"Who's there? Come out!"
The moment that voice reached his ears, Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan without hesitation.
But to his shock, aside from Neji, there was no one else in his perception.
There was only the sound of wind and rustling leaves, along with his own breathing and heartbeat. It was so quiet that even the insects seemed to have fallen silent.
Hizashi Hyuga scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan, yet he could not find the source of that voice anywhere.
"Where are you looking?"
That ethereal voice came again.
This time, Hizashi Hyuga heard it with perfect clarity. Following the sound, he abruptly turned to look behind him.
But there was no one there. Still no one.
Trees stood quietly before him, their dense branches and leaves swaying in the wind, their shadows shifting as though countless figures were hidden among them.
Then, a set of soft, unhurried footsteps slowly approached.
Even by ear alone, he could hear how relaxed their owner was. Though walking through the Hyuga Clan Grounds, filled with Byakugan users, it felt as if they were merely taking a leisurely stroll through a garden.
A moment later, a figure emerged from the shadows, black as spilled ink, yet seeming to spread through Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan vision.
The shadow stopped before him. Hizashi Hyuga narrowed his eyes at the face beneath the black robe, as though he wanted to pierce through it and make out every inch of flesh beneath the hood.
Yet beneath the hood, there was only dense, churning darkness, alive as something monstrous. It chewed apart and swallowed his probing gaze as it flew toward it like a moth to flame, without granting him even the smallest scrap in return.
A monster like the Abyss.
The thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and cold sweat trickled down Hizashi Hyuga's temple.
Someone who had infiltrated Konoha without a sound, treated Konoha's Perception Barrier as nothing, even entered the Hyuga Clan Grounds, and could evade the Byakugan's perception.
The other person was standing right before him, yet he could not sense them at all.
If they had not spoken, then even if they had stood behind him and slit his throat in one stroke, he would not have noticed anything.
Was this some secret technique?
Or perhaps some kind of Kekkei Genkai?
Not even Tōton could do this, could it?
"Who are you?"
While frantically analyzing the information in his mind, Hizashi Hyuga spoke to stall for time, slipping a hand into his clothes to send the signal that an enemy had infiltrated.
"The instant you send that signal, I can slit your throat. Before reinforcements arrive, I can also kill that child."
Those cold, calm words carried an unquestionable killing intent.
Hizashi instinctively froze, and his hand stopped at once.
The bizarre way this person had appeared, along with the calmness in their voice, left Hizashi Hyuga with no doubt that the threat was real.
With the strange ability they had displayed to block perception, if they truly possessed the power to kill him instantly, they could indeed leave safely and silently. Even afterward, no one would find any trace of them.
Then did they possess the power to kill him instantly?
"..."
Hizashi Hyuga withdrew the hand he had slipped into his clothes, stared fixedly at the shadow before him, and said in a low voice, "What do you want?"
Yes, he did not dare gamble.
The person before him was too strange.
It did not matter whether he lived or died, but Neji was behind him.
And since the other person had not directly attacked him, it meant they might not necessarily intend to kill.
But Hizashi Hyuga had no way of guessing that the shadow he feared, even dreaded, was actually someone he had met not long ago.
The shadow, Hyuga Yunchuan, did not answer Hizashi Hyuga's question. He merely watched him calmly.
Dead silence fell between them once more. Only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard, along with Hizashi Hyuga's increasingly labored breathing and his gradually quickening heartbeat.
Just as the oppressive atmosphere became unbearable, as Hizashi Hyuga's fingers twitched and he could no longer resist the urge to strike—
"You said that all the suffering that child endured would become a treasure that made him stronger?"
At last, the shadow before him spoke. Though his voice was still hoarse and terrifying, Hizashi let out a breath of relief.
Though this person stood at eye level with him, Hizashi felt as though he were being looked down upon from above, those deep eyes slowly sweeping over him.
It was as though an invisible black hand had seized every inch of his skin and slowly tightened, as if it wanted to squeeze him into a puddle of blood.
"What are you trying to say?"
The last remnants of his urge to resist quietly faded. Hizashi Hyuga frowned and spoke in a low voice.
"You're lying to yourself," Hyuga Yunchuan said calmly. "Suffering is suffering. It is not worthy of praise, much less some precious wealth."
"Suffering only drains a person dry, making them sensitive and extreme."
At this point, a faintly mocking smile entered his voice. "Just like what your parents once did to you."
"They shattered your values, then stuffed their own beliefs about value, life, and the world into your head."
"They demanded obedience. They degraded you in every way. They said this was right. They said this was your fate. When you wanted to struggle, when you wanted to resist, their expressions changed. They shouted at you. They cut off your limbs. They locked you in a cage."
"They beat you, cursed you, persuaded you, begged you, but they refused to let you go. They said this was wrong. They said only they were right. They said, 'I'm doing this for your own good.' So you surrendered. You joined them."
Watching Hizashi Hyuga's expression grow uglier, Hyuga Yunchuan's words became increasingly sharp and mocking. "Much later, you discovered that your child was just like you used to be. You thought he would become like you, kneel like a dog and accept his fate, so you..."
"Enough!"
It was almost an uncontrollable growl, cutting off Hyuga Yunchuan's remaining words.
Those sharp words were like blades, gouging at Hizashi Hyuga's heart again and again, making his entire body tremble.
Every sentence made him remember the past, remember two faces that had already blurred in his memories, remember the words that had come from those blurred faces.
"What do you know?!" He no longer cared about fear or wariness, gritting his teeth hard. "I... I did it for..."
At that point, the last words seemed stuck in his throat, making his Adam's apple bob slightly.
For Neji's own good?
Wasn't that exactly what the other person had said?
"Cough! Ugh!"
At the thought, Hizashi Hyuga's face suddenly turned pale. Covering his mouth, he was overcome by a violent urge to vomit.
So disgusting.
He was not disgusted by anyone else. He was disgusted by himself.
He did not want to admit it, but he truly could not understand Neji's thoughts. He could not understand why Neji harbored such resentment. The one who had revealed killing intent toward Hinata was him. The one who was wrong was him. Clearly...
Now, he could no longer understand the rebellious person he had once been.
He had been born only fifteen minutes after his elder brother, Hyuga Hiashi. Yet those mere fifteen minutes had made him a member of the Branch Family, branded him with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, and robbed him of his selfhood and freedom.
He had once resisted and questioned it, but now, all he could think was, wasn't this simply "fate"?
When had it started?
What exactly was he doing?
"Some birds cannot be caged. Every feather they have shines with the light of freedom. They were born for the sky."
Hyuga Yunchuan raised a foot and slowly approached Hizashi, stopping at his side. His words were full of temptation. "Hizashi Hyuga, tell me your choice."
"Will you choose to be a cruel executioner, personally breaking the wings that carry the bird toward the sky?"
"Or will you choose to become a father?"
Before you continue