A Little Bit of Pain

"You don't think the Senju Clan's condition for winning the Hyuga Clan over as an ally was to help the branch family break away from the main family, do you?"

The Hyuga Clan's main-branch system was infamous throughout the Shinobi World. Even back in the Warring States era, it ranked among the most twisted practices of the most twisted Shinobi Clans. Most clans treated their own people well, fiercely protective of their kin.

Any Shinobi Clan that dared to do this—treating its own people like outsiders—was bound to fall apart. But the Hyuga Clan had the Caged Bird Seal.

After hearing that, Akitsu's pupils lost focus and began to dilate, ripples spreading through her eyes.

That's right!

How had I not thought of this...

It was so obvious. So why, with the village constantly proclaiming that we were all family, couldn't these Byakugan of mine see such a simple truth...

"Or..." Yura said with a faint smile. "Was it Hashirama or Tobirama who promised you they would definitely abolish the Hyuga Main Family's system?"

"Why..." Akitsu murmured, dazed.

I'm a scapegoat!

My child will be a scapegoat!

And my child's child will be one too!

A scapegoat, forever and ever, with no hope of rising above it!

"On the contrary, the Caged Bird is a good system. Tobirama Senju won't abolish it. He'll keep reinforcing it and put it to good use to maintain the village's stable rule," Yura said with a faint smile.

"How could that be... No, that's impossible..." She couldn't believe the Senju brothers were that kind of people.

"A physical seal might still be removed, but once a mental seal takes hold, it's nearly impossible to break." Yura smiled. "You've seen this kind of seal before. The thing you're willing to die for, the thing your companions protect with their lives, is called the Will of Fire."

Akitsu thought of her clansmen, all brimming with hope and excitement, willing to die for the village. One wave of rumbling after another crashed through her mind.

Senju Hashirama had planted a God Tree with his own hands—a God Tree no one could see.

If something was beautiful and precious enough, Yura could understand giving up one's life to protect it. But if it was something ugly, was it worth dying for?

"Why... did it turn out like this?" Akitsu stared blankly at Yura, unaware of it, as immense negative emotions roared and surged deep within her.

"Why?" Yura said with a faint smile. "When ten people bully one person, it's called oppression. When a hundred people bully one person, it's still oppression. When ten thousand people bully one person, it's called justice!"

"Justice...?" Was this justice? Akitsu felt a chill in her heart, wave after wave of icy dread surging over her.

"Yes, justice," Yura said with a faint smile. "Justice isn't right because it's correct. It's right because it's powerful. In the Shinobi World, anyone compared to Senju Hashirama seems less just. Do you believe in Senju Hashirama's justice? A man who'd break with his best friend for the village's peace, who made a promise and then broke it, driving his friend to leave the village in anger—do you think he'll save your branch family? Compared with his friend, how much do you think your branch family matters to him?"

Yura couldn't help but scoff.

What did it mean to be a best friend?

Not some father who lectured you to fix your bad habits.

A best friend was someone who'd walk into hell with you, laughing all the way!

Akitsu was trembling...

The world crumbled before her eyes. At that moment, her Byakugan had never seen so clearly the long road of fate laid out before her.

With a single glance, she saw the depths of despair.

"The Caged Bird! It's all Caged Birds! Whoever you are, you're all Caged Birds!"

Akitsu murmured, dazed.

The nature of the Shinobi World hadn't changed in the slightest. The era of hidden villages was no different from the Warring States era.

A powerful tremor spread through her heart, followed by such intense pain that she couldn't bear it...

"AAAAAAAH—!!!"

A scream.

Akitsu clutched her head and screamed, trembling in agony. Her shrill cries echoed through the woods without end.

Yura looked down at her.

It was normal. When people saw the Shinobi World as it truly was, they reacted this way. It was a psychological defense mechanism, one that kept them from actually becoming mindless idiots.

Lies didn't hurt. The truth was the sharp blade.

All of it added up to one conclusion.

After a long while, Akitsu released her hands and gazed blankly up at the clear sky.

My enemy is no longer the main family. It's Konoha. It's the God of Shinobi...

A long time passed...

Vast hatred surged skyward, churning ceaselessly in her heart, growing ever stronger.

The time was right.

Yura reached up, took off the crimson fox mask she wore, and gently set it atop the girl's head. Smiling, she said, "I'm planning to build a paradise for monsters. Will you come with me, monster with the Byakugan?"

Akitsu's body trembled. Her Byakugan shifted to Yura's face, as if she wanted to etch it into her memory.

