There Will Be a Little Pain

"You don't actually think that when the Senju clan courted the Hyuga clan for an alliance, the conditions they promised involved helping the branch family break away from the main house, do you?"

The main and branch family system of the Hyuga clan is notorious throughout the Shinobi World. Even in the Warring States period, among the most twisted ninja clans, it was ranked first or second in perversion. Most ninja clans are incredibly protective of their own, shielding their kin with fierce devotion.

Any clan that dared to treat its own people like outsiders would inevitably fall apart, yet the Hyuga clan possessed the Caged Bird curse seal.

Hearing this, Akitsu's pupils lost their focus and began to dilate, ripples spreading through her eyes.

Yes!

Why couldn't I think of that...

It was so obvious, so why, amidst the village's constant propaganda that "we are all family," could these eyes of mine—this Byakugan—not see such a simple truth?

"Or perhaps..." Yura chuckled softly, "was it Senju Hashirama or Tobirama who gave you the promise that they would inevitably overthrow the Hyuga main house system?"

"Why..." Akitsu murmured, dazed.

I am a scapegoat!

My child will be a scapegoat!

My child's child will also be a scapegoat!

Forever and ever, unable to turn the tables, a scapegoat!

"On the contrary, the Caged Bird is a good system. Senju Tobirama will not only refuse to abolish it, but he will also continue to stabilize it, applying it flexibly to ensure the village's stable rule." Yura smiled faintly.

"How could that be... It's impossible..." She refused to believe the Senju brothers were that kind of person.

"Material curse seals have a chance of being broken, but once a spiritual curse seal takes hold, removing it is as difficult as ascending to heaven." Yura laughed. "You should have seen this kind of curse seal already. The thing you are willing to die for, the thing your comrades protect with their lives—it is called the Will of Fire."

Akitsu's mind flashed back to those clansmen who were full of hope, faces glowing with excitement, willing to die for the village. In an instant, wave after wave of roaring thunder swept through her brain.

Senju Hashirama had personally planted a God Tree, an invisible God Tree.

If it were something truly beautiful and precious, Yura felt it would be inevitable to give one's life to protect it, but for something so ugly, was it really worth the price of one's life?

"Why... why is it like this?" Akitsu's eyes were vacant, staring unconsciously at Yura's face, while deep within her heart, massive negative emotions surged and howled.

"Why?" Yura smiled lightly. "Ten people bullying one person is called bullying; a hundred people bullying one person is also bullying; but ten thousand people bullying one person is called justice!"

"Justice...?" This is justice? Akitsu felt a chill in her heart, wave after wave of nauseating coldness.

"Yes, justice." Yura smiled. "A thing is not just because it is right, but because it is powerful. In the Shinobi World, compared to Senju Hashirama, everyone else seems insufficiently 'just.' Do you believe in Senju Hashirama's justice? A man who, for the sake of the village's stability, would not hesitate to break with his closest friend; a man who made a promise only to break it, causing his friend to leave the village in anger—do you think he will save your branch family? Compared to his closest friend, how much weight could your branch family possibly hold in his heart?"

Yura couldn't help but sneer.

What is a "closest friend"?

It is not some father figure who nags you to correct your bad habits.

It is the person who can accompany you, laughing, as you step into hell together!

Akitsu was trembling...

The world was collapsing before her eyes. Akitsu's Byakugan had never seen so clearly the long road laid out before her, the road named destiny.

With just one glance, she saw the end of despair.

"Caged Bird! It's all Caged Bird! Anyone! Everyone is a Caged Bird!"

Akitsu murmured, dazed.

The essence of this Shinobi World had not changed in the slightest; the era of ninja villages was no different from the era of the Warring States.

A violent palpitation bloomed in her heart, followed by extreme pain sweeping through her spirit, unbearable to the point of collapse...

"Ahhhhhhh--!!!"

A scream.

Akitsu clutched her head and shrieked, trembling in agony, her shrill cries echoing endlessly through the forest.

Yura looked down at her.

It was normal. When people witness the reality of the Shinobi World, they experience a stress response—a psychological defense mechanism to prevent them from truly becoming demented.

Lies do not hurt people; the truth is the sharpest blade.

All these words, when gathered together, led to a single conclusion.

After a long while, Akitsu let go of her head, staring blankly up at the clear sky.

My enemy is no longer the main house, but Konoha, the God of Shinobi...

A long time passed... a very long time...

A massive, towering hatred rose up, churning in her heart, growing ever more intense.

The time was ripe.

Yura reached out, took off the scarlet fox mask she was wearing, and gently placed it on the girl's head, smiling. "I intend to build a paradise for monsters. Will you come with me, monster of the Byakugan?"

Akitsu's body shuddered. Her Byakugan rotated, fixing on Yura's face as if to burn it into her memory forever.

