“Who is it?
Get out here!”
The moment that voice entered his ears, Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan without hesitation.
But to his astonishment, in his perception, besides Neji, there was absolutely no one around.
There was only the sound of the wind, the rustling of leaves, his own breathing and heartbeat.
It was so quiet that even the chirping of insects seemed to have vanished.
Hizashi Hyuga looked around with his Byakugan activated, but couldn’t find the source of that voice anywhere.
“Where are you looking?”
That ethereal voice came again.
This time, Hizashi Hyuga heard it extremely clearly.
Following the voice, he abruptly turned around to look behind him.
However, there was no one, still the same.
Trees stood quietly in front of him, the dense branches and leaves swaying in the wind, casting indistinct shadows, as if countless figures were hiding within.
Until, a light and slow sound of footsteps gradually approached.
Just by listening, one could hear the relaxed and leisurely pace of the owner of the footsteps.
Even though they were walking in the Hyuga compound full of Byakugan users, it gave off the feeling of taking a leisurely stroll in a garden.
A moment later, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
The ink-like blackness spread out within Hizashi Hyuga’s Byakugan vision.
The black figure’s footsteps stopped in front of him.
Hizashi Hyuga stared intently at the face under the black robe, as if trying to pierce through and make out every inch of flesh beneath the hood.
But under the hood, there were only thick, dense shadows writhing like a living creature.
It chewed up and swallowed the probing gaze he cast like a moth to a flame, yet refused to mercifully spit back even a single crumb.
A monster like an abyss.
This thought suddenly popped into his mind, and cold sweat ran down Hizashi Hyuga’s forehead.
A guy who silently infiltrated Konoha, treated Konoha’s sensory barriers as nothing, even sneaked into the Hyuga clan compound, and could ignore Byakugan perception.
The other party was clearly standing right in front of his eyes, yet he couldn’t perceive them at all.
If the other party hadn’t spoken, perhaps he wouldn’t have noticed a thing until they stood behind him and raised a blade to slit his throat.
Is this some kind of secret jutsu?
Or some kind of Kekkei Genkai?
Even “Transparent Escape” couldn’t do this, right?
“Who are you?”
Hizashi Hyuga frantically analyzed the intelligence in his head while speaking to buy time, reaching his hand into his robe to send an enemy invasion signal.
“The instant you send the signal is enough for me to cut your throat, and before reinforcements arrive, I can also kill that child.”
A cold and calm sentence, mixed with unquestionable murderous intent.
Hizashi’s body stiffened instinctively, and the movement of his hand paused instantly.
The bizarre way this person appeared and the calmness in their tone made Hizashi Hyuga not dare to doubt the authenticity of this statement at all.
Given the bizarre ability to block perception the other party displayed, if they really possessed the power to kill him instantly, they indeed could silently and safely leave this place, and no one would even find any trace of them afterwards.
So, did the other party have the power to kill him instantly?
“…”
Hizashi Hyuga pulled his hand out of his robe, stared intently at the black figure in front of him, and said deeply, “What do you want to do?”
Yes, he didn’t dare to gamble.
This guy in front of him was too bizarre.
It didn’t matter if he died, but Neji was right behind him.
And the fact that the other party didn’t attack him directly meant they might not have murderous intentions.
But Hizashi Hyuga couldn’t guess at this moment that this black figure he was wary of, even afraid of, was actually someone he had just seen not long ago.
The black figure, which was Yun Chuan Hyuga, didn’t answer Hizashi Hyuga’s question, but just watched him calmly.
Dead silence fell between the two again.
Only the rustling of the wind blowing through the leaves could be heard, along with Hizashi Hyuga’s increasingly heavy breathing, and even his quickening heartbeat.
Just when the atmosphere was depressingly heavy to the extreme, and Hizashi Hyuga’s fingers twitched, unable to resist the urge to attack in the next second…
“You said that all the suffering that child experienced would become his treasure to make him stronger?”
The black figure in front of him finally spoke.
Although the voice was still hoarse and terrifying, Hizashi breathed a sigh of relief.
This guy was clearly looking at him at eye level, yet it felt as if he was looking down on him from above, his deep gaze sweeping over him bit by bit.
It was as if an invisible black hand was holding every inch of his skin and slowly squeezing, as if to wring out a puddle of bloody water.
“What are you trying to say?”
The remaining thoughts of resistance quietly dissipated, and Hizashi Hyuga frowned and asked in a deep voice.
“You are deceiving yourself.” Yun Chuan Hyuga said calmly, “Suffering is just suffering.
It’s not worth praising, let alone any precious wealth.”
“Suffering only drains a person’s flesh and blood, making them sensitive and extreme.”
Speaking up to this point, a hint of a mocking smile entered his tone as he said: “Just like what your parents once did to you.”
“They shattered your worldview, and stuffed into your brain the values, life, and world they approved of.”
“They want you to be obedient, they belittle you to the extreme, they say this is what’s right, they say this is your fate.
You want to struggle, to resist, but their expressions change.
They yell at you, they cut off your hands and feet, they lock you in a cage.”
“They hit you, scold you, persuade you, beg you, but they just won’t let you go.
They say this is wrong, they say I am right, they say, I’m doing this for your own good.
So you admitted defeat, and you joined them.”
Watching Hizashi Hyuga’s increasingly ugly expression, Yun Chuan Hyuga’s words became sharper and more sarcastic: “A long time later, you find that your child is just like you used to be.
You think he will be like you, like a dog, kneeling down to accept his fate, so you…”
“Enough!”
Almost an uncontrollable low shout interrupted Yun Chuan Hyuga’s later words.
These sharp words were like knives, constantly gouging the flesh of Hizashi Hyuga’s heart, making his whole body tremble.
Every sentence reminded him of the past, of those two blurred faces in his memory, of the words coming out of those blurred faces.
“What do you know!” He could no longer care about his fear and wariness, gritting his teeth tightly, “I, I did it for…”
At this point, the final words seemed stuck in his throat, making his Adam’s apple roll up and down slightly.
For Neji’s own good?
Isn’t this exactly what the other party just said?
“Cough!
Urgh!”
Thinking of this, Hizashi Hyuga’s face suddenly turned pale.
He covered his mouth, feeling a strong surge of nausea.
So disgusting.
Not disgusted by others, but disgusted by himself.
He was unwilling to admit in his heart that he really couldn’t understand Neji’s thoughts, couldn’t understand why Neji would be so resentful.
It was clearly him who showed killing intent towards Hinata, it was clearly him who was wrong, clearly…
Now he could no longer understand his former rebellious self.
He was born a mere fifteen minutes later than his brother Hiashi, and it was those short fifteen minutes that made him a branch family member, branded with the Caged Bird curse mark, losing his ego and freedom.
He used to resist and question, but now he only feels, isn’t this just “fate”?
When exactly did it start?
What on earth is he doing?
“Some birds are not meant to be caged.
Every feather of theirs shines with the brilliance of freedom, they naturally belong to the sky.”
Yun Chuan Hyuga raised his foot, slowly approached Hizashi, and came to his side.
His words were full of bewitchment: “Hizashi Hyuga, tell me, your choice.”
“Do you choose to be a cruel executioner, personally breaking the wings of the bird flying towards the sky.”
“Or do you choose to be a father?”