Seeing Naruto rubbing his temples in frustration, Orochimaru slowly walked over, his golden snake-like eyes narrowing with curiosity. His voice slithered like a whisper:
"...Naruto, you seem troubled. Do you have an idea already forming in that head of yours?"
Naruto exhaled deeply, gathering his thoughts before speaking with determination.
"Yeah... Uncle Snake, I've been thinking about Toneri. I want to help him regain his combat ability. If he recovers the Byakugan, he'll be a powerful ally in the future. He has the moon under his control and can observe the movements of the Ōtsutsuki in space. That alone makes him too important to ignore. With him, we'd have an early warning system against enemies who treat entire worlds like harvest fields. That's why I don't want to let Toneri's power just disappear."
Hearing this, Orochimaru tilted his head with an unsettling smile.
"Interesting..."
Kabuto, who had been observing the exchange from the side, adjusted his glasses with a glint of amusement.
"Lord Orochimaru, if I recall correctly, don't you still have a pair of Byakugan stored in one of your more... secret laboratories?"
Naruto's eyes widened instantly, flashing with hope.
"What?! You're serious?"
Orochimaru chuckled darkly, his tongue briefly flicking past his lips as he let out a sigh.
"Kabuto, you really do enjoy spoiling my conversations. I had planned to build up the suspense for Naruto, but you've gone and exposed me."
Naruto stepped forward urgently, his voice sharp.
"Uncle Snake, didn't you say it was nearly impossible to acquire Byakugan from the Hyūga clan? How in the world did you get a pair?"
Orochimaru's expression grew distant, his tone shifting to a more reflective one.
"It's true, the Hyūga guard their dōjutsu with ferocity. Their clan rules about recovering the eyes of fallen members are notoriously strict. However... even the tightest security has cracks. During the Third Great Ninja War, a young Hyūga prodigy—barely past his youth—was killed in battle. His enemies carved his eyes from his corpse, intending to smuggle them back to their village to study the secrets of the Byakugan."
Naruto's fists clenched, a frown cutting across his face.
"Bastards..."
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, his voice dropping into something darker.
"The Hyūga sent their hunters to recover the eyes. But fate is cruel... the enemy had split into multiple groups with escorts. The Hyūga chased the wrong one and lost their chance. And at that very time, I was separated from Jiraiya and Tsunade, handling my own mission. That's when I encountered those very men... protecting a small box as though their lives depended on it. Naturally, I assumed it was valuable intelligence."
His lips curled in a serpentine smile.
"I intercepted them. After their deaths, I opened the box and discovered what they had been hiding—two freshly taken Byakugan. Knowing the Hyūga's desperation to recover them, I kept the eyes for myself and concealed them deep within one of my private laboratories. Their mystery fascinated me. But even after years of study, I could never fully unlock their secrets, so I stored them away... waiting for a more appropriate time."
Naruto's jaw nearly dropped.
"You're telling me... you've had a pair of Byakugan this whole time, and you just kept them hidden? And they belonged to a young Hyūga boy, right?"
Orochimaru nodded slowly.
"Correct. After the war, the Hyūga pressed the Hokage about launching another mission to retrieve the eyes, even suggesting sneaking into enemy territory. But the Third Hokage shut the idea down. The war had just ended; to violate treaties so soon would risk igniting a second conflict. So the eyes remained lost... except they were never truly lost. They were with me."
Naruto slammed his hands together with excitement.
"Perfect! That's exactly what I need!"
Kabuto raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Naruto's enthusiasm.
"Naruto, why does it matter so much that they came from a young Hyūga? You seem especially concerned about that point."
Naruto's expression hardened with clarity.
"The younger the Hyūga, the purer the Byakugan. The bloodline hasn't been dulled by age, battle, or strain. For Toneri, who needs power capable of awakening the Tenseigan again, the purer the Byakugan, the better. If it's from a young genius, then it's exactly what we need."
Kabuto nodded slowly, clearly impressed.
"I see... so that's why."
Orochimaru gave a low chuckle.
