Byakugan

A massive slash mark bloomed in the air, accompanied by a spray of blood. The ninja's body was severed diagonally from shoulder to waist. With a grinding crunch, a giant tree five or six men could barely encircle, standing nearby, was sliced through along the same path; under its own heavy weight, it slowly shifted and toppled to one side.

With half his body suspended in mid-air, the ninja in the dog mask watched this scene, then turned his gaze to the girl who remained motionless in the air opposite him, speaking slowly.

"It is a sword, then..."

"Truly a beautiful swordsmanship..."

"One could call it cutting through steel and iron..."

As blood vomited from the corner of his mouth, the strength in his body was rapidly drained away. The gathered chakra dissipated in a rush, and amidst a dizzying sensation of weightlessness, he closed his heavy eyes.

To be praising one's opponent even at the moment of death—that, too, was a form of composure.

Yura chuckled softly: "You have quite the eye~"

Secret Technique. Ultimate Art. Pre-emptive Strike.

That is, to let the enemy strike first, to move as they move, to arrive after them but strike before them, and to meet their exertion with ease.

The essence lies in seeking the fatal opportunity to counter-attack while in the midst of defense.

With a thunderous crash, the tree collapsed into the forest, caught mid-air by the dense canopy.

Stumbling, eight hundred meters away, White Fox's body went limp, and she knelt onto a tree trunk, her frame trembling slightly.

It felt like a mere blink of an eye, yet everyone was dead—everyone was dead...

The girl stared blankly at the scene before her.

"What kind of joke is this..."

Her whole body was shaking...

She was going to die...

She was truly going to die...

In her mind, the memories of her entire life flashed back in a rapid blur, scene after scene flickering past until they froze on the most profound memory of all.

It was when she was still young, and her frail mother held her in her arms, kneeling on the ground, kowtowing incessantly while begging the clan elders in agony.

"Please~ Elder~ Spare Akitsu... She is only six years old!"

"What kind of joke is this! Uchiha brats are on the battlefield at six! The Senju ones too! Our Hyuga are no exception!"

Taken away by the clan elders, branded with the Caged Bird in terror, she waited in fear within the darkness. What followed was rigorous training. Only three months later, clutching a kunai, she stepped onto the battlefield. From that day on, she never saw that woman called mother again.

She had tried.

"Accept your fate, Akitsu. Fate is something that can never be changed."

"Your mother, perhaps, died on the battlefield fighting for the clan many years ago."

"Akitsu, do not waste your effort. The fate of us branch family members is to die for the main family."

"Do I not even have the right to choose how I die?"

At that time, the clansmen were all silent; no one could answer that question.

Until one day...

"Akitsu, do you know! The chaotic era of the Warring States is over! It is Lord Hashirama! That God of the Shinobi World! He has broken the destiny that has always bound us ninjas!!! We are all going to build a peaceful village!!!"

Upon hearing this news, that clansman's face was filled with excitement and adoration.

When she saw that man with her own eyes, Akitsu confirmed one thing.

"I can die for this man, for this village." On the day the village was established, the clansmen were all saying similar things with excitement.

Akitsu thought the same, because this man gave her the right to choose her death. Since she resented the main family and did not want to die for them, she would die for an ideal and a person worth following.

Until this day, the moment of death truly arrived...

Akitsu hesitated.

Why?

Why?!

What churned in her heart was not the long-awaited release, but endless unwillingness and resentment...

"Cage seam, cage seam~" A light laugh rang in her ears. The voice of that monster sounded, carrying a cold, mocking playfulness as it sang a nursery rhyme: "Little bird in the cage, wanting to run out at every moment, there in the night before the dawn, the crane and the tortoise slipped, who is it that faces your back?"

Do not listen to her bewitching, demonic words. I must do something for the village, for my comrades.

White Fox raised her head, straightened her body on the tree trunk, and turned to look at the girl in the air opposite her.

Who is it that faces her back?

What faces her back is a ghost.

