Villain

"Do you want to come with me?"

"No!" Neji shook his head firmly. "Taking a few days off is already too much. If I miss school for much longer, the teachers at the Ninja Academy will get angry."

"Besides, your mission must be difficult, right? I haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet. If I go with you, not only would I be unable to help, I might even hold you back."

Ning Qi nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. That's why you need to get stronger as soon as possible."

Getting stronger wasn't for my sake, but for your own. Otherwise, you might not be able to withstand the malice coming at you from so many people around you... Ning Qi thought. Of course, as for why that malice would descend upon Neji, he, the true culprit, had no intention of looking into it too closely.

Seeing that Ning Qi had actually responded, Neji couldn't help asking:

"Brother, you were joking, weren't you?"

"Even if I could help you, what kind of mission would involve unrelated family members? Aren't you afraid Lord Hokage will scold you for wasting ninja resources like this?"

Ning Qi smiled. "You already refused, so why are you asking so much? Eat."

"Brother, you're really suspicious."

Everyone had their own path in life to walk.

Until the cruel reality crashed down upon him like a meteor several days later, until everything he knew and imagined about his brother had been overturned, Neji never realized that on that ordinary day, at that ordinary dinner table, Ning Qi had casually tossed out a choice that could determine the course of his entire life—and after it was refused, let it swiftly pass away in the tone of a joke.

It had been cold and utterly clean-cut, leaving no trace like a stone tossed into a lake. Only the brief ripples spreading across the water proved that, for one moment, Neji had felt he was finally standing close to the truest Ning Qi.

What answer had his brother been hoping for?... Or perhaps this had merely been another boring joke, left for his future self?

Ning Qi had done such things countless times. So much so that, when Neji looked back after the incident, he realized that throughout every interaction between the brothers, there had been traces Ning Qi had deliberately left behind.

"That wasn't meant for you now."

"You'll understand naturally in the future."

There were countless blank spaces like that. Ning Qi always spoke lightly, and naturally Neji had never taken them seriously. Since he would "understand naturally in the future," then he could wait until that "future" arrived.

Yet when that day truly came, Neji finally discovered that he had never seen Ning Qi clearly. Though they had lived together day and night, it was as if a layer of mist had always separated them. The moment Ning Qi had ever come closest to him in his entire life had actually been that one sentence, several days before everything happened:

"Do you want to come with me?"

The choice to follow him... did it really exist?

Would he have discovered, after nodding, that it had merely been another illusion Ning Qi had constructed in the tone of a joke?

Would Neji have eagerly accepted his brother's invitation and stepped onto a new stage in life, only to find that dazzling stage was merely a trap disguised as a pond, while Ning Qi stood on the shore and laughed uproariously as he pointed at the miserable Neji trapped deep in the mud?—Perhaps that was what would most likely have happened if Neji had nodded.

Ning Qi's personality had always been this vile.

He liked to toy with everyone in the palm of his hand. He liked seeing hope shatter in other people's eyes. After the incident, this was the only impression Neji, as Ning Qi's younger brother, could still recognize as true about that man filled with lies and falsehoods.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Since everything was hypothetical, then he might as well be bolder.

That night—the one future Neji would wish to return to countless times, the one where he would endlessly imagine what might have happened if he had agreed—was there really such a possibility? Such a path in life, where, when Ning Qi casually asked him that question, all he had to do was nod for it to truly happen?

If he had only nodded, could he have torn away all of the other's disguises and seen the real Ning Qi?

What kind of sight would that have been?

He didn't know.

And he never could know.

To the Neji who was the only one who might have learned the answer, however, this was merely an ordinary night among countless ordinary nights, merely a bland day among the countless days yet to come.

The moon was round, there were many mosquitoes, the food was delicious, and Hanabi was dumb.

That was all.

Like a joke and yet like a test, that brief exchange—the one future Neji would recall countless times—passed by so easily.

All opinions had been exchanged without anyone noticing.

It wasn't fair.

But that was life.

Ning Qi had been brushed off by his younger brother, yet he didn't care. He continued picking food for himself, while Hanabi, who had dragged over a small stool and sat beside him, stared at Ning Qi with bright eyes.

"What, do you want to come with me?" Ning Qi stroked her head.

The girl was a little shy, but she still gathered her courage and said, "I... I'll work hard to become stronger. I definitely won't hold you back!"

Both brothers stared at Hanabi in surprise.

"You want to go?" Neji asked again.

"Mhm!" Hanabi nodded vigorously.

The air fell quiet for a moment.

A young girl's affection had come out of nowhere. Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought she had known Ning Qi for months already. Under Neji's suspicious gaze, Ning Qi took a bite of chicken and pondered.

"Hey, brother, you're not seriously considering it, are you?" Seeing that he was actually thinking about it, Neji hurriedly reminded him. "Don't forget who she is."

