Twisted Justice

The black-robed masked man held Zuri by the collar with one hand, turning him toward the convoy as though he were carrying a battered doll. Sunlight stained the entire plain blood-red, illuminating a scene of utter despair.

"Take a good look. This is reality." The voice beneath the mask was cold, devoid of even a trace of warmth. "Even now, do you still intend to resist to the bitter end?"

Zuri's body trembled violently. Before his eyes, the nine terrifying Summoning Beasts were carrying out a one-sided slaughter of the Hidden Cloud ninja—

Southern Dipper Sage and Northern Dipper Sage floated in midair, holding staffs in one hand while forming seals with the other. A purple formation emerged from the ground, rendering the Hidden Cloud ninja trapped within it completely immobile. As the phantom of the Reaper Scythe swept past, their Chakra rapidly withered like springs drained dry, and one after another, they collapsed limply to the ground.

"Stop!!"

A Hidden Cloud Jonin roared and charged forward to save them, only for the Heavenly Maiden's fluttering ribbons to coil around his neck and hurl him heavily to the ground. After a dull bang, his body plowed a deep furrow through the dirt road, blood spraying from his mouth in a glaring arc through the air.

The remaining survivors were suppressed so thoroughly that they could not move—the Golden Snake's body coiled around them, the White Tiger's sharp claws pressed against their chests, the Vermilion Bird's flying shadow circled them, the Azure Dragon's body imprisoned them, and the Black Tortoise's gravity made their bones creak.

"Before I take your life..."

The black-robed man dragged Zuri before him. "I'll ask one last time—hand over the Byakugan."

Cold Chakra flowed between the two of them, and the stench of death rushed toward him. "Otherwise, my next move will bury every last one of you here."

"You... dream on!"

Zuri forced out a hoarse roar from deep in his throat, blood winding down from the corner of his mouth. Even with his vital point seized, those bloodshot eyes still burned with mad obsession.

"How could someone like you... possibly understand?!"

He struggled to breathe, every word carrying the scent of blood. "As long as we obtain the Byakugan... Hidden Cloud will gain the power to detect Chakra! Everything we have done... has been for the greater good of our nation!"

His voice rose, nearly hysterical. "Come on! Kill me! But remember this—every Hidden Cloud ninja you kill will add another measure to Lord Raikage's fury! You and everyone behind you will pay for what you did today!"

In that instant, Zuri felt the fingers around his throat tighten slightly. Worse still, the Chakra radiating from beneath the mask suddenly turned icy and sinister, as though even the air around them had begun to freeze.

"The greater good of the nation..."

The black-robed man's voice was low, like an echo from hell. "So this so-called greater good of yours—"

"Is kidnapping a three-year-old child?"

"Is forcing others to willingly die?"

"Is devouring the innocent alive in this twisted world?!"

Each question struck like a heavy hammer. The black-robed man suddenly seized Zuri's hair, forcing him to look directly at the subordinates being ravaged by the Nine-Headed Beasts. The Heavenly Maiden's ribbons were hanging a resisting ninja in midair, while Southern Dipper's scythe was already pressed against his throat.

"Don't think that... by saying a few high-sounding words..."

"You can paint yourselves as justice!"

Zuri's body convulsed continuously. He felt a vicious force corroding his body, and beneath the shadow of death, he suddenly recalled the terrifyingly calm smile on Hizashi Hyuga's face when that Branch Family ninja had been escorted onto the prison cart.

"But..."

The black-robed man's tone suddenly calmed. "Is my heart and conduct as clear as a bright mirror? Are all my actions justice?"

"I admire your resolve..."

"Farewell."

Crack.

The crisp sound of snapping bone echoed across the battlefield. The black-robed man cleanly twisted Zuri's neck, tossing his corpse aside like a discarded rag. Almost at the same time, the Nine-Headed Beasts' slaughter reached its climax—blood splashed in bewitching arcs as screams and wails rose one after another.

When the last Hidden Cloud ninja collapsed to the ground, the black-robed man suddenly raised a hand. "Leave one alive."

The Heavenly Maiden's ribbon, poised to strike, abruptly stopped less than an inch from the terrified, wide-open eyes of the young ninja.

The black-robed man stepped across the bloodstained plain and arrived before the specially made prison cart at the rear of the convoy. Hidden Cloud seals still remained on its heavy iron door.

Boom—!

A plain, direct punch smashed into the lock. The finely forged steel lock shattered as if it were made of paper, while the iron door twisted under the tremendous force and burst open with a crash.

Inside the prison cart, Hizashi Hyuga remained forced into a kneeling position. A black blindfold covered his eyes, and coarse ropes had bitten deeply into the flesh of his wrists. The sudden sunlight stung his eyes, which had not seen light for so long. Even through the cloth, he could sense the change in the outside light.

What happened?

The sounds of fighting and screams by his ears gradually died away, replaced by an eerie silence. Hizashi's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably—the convoy had clearly been attacked, but it could not possibly have been a rescue force sent by Konoha.

If Konoha had intended to save him...

He thought bitterly, how could he have been driven to the point of willingly accepting death?

Could another ninja village have learned of the news and come to seize the Byakugan? The thought had barely surfaced when Hizashi felt his wrists suddenly lighten—the ropes that had bound him for so long were cleanly cut. Then his back collar tightened, and an irresistible force lifted him up and dragged him, stumbling, from the prison cart.

The moment his feet touched the soft earth, an overpowering stench of blood assaulted him. Even without seeing anything, Hizashi could tell from the pungent odor—there had just been a massacre here.

The surviving Hidden Cloud ninja sat collapsed on the ground, the short blade in his hand shaking without end. His gaze swept over the battlefield: the Reaper Scythe dripped with his companions' blood, the Heavenly Maiden's ribbons lowered twisted corpses, and the other Summoning Beasts stood atop shattered remains...

Why... was I the only one left alive?

The answer was soon revealed.

The black-robed man slowly approached, dragging Hizashi Hyuga along, while the nine terrifying Summoning Beasts surrounded him like guards. The surviving ninja raised his head and met the Fox Mask looking down at him.

"The Byakugan..."

A low voice came from beneath the mask.

"I'll be taking it."

The black-robed man turned slightly, allowing the trembling ninja to see the "spoils" in his hand.

"Go back and tell the Raikage... if he wants revenge and wants to reclaim the Byakugan... come find me in the Land of Fire. I'll be waiting for that brute."

Before his words had faded, a wild wind suddenly rose from the flat ground! The survivor instinctively shut his eyes. When he opened them again—

Only corpses remained scattered across the empty plain. The black-robed man, the Summoning Beasts, the Hyuga captive... all had vanished without a trace. Only the bloody stench and the deep drag marks on the ground proved that everything had truly happened.

The surviving ninja stood frozen for a long while before suddenly running madly toward Hidden Cloud Village.

Like a stray dog fleeing for its life.