Konoha

On the perimeter guard post of Konoha, two ninjas responsible for the watch were still discussing the Chunin Exams.

In the distance, Orochimaru's subordinates had finished assembling.

Over a dozen people performed the Summoning Technique simultaneously.

A three-headed giant snake, dozens of meters long, appeared and, driven by the ninjas, breached the defensive walls.

Hiding within the Hyuga clan grounds, Aoike watched the rampaging snake with a smirk.

Over a hundred ninjas released a barrier in unison, encompassing the vast Hyuga estate within it.

Aoike shed his disguise and re-entered the place that had once forced him to live with such caution.

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass on the Hyuga grounds! Quickly—ah! You are..."

Hyuga Tokuma, with his cold expression and reserved arrogance, hadn't even finished his sentence when a flash of cold light flickered.

A head rolled to the ground, wearing a look of bewilderment.

Aoike shook the blood droplets from his blade, pulled a roster from his robes, and began to check it.

Don't be impatient; the Hyuga aren't as combat-capable as the Uchiha.

As if to soothe his own restless heart, Aoike muttered to himself.

Everyone who had bullied him within the clan, or those who had thrown their weight around relying on their status as members of the Main House, was on Aoike's death list.

With a flash of his blade, some branch house members, whose servility was carved into their very bones, also fell under his sword.

Aoike walked deep into the clan's ancestral hall, roster in hand.

Those who blocked his path were either severely wounded or killed.

He tilted his head to dodge a Gentle Fist strike from a Main House member, struck the man's stomach with the hilt of his sword, and then backhanded him with a decapitating slash.

He used Rotation to deflect the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm from two others. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball, ten meters in diameter, burned the two men into charred, fragmented remains.

Stepping into the ancestral hall where he had once been punished, Aoike felt a sense of absurdity wash over him.

Looking at the gathered Hyuga clansmen, a fake smile that he hadn't worn in a long time hung on Aoike's face.

"It's been a long time, everyone."

Hyuga Hiashi's veins bulged as he stared in disbelief at Aoike's smooth, unblemished forehead.

How is this possible?

"You beast! Who gave you the courage to attack the Main—"

Bang!

The Great Elder, who had been shouting, was kicked into the wall, while the guards around him were knocked to the ground.

The Hyuga nearby couldn't help but swallow hard, beads of sweat the size of beans sliding down their cheeks.

Aoike walked calmly toward the Great Elder, who was embedded in the mural.

With a swift motion, he sliced off the man's limbs. Blood gushed out, instantly waking the previously unconscious Great Elder. His mouth sputtered and twitched, unable to form words, only blood foam bubbling up and flowing down the corners of his lips.

Watching him struggle in agony, Aoike nodded with satisfaction.

"Now that's more like it, Great Elder. It's only fair that we both experience pain."

The Main House elder, who had loved punishing the branch house, finally tasted the bitter fruit of his actions today. Both the usual oppressors and the oppressed began to have their minds flooded with thoughts.

Everyone at the scene was stunned by this bloody spectacle, merely surrounding Aoike and waiting for the clan head to speak.

Aoike scanned the crowd with his Tenseigan; there was no one who could pose a threat to him.

Looking through the walls, more Hyuga were still gathering toward this location.

Aoike didn't want to wait any longer. The support-oriented Hyuga were effortless to kill; they weren't even as interesting to fight as Sasuke.

The Tenseigan granted him gravity manipulation, and when combined with Fire Style, many interesting techniques had been developed.

He formed seals with one hand, and a chakra cloak emerged from within, the scorching heat waves knocking over the ninjas surrounding him.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique - Modified!"

A fire dragon over twenty meters long rose from the ground, its ferocious head carrying Aoike as he looked down upon the arriving Hyuga ninjas.

From a distance, the damage from the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was no more than a tickle, unable to even disperse the heat currents around the fire dragon.

This was the helplessness of conventional ninjas facing an overpowered monster.

Under the gaze of the Tenseigan, the once-agile ninjas were full of openings, unable to even entertain their enemy.

His eyes swept rapidly across their faces, various pieces of information appearing in his mind.

He ignored the enemies who were currently hurling insults at him.

A human wouldn't be interested in what a mosquito had to say; they would only want to swat it dead.

Under the control of the Tenseigan, a small black dot appeared in the fire dragon's ferocious maw, and red chakra poured into it incessantly.

In a few seconds, a small, crimson sun had formed, looking as if the fire dragon were holding a Dragon Ball in its mouth.

"Then now, let this cage come to an end."

Bang!

The airflow could no longer contain the high-pressure explosion.

The pillar of fire was a divine punishment descending from the heavens, turning everything in its path into scorched earth.

The soft soil was more delicate than tofu; the yellow ground was overturned, and the black trenches connected like incomprehensible runes.

Of the ninjas marked by Aoike, only charred remains were left, and countless others had their clothes soaked in sweat and then dried by the heat.

Once the scattered targets were cleared, Aoike fixed his gaze on the group of main branch members huddled together and smiled.

His fingers guided the trajectory of the fire dragon, which circled and plummeted amidst their terrified gazes.

"Rotation!"

A few of the main branch members struggling in their final moments raised a blue hemisphere.

It was useless.

Flames mixed with charred ash rose into the sky, blooming like a fiery red dandelion.

Aoike landed steadily on the ground. This ninjutsu had consumed twenty percent of his chakra; it was versatile and had decent power, making it impossible for ordinary ninjas to withstand.

Hyuga Hiashi gritted his teeth, watching helplessly as the foundation of his clan shattered.

"Finally, no one is interrupting. Shall we go through this quickly?"

Without giving them time to react, he finished speaking.

Aoike took out a roster, flipped through a few pages, crossed out the names he had just eliminated, and sat down in the clan head's seat to begin the roll call.

Hyuga Ishi, Hyuga Kuchiya, Hyuga Gotoku...

Those present whose names were called turned deathly pale, swaying unsteadily.

No one wanted to resist anymore.

Possessing the Byakugan, they could see the terror of the person before them more clearly than anyone else.

Neither his vast and active chakra nor his horrifying ninjutsu were things they could deal with.

The upper limit of the Hyuga clan's strength was set; the Gentle Fist emphasized close-quarters combat and locking acupoints. Before Aoike had even graduated, the only ones who could reliably suppress him in the way of the Gentle Fist were the clan head and a few veteran jonin.

Who would have thought that after a few years, the boy who once served the main branch would not only break the Caged Bird Seal but also grow to such a degree.

Aoike did not care what they thought; with every name he read, a shuriken was thrown, piercing their hearts.

Nothing could be more like the Grim Reaper calling the roll.