Conspiracy

"Quick, Rixin, hurry and kill... that brat!" Hyuga U said weakly upon seeing the newcomer.

"It's you! Rixin!!" Riyue clutched his forehead, struggling to force himself up, his heart filled with immense fury. A thousand calculations, yet one slip; he never imagined that a despicable coward like Rixin would ambush him at a time like this.

"Yo, trash, good afternoon." Rixin looked at Riyue, his face twisted with deep loathing and the pleasure he derived from tormenting him.

"You're quite capable, aren't you! To think you can still endure the power of the Cursed Seal!" He sneered as he walked toward Riyue, increasing the intensity of the seal.

"Ah!" Unable to bear the agony of his head feeling like it was being torn apart, Riyue let out a miserable scream.

Rixin stepped forward, raised his hand, and slammed a palm hard into Riyue's chest. Although Rixin's training was mediocre, Riyue was unable to use chakra to defend himself and took the blow squarely. Riyue spat out a mouthful of blood, his internal organs rattled, and he collapsed backward onto the ground.

"Trash is always trash, not even fit to polish my shoes! Just like your dead old man, you want to challenge the authority of the Main Branch? Why don't you go look in a mirror and see what kind of garbage you are! Garbage should be disposed of! Hahaha!" Rixin stepped forward and stomped hard on Riyue's chest, grinding his heel into him as if crushing an insect.

"Ah..." Riyue spat out more blood, a sharp pain radiating from his injured chest.

"Tsk tsk, to deal with you, Father specifically had me sent to the front lines. After all, who else can activate the Cursed Seal on your head? Father even went out of his way to find an ancient family document. It did mention this place—something about a road nearby—but it said nothing about ruins. So, he just made up a story about ruins to trick the Clan Head and the Third Hokage into approving this scouting mission. Haha! A pretty good plan, right, Riyue?" Watching the pained expression on Riyue's face, Rixin seemed to relish it, continuing to goad him.

"Of course, after you die, Konoha will just assume you were killed by Hidden Sand ninjas. As for the ruins? The records were wrong, and nothing was found! Hahahaha!" Rixin laughed wildly, clutching his waist as he struggled to catch his breath.

"You... bastard!" Riyue gritted his teeth, his heart filled with extreme rage; he didn't even realize he had bitten his lips until they bled.

"Go ahead and savor the taste of the Caged Bird! It was designed specifically to seal the Byakugan!" Rixin increased his chakra output once more. Riyue felt his Byakugan begin to throb with intense pain, as if someone were stabbing his eyes with fine needles—a sharp, rhythmic agony!

"Ah! My eyes!" Riyue covered his eyes with both hands and screamed. His vision gradually blurred, and the world before him grew darker and darker.

"Good, your eyes have been destroyed and sealed by the Caged Bird Cursed Seal! They will never recover! A piece of trash like you doesn't deserve to possess the Byakugan! Hahaha!" Rixin laughed maniacally, his expression hideous and distorted.

Whenever he thought of this ant before him—who had not only become a Chunin and a disciple of the Sannin but was also highly praised by the Hyuga Clan Head—the jealousy and resentment in his heart knew no bounds. Now, he finally felt an immense sense of satisfaction! An ant should look like an ant!

"Am I... going to die here..." Riyue felt immense regret for falling into the trap of such a lowlife. Images of his parents from his past life, his current parents, Sister Mizuki, his friends and partners, his teacher Dan Kato, the old Third Hokage... they all flashed before his eyes one by one...

His eyes seemed to have lost all sight...

"No! I can't! I can't give up yet! There is still a chance! One chance!" Riyue bit his teeth together with all his might, struggling to stay conscious.

"Rixin! Stop this at once!" Mizuki shouted from the side.

"Yo, isn't this Cousin Mizuki?" Rixin turned to look at her, a playful smile on his face.

"Rixin! Let Riyue go!" Mizuki shouted in anger.

Rixin took a few steps toward Mizuki, looking down at her as she lay on the ground, then glanced back at Riyue.

"Rixin! Riyue is your cousin! How could you do this!" Mizuki said through gritted teeth.

