The World of Naruto in the Eyes of Reincarnation

Not long after, a swirling distortion of space appeared once more.

A battered and bruised Uchiha Jinichi was hurled out from the vortex, crashing heavily onto the ground with a loud *thud*. Half of his face was buried in the dirt, making him look utterly pitiful.

The masked man stepped out leisurely from the swirling distortion, his tone as flat as ever. "Can't even stand up anymore?"

Jinichi forced himself to lift his head and glared at the masked man, his eyes burning with stubbornness and hatred.

The masked man crossed his arms and smiled faintly. "Good. That look in your eyes... I like it."

Jinichi coughed lightly, his voice hoarse. "Who... who the hell are you? And what kind of jutsu was that just now?"

"I've told you before, who I am doesn't matter." The masked man paused before smiling again. "What matters is—I can give you what you want."

Jinichi seemed confused for a moment. "What I want..."

The masked man glanced around at the surroundings and shrugged. "Why are you out here training so hard?"

Jinichi spat out a name. "Hyuga Kagami!"

The masked man paused, then chuckled. "Is this person really that powerful?"

Although clearly reluctant, Jinichi nodded helplessly.

"A Uchiha losing to someone from the Hyuga clan," the masked man said with a soft laugh. "With your talent, defeating this Hyuga Kagami shouldn't be that difficult."

Jinichi looked at him warily, mouth slightly open, but said nothing. His face was filled with hesitation.

Seeing that Jinichi was beginning to waver, the masked man didn't press too hard. He simply spread his arms. "If you decide, come find me here."

With that, he vanished cleanly into the vortex.

Jinichi managed to stagger to his feet, looked uncertainly around, and then, dragging his injured body, limped back toward the village.

Not long after, the masked man returned to the branch of the tall tree.

Zetsu, half his body sticking out of the trunk, looked at Jinichi's retreating back and said, "Was it really necessary to go that far? He might go report this to Konoha."

The masked man shook his head. "He won't."

"Why not?"

"Because he craves power." The masked man sat cross-legged and continued, "He's more talented than I expected. With the right push, he might even awaken *those eyes*."

---

**At Hyuga Kagami's home.**

Returning home, Hyuga Kagami cleared his mind and resumed his focused study of the Four Symbols Seal.

Perhaps because he had recently experienced the Truth-Seeking Orbs, his understanding of chakra property changes had deepened significantly. As he unrolled the Four Symbols Seal scroll this time, the parts that had once baffled him suddenly made perfect sense.

The transformation of chakra properties was not just the foundation of the Four Symbols Seal—it was its very core.

Once he fully grasped how chakra properties shifted within the seal, complete mastery would be just within reach.

After studying for a while, Kagami took a sip of tea and thought to himself, "At this rate, I'll have the Four Symbols Seal figured out in three days at most."

He also recalled the promise the Third Hokage had made to Team 11, and the idea of mastering the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques suddenly didn't seem so far-fetched.

Suddenly, Kagami sensed something and slightly furrowed his brows. He activated his Byakugan.

With his enhanced vision, he spotted a chakra signature hiding behind a tree just outside the courtyard. Judging by the chakra level, it was at least Special Jonin grade.

"Hmph. They're brazen enough to monitor me right at my doorstep now."

Clearly, Root agents knew about his Byakugan and didn't even bother trying to hide. No matter how well they disguised themselves, the Byakugan would see through it, so they chose instead to monitor him openly.

"I'm an ANBU directly under the Hokage. Danzo wouldn't risk doing this so blatantly unless the Third had given at least tacit approval..." Kagami mused. "Now's not the time to confront them. I'll wait until I've learned all the sealing techniques first."

The Third Hokage, unlike Danzo, cared a lot about appearances. Since he had publicly promised Team 11 a chance to study advanced techniques, as long as Kagami didn't act recklessly, the promise would be upheld.

Resolved, Kagami didn't leave home, instead pouring all his energy into studying the Four Symbols Seal.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as he expected, once he had grasped the key principles, mastering the core of the Four Symbols Seal came quickly. While there were still a few intricate parts left to fully understand, they would just take time and effort—not something to rush.

Taking the scroll with him, Kagami headed to the Hokage's office.

After returning the scroll, he again requested to study more sealing techniques. Since this might be his last chance to formally study something from the archives, he didn't hold back and told the Third Hokage directly that he wanted to study the sealing arts of the Uzumaki Clan.

The Third Hokage hesitated.

But in his eyes, it was better that Kagami asked for sealing techniques rather than forbidden jutsu. Sealing techniques leaned more toward defensive applications. Even if Kagami mastered the Uzumaki techniques, they wouldn't pose much danger to the village.

Besides, most of the powerful Uzumaki sealing arts—except for the suicidal *Reaper Death Seal*—required Uzumaki blood to use effectively.

After some thought, the Third Hokage finally retrieved a scroll titled *Contract Seal* from the classified archives and handed it over to Kagami, giving him a deadline of one month to return it.

With the *Contract Seal* in hand, Kagami remained holed up at home, devoting himself entirely to research.

Compared to the widely applicable Four Symbols Seal, the *Contract Seal* was more niche. It primarily served to sever the connection between enemies and their summoned creatures.

That didn't mean it was any less powerful. In fact, Kagami had a hunch that the Fourth Hokage's seal on the Dragon Vein probably included components of the *Contract Seal*.

From the moment he got the scroll, Kagami could feel how incredibly strong its isolation capabilities were.

Given the mysterious ties between the Dragon Vein and the royal line of Rōran, it wasn't clear whether some kind of contract existed between them. So if Kagami were in the Fourth Hokage's shoes, he too would've added a *Contract Seal*—to prevent future threats from exploiting any hidden bond through the Rōran royal bloodline.

...