Could a young lady of the main family, with such a noble status, go out with you to do missions?

Don't be ridiculous.

"What kind of mission did you even accept? Do you absolutely have to abduct a child?"

"Huh?" Ning Qi came back to himself, frowned, and stopped chewing. "No, I was wondering whether this chicken had too much salt."

"..."

Neji shook his head.

His brother was always like this. He could never guess what he was thinking.

Hanabi didn't know that this answer actually meant rejection, and she continued looking at Ning Qi expectantly.

"Oh, right. Little Hanabi, come back to the main family with me tonight," Ning Qi said casually.

Hanabi hesitated. She was afraid of returning to that so-called "home," but this was clearly not a question. Under Ning Qi's calm gaze, she still nodded lightly.

After dinner, Ning Qi brought Hanabi back to the clan head's residence.

A huge phantom image of the Byakugan floated above the residence. It was as quiet and secluded as ever.

Several newly planted trees of unknown species stood on either side of the courtyard. A few attendants guarded the entrance. Even as Ning Qi led Hanabi inside by the hand, their expressions remained blank; only their necks kept turning with the pair's movements.

"Good evening, Sister Yunpu, Sister Lian..." Hanabi softly greeted everyone, though her body unconsciously pressed closer to Ning Qi.

"Yes... I haven't been home these past few days..."

Hanabi seemed to be explaining herself to the attendants at the entrance. Though in Ning Qi's eyes, they actually showed no response at all, this was already a sign that their consciousness had reached its final stages. If the clan assembly weren't approaching and Ning Qi didn't need to find some unlucky people to replace these guards, then before long, this clan head's residence wouldn't even be able to maintain the outward appearance of a prestigious household. Outsiders would easily see through it.

Hanabi lowered her head.

"Mother has been looking for me? I'm sorry... I... I..."

Because the This-Realm Naraku Technique caused everything before its victim's eyes to transform into what she believed things "should be like," the only variable determining the nature of the illusion was the victim herself.

Therefore, unless Ning Qi personally took part in shaping the illusion, even he, the caster, had no idea what Hanabi was encountering in the illusion generated by the automatic operation of the This-Realm Naraku Technique.

→

The motionless attendants seemed to have transformed into vicious servants who fawned upon the powerful and oppressed the weak in Hanabi's world. Ning Qi watched the scene with great interest.

Interesting. In her eyes, was it only natural that everyone hated her?

"Brother, Mother is still looking for me. She's very angry. Can you come with me?" Hanabi clutched Ning Qi's sleeve and pleaded.

Hanabi had never known why she had appeared in Neji's room, nor had she ever asked. But Neji had confirmed that Ning Qi had "rescued" her from the clan head's residence. Because of that, she trusted Ning Qi deeply.

Ning Qi naturally had no objection and nodded. The two arrived at a dilapidated side room—or at least, it truly looked dilapidated and filthy to Ning Qi. Yet in Hanabi's eyes, it was a spotless place where she had to carefully remove her shoes to avoid dirtying the floor.

Ning Qi watched her white socks leave a row of tiny footprints in the grime. Then she came before a half-rotted corpse and knelt down.

"Mother, I'm sorry for making you worry."

—This illusionary world was operating according to an absurd logic. Ning Qi, who had created it with his own hands, suddenly felt a strange emotion arise within him.

The corpse before him really was Hanabi's birth mother. The fatal sword wound through her chest had been Ning Qi's doing. But... hadn't she already been buried in the ground? Why had someone dug her up again?

He turned around thoughtfully and saw seven-year-old Hinata staring blankly at him in the courtyard not far away. She wore somewhat worn-out clothes. Her left eye seemed injured and was wrapped in a bundle of cloth. The wooden bucket in her hand was still slowly leaking water. Hinata appeared to have just returned from fetching water.

She set the bucket down, hesitantly raised a hand, and asked in a soft, uncertain voice:

"Um... are you Brother Ning Qi?"

The problem had been solved.

Ning Qi had already determined that the little girl before him was about to break free from the illusion of the This-Realm Naraku Technique. Her arrival now was perfectly timed.

"Yes. I've finally met you, Miss Hinata."

He slowly walked forward, crouched down, and gently touched the girl's injured eye. The bandages offered no obstruction at all before his Byakugan. Ning Qi could see the abnormality in Hinata's left eye with a single glance.

That old bastard Hiashi—despite having both his hands broken, he had still managed to transplant his own Byakugan into his daughter's eye... Since his daughter's eyes couldn't see through the illusion, had he made her use his eyes to see instead?

It had to be said, it was quite creative.

Under the Naruto world's natural laws, where eyeballs could be plugged in and used immediately, this method was also highly practical.

What a pity... his luck had just been a little too poor.

