark, Human Curse Mark, Heaven and Earth Mōryō Curse Mark.]
Shimizu fell silent.
This time, the reward was a grand prize of Curse Marks.
Every single one of them was something he deeply desired.
The Snake Curse Mark: obtaining it would immediately skyrocket his body's regenerative abilities. If paired with his internal Raiton: Saisei Rentai, it might yield miraculous effects. It would allow him to withstand stronger lightning, accelerating the rate at which his physical body strengthened.
The Human Curse Mark: this would allow the white dove—who had diligently and fearfully guarded his home all this time—to become a half-human, half-bird entity, effectively a yōkai. He would gain a fiercely loyal subordinate, and maybe he could even try something with a monster girl...
Shimizu shook his head. A man cannot, or at least, he shouldn't.
The final option was the Heaven and Earth Mōryō Curse Mark.
A three-in-one package containing the Heaven Curse Mark, the Earth Curse Mark, and the power of Mōryō.
The Heaven Curse Mark might increase Shimizu's flying speed, though since he already possessed Crystal Release wings, his need for more wings was low.
The Earth Curse Mark would likely enhance his physical defense. Given his already fiercely tempered physique, utilizing this Curse Mark would presumably boost his defenses to an astonishing degree.
The exact metrics would require experimentation.
As for the power of Mōryō, it would immediately free Shimizu from the crisis of a shortening lifespan.
The greatest flaw of Raiton: Saisei Rentai was that excessive cellular division drained one's lifespan. By choosing this, he would no longer have to worry about that, and his lifespan would likely far exceed that of an ordinary person.
After a moment of thought, Shimizu decided to prioritize himself. Surviving was the foundation of everything.
Orochimaru's Fushi Tensei required swapping host bodies every few years, and who knew when an accident might happen? There was a period of weakness every time, and Shimizu wasn't willing to gamble on whether each reincarnation damaged the soul.
Therefore, that method of immortality had been immediately discarded by Shimizu.
Most other methods involved modifying oneself into an inhuman freak—like Hidan's cult of Jashin, or Kakuzu's Jiongu.
"I choose the Heaven and Earth Mōryō Curse Mark."
[Dispensing the Heaven and Earth Mōryō Curse Mark...]
A test tube materialized in Shimizu's hand. The liquid inside twinkled like a galaxy, emitting a faint, dark-gold luminescence.
Without hesitation, Shimizu drew the raw serum into a syringe and injected it directly into his body.
Rings of black, runic patterns began to spread outward from the injection site, crawling across his skin.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
The blood within him roared like a surging river, rushing rapidly through his veins.
Rip...
Shimizu's body gradually began to mutate. A pair of wings sprouted from his back, densely packed with feathers. Black flames burned along the edges of the feathers, making them look like wings forged entirely from dark fire.
A tail thrust out from his lower back, stretching three meters long and covered in serpentine scales.
Fangs grew from his mouth, the whites of his eyes turned pitch-black, and his three-Tomoe Sharingan involuntarily activated.
From a distance, his eyes looked like rubies embedded in pure obsidian.
"Haaa..."
Shimizu exhaled a breath of stale air. The gust hit the floor with a heavy, muffled thud.
"Strange, why didn't my skin turn dark brown?"
Shimizu looked at his pale hands, thoroughly confused.
Black nails had grown out from his five fingers, sharp as razors. He casually dragged them against the wall, effortlessly carving five deep gouges into the stone.
"Raiton: Saisei Rentai."
Shimizu amplified the output within his body.
Crackle!
The dust on the ground was faintly drawn upward, floating off the floorboards due to the magnetic field generated by the lightning.
Microscopic arcs of black electricity wreathed Shimizu's body.
Upon closer inspection, one could see countless thread-thin black snakes crawling across the surface of his skin.
That was the lightning!
Looking at the phenomenon occurring on the ground, Shimizu had an epiphany.
Electricity generates magnetism.
If his Lightning Release were refined further, he could master electromagnetic force.
Electromagnetism was one of the four fundamental forces of the universe!
On a smaller scale, he might even be able to develop Jiton.
Having the abilities of that Kekkei Genkai wouldn't be bad either.
"In this state, my chakra reserves have noticeably increased. And... there is a unique energy present."
Shimizu could sense this energy enveloping all living things.
It was Natural Energy.
"Senjutsu: Tenrō Kaken."
Shimizu made a grasping motion, converting the Curse Mark's power into Senjutsu chakra and infusing it into the Heavenly Prison Fire Sword.
A vibrant, blazing sword manifested in his grip, looking incredibly lifelike.
It didn't seem like something condensed from chakra; rather, it looked like a tangible, crimson longsword. Innumerable tiny Heavenly Prison Fire Swords formed a pattern resembling fish scales across its surface, looking utterly breathtaking as it gleamed in the sunlight.
"The power has been amplified significantly."
Shimizu was elated. Senjutsu truly did multiply the power of ninjutsu many times over.
With his current level of strength, even if the Fourth Shinobi World War were to break out right now, he would no longer be mere cannon fodder.
Knowing Senjutsu meant he was a top-tier damage dealer.
Those without Senjutsu or overwhelming Taijutsu wouldn't even earn a ticket to participate in that war.
Just like those ordinary ninja—who among them would dare to arm-wrestle Six Paths Madara?
The Five Kage had all been obliterated by Edo Madara's Kanzentai Susanoo in seconds.
Controlling the tail behind his back, Shimizu curled it around a glass cup and brought it into his hand.
It felt as though he had been born with this tail; there was absolutely no sluggishness or delay in its movement.
Finally, Shimizu inspected his wings.
The black flames on them were not Amaterasu, but simply a type of extremely high-temperature fire. What exactly it was, Shimizu currently had no idea.
In the Naruto records, the only black flames ever documented were Amaterasu.
Shimizu guessed it might be a manifestation of Mōryō's power.
Mōryō's true form was a dragon made of dense black mist, or perhaps, black flames.
Shimizu picked up a mirror to examine his own reflection.
Two small bumps, or fleshy nodes, had pushed up from his forehead, as if something was gestating beneath the skin.
"They look a bit like horns."
Shimizu put the mirror down.
In this state, he looked far more sinister.
Long hair, wings, a black tail...
And a hauntingly demonic face.
He was, in every sense of the word, an absolute "Demon".
After familiarizing himself with his new abilities, Shimizu deactivated the Curse Mark state.
Right now, he was only in the first stage of the Curse Mark. Once he unlocked the second stage, his power would skyrocket even further.
"I can continue to research and develop the Curse Marks."
Shimizu stroked his chin in thought.
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