The next instant, Akitsu raised her hand and slapped Yura's hand away. Yura shuddered and tilted her head in confusion. The crimson fox mask spun through the air and landed in the grass.

"Gentle Fist..." Yura opened her mouth and said, "So this is what it feels like." A clot of blood rolled from her mouth.

Inside her body, her heart had shattered under the focused impact of the Gentle Fist.

"Tch..." Yura lowered her head, her crimson eyes fixed on the girl.

"Don't call me a monster with the Byakugan! Ghost Princess!" Leaning against a tree, Akitsu struggled to stand and panted as she said, "I've finally realized something today. You're a monster through and through!"

"You still haven't given up?" Yura asked. "What do you have left to cling to, scapegoat?"

She still wasn't dead?

Akitsu looked at Yura, who seemed completely unharmed. Her Byakugan could clearly see what was happening inside Yura, and her eyes twitched despite herself. She lowered her head helplessly.

I'm going to die...

So be it. A meaningless life can end here.

I never want to stain my hands with blood again.

Her heart was utterly still, filled with a dense, unbroken desire for death.

"Tsk..." Yura frowned slightly.

She'd pushed too hard and failed to find that delicate balance. A ninja's mental defenses were far too fragile. Many ninjas were like this: after suffering a major blow in life, they inevitably activated their self-destruction mode.

White Fang had. Nagato had. Itachi had. Obito had too.

"Are you going to hide in your shell again?" Yura said with a soft laugh. "How cowardly. I guess I was wrong about you."

Akitsu raised her eyelids slightly but didn't answer.

"You're no longer worth cutting down," Yura said. "If I killed you, it'd be like I was rewarding you..."

"Just live the rest of your life, wide awake and in pain. When you finally figure it out..."

"Come find me."

"Scapegoat."

Akitsu's mouth twitched. Her eyes were utterly blank as she managed a difficult smile.

She felt no joy at escaping death, only endless sorrow.

Sensing the ripples in Akitsu's heart, Yura raised an eyebrow. She didn't particularly want to die, after all; her brain had just glitched for a moment?

"Still, since those eyes of yours are blind to reality, you might as well lose them." With a smile, Yura reached out and pressed her hand against Akitsu's face.

Forbidden Technique: Heart Extraction

This technique wasn't limited to extracting hearts.

Yura still wanted to try it. Her hair slipped into Akitsu's eye sockets. Akitsu clenched her teeth and gave a muffled groan of pain.

Yura raised her hand and pulled out both eyes.

The extraction had gone perfectly. After practicing on two living subjects, Yura had gotten the hang of it.

Yura learned things quickly.

Yura looked at the eyeballs in her hand.

"Heh..." Akitsu gave a cold laugh. "Don't waste your effort. If the Byakugan were so easy to take, the Caged Bird would've been abolished long ago. If you really could take them, I'd thank you."

She couldn't see anything anymore. With two bloody, ragged holes where her eyes had been, Akitsu faced Yura, her expression mocking.

Yura closed her hand. The pair of Byakugan in her palm burst into pulp, which slowly dripped through her fingers.

"Stealing the Sharingan is easier than stealing the Byakugan. And the Mangekyo is a thousand times stronger than the Byakugan." Akitsu taunted her with a mocking look.

Yura stared at Akitsu, a smile of uncertain meaning playing on her lips.

"Akitsu. That name suits you so well," Yura said. "Did your mother choose it? She wanted you to be a fierce predator."

"Don't talk nonsense," Akitsu said. "Dragonflies symbolize pure hearts and noble character. That's what my mother meant."

"Is that so..." Yura said. "On a samurai's sword, a dragonfly is also called a Victory Insect. It means strength and resolve—to move forward and never retreat."

Yura lowered her head and looked at the two bare sword hilts. She felt like hanging a Victory Insect on one as a decoration.

Ninjas looked down on samurai culture. At Yura's words, Akitsu was taken aback. Strength and resolve...?

"Be strong. The next part will hurt just a little." Yura stepped closer, held Akitsu's head, and smiled. "Don't cry, okay?"

Akitsu's heart tightened. So this is the part where she tortures me to vent her anger?

We're both women. What can you even do?

"Make me cry?" Akitsu said with a cold laugh. "Keep dreaming..."

"You'd better cry, or I might not be able to control myself."

A moment later, pained, sobbing screams, muffled groans, and heavy gasps rang through the woods.

Little Monster Lucy fluttered through the air, eavesdropping from a distance. She shrank her neck in fear. Although the battle was over, the great monster had warned her, so she didn't dare land at all.

I'm being good. Can't you stop hitting me now?