After a round of testing.
Naruto came to a not entirely precise conclusion: the areas where the Tenseigan's abilities overlapped with the Rinnegan's seemed to be limited to only gravitational attraction and repulsion. The reason he said "not entirely precise" was because Hyuga Neji and Hinata's Tenseigan had not yet been fully developed. They themselves might not even be fully aware of all the abilities their eyes possessed.
On the training ground, two figures collided at high speed.
BOOM!
A cloud of smoke erupted, and immediately after, Hyuga Neji's figure was sent flying backward.
Through the haze, Naruto, his left eye glowing with a faint golden light, stood his ground.
"Hinata, come on up," he said, turning his head to the long-haired young woman standing at the edge of the field.
At the side of the field, Hyuga Neji performed a kip-up to get to his feet. Through their sparring match so far, he had roughly identified his own problems. The next step was to absorb what he had learned today and correct those issues. Although he felt he could gain even more by continuing to fight, he knew it wasn't realistic. Naruto was an honored guest invited by the Clan Head, not his personal sparring partner. The guidance Naruto had already provided was a significant favor, likely granted out of respect for the Clan Head.
"Naruto-kun." Hinata looked at the youth with the unusual eyes standing opposite her, adjusted her breathing to its optimal state, and adopted the Gentle Fist stance.
"Go all out! Don't hold back!" Naruto shifted his stance slightly, his right hand held behind his back, his left hand lightly extended before him.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The two figures rapidly closed the distance—fists, palms, elbows, claws, kicks, sweeps...
Naruto unleashed the full extent of his taijutsu. Just as with Hyuga Neji, he controlled the pressure to a reasonable degree, guiding the young woman to develop her own style. Due to his tomoe Rinnegan, he was also proficient in the five basic nature transformations, but the Hyuga clan's primary attack method was taijutsu—the Gentle Fist. Using ninjutsu wouldn't allow him to test the full measure of their capabilities to the greatest extent.
"I wonder what Lord Naruto's ninjutsu level is like," the Fourth Elder mused, stroking his beard, trying to gauge Naruto's strength. Such a high level of skill, a unique taijutsu style—he already possessed the foundation to establish his own school. Currently, Konoha's taijutsu was mainly divided into two types: the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist and the Strong Fist style represented by Might Guy's lineage. However, Namikaze Naruto's taijutsu was distinctly different from both. In his every move, there was neither the Gentle Fist's principle of overcoming hardness with softness nor the Strong Fist's directness. His offense and defense possessed a unique rhythm. Seemingly slow yet fast, each attack precisely targeted the opponent's openings during the transition between moves.
"Definitely above the average line," the Great Elder stated. Just based on the inhuman chakra reserves of a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, even without exceptional talent, as long as one persevered, their ninjutsu proficiency would certainly not be poor. Moreover, Naruto's aptitude was undoubtedly at a monstrous level.
"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu all maxed out. I'm very curious if there's anyone in the current shinobi world who can defeat him one-on-one," the Fifth Elder said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. With the Rinnegan, his genjutsu capabilities couldn't be lacking either.
"Who knows," the Third Elder shrugged. "There's no shortage of old hidden masters in the shinobi world. Not to mention those far away, no one knows the true strength of the Great Sages of the Three Great Sage Regions."
Hyuga Hinata leaned to the side, dodging an attack. A green energy sphere condensed on her fair palm, and she struck it into Naruto's body.
Hmm? Naruto felt as if his thoughts, like a young woman whose clothes had been torn away, were completely exposed to his enemy's sight.
"Using this ability... will it cause any problems?" Hyuga Neji's mouth twitched slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant experience.
"Probably... not," Hyuga Hiashi said uncertainly.
"Is there some taboo associated with this ability?" Their conversation immediately piqued the curiosity of the others. Even though they were of the same clan as the young heiress, excessively prying into her abilities was still a taboo. Prior to this, they hadn't had a clear understanding of her Tenseigan's capabilities.
"Peeking into others' thoughts, does that count as a taboo?" Recalling his last sparring session with Lady Hinata, Hyuga Neji couldn't help but cover his face. When your thoughts were laid bare before someone, no matter how close your relationship, you would feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Hah!" Hinata inexplicably launched an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to her side.
Perfectly timed, Naruto appeared directly in front of the Vacuum Palm, as if he himself intended to receive the attack.
