The Agony of Heartbreak, and the Loss He Finally Understood

"What are you good-for-nothings doing?!"

"How could a living person just disappear without a trace?!"

The Hyuga Main Family Shrine.

Several servants knelt on the ground, not daring to draw a breath.

The clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, was in a complete state of disarray.

"Clan head..."

"Lord Third Hokage and Lord Danzo are here..."

At that, Hiashi hurried out to greet them.

"Hiashi..."

"Konoha has truly done everything it can for your Hyuga Clan today..."

As soon as he entered the room, Hiruzen Sarutobi got straight to the point.

"I'm sorry, Lord Third Hokage. So, what exactly is Cloud Village demanding now?"

Hiashi waved a hand, and the clan members in the shrine promptly filed out.

Only Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Hyuga Hiashi remained in the hall.

Hiruzen took a drag on his pipe but said nothing.

Behind him, Danzo narrowed his eyes and suddenly smiled.

"Don't be nervous."

"They're only asking us to hand Hizashi over to Cloud Village for them to deal with."

Just as he thought.

Hiashi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

As head of the Main House, he represented the entire Hyuga Clan.

If they demanded that he take responsibility, the whole Hyuga Clan would descend into chaos...

"This is also the Third Hokage's way of looking out for you. After all, you're the clan head."

Danzo's words immediately brightened Hiashi's mood.

He had spent years serving Konoha, yet the village had never given him much recognition.

Could this mean Konoha was finally going to put the Hyuga Clan to greater use?

Just then, two Root shinobi appeared beside Danzo.

After whispering their intelligence into Danzo's ear, they received a wave of his hand, signaling that they could leave.

"Hiashi, there are some things I still need to emphasize..."

"You have to look far enough ahead to see where your value lies..."

With that, Danzo turned and left.

"Oh, right, Hiruzen..."

"Go to the Hokage Building and calm down those Cloud Village officials..."

"I'll personally take Hizashi over shortly..."

After learning that Danzo had found Hizashi, Hiashi also arranged for his men to join the search and capture him.

The wind blew hard through Konoha that night.

The wind chimes beneath the eaves rang out in the gusts.

Dark clouds blotted out the moon.

It looked like a heavy rain was coming...

Sitting by the window, Itachi continued to wait for Chuan Yu.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in Itachi's view.

Thunder roared across the heavens.

The gale bent the great trees nearly to the ground.

The air grew steadily more humid...

The moment the first raindrop struck the ground...

The rain came pouring down...

"It's too late..."

"Please keep this secret for me..."

"Thank you..."

Beneath the eaves, Hizashi bowed deeply to Itachi.

The rain fell harder...

Itachi reached his right hand out from beneath the eaves.

"Thank you for looking after Chuan Yu all this time..."

Itachi spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the raindrops in his palm.

If pure water was never tainted from the start,

then perhaps it would never see the dawn...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Several figures landed in front of Itachi's home.

He turned his head. Root shinobi and members of the Hyuga Main House had arrived.

"There's one more thing..."

Before they took him away, Hizashi turned around.

His face suddenly filled with regret.

"Don't let Neji find out..."

Tears spilled from his eyes, but the rain was too heavy...

No one knew he was crying...

"Hizashi..."

"I'm sorry..."

As Hizashi passed Hiashi, Hiashi suddenly spoke.

But his face showed no emotion.

As if Hizashi was supposed to bear this responsibility in the Main House's place.

"Heh..."

"Big brother..."

"This is the first time you've said it to me..."

"Since we were children..."

"I'm sorry..."

Hizashi looked up at the pitch-black sky and suddenly burst into laughter.

His hoarse, agonized laughter was filled with resentment.

He hadn't lived to see Neji grow up...

But more than anything, tomorrow...

He'd promised Neji that he would pick him up after school...

And take him...

To an amusement park he'd never been to...

That's right...

All this time, he'd been harsh with Neji...

Because he wanted him to grow up to be a genius...

That lonely figure was the last thing he saw.

When Chuan Yu returned and witnessed this, his heart softened at last.

He gritted his teeth and, without hesitation, drew the long blade from his back.

But Itachi stopped him...

Perhaps Chuan Yu had only pretended to be strong all along.

Because in front of Hizashi, he hadn't wanted to look so miserable.

"I should've killed him back then..."

Watching Hizashi leave with the clan members, Chuan Yu's tears suddenly streamed down like a broken string.

Hizashi was probably the only person who still connected Chuan Yu to the Hyuga Clan.

From this moment on, Chuan Yu cut all ties with the Hyuga Clan.

The Hokage Building.

The Cloud Village officials had been waiting for ages. When they saw Hizashi brought in, their faces lit up with delight.

Everyone knew the truth.

Cloud Village only wanted the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan.

But the Hyuga Clan would never let them have their way.

Hizashi had the Caged Bird mark on his forehead, after all.

"Now that we've handed him over to you, I assume our agreement still stands..."

Danzo walked over and spoke calmly.

"Of course! This proves beyond a doubt that Konoha is sincere!"

One of the Cloud Village officials could barely contain his excitement. He'd been eager to take Hizashi back and examine him.

Outside the Hokage Building,

the Cloud Village shinobi gathered together.

Now they were going to take Hizashi and leave.

Atop Kage Rock,

Chuan Yu crouched there, watching Hizashi the entire time.

Noticing Chuan Yu's gaze, Hizashi suddenly returned it with a warm smile.

What was the Ninja World...

Friendship...

Feelings...

Family...

What were the things you truly cared about...

Chuan Yu couldn't even tell whether what he felt for Hizashi was friendship or family.

All he knew was that it felt as though pain had been carved into his heart...

A wrenching pain...

Was it pity...

No, no...

It was regret...

A ray of sunlight that had appeared so suddenly...

It had once lit up his heart...

For a moment, the tranquil world seemed to freeze in place.

The mark on Hizashi's forehead suddenly appeared...

He gazed at Chuan Yu and gave him one last smile...

Blood stained the entire sky.

Before everyone's eyes...

The Caged Bird mark exploded, blowing Hizashi's head apart...

Blood splattered across every Cloud Village shinobi.

They turned around in horror, utterly stunned.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

Some of them couldn't hold back their nausea and began to vomit.

The scene was etched deep into Chuan Yu's mind.

That bell tolling through his head rang out again...

The pain in his left eye was ten times worse than before...

Clutching his shirt over his chest, Chuan Yu struggled to breathe.

"Why..."

"Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Can killing really decide everything?!"

This time, the pain in his heart spread through every cell and bone in his body.

Chuan Yu cried out again and again from the agony.

The hidden Byakugan suddenly appeared against his will...

His body felt as though it had been pierced through in countless places...

And that pain was something he would never be able to describe or forget...

[Agonizing heartbreak—the loss, at last, understood.]

[ Ding! The host has grasped the true meaning of the Mangekyō Sharingan!]

[ Ding! The Three-Tomoe Sharingan has been covered by this revelation! It will remain so until it evolves into the Mangekyō Sharingan!]

[ The rage hidden in the host's heart has been detected! Let it burn! Your motivation is ready!]

[ Ding! Your five elemental chakra natures refuse to be outdone! They have now forcibly broken through!]

[Ding! Your mastery of the five chakra natures has advanced to the level of complete understanding!]

Yes...

A pain that pierced his heart...

It was because he'd let his guard down at the very end.

And placed Hizashi in the position of family...

That smile...

That silhouette...

Even now, they still deeply tormented Chuan Yu's heart...

At that moment.

The crows wheeling in the sky returned once more.

A patterned mark appeared in his open left eye...

"Mangekyō Sharingan..."

"I did it..."