In the morning, Hyuga Mirai woke up feeling exhausted. He sluggishly went through his morning routine.
The nightmare from last night was something he didn't want to experience again. Even though he had already graduated from the Ninja Academy, he found himself once again facing the terrifying cultural lessons. And the things he had learned in the dream were completely different from what he'd studied at the academy.
The events that took place in the dream were still vivid in Hyuga Mirai's mind, including the knowledge he had acquired. Today was his first day as Orochimaru's disciple, so he had to head out early to make a good impression.
Orochimaru was much stronger than their clan leader, and although Hyuga Mirai didn't know who had entrusted Orochimaru to take him on as a disciple, his main goal was to gain power from him in order to protect Lady Kiyo.
"Good morning, Lady Kiyo." Hyuga Mirai greeted as he entered Kiyo's courtyard. She had already prepared a lunchbox for him. Since he became Orochimaru's disciple, his free time would likely be much less, so Kiyo had taken it upon herself to handle these household tasks.
Although her cooking wasn't the best, it saved Hyuga Mirai a lot of time.
"Mirai, you look a bit pale. What's going on?" Kiyo asked, concerned.
"It's nothing, Lady Kiyo. It's just the same nightmare from yesterday, only this time, it was even worse," Hyuga Mirai yawned, not feeling physically exhausted but mentally drained from the knowledge he had acquired in the dream, like an annoying fly that wouldn't leave his mind.
"Worse?" Kiyo asked, slightly confused. Practicing Gentle Fist in a dream shouldn't have been terrifying, right?
"Yeah. The dream's gotten even worse. It wasn't just Gentle Fist practice; it turned into a long session of... what was it called? Political philosophy lectures. The things it told me made my head spin," Hyuga Mirai complained, feeling worn out. Half of the night had been filled with that—he much preferred practicing Gentle Fist in his dreams instead.
"What kind of things did it say?" Kiyo asked, curious.
"It talked about the contradictions and interests within the Ninja World, how the superhuman ninja powers are at odds with the feudal lords and their noble classes, the tension between commoners and the nobility, and the constant conflict and unification of the ninja world... it all just seemed so complicated."
Hyuga Mirai groaned, still drained by the night's dream.
Kiyo listened carefully, intrigued by his account. "You still remember all that?"
"Of course, Lady Kiyo. I remember it clearly." With the chakra being transmitted through the nano-ring, it's impossible to forget.
Kiyo smiled lightly and said, "Then when you return, teach me the things you learned in your dream. It sounds interesting. Some of it even matches what my grandfather told me, but your version seems clearer."
"Of course, Lady Kiyo," Hyuga Mirai readily agreed, then grabbed his lunchbox. It was time to go meet Orochimaru. As a newly appointed disciple of one of the Three Sannin, he had no experience and would simply follow Orochimaru's instructions.
When he arrived at the place Orochimaru had mentioned, he found the Sannin waiting for him, though it was just a shadow clone. The real Orochimaru was busy with his research.
"Mirai-kun, I've gotten a general understanding of your situation. You're a Genin with little experience. From now on, I'll help you grow as quickly as possible."
"I understand, Orochimaru-sensei!" Hyuga Mirai, who had sprinted to the meeting spot, realized that he hadn't arrived before Orochimaru. Still, he raised the lunchbox and said, "Orochimaru-sensei, I've also prepared a lunch for you."
Orochimaru looked at the lunchbox Hyuga Mirai offered and smiled wryly. "No need, Mirai-kun. I'm just a shadow clone. If you complete your missions quickly, you can bring the lunch to my lab before dark."
"Let's go. Today, we have two C-rank missions near Konoha. If we take our time, you'll have to camp outside," Orochimaru said, leading the way.
Teaching Mirai wouldn't be gradual; Orochimaru had a different approach. If Mirai was ready for two C-rank missions, that would be the way to move forward. He would have given Mirai a couple of B-rank tasks if he didn't fear for his safety. The best teacher, in Orochimaru's view, was life and death itself.
Orochimaru's first disciple, Kin, had died in the war because he wasn't prepared for its cruelty. Since then, Orochimaru had taken a different approach: make his disciples grow fast and let them experience the world on their own.
"Heh, your personality reminds me a little of Kin. I hope you'll show me what makes you special. What draws the Senju clan's interest?"
Orochimaru's shadow clone smiled as it thought this. It then led Hyuga Mirai out of the village.
One shadow clone of the Sannin could easily handle any A-rank tasks and below. Orochimaru needed results to absorb natural energy, and his experiments with the fusion method for Hashirama's cells—provided by Mirai—were proving fruitful.
Researching in this direction could indeed recreate the Wood Release bloodline, although fully replicating the power Hashirama displayed in his era was difficult due to the subject's personality differences.
Nevertheless, enhancing cell vitality, increasing chakra reserves, and recreating the Wood Release bloodline were still achievable. If natural energy could be incorporated, there was a possibility of even replicating thirty percent of Hashirama's power.
---
Hyuga Mirai had already completed a book titled Viewing the World Objectively—A Shinobi's Perspective. If he had named it Dialectical Materialism outright, it wouldn't have gained any attention, even if it were published. In the ninja world, anything associated with shinobi would naturally attract the curiosity of civilians and non-ninja alike.
After all, shinobi were both the closest and the farthest beings from them. They could be hired for tasks with money, yet they also wielded terrifying power, capable of ending lives in an instant or bringing destruction on a massive scale.