"My thoughts were read? No, it's not just reading thoughts; that energy was even trying to change my thoughts." Recalling the experience, Naruto seemed to understand why she could predict his movements. This dojutsu was interesting. It was somewhat similar to Uchiha Itachi's current Mangekyo dojutsu—Kotoamatsukami. Both used powerful mental-type dojutsu to alter others' thoughts, thereby achieving the goal of controlling the enemy.
Yin Release chakra rapidly surged to his brain, cleansing the foreign chakra attached to it.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Hinata's high-speed movements created countless afterimages.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of sonic booms erupted out of thin air.
"Shinra Tensei!" The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist art, continuously improved and optimized over generations, had reached a certain pinnacle of skill and technique. In this kind of taijutsu contest, Naruto could only temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack. After all, being struck by those fingers, capable of piercing steel plates—whether his pressure points would be sealed was one thing, but having bloody holes appear on his body was definitely unavoidable.
But just as the Shinra Tensei was about to hit the young woman, space suddenly tore open, creating a rift large enough to accommodate one person.
"Another ability?" Glancing at the spatial rift behind him out of the corner of his eye, Naruto thought inwardly.
"Got you!" Hinata leaped out from the rift, her fingertips, gathering terrifying chakra, accurately stabbing towards her trial opponent.
Tch! Naruto's figure abruptly transformed into countless azure crystal butterflies, causing her attack to hit empty air.
"Almost lost there." Naruto's voice came from behind her. Immediately after, a black iron rod gently pressed against her neck.
"The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist is good, but it's clearly no longer suitable for you two. When exploring the potential of the Tenseigan, you might want to consider how to combine the abilities of your eyes to develop moves more suited to yourselves." The Gentle Fist was good, but for Kage-level combatants, its attack range was too short. If he weren't engaging in a taijutsu match, he could have played around with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms in numerous ways.
"I understand," Hinata nodded.
Turning to Hyuga Hiashi and the others who were approaching, Naruto said, "To be honest, their strength exceeded my expectations. Compared to the more active figures in the shinobi world currently, there's still a considerable gap, but their future is promising."
It was already evening when he left the Hyuga clan compound.
"The Hyuga clan's cuisine is truly excellent." Naruto smacked his lips slightly, savoring the aftertaste of the delicious food he had just eaten. He had thought that after traveling the shinobi world and tasting delicacies from all over, he had developed a strong immunity to the world's culinary delights. But tonight, the dinner prepared by the Hyuga clan had truly shown him what a thousand-year-old noble family was capable of. Their heritage was evident not only in the above-average quality of their clan's ninja but also in their daily life. The sheer opulence of the meal had nearly made his eyes pop out, but he had to admit, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Truly sinful!
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Naruto-kun," Hyuga Hinata said, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled softly. Her father truly valued Naruto-kun; the standard of this banquet was something even she had rarely experienced in her entire life.
Just as they were about to leave the Hyuga clan grounds, Naruto paused slightly. "You can see me off to here. If I really took you away, your father might just come charging after me."
The young woman's fair, jade-like face instantly turned crimson. Her fingers fidgeted, and she stammered, unsure what to say. "N-no, he wouldn't..."
"See you tomorrow!" Naruto smiled faintly and vanished on the spot.
Gazing at the spot where the young man had disappeared, the young woman stood there for a long moment, then tucked a strand of dark blue hair behind her ear. "Naruto-kun, see you tomorrow."
When Konohagakure was first established, the Uzumaki clan from the distant Land of Whirlpools was the first to voice their support and signed a friendship treaty with Konoha. Konoha's high-ranking officials at the time also valued this friendship, even imprinting the Uzumaki clan's symbol on their own uniforms as proof of their deep friendship and bond. Even though the Land of Whirlpools had vanished into the dust of history, and few Uzumaki remained, Konohagakure still retained a considerable number of Uzumaki clan buildings.
The Nomen-do (Hall of Masks) in the southwest corner of the village was one of them.
In the silence of the silver moonlight bathing the earth, two figures slowly pushed open the dust-covered doors that had been sealed for many years.
"Lord Orochimaru, we finally found it!" Kabuto exclaimed with delight, his gaze falling upon the wall inside the room, completely covered with masks. "As long as we undo the Reaper Death Seal, your arms will return to normal!"
Although Orochimaru didn't show his joy as overtly as Kabuto, his quickened steps clearly indicated his excitement.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the doorway. He stopped and turned his head to look back.
"Orochimaru-san is as perceptive as ever."
