The Paint Spilled on the Floor...

Since the war between the Uchiha and Konoha had never broken out before, this clan meeting had continued from morning until afternoon.

Although Konoha was now finally shrouded in the smoke of war, the entire Hyuga Clan Head's Estate remained harmonious and peaceful.

They kept the gates tightly shut, like an isolated paradise.

Even the pleas for aid and secret letters sent by Lord Hokage were twisted by the This-Realm Naraku Technique into expectations and earnest admonitions for the Hyuga Family the moment they crossed the estate walls.

The letters passed between the clan elders, then changed form and spread through word of mouth to every branch family member. Thus, they became further proof that the Hyuga Family—the foremost clan of Konoha—was valued and revered.

Within the clan head's estate, even the most downtrodden members of the branch family could not help straightening their backs at the thought of the Hyuga clan's glory and status, then turning to boast to others.

If that other person also belonged to the Hyuga Family and shared some of its glory, then they would obviously fall into a cycle of "winning," "winning again," and "our Hyuga clan is really winning so hard."

That was the fundamental reason the This-Realm Naraku Technique was so difficult to expose—people believed only what they wanted to believe, and Naraka of This Realm presented precisely that reality to them.

Thus, even if a very few clever people sensed that something was wrong, they would most likely not take the initiative to burst those bubbles.

Humans were subjective creatures centered on themselves, and the Hyuga clansmen, who possessed the Byakugan, clearly believed even more firmly that the reality they saw had to be the truth.

In truth, holding an all-day clan meeting at the clan head's estate instead of participating in the campaign against the Uchiha was obviously an even worse political incident than missing the Konoha-Cloud peace talks to celebrate Hinata's birthday.

If nothing else happened, then after dealing with the Uchiha, the Hyuga clan, which had risen to the top, would inevitably become the next target of Konoha's higher-ups after the pacification period. They had previously been able to hand over Hizashi as payment with his life; after this, they would likely have to pay an even more painful price.

But fortunately, there really was an accident.

And that accident had now barged in carrying a short blade.

The Hyuga clan no longer had to worry about being given trouble by Konoha's higher-ups in the future because they had chosen the wrong side at this moment.

"Yo, isn't this the strongest spear in the main family's hands?" someone called out with a laugh. It was Hyuga Ling.

The secret commands that controlled the Caged Bird were not mutually subordinate. The command he possessed could only be used to torment Neji. For that reason, if this had not been the main family's home ground, with so many clan elders present, he would not have dared provoke Ning Qi like this before.

Ning Qi did not know that this was the man who had bullied Neji. Of course, even if he had known, it would not have changed the outcome. He had no hobby of torturing people to death.

The short blade swept across.

A head hit the ground.

That was all.

"He's actually a member of the main family..." Ning Qi glanced at the fallen corpse, somewhat surprised.

Then he raised his head and looked at the Hyuga clansmen before him, all frozen like wooden chickens.

The eyes of branch family members could be automatically absorbed after the Caged Bird activated, while the eyes of main family members could be dug out after killing them first.

Everything prioritized efficiency.

Ning Qi's thoughts were therefore very simple.

Never mind branch family or main family—kill everyone who appeared before him!

"What are you doing..." someone asked in a trembling voice.

Slash!

He clutched his throat and fell.

The Caged Bird erupted at that moment, its essence turning into streams of light that flowed into Ning Qi's eyes.

[Essence collected: 60.6%]

Without slowing his steps, Ning Qi leaped into the crowd, bloodlight dancing like brilliant cherry blossoms.

Blood splashed onto the ground, outlining a footprint that resembled a kitten.

Some tried to run, only to be caught and killed by Ning Qi.

Some stood there dumbly and had their throats slit in passing.

Some tried to resist, but within two exchanges, Ning Qi drove the short blade into their temples.

After that, the same tedious process simply repeated itself.

Like he was within his own domain, Ning Qi found killing people no harder than slaughtering pigs within the clan head's estate covered by Naraka of This Realm.

More often than not, before Ning Qi's sword even fell, the Hyuga clansmen under the interference of Naraka of This Realm's illusions had already raised their hands to block. Ning Qi would then turn his slash into a thrust and pierce their hearts or throats.

"Please, Lord Hizashi, forgive me... Wah."

A flash of sword light vanished in an instant.

[Essence collected: 70.4%]

Ning Qi glanced at the corpse on the ground.

This was someone from his father's generation.

In that man's eyes, had he returned as Hizashi to claim his life?

After Ning Qi began his massacre, Naraka of This Realm very naturally changed his appearance into anything at all, so long as it was not Ning Qi. This was because some main family members might possess secret commands capable of controlling Ning Qi's Caged Bird. Revealing his real face could easily prompt them to use those commands, causing the entire operation to fail disastrously.

Yet no matter what Ning Qi became in other people's eyes, the transformation still followed the victim's principle of "things should be this way," making objective reality conform as closely as possible to subjective perception.

Front courtyard.

There were not many people here.

A family was flying a kite here, the woman's hand tightly wrapped around the string.

So when Ning Qi cut her in half at the waist, her upper body drifted away with the kite.

Fortunately, she was a branch family member.

Otherwise, Ning Qi would have lost a pair of Byakugan.

[Essence collected: 73.9%]

Garden.

Piles of corpses floated atop the pond.

The ornamental fish fought over these human-shaped baits with their strange texture.

The red lotuses were bewitchingly gorgeous.

Ning Qi was a man who ruined the scenery. Once he saw that no one remained standing here, he turned and left.

[Essence collected: 80.6%]

Courtyard.

Since the main hall could not seat so many people, the greatest number of Hyuga clansmen had gathered here.

As a result, Ning Qi encountered the fiercest resistance here as well.

"Tokuma, you'll pay for this, Tokuma..."

"Spare me, Tsubaki... I was wrong, aargh—"

"Hyuga Hikari, you beast, slaughtering your own clansmen..."

Ning Qi did not care. They were not cursing him anyway.

[Essence collected: 91.3%]

Corridor.

Hyuga Changfu, who had run into a dead end, knelt before Ning Qi.

Tears and snot streamed down his face.

"Spare me, Neji... Next time, I'll definitely listen to your brother and properly keep your mother company..."

Ning Qi sighed.

Perhaps because he thought of Granny Mianfu, his blade softened in the end.

So he raised his foot and stomped Changfu's head apart.

"What kind of lousy blade is this? It chipped after cutting down only a few people."

[Essence collected: 91.5%]

After finding a good blade, Ning Qi stood at the entrance to the main hall.

This was where the last group of high-ranking Hyuga Family members were located.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique had subtly altered the layout of the entire clan head's estate.

It prevented those Hyuga clansmen from escaping the estate or finding the main hall where the clan elders were. They could only be chased down by Ning Qi and die resentfully like lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Everyone accidentally spilled paint on the floor. I'm cleaning it up..."

Natsu Hyuga clutched a worn rag, her expression dazed as she swayed over to Ning Qi and spoke.

Blood had dyed the main hall's doors red.

Ning Qi gave her a swift death.