If he wanted to ignite a red storm in this world, relying on 'Hyuga Mirai' alone wouldn't be enough—it would be too difficult. He had already figured out that personality. It was precisely the kind of character he despised the most.
But if such a personality were to gain strength, it would make for an ideal leader of the revolution. In contrast, Hyuga Mirai himself was not suited for the role. His personal ambitions were too strong; everything he did was for his own benefit. Even if he claimed he was reshaping the ninja world, it was ultimately to facilitate his research and fulfill his own desires.
"All that's left is to get this published and spread it as widely as possible."
Without hesitation, Hyuga Mirai appended 'Mirai' to the book's title and moved on to writing his next one. This was still a troublesome task for him—creating a thought-provoking book that remained engaging meant he had to frame it within the world of shinobi.
He traveled at a moderate pace, yet it only took him three days to reach the Land of Waves from the Land of Fire, even though he often stopped to write along the way.
The Land of Waves was a fragile and unstable country, but it housed an incredibly wealthy figure—Gato.
Controlling trade between two nations and dominating maritime commerce in an era where land routes were fraught with obstacles and hostility, shipping was the main channel for economic exchange.
Gato may have holed himself up in this small country, but that was precisely his brilliance. With no hidden village and a weak national defense, he could easily control it using only rogue ninja and mercenaries. That was all he needed to amass an enormous fortune.
Even the weakest of creatures could be squeezed for sustenance—let alone the people of the Land of Waves, who depended on the sea for their survival.
During times of war, Gato took advantage of the Land of Fire's disrupted trade routes, aggressively expanding his maritime business, building his company into a formidable enterprise.
By exploiting the chaos of the Shinobi World War, he had gathered enough strength to seize power from the feudal lord of the Land of Waves.
However, by the time Hyuga Mirai arrived, Gato had already lost everything—his wealth, his power, and even his autonomy.
Under the dual control of genjutsu hypnosis and soul-engraved seals, Gato, an ordinary man, had no way to resist. Slowly but surely, he became entirely obedient to Hyuga Mirai. Over time, the soul seal's subtle chakra influence would ensure that Gato regarded Hyuga Mirai as his one and only master.
A month later...
Several books, disguised as travelogues of ninja journeys but filled with revolutionary ideology, were gradually published across the ninja world. With Gato's commercial network and vast wealth, distributing a book was a trivial task. Moreover, Hyuga Mirai's writing had a certain allure—examining the ninja world from a shinobi's perspective made it a compelling read and a vehicle for spreading his ideology.
During this time, Hyuga Mirai had also been busy with other matters. For instance, he had kept that branch family boy in Konoha unconscious for over ten days before using a brush to inscribe a seal on his forehead.
"Orochimaru, when he gets serious, is truly an excellent teacher. I suppose I should pass on the method of absorbing and refining natural energy to him. That way, he'll invest even more in his new student."
But rather than returning to Konoha to find Orochimaru, Hyuga Mirai transmitted the technique remotely through the T1 battle armor, passing the message to 'Hyuga Mirai' so he could deliver it.
"The seal is reacting... It seems that Unit 18 is close to locking onto this timeline and tracking me down."
"Everything I've done follows my own will, but I have deliberately ensured that 'Hyuga Mirai' grows stronger. When I return, the quantum entanglement of magnetic fields between these two timelines will make cross-dimensional travel easier. If this world's 'Hyuga Mirai' truly manages to alter fate, then time itself will be the key to finding me."
Hyuga Mirai's entire hypothesis hinged on the fact that Naruto Uzumaki had never existed in his original timeline. If, upon his return, Namikaze Minato no longer remembered the reasons behind his defection, then it would prove that Hyuga Mirai had indeed changed the predetermined course of this ninja world, thereby affecting his own.
A faint hum.
As he pondered, a white light suddenly enveloped his body. He could feel the world shifting slightly around him. If he had the proper instruments, he could have gathered more precise data.
"Magnetic field analysis, Unit 18."
The 'Unit 18' he referred to was merely an AI assistant within the T1 battle armor. The armor had its own detection systems, capable of recording these changes and bringing the data back for further research.
Then, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Is this another decision that could change the future?"
Should he take the battle armor back with him for further analysis, or should he leave it behind?
Time travel experiments were notoriously unpredictable. If he missed this chance, it might leave him regretting it for days.
"If my theory is correct, this armor will eventually find its way back to me. It's only a matter of time... Damn it, Hyuga Mirai, don't let me down."
It was unclear whether he was cursing himself or the branch family boy currently escorting the trade caravan.
"Sage Art: Sealing!"
Activating Sage Mode, he infused all of his vast senjutsu chakra into the battle armor. Then, he disabled the control functions of his wrist device, transferring complete authority and the AI system into that mysterious ring.
As soon as he completed the process, the white light surrounding him grew even brighter.
"I hope my theory is right."
With those parting words, Hyuga Mirai hurled the battle armor away.
At that very moment, far away in Roran, the Dragon Vein erupted, sending a blinding column of violet light into the sky, completely shattering Hyuga Mirai's sealing technique.
And in that instant, in the Land of Waves, the radiant white glow surrounding Hyuga Mirai intensified, bursting forth like a miniature sun.
But it lasted only for a moment.
When the blinding light faded, Hyuga Mirai had vanished from sight.
(End of Chapter)