Ning Qi couldn't help feeling sorry for Hiashi's plan.

Once someone saw completely through Naraka of This Realm, they would no longer be misled by the illusion and could walk directly out of this clan head's residence filled with falsehoods.

He had been just one step away from using Hinata to expose Ning Qi, the great villain's scheme to the world, and save every member of the Hyuga clan... What a pity.

Hearing Ning Qi's gentle words, Hinata hesitated. She felt that the man before her wasn't a bad person, but... She took two steps back. Perhaps afraid that her actions might hurt Ning Qi's sensitive heart, she softly explained:

"Father said you're a bad person..."

Talking badly about someone behind their back—how awful!

Ning Qi thought for a moment, then used the Transformation Technique to turn into his younger brother Neji. This time, Hinata was finally no longer afraid.

Perhaps the left eye that had recently gained the ability to see through illusions had already taken effect. Truth and falsehood, reality and fantasy, overlapped between her two eyes. She had seen too many of the ever-changing things beneath the This-Realm Naraku Technique's veil, so even when Ning Qi transformed right in front of her, she didn't feel anything was wrong.

Both of her eyes clearly reflected Neji's appearance. Truth and falsehood became one here.

Hinata pursed her lips. As if she had finally found someone she could trust, all the grievances she had endured these past days burst forth at once. She threw herself into Ning Qi's arms and began quietly sobbing.

"Brother Neji... I... I..." Her words came in fragments, impossible to make out clearly.

"Don't worry. I, Brother Neji, will definitely protect you." Ning Qi stroked her back and smiled.

Hanabi was still whispering to her mother. Ning Qi picked up Hinata and headed for the main hall where Hiashi was imprisoned. He was very much looking forward to seeing their clan head's expression.

Before going in, Ning Qi first had Hinata hide by the door.

"Ahem." He deliberately made a sound before pushing the door open and entering.

A rotten stench rushed at him. This place had truly become more and more decrepit. There weren't many servants under the This-Realm Naraku Technique's control who could still move. Keeping the flowers and trees in the courtyard tended and maintaining the outward grandeur of the Hyuga clan head's residence had already exhausted the few remaining hands. Naturally, no one could spare attention for how the inside of this mansion was rotting and growing mold.

"You... why have you come again?"

Though Ning Qi had transformed into Neji, Hiashi recognized the true face of the villain before him at once.

"No one comes to find me anymore... You've killed them all... Why have you come again?" Hiashi's voice was somewhat mournful.

The tragic part was that whenever members of the Hyuga clan returned from missions to report to him, or came specifically to visit him, once they saw him, no matter what he said, what he did, or how much commotion he made, they perceived only one meaning:

Go find Ning Qi, then come back with Ning Qi.

Clan Head Hiashi held immense prestige among the clan. Regardless of status, when the clansmen heard this request, though puzzled, they would all choose to obey without condition. Like ignorant lambs heading into a wolf's den to find an evil wolf at the command of the lead sheep, this was the reality that especially broke Hiashi's heart.

It was he who had indirectly caused the deaths of so many clansmen.

"Something big is coming up. I've been feeling restless lately, so I came to chat with you," Ning Qi said casually. "I've already sent out the notice for the clan assembly. I'm worried some people won't take it seriously, so I plan to send it out again tonight."

"Oh, I also contacted the three elders outside the village you told me about. Two replied that they would definitely come. One was delayed by something outside, but said he would hurry over as soon as possible."

"Your intelligence was all correct." Ning Qi nodded and looked at Hiashi.

The Hyuga clan wasn't the only one who often came to see this clan head. Some visits from outsiders were simply impossible to turn away. Ning Qi had no intention of making things difficult for them, so however they came, he let them leave the same way. Though the clan head being unable to personally see off certain distinguished guests might have seemed impolite, it wasn't a major problem in the end.

It was also to deal with those visitors who couldn't be handled otherwise that Ning Qi hadn't dug out Hiashi's eyes. He had merely sealed his chakra points, hoping to conceal the truth as effectively as possible. Until now, nothing had gone wrong.

He just hadn't expected that the Byakugan Hiashi couldn't use himself would be transplanted into his daughter Hinata, and that this move really could help Hinata see through the illusion of Naraka of This Realm.

"Then you'd better keep your promise." Perhaps out of guilt, Hiashi lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Of course. I will keep my promise." Ning Qi nodded perfunctorily and waved Hinata inside. His smile was cold.

"But that's only if you truly kept yours."

"Clan Head, unfortunately for you, I saw through your little trick."

"Give up something more. Though it seems you have nothing left... you're still one of Konoha's foremost noble clans. Maybe my imagination just isn't rich enough?"

"Squeeze a little harder. See if you can squeeze something out and try buying your daughter's life once more..."