After Kai Uchiha arranged the positions of Kenta Imai and Uchiha Gawa, he turned his focus elsewhere.
Over the past few days, Uchiha Fugaku had quietly approved the transfer of a significant amount of medical ninjutsu research material requested by Kai to one of the Uchiha's underground labs. Of course, this was only a portion of what Kai needed—no matter how capable Fugaku was, some materials weren't easy to obtain quickly.
Still, it was enough for Kai to move forward. He began preparations for Hyuga Aya to begin contact and training under his supervision.
Just to be safe, Kai instructed members of his inner circle within the Uchiha clan to make duplicate copies of all the documents. He knew better than to put all his eggs in one basket. It would be a waste if all this effort hinged solely on Aya and something went wrong.
So while cultivating Aya's skills, Kai also prepared a contingency plan: a secondary candidate to train in parallel. This backup wouldn't have a Byakugan, or even a Sharingan, but Kai valued reliability over bloodline purity.
It was just a fallback. If Aya remained loyal and capable, this second plan would never be necessary. But if something happened…
"Well, someone like Yakushi Kabuto was just a commoner, raised in an orphanage. There are plenty of potential seeds in those places," Kai thought silently.
To be honest, he couldn't help but consider Kabuto himself.
But it was the 47th year of the Hidden Leaf calendar now. Yakushi Kabuto, born in Year 40, should be around seven years old. Whether he had already been recruited into Root under Danzo's covert schemes was uncertain.
Kai recalled that Kabuto had entered Root at a young age and, as part of Danzo's manipulation, had eventually been made to assassinate his foster mother, Nonō Yakushi.
Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Perhaps that whole scenario could be turned to his advantage.
Danzo needed to die—whether by Kai's hands, another Uchiha's, or even by those he once manipulated. Letting the old war hawk rot in the shadow of his past crimes was also an acceptable outcome.
Even if Kai didn't manage to kill him directly, setting these events in motion could lead to the same conclusion. Either way, Danzo's end should be orchestrated deliberately.
He remembered Kabuto killed Nonō five years after joining Root. That gave him a timeline to work with—if he could track Root's movements carefully, the possibilities were vast.
"Lord Orochimaru… I may need your help again."
Orochimaru had found Kabuto during his initial fallout with Root. That alone said a lot about his intelligence network. If Orochimaru had files on Nonō Yakushi, it wasn't far-fetched to think he had information on Kabuto too.
Kai couldn't help but sigh. Orochimaru truly was a resourceful man—dangerous, but valuable.
Both he and Kabuto, trained under his tutelage, were potential vessels for realizing the impossible.
And if Kai could intercept them early—before Danzo fully corrupted Kabuto—the benefit to the Uchiha could be unimaginable.
In the depths of Kai's underground laboratory, he stood quietly, observing Hyuga Aya. Her palms glowed with green healing chakra as she focused on repairing Nohara Rin's body.
Although some members of the Uchiha clan had questioned the task, they still followed orders and duplicated all the material provided by Fugaku without complaint. Kai hadn't revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan yet, but his composed leadership had begun to silence doubts.
Once the materials were secured, Kai sought out Aya.
She hadn't resisted. She was already reeling from Kai's layered manipulation and knew she had little leverage in this partnership.
But even so—this was the path she had chosen. She stood by it.
Still…
Aya sighed as she glanced at the stack of books and scrolls on the nearby table. Her brow furrowed.
"I've finished clearing the chakra seals," Aya said, stopping her jutsu and wiping the sweat from her forehead. "I'll begin reconstructing the damaged tissue in her heart next. But… you really gave me a mountain of work."
"The cellular materials will help both of us," Kai replied evenly. "And I suggest you start reviewing what little exists on genetics too. You don't have to master it—but you need to understand it."
Aya stared at him, slightly unsettled.
"Genetics?" she echoed. "This is already complex enough. Now you want me to start analyzing hereditary traits too?"
"It's relevant," Kai said. "Whether for what I intend to do—or for analyzing cellular behavior in a Sharingan or Byakugan user. And more than that, if you can access your clan leader's genetic material... you might discover how to unlock your own full potential."
Aya's expression stiffened. "…You're saying I should compare myself to Hyuga Hiashi?"
"You're quick," Kai smiled thinly. "That's the idea. Compare. Observe. Isolate the difference. Perhaps even correct or enhance."
Aya was silent for a moment. She had already taken risks working with Kai, but this... this was new. Dangerous. And yet—
She nodded.
"You're suggesting I complete what's missing in myself," she said finally. "To evolve."
Kai was quietly impressed. She was sharp.
Of course, he didn't expect her to succeed in awakening a Tenseigan or anything of that scale. That path—similar to what a certain masked lunatic once pursued to awaken the Rinnegan—was practically suicidal without divine luck.
But even incremental progress mattered. The Uchiha and Hyuga were both heirs to power that had, in truth, been diluted over generations.
Kai believed both clans were regressing—moving further from their roots. And the only way forward was to look backward: to reawaken what was lost.
The road was one of genetic reactivation—of evolution through understanding and, when possible, synthesis.
Madara Uchiha had become the closest approximation of the Sage of Six Paths using this very approach. His path, crudely mapped, could serve as a model:
Mangekyō Sharingan: ~20% Sage-level genes awakened
Eternal Mangekyō: ~40%
Hashirama's cells (Senju DNA): ~60%
Rinnegan through Indra/Asura chakra fusion: ~80%
Six Paths Chakra and Tailed Beast power: ~100%
Kai found this rough progression crude, but informative.
Even now, his experiments—particularly the fusion of bloodlines and powers—mirrored Madara's trajectory in theory, if not in intent.
"Genetics may look daunting," Kai said, "but you don't need to become a master overnight. You just need to know enough. Enough to observe, to learn, and eventually... to act."
Aya still frowned, but nodded. "Understood. I'll try."
Kai turned toward the clock on the far wall, narrowing his eyes. "Then I'll leave it in your hands, Aya. This work benefits us both."
Aya watched him grab his cloak. "You're leaving? It's still early."
"Unfortunately," Kai replied, fastening the cloak, "there's an old man waiting for me. I'd rather not see him, but he insists—and I have a fair idea of what he wants."
Aya smirked slightly. "Then good luck, Kai-kun."
He glanced back at her. "Really?"
"Of course. We're partners, after all."