"Cousin? Hahaha... In my eyes, he's just a pest! Every night, I think about how to crush him bit by bit! To hear his desperate screams one after another!" Rixin said coldly, his eyes burning with fanatical killing intent.

"Is this your decision, Rixin? Do the people of the Main Branch enjoy fratricide so much?" Mizuki closed her eyes in despair.

"Tsk tsk, Cousin Mizuki, it's not nice to curse people. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for wanting to look after this trash! You know everything that's happened here, so you have to die too! But... seeing as you're quite attractive, my buddy has a few shops in the Land of Fire. If you agree to be the head hostess there, I might consider letting you go... Hahaha!" Rixin looked at Mizuki with a lecherous grin.

"You shameless beast! You despicable scum! Just kill me! I'd rather die!" Mizuki cursed with all her might.

"Oh? That's right! Hey! Trash, don't you treat her like a sister? If I kill her right in front of you, you'll be in a lot of pain, won't you! Hahaha!" Rixin laughed wildly, looking utterly monstrous.

"Rixin, hurry up and kill them! Don't dawdle!" Hyuga U reminded him.

"Right, I'll do it now! They both died at the hands of the 'Hidden Sand,' what a pity we couldn't save them. We must seek revenge against the Hidden Sand for this!" Rixin excitedly drew a kunai and slowly approached Mizuki, intending to kill her first.

"Rixin... come at me! You old dog Hideyoshi!!" Riyue cursed loudly; compared to the sharp pain in his eyes and head, the hatred in his heart was even more intense.

Rixin was provoked by Riyue's words, turned around, and sneered at him: "Trash! You dare to insult my father! I've decided, I'll kill you first! I forgot to tell you, your deadbeat father died the same way. They sent him to the front lines and threw him to the enemy to be killed. That's how trash should be disposed of, haha..."

"Father... you are dead!" Riyue stared at Rixin with blood-red eyes, speaking each word with deliberate weight.

"Hahaha! Die!" With that, he prepared to drive the kunai into Riyue's throat.

"Then why don't you try it!" A cold voice rang out right beside Rixin's ear.

A hand grabbed Rixin's hand as he channeled the Cursed Seal, and with a "crack!", Rixin's two fingers were snapped! The Caged Bird Cursed Seal on Riyue's forehead stopped instantly! He felt the agonizing pain in his head vanish, and he let out a sigh of relief, his entire body soaked in cold sweat.

"Ah~~~!" Rixin screamed like a slaughtered pig, clutching his fingers as he fell to his knees. The one who had broken his fingers was none other than Mizuki, standing right behind him!

"Still want to activate the seal?" Mizuki didn't hesitate to strike Rixin in the abdomen with a palm.

"Ah!" Rixin spat out blood, curled into a ball, and collapsed on the ground like a dead dog, his internal injuries preventing him from gathering chakra for the moment.

"Rixin!" Hyuga U shouted in terror, looking in disbelief at Mizuki, who appeared to be completely uninjured. But Mizuki had already rushed in front of him and plunged a kunai into his heart: "Go to hell!"

"You! You're not..." Hyuga U pointed at Mizuki, his eyes wide as he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Mizuki looked coldly at the dead Hyuga U and said, "That's right! I'm not! I'm just a Shadow Clone!"

"Poof!" With a puff of white smoke, 'Mizuki' transformed back into the appearance of Riyue.

Rixin, lying on the ground, stared blankly at Hyuga U, who hadn't even had time to close his eyes. He was trembling so violently that he couldn't even feel the pain, forgetting even to run away.

Riyue's Shadow Clone ran over and slowly helped the original Riyue up. Although Riyue's vision had recovered a glimmer of light, everything before him remained blurry. He clutched his chest and staggered step by step toward Rixin, looking down at the kneeling man with murderous intent.

A chill ran down Rixin's spine, and he immediately kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Riyue, I was wrong! Please, let me go. I beg you! For the sake of our clan..." He banged his forehead against the ground, his rear end stuck high in the air.

Watching Rixin's spineless display of begging, Riyue looked on with disgust. The Shadow Clone raised a hand and struck several pressure points on Rixin, leaving him unable to move.

"You, you!" Rixin could only emit a faint sound, his eyes filled with nothing but terror.

"Rixin, you talk too much!"