The next instant, with a slap, Akitsu raised her hand and knocked Yura's hand away. Yura's body jolted, and she tilted her head, looking at Akitsu in confusion. In mid-air, the blood-red fox mask tumbled and fell into the grass nearby.

"Gentle Fist..." Yura parted her lips and said, "So this is what it feels like." Blood clots rolled out of her mouth.

Inside her body, her heart had been shattered into pieces under the precise, conductive strikes of the Gentle Fist.

"Tch..." Yura lowered her head, her scarlet eyes fixed upon the young girl.

"Don't call me a monster with Byakugan! Ghost Princess!" Leaning against a tree, Akitsu struggled to stand, panting as she said, "I've finally confirmed one thing today: you are a monster through and through!"

"Still not giving up?" Yura asked. "What else do you have to cling to, you scapegoat?"

Is she still not dead after all this?

Akitsu watched the completely unaffected Yura. Her Byakugan could clearly see the state of her own body; her eyes twitched uncontrollably, and she lowered her head in defeat.

I'm going to die...

So be it. Let this meaningless life end just like this.

I never want to stain my hands with blood ever again.

Her heart was a lake of absolute stillness, filled with a dense, ripple-free desire for death.

"Tsk..." Yura frowned slightly.

The stimulation was a bit too intense; she hadn't gauged that delicate threshold well. The mental defenses of ninjas were simply too fragile. Many ninjas were like this—after experiencing a major life trauma, they would inevitably trigger a self-destruct sequence.

White Fang was like this, Nagato was, Itachi was, and Obito was too.

"Going to play the coward again?" Yura chuckled softly. "How pathetic. I suppose I misjudged you."

Akitsu lifted her eyelids but did not answer.

"You no longer have the value to be cut by me," Yura said. "Killing you would feel like I'm rewarding you..."

"Just like this, live the rest of your life awake in agony. Whenever you figure things out..."

"Whenever you decide to come find me..."

"You scapegoat."

Twitching the corner of her mouth, Akitsu, her eyes dull and vacant, offered a difficult smile.

There was no joy of survival in her heart, only endless sorrow.

Sensing the fluctuations in the lake of her heart, Yura raised an eyebrow. So she didn't particularly want to die, her brain had just short-circuited for a moment?

"However, since these eyes of yours are blind and cannot see reality, then, let's just get rid of them." As she spoke, Yura reached out with a smile and pressed her hand against Akitsu's face.

Forbidden Technique: Heart Extraction.

This technique was not limited to extracting only hearts.

Yura still wanted to give it a try. Strands of hair burrowed into Akitsu's eye sockets. Under the excruciating pain, Akitsu gritted her teeth and let out a muffled groan.

Yura raised her hand and pulled out the pair of eyes.

The extraction surgery was perfect. After practicing on two previous living subjects, Yura had more or less grasped the knack of it.

Yura was a fast learner.

Yura looked at the eyeballs in her hand.

"Heh..." Akitsu let out a cold laugh. "Don't waste your effort. If the Byakugan were so easy to steal, the Caged Bird would have been broken long ago. If you truly had the ability to take them, I would even thank you."

Unable to see anything anymore, Akitsu stared at Yura's face with two bloody, hollow pits, her expression filled with mockery.

Yura closed her palm, and the pair of Byakugan in her hand burst into paste, slowly dripping from between her fingers.

"Stealing the Sharingan is easier than stealing the Byakugan. If it were the Mangekyo, it would be ten thousand times stronger than the Byakugan," Akitsu taunted, her face twisted in derision.

Staring at Akitsu, Yura wore an inscrutable smile.

"Akitsu, that name really suits you," Yura said. "Did your mother choose it? She wanted you to be a fierce predator, didn't she?"

"Stop spouting nonsense," Akitsu said. "The dragonfly symbolizes a pure, flawless heart and noble character. That was my mother's intention."

"Is that so..." Yura said. "On a samurai's blade, the dragonfly is also called the Victory Insect, signifying strength, fortitude, and moving forward without retreat."

Yura looked down at her two bare sword hilts, feeling a sudden urge to hang a Victory Insect on them as decoration.

Samurai culture was something ninjas looked down upon. Hearing this, Akitsu froze. Strength and fortitude, huh...

"Be strong. Next, it's going to hurt just a little bit," Yura stepped forward, pressed down on Akitsu's head, and smiled softly. "Don't cry, now."

Akitsu's heart tightened. Is this the part where she vents her anger by torturing me?

We are both women; what could you possibly do?

"Make me cry?" Akitsu sneered. "Keep dreaming..."

"You had better cry, otherwise, I won't be able to control my strength."

A moment later, painful, whimpering screams, muffled groans, and heavy gasps echoed through the forest.

Fluttering and circling high in the air, the Little Monster Lucy eavesdropped from the sidelines, shrinking her neck in fear. Although the battle was over, the Great Monster had given a prior warning, and she didn't dare land at all.

I'm being very obedient, please don't hit me again.