But not the one before her; it is the one deep within her own heart...

For some reason, at this moment of confrontation, Akitsu could tell at a glance that they were the same kind of person, with similar origins.

White Fox slowly assumed the stance of the Gentle Fist, her body sinking naturally, and said in a low voice: "Enough nonsense, come."

Yura shook her head and said: "I am more interested in you, you Byakugan monster."

"Don't call me a Byakugan monster!" White Fox said coldly, "You are the real monster here!"

The long-range vision of the Byakugan usually spans a range of one to two kilometers; through training and development, this distance can be increased. This woman before her, ever since she began following Yura, had remained at a distance of five kilometers, suggesting the purity of her Byakugan was quite high.

A pity she was from the branch family.

If she were from the main family, there would be no need for idle chatter—just gouge out the eyes and leave.

The bloodline left behind by Kaguya Otsutsuki possessed a very high foundation for the Byakugan.

Do not be fooled by how Kaguya acted like a mere maidservant beside Isshiki; there was a theory that Kaguya had brought Isshiki to this planet to resurrect her father, the God of Otsutsuki.

Sitting cross-legged in mid-air, Yura scrutinized the young girl, sensing the massive surge of negative emotions churning deep within her heart.

This one and Lucy were two extremes.

One could only say that the Warring States period lived up to its reputation; the era was adept at turning people into demons.

"If your Byakugan can see far enough, you can see the fate of others, and even your own," Yura said. "Can you see your own fate clearly right now?"

This was the ability of Momoshiki Otsutsuki's Byakugan.

Hearing this claim for the first time, Akitsu frowned slightly beneath her White Fox mask.

The Byakugan had such an ability?

"When the penetrating insight of these eyes reaches a certain level, one can see through the thoughts of others."

This was the ability of Kaguya Otsutsuki.

"Can you see into your own heart now?"

Yura asked with a faint smile.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Akitsu demanded.

"Your heart..." Yura chuckled softly, "is filled with hatred. What is it that you wish to destroy?"

Hearing this, Akitsu felt a jolt of shock. Beneath her mask, she bit her lip and said, "Are you implying that you can see into people's hearts?"

Yura shook her head and smiled faintly, "Guess..."

An annoying person, an annoying ability. In an instant, Akitsu felt almost naked, a chill running through her heart.

This wasn't a monster that could see through hearts; it was a monster that toyed with them...

"No matter what you're planning, you won't succeed!" Before she had even finished speaking, Akitsu raised her hand and thrust her palm forward.

Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm.

A mass of chakra air pressure was launched, rapidly closing in on Yura.

In mid-air, there was a dull thud. A palm print manifested in the void, blocked by something unseen.

Yura said, "Don't be so impatient. We have plenty of time to play slowly."

What on earth was this person planning? Not killing her outright was certainly not a pleasant prospect for her.

Suddenly, Akitsu's expression changed. She leaped backward rapidly, putting distance between herself and Yura.

Yura stopped her movements, and the scythe that had been silently creeping closer in mid-air retracted.

This was the first time someone had sensed the approach of her weapon.

"I am beginning to appreciate you more and more," Yura said, looking at the Hyuga ninja who had landed on a tree trunk in the distance. "For this alone, you are far superior to your three companions."

It hadn't been observed through the Byakugan.

Cold sweat soaked Akitsu's back...

Ordinary ninjas, even Jonin or Kage-level ones, only released chakra from limited parts of the body like their hands, feet, or mouth. The Hyuga clan, however, was different; they could release chakra from every tenketsu point on their body. This allowed them to saturate the air around them with a massive amount of chakra, enabling them to sense any foreign object that pierced through that field.

Neji had used this technique as well.

Yura's hair was not an intangible existence.

"So that's how you solved it. However, can your body withstand the strain of maintaining chakra release on this scale?" Yura asked.

"Shut up!" Akitsu barked viciously, a murderous intent erupting in her eyes. Even if she had to die, she would tear a piece of flesh off her enemy first.