He thoroughly abandoned the Byakugan that had brought him so much trouble, hoping to exchange it for a trump card sufficient to ensure his survival in the current situation.
Speaking of which, it's important to introduce Kawaki Aoba's means of survival in this world.
The Sacrifice Altar, a magical altar that had existed in Kawaki Aoba's mind space from the very beginning of his transmigration. As long as he sacrificed something, the altar would reciprocate with items from other worlds.
For example, the Kidō and Binding Arts that Kawaki Aoba had previously used, as well as red and blue potions, were all obtained through the Sacrifice Altar.
It's a shame, though, that this altar seems to follow some kind of equivalent exchange mechanism. Although it's not 100% equivalent, the deviation is extremely limited. This makes it impossible for Kawaki Aoba to exchange ordinary items for godly weapons.
Though there had never been a case of gaining big from small—something Kawaki Aoba found a bit regrettable—being able to obtain items from other worlds was already very satisfying for him, if it weren't for the Byakugan turmoil.
Removing his goggles, he reached out and stroked his eyes. When Kawaki Aoba opened his eyes again, his pure white eyes were filled with determination.
Reaching into his ninja pouch, Kawaki Aoba took out a soldier pill and threw it onto the altar in his mind space.
"Sacrifice," Kawaki Aoba silently recited in his heart.
As everyone knows, when it comes to gambling luck, normal people first test their luck. Kawaki Aoba was naturally no exception.
As a faint light rose on the altar, the inferior soldier pill disappeared, replaced by a relatively thick blue potion.
Kawaki Aoba knew this item all too well—a blue potion for mana replenishment, and a medium-sized one at that.
Using a soldier pill as a sacrificial item, the highest drop rate was for health and mana potions. Getting one was normal, but a medium-sized one was rare.
It seemed his luck was pretty good today.
Kawaki Aoba smiled, but he couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes as he looked at his simple room, filled with reluctance.
From this moment on, he would probably lose his sight for a long time.
His consciousness sank into the altar. As Kawaki Aoba made up his mind, the Byakugan in his eye sockets disappeared and appeared on the altar.
"Sacrifice." Light rose, and the altar started again. Kawaki Aoba, who had completely lost his sight, only hoped that this sacrifice wouldn't disappoint him too much.
After all, the price he paid this time was too great.
On the altar, as the sacrificial light gradually dissipated, a sphere emitting a silvery-white light appeared in Kawaki Aoba's perception.
Kawaki Aoba was no stranger to this thing. It was a skill from another world, much like Hado 4: Byakurai from Bleach, but compared to the previous skills he had obtained, this time the light sphere was several times larger.
Feeling the volume of the light sphere, Kawaki Aoba rarely revealed a smile. With a thought, the skill light sphere rushed out of his mind space and entered his body.
At that moment, Kawaki Aoba felt that his consciousness had never been so clear. In his perception, his consciousness was sublimating, becoming more resilient, and becoming stronger.
Then, with a "pop," Kawaki Aoba felt his perception break through some kind of boundary, as if breaking free from a cage.
The lost light also seemed to return.
Kawaki Aoba once again "saw" this world. The simple and unadorned furnishings in the room, Yuhi Kurenai with a worried look, and Sarutobi Asuma who was restless in the courtyard outside the door, two teams of masked ninjas hiding in the dark, and... the entire Konoha.
At this moment, Kawaki Aoba's "vision" encompassed the entire Konoha. Except for some places with sealing barriers, no corner could escape his "vision."
Although this vision could only construct black-and-white images in his mind, lacking the colorfulness of the past, it was already enough for Kawaki Aoba at this moment.
No, it was far more than that.
Kawaki Aoba focused his gaze on his two little companions in the courtyard, clearly sensing the anxiety, worry, and irritability emanating from them.
Moreover, Kawaki Aoba also "saw" Sarutobi Asuma's actions in advance, and after verification, this was indeed the case.
