After making the necessary arrangements for the Chunin Exams, Hui paid them no further mind.
He already knew the outcome: Nawaki would dominate the competition with an invincible display, crushing all opposition and deepening the other villages' fear and despair of Konoha.
With Hui standing unrivaled in the world, and another prodigy in Nawaki rapidly growing, Konoha's dominance would leave the other villages with no hope.
Faced with such overwhelming strength, many shinobi villages might choose to surrender outright.
Still, to prevent any desperate measures from the other villages—such as targeting Nawaki and the younger generation— Hui planned to send a shadow avatar disguised as their instructor to ensure their safety.
…
In a quiet corner near the forest within the Senju clan compound, a secluded building stood.
This was where Hui conducted his research into jutsu. No one but him could enter this space.
Inside, he stood before a large table piled high with scrolls and notes.
He rubbed his temples as he reviewed the data. Despite his immense mental, the creation of his new Sage Mode remained a challenge.
Years of effort had yielded significant progress, yet the technique was still incomplete.
The third step, which involved the "fusion" of multiple jutsu, had been accomplished. Now, only the final stage remained:
How to permanently open the Eight Gates without injury.
The concept of using natural energy to "grind" the Eight Gates during its flow through the body was simple enough.
Though chakra pathways varied slightly among individuals, the Eight Gates were universal, with some chakra pathways inevitably intersecting them.
The true difficulty lay in ensuring that the Eight Gates could be opened permanently without causing harm. This was the greatest bottleneck.
Yet Hui was close. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Just a little more. Once this is complete, this technique will be ready," he murmured to himself before diving back into his research.
…
For the next several days, Mochizuki Hui became wholly consumed by his work.
His primary shadow clone managed Konoha's affairs, while his physical self and a secondary shadow clone worked tirelessly on refining the Sage Mode.
Thanks to his transformed body, he endured the extreme intensity of his research.
Through sheereffor and will, Hui finally achieved a breakthrough.
Hui experimented on himself, using a training method centered on the universal Eight Gates, fused with multiple techniques.
He successfully opened the Eight Gates permanently without injury.
Yet this was not the end.
While the technique worked for him, Hui's physical body was far from ordinary.
Both his physical structure and regenerative abilities were vastly superior to those of a regular human.
What worked for him couldn't be assumed to work for others. To verify the technique's feasibility for ordinary people, he needed do some trials.
Hui knew better than to test this on innocent villagers or even Konoha shinobi. The risks were too great: what if someone's body exploded from the strain? What if the energy caused mutations? Like turning into stone or a snake?
Instead, he turned to Konoha's prison, where death row inmates could serve their final purpose.
These criminals, who committed crimes that stippered them of their right to live, were the perfect test subjects.
Even still only Sakumo and Tobirama knew what was done to these death row inmates, who were executed. Even the warden's were clueless.
…
One by one, the experiments began.
Hui stared at a petrified inmate, now reduced to a lifeless stone statue.
The trials revealed that what his body could withstand was beyond the capacity of ordinary humans.
Adjustments were needed, modifications to the energy flow, intensity, and pathways, to make the technique viable for others.
With a swat the stone crumbled into dust, that scattered. This was completely different with what would happen if you turn into a statue in mount myoboku as they couldn't be salvaged by using normal means.
…
Gradually, progress was made. A few subjects survived, showing promising results, but it still wasn't perfect.
Hui wasn't impatient. He had come this far, and completion was merely a matter of time.
…
A few days later, he was forced to halt his experiments—not because of success, but because he had run out of test subjects.
He would not cross his own moral line by experimenting on innocent people or those guilty of minor offenses.
Life, after all, was precious.
Though he no longer considered himself "human" in the biological sense, he maintained a deep respect for humanity in both thought and action. To him, being human wasn't just about physiology, it was about values every soul held.
Leaving his secluded research chamber, Hui stepped back into the bustling world of Konoha.
from his office, he gazed out over the thriving village. His heart warmed at the sight of the bustling village.
…
"Minato and the others are ready to depart. Aren't you going to send them off with some words of encouragement?" Sakumo asked, standing beside him.
Hui smiled faintly.
"They're probably already bursting with excitement. Besides, my shadow avatar is their instructor; there's no need for my real body to give a pep talk."
With that, he sat down and began reviewing the day's reports. One document quickly caught his attention.
It described the sudden appearance of a forest in a small country, along with evidence of a battle.
The report's most startling detail: the fight appeared to involve someone using Wood Release.
The Anbu who compiled the report admitted their skepticism.
After all, Wood Release was unique to the First Hokage, who had long since passed away. How could such a technique resurface? That too outside of Konoha.
Still, the evidence was compelling enough for them to escalate the report to Hui.
"Uchiha Madara… who were you fighting this time?"
join my patreon for 125+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL