Obedient Compliance, Delusions Stirring Within

Creak.

The floorboards let out a tooth-aching groan as Hyuga Neji pushed himself upright with both hands. The alarm clock by his bed read 2:00, and the room remained dim and murky.

He instinctively turned to look out the window, only to see a figure standing quietly before it, exuding an air of utter loneliness.

Still emotionally unsettled, Hyuga Neji was startled at first, but he quickly recognized that wistful face beneath the moonlight.

"Father?"

Neji's puzzled voice reached his ears. Hizashi Hyuga, who had been staring blankly into the night, came back to himself and turned his gaze toward his son.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Hizashi Hyuga's expression was somewhat complicated, but he still offered a gentle smile and raised a hand to ruffle Neji's hair.

"I don't think... it was a nightmare."

Hyuga Neji's little face furrowed slightly as he pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.

He tried to recall the details of the dream, but everything within it faded away like snow melting beneath the morning sun. His memories were like fine sand clutched in his hand, endlessly slipping through his fingers and vanishing with the wind.

When he unwillingly opened his palm, only a few grains remained.

For example, the eerie nursery rhyme at the ruined shrine, the fearful unwillingness of becoming a "scapegoat," those incomparably beautiful blue eyes, and the golden light that had cleaved through the night sky at the end.

"Father."

Hyuga Neji clung desperately to those few "grains of sand." Looking up at Hizashi Hyuga, he unconsciously asked, "Is it possible for the Hyuga Clan to possess eyes other than the Byakugan?"

Hearing that, Hizashi Hyuga froze for a moment and gave him a puzzled look, but he still explained, "If one's bloodline isn't pure enough, they might never awaken the Byakugan in their entire life. Their eyes would be no different from an ordinary person's."

At that, he paused, as though recalling something, then added, "Come to think of it, the Hyuga Clan actually has a collateral bloodline branch with the surname Ko Hinata. Their bloodline has thinned to the point that no one in their clan has awakened the Byakugan."

Of course, if anyone from the Kohinata Clan truly did awaken the Byakugan, they would immediately be brought back to the Hyuga Clan, branded with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, and incorporated into the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family.

"So..." Hyuga Neji pursed his somewhat dry lips and murmured, "It was just a dream?"

Everything reminded him that he had merely had a dream, yet the figure that had emerged from the fire carrying a head, along with those gorgeous eyes, seemed etched into his mind.

He could even recall the starlike rings of light in those eyes, as well as the shock of that golden radiance breaking through the clouds before descending in a slash.

"What happened before that?"

Hyuga Neji frowned as he tried to remember, but no matter what he did, he could not recall it. He only vaguely felt that it had been important.

That dream had been far too real—so real that it did not seem like a dream at all, so real that it made his heart tremble.

If I possessed that kind of terrifying power too, could I also...

Hyuga Neji said nothing more, and Hizashi Hyuga did not press him. For a moment, a brief, deathly silence fell between them.

Clearly, both father and son were caught up in their own complicated thoughts.

The former had developed a trace of resolve and yearning that even he himself had not noticed. The latter kept recalling that brief moment of freedom and craving it. Yet what they shared was a desire for the figure in their hearts.

What they did not know was that the thoughts stirring within both father and son had been planted there by the very same person.

[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Bluffing] [Beguiling Hearts] [Luring into the Trap]. Hizashi Hyuga has experienced intense emotional fluctuations and reached the level of [Obedient Compliance]. Obtained 600 Reality Points.]

[Ding! Your lie, [Death of the Hyuga], has been judged as [Deception] [A Fleeting Dream]. Hyuga Neji has experienced intense emotional fluctuations and reached the level of [Delusions Stirring Within]. Obtained 1600 Reality Points.]

[Remaining Reality Points: 11193]

"Two achievements gave me a thousand more points than three achievements?"

In the room, the clone burst into smoke with a pop. The black robe flowed like liquid into the shadow beneath another figure's feet, gradually revealing Hyuga Yunchuan's thoughtful face.

"Sure enough, only truly bizarre lies can earn more points."

After materializing the "Shadow Robe," Hyuga Yunchuan had 10,293 points remaining. Removing Hizashi Hyuga's Caged Bird Cursed Seal for ten seconds had only cost 300 points, while making Hyuga Neji fall into a dream fabricated by his own hand had cost 1,000 points.

However, this time, Hyuga Yunchuan did not complain that the system was unscrupulous.

After all, only by truly materializing a trace of the Tenseigan's might could he firmly imprint that scene in Hyuga Neji's heart, making it easier for him to devise even grander lies later.

"Either way, I've made my money back. No loss—huge profit."

After changing clothes, Hyuga Yunchuan sat at his desk and took out his "diary" from the drawer.

As he wrote utterly unrelated "diary" entries, he considered whether there had been any flaws in what he had done, as well as how he should use these points next.

He was still not strong enough. Although Hizashi Hyuga acted humble and submissive before Hyuga Hiashi, his strength ranked among the best in the clan, and his combat experience far surpassed that of Hyuga Hiashi, the Main Branch clan head.

Perhaps only a madman like him would dare openly appear before Hizashi Hyuga—not only pressuring him to the brink of erupting, but even threatening and deceiving him.

If he had not deliberately chosen Hizashi Hyuga's residence as the location, if he had not deliberately put on an air of calm strength.

If he had not deliberately created an atmosphere of extreme oppression, if he had not deliberately appeared on such a lonely night.

If he had not exploited Hizashi's concern for Neji, if he had not understood Hizashi so well...

Every part of the plan had been indispensable.

It had seemed effortless from beginning to end, but in truth, if even the slightest mistake had occurred, Hizashi Hyuga would have noticed. At that point, he would not have been able to escape even if he wanted to.

Even as Hyuga Yunchuan reviewed it now, he could not help marveling at his own recklessness. At the same time, though, he felt a heartfelt thrill at the excitement of it all.

"I need to be more cautious in the future. I'll raise my strength first. I can't do this again next time."

Hyuga Yunchuan nodded, silently making up his mind.

Yeah. Definitely next time.

[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Self-Deception]. Hyuga Yunchuan has experienced a slight emotional fluctuation and reached the level of [Saying One Thing, Meaning Another]. Obtained 1 Reality Point.]

"...I can't be bothered dealing with something as brainless as you."

Hearing the system prompt in his mind, several black lines appeared on Hyuga Yunchuan's forehead. He silently thought, Materialize Ninjutsu—Lightning Release Armor.

[Cost: 1000 Reality Points. Materialize?]

"So expensive? Wouldn't that bring me close to dropping below 10,000?" Hyuga Yunchuan ground his teeth.

It was not that he was miserly. He simply had a hamster-like habit of hoarding things.

Seeing his points about to fall below 10,000 made him feel insecure.

So he truly did not want to spend those points, and hesitated over whether to try developing it himself instead.

But before he could respond in his mind, a faint cat's cry reached his ears.

"Meow."

The cry was merely mixed in with the loud chirping of insects, and in this season when animals were in heat, it did not seem particularly unusual.

Yet Hyuga Yunchuan's gaze paused, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Ha. The "points" had delivered themselves to his door.