Kawaki Aoba smiled, now understanding the ability he had obtained.
It was Kenbunshoku Haki from One Piece, fully leveled up. In addition to the basic twenty-mile perception, it also had the ability to foresee the future to avoid danger, sense the aura and emotional changes of surrounding creatures to discern good and evil, and probe the emotions and thoughts of creatures. This Kenbunshoku Haki was much stronger than a pair of Byakugan.
A newly awakened Byakugan versus full-level Kenbunshoku Haki? The value between the two was not equal, and the Kenbunshoku Haki even came with special abilities. This almost covered all the characteristics of Kenbunshoku Haki in One Piece, didn't it?
Perhaps, this was also related to the greater potential of the Byakugan. After all, it was an eye that could evolve into the Tenseigan.
Of course, this was just Kawaki Aoba's guess. Whether it was true or not no longer mattered—after all, he no longer had the Byakugan.
"Huff." Kawaki Aoba breathed a long sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Now that he had won this gamble, he needed to think about how to deal with the troubles ahead.
First of all, there was the Hyuga clan. Kawaki Aoba wouldn't naively think they would let him go just because he had given up the Byakugan. With their obsession with the Byakugan bloodline, they probably wouldn't stop unless they found a way to kill him.
Therefore, based on this alone, Kawaki Aoba had to prepare for the worst.
Defecting from the village and becoming a wandering ninja?
Fortunately, he was now blind, which might confuse many people and lower their guard.
As for the Konoha higher-ups, the two teams of ninjas hiding in the dark were unsettling.
One team was likely the Anbu from the village, probably assigned to protect Sarutobi Asuma. The other team...
It was hard not to think of a certain guy covered in bandages, and the faint malice from them seemed to be directed at him.
Could it be that he was really being targeted by that old man?
Wait, what were they talking about?
---
Danzo's Calculation
Turning off Kenbunshoku Haki, the "eyes" returned to a deathly silence.
The difference between whether or not to activate Kenbunshoku Haki was like night and day for Kawaki Aoba at this moment.
However, as the saying goes, one should do things thoroughly. In the early stages of losing his sight, this was inevitable.
Relying on the memory of the furnishings in the house, Kawaki Aoba cautiously groped toward his door.
Outside Kawaki Aoba's house, Sarutobi Asuma was still pacing around the yard, thinking about persuading Hyuga Aoba to live in his house.
Kurenai Yuhi was worried about her father, Yuhi Shin-hong, and whether he could settle the matter of Kawaki Aoba possessing the Byakugan.
Clearly, the two little ones, lacking experience, were still too naive in their thinking.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Kurenai Yuhi's unexpected exclamation startled Sarutobi Asuma, who was pacing back and forth.
Sarutobi Asuma turned his head and saw Kurenai Yuhi covering her mouth with her small hand, staring at the direction of the door in shock.
Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but turn his head to look, but just that one glance left him stunned.
Good heavens, what did he see? His teammate, Kawaki Aoba...
"Eyes? Aoba, where are your eyes?" Sarutobi Asuma exclaimed in shock.
That's right, he immediately noticed Kawaki Aoba's empty eye sockets and the two streaks of blood running down Kawaki Aoba's cheeks.
Those two lines of blood were, of course, intentionally made by Kawaki Aoba—otherwise, digging out his own eyes without leaving a drop of blood would be too fake.
"Isn't it obvious? They've already been dug out by me," Kawaki Aoba replied calmly, holding onto the doorframe.
"Why, why? Kawaki Aoba, are you looking down on me? It's just a pair of Byakugan. The old man will definitely be able to help you keep them," Sarutobi Asuma gritted his teeth and roared excitedly.
At this moment, Kawaki Aoba could clearly feel the anger and faint guilt coming from Sarutobi Asuma.
Although Kawaki Aoba had turned off his Kenbunshoku Haki's perception of the outside world, some passive special abilities still existed.