"Naruto-kun. I heard you returned to Konoha. I didn't expect it to be true." Orochimaru flicked his long, narrow tongue, licking his lips.
Indeed, the newcomer was Naruto. After leaving the Hyuga clan compound, he had originally intended to return directly to his residence to rest, having had a busy day. But two familiar chakra signatures had entered his sensory range, immediately dispelling any thoughts of rest.
"Orochimaru-san's information network is as efficient as ever," Naruto said, half-complimenting, half-joking. Over the past year, in pursuit of his goals, he had constantly traveled, accumulating power, and had also met and befriended many 'interesting' people. For example, the Orochimaru before him. Even now, the Dragon Heritage organization still maintained a certain level of trade with him. The techniques this man possessed were coveted even by Naruto.
"May I be so bold as to ask why Lord Naruto has appeared here?" Kabuto stepped slightly forward, positioning himself in front of Orochimaru. Despite their seemingly amicable conversation, he had no doubt that the youth before them could launch a deadly attack in the next second. "Smiling to your face while stabbing you in the back" was a rather apt description of their relationship.
"The moonlight is lovely tonight. I came out to enjoy it and happened to see you two acting suspiciously nearby, so I came over to take a look," Naruto said with a grin.
Heh heh... Kabuto's mouth twitched slightly. What kind of excuse is that? A globally recognized terrorist, out enjoying the moon? Who would believe that!
"If I recall correctly, Orochimaru-san's arms were sealed by the Reaper Death Seal, rendering him unable to use ninjutsu, correct?" Naruto tilted his head, looking at the 'beautiful woman' hidden behind Kabuto.
"What do you mean by that, Your Excellency?" Kabuto's tone turned cold, and he drew a kunai, holding it defensively.
"Relax!" Naruto suddenly appeared beside him, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "Seriously, no joke. If I had any killing intent towards you, you'd already be dead." To an ordinary person, a Jonin might be very powerful, but to him, it was merely a question of whether he was willing to waste the time.
"Naruto-kun, Kabuto is a very good subordinate of mine," Orochimaru interjected at the right moment.
"That much is clear. I just wanted to teach him a lesson—"
CRACK!
The sound of bone breaking echoed.
"—when the boss is talking, subordinates are best advised not to speak out of turn." Naruto shifted his feet slightly, moving to stand directly in front of Orochimaru, meeting his gaze.
"Kabuto, stand down."
Kabuto clutched his now limp right shoulder and retreated to the side.
Orochimaru's beautiful face turned icy cold. "Speak. What do you want?"
"The cell activation secret technique, and my father's soul." Naruto didn't beat around the bush, stating his conditions directly.
"You knew my purpose for coming here?" Orochimaru was perplexed. Apart from Kabuto, he hadn't told anyone the reason for this trip.
"Before I was Namikaze, I was Uzumaki." Naruto tilted his head up slightly, gazing at the wall of masks before them. "The Reaper Death Seal. I know it too. In fact, I've even conducted in-depth research into its principles."
"I agree to your conditions." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. This young man was far more troublesome than he had initially estimated.
Naruto's sweeping gaze locked onto a demonic-looking mask. A golden chakra tail materialized, plucked it from the wall, and handed it to the 'woman' behind him. "Please."
Orochimaru took the mask, felt the chakra hidden within it, and his expression grew even grimmer. It was indeed the mask he needed. "Since you knew, why didn't you undo it yourself and free your parents' souls?"
"Perhaps their souls are safer in the sealed space," Naruto said, glancing towards the world outside the doorway, his meaning obscure.
"...What do you know?" Orochimaru followed his gaze, then paused, vaguely grasping something.
Naruto shook his head slightly.
"..." Orochimaru's expression flickered, but he asked no more questions. "Kabuto, take out the item."
"Yes!" Kabuto stopped releasing his Mystical Palm Technique, his right hand clenching with difficulty as he took out a scroll. The character for 'human' (人) was prominently written on it.
Poof!
White smoke cleared, revealing a man with a steady breath lying on the floor.
From Orochimaru's arm, a black snake slithered out, helping him don the Shinigami mask.
BOOM!
In an instant, terrifying chakra erupted from his body. Immediately after, his figure began to move in an exaggerated, dance-like manner.
"A ritual?" Naruto stepped back, giving him ample space. The dance Orochimaru was performing now resembled the spirit-summoning dance performed by a shrine priest during a festival.