"Very well. The laboratory is far from here. Naruto, you lack a Flying Thunder God mark there, so Kabuto and I will retrieve the eyes ourselves. Once I have them in hand, I'll deliver them to you personally."
Naruto gave a sharp nod.
"That works for me."
After exchanging a few more words, Naruto prepared to leave. His hand formed the seal, and with a flash of golden light—
Whoosh!
—he vanished, reappearing instantly through the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But this time, the jump wasn't simple. Naruto knew from experience that even space-time ninjutsu required time. When he traveled to the moon before, there had been a noticeable delay, several seconds where his chakra worked to bridge the vast distance. The further the mark, the greater the strain.
This time, his body flickered... and then appeared inside Toneri's villa on the moon.
Toneri sat in silence, facing the empty air. Though his eyes were gone, his instincts as a descendant of Hamura Ōtsutsuki allowed him to sense disturbances in chakra and space. He turned his face toward Naruto's direction the very moment he arrived.
"It's you..."
Naruto stepped forward, giving him a casual nod.
"Yeah, it's me. Took a bit out of me to get here—long-distance Flying Thunder God burns through chakra like crazy."
Toneri let out a faint smile, a dry chuckle escaping his lips.
"You have a tailed beast's chakra inside you, Naruto Uzumaki. For someone like you, complaining about chakra consumption sounds like a bad joke."
Naruto smirked.
"Maybe so. Anyway, I didn't come just to chat. I've got good news for you. I've found a pair of Byakugan. Once I have them in my hands, I can transplant them into you."
Toneri's expression shifted, his voice carrying a sharp edge.
"Are they the eyes of Hanabi Hyūga? The younger sister of the Byakugan Princess, Hinata? Her Byakugan is the purest... I would treasure those eyes."
Naruto's expression hardened instantly, his voice rising with seriousness.
"Stop right there! Don't even think about Hanabi. She's Hinata's sister—my sister-in-law. I won't let you lay a finger on her."
Toneri gave a quiet hum, though there was still a faint smirk on his lips.
"If not her, then what use is there?"
Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Don't be so stubborn. The eyes I found aren't Hanabi's, but they're still powerful. They belonged to a young Hyūga prodigy who died during the Third War. Pure blood, untarnished Byakugan. They're perfect for you."
Toneri stiffened at the words.
"A young man's eyes?"
Naruto nodded.
"Exactly. And you should think about this carefully. You don't want to live the rest of your life in darkness, do you? You don't want to stay blind forever, shut away in this villa while the Ōtsutsuki eventually descend on the earth. You felt them before, didn't you? With the Tenseigan, you sensed their presence out in the void. They'll come here, and when they do, they'll treat this world like a field of crops, stripping chakra from everyone until nothing remains. Is that what Hamura asked you to protect? Would you let his will vanish into nothingness?"
Naruto's words hit Toneri like a hammer, cutting straight to his soul. He sat in silence for a long time before finally letting out a quiet sigh.
"...Very well. I will accept these Byakugan. But hear me, Naruto. If the purity of these eyes does not meet my expectations, I'd rather endure eternal darkness than implant them."
Naruto smiled, his confidence unwavering.
"Deal. I'll let you examine them before the transplant. If they pass your standards, I'll make sure the surgery goes smoothly myself."
Toneri gave a small hum of approval.
Naruto then walked a few steps deeper into the villa, finally taking the time to look around. The structure had always been a vague memory to him—his battles with Toneri had left little time to actually observe the place.
"Huh... not bad. Peaceful, elegant. Pretty lonely, though. By the way, where are those puppets you made?"
Toneri raised his hand, and a dozen puppets appeared, floating around them.
"You mean these? If you like them, take as many as you want."
Naruto chuckled.
"I'll just take one. I've got someone in mind who might appreciate it."
Toneri said nothing, his silence filling the room.
Naruto slung one of the puppets over his shoulder, then turned to face Toneri.
"I'll be back once Orochimaru retrieves the Byakugan. Until then, hang in there."
With that, he pressed his fingers together, the seal flashing with golden light—
Whoosh!
—and vanished once more through the Flying Thunder God.
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