Naraka of This Realm

The Demonic This Place Is Not Technique was a very ordinary C-rank genjutsu. It covered everything within one's field of vision with an illusory outer layer, making the target believe that what they saw was actually something else. The Demonic This Place Is Not Technique itself had no offensive power whatsoever and was only used to visually mislead enemies, so it was easily seen through. Its advantage, however, was that it could be cast over a wide area and make multiple people hallucinate at once.

The Demonic Hell Viewing Technique was an even simpler D-rank genjutsu. Everyone had fears in their hearts; as the saying went, the more one feared something, the more likely it was to come true. The Hell Viewing Technique manifested the enemy's inner fears, making them believe those fears were reality and thereby crushing their morale.

Unlike the This Place Is Not Technique, the Hell Viewing Technique was a single-target genjutsu that took effect at close range. It did not merely mislead vision, but also sound, smell, and every other human sense. Moreover, since everyone's fears differed, what enemies saw after the genjutsu took effect would also differ. This point was especially important.

One C-rank genjutsu and one D-rank genjutsu—these formed the inspiration behind the S-rank difficulty genjutsu Ning Qi had developed through his Analysis ability: the This-Realm Naraku Technique.

Ning Qi's attainments in genjutsu could only be considered above average, but with the Analysis ability at his side, even Itachi Uchiha, a genjutsu prodigy, paled in comparison to Ning Qi when it came to the speed of developing and learning genjutsu.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique combined the shared traits of those two basic genjutsu—it had no offensive power whatsoever. Overall, it was merely a support-type genjutsu. Its sole purpose was to "alter" the reality perceived by every living creature within its range to a certain extent.

It was just that the effects of that "alteration" were somewhat astonishing.

Before moving against the Hyuga Main Family, Ning Qi had also sparred with several genjutsu masters in Konoha, such as Itachi Uchiha and Kurenai Yuhi. When even they could not see through the disguise of the This-Realm Naraku Technique, Ning Qi knew that the technique had succeeded.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique could present everything creatures within a certain range saw, heard, and felt in a manner that conformed to their habitual way of thinking. Just as the Hell Viewing Technique reflected the fears in a target's heart, the This-Realm Naraku Technique "altered" the things before them into the form that seemed most natural to them—the form of "this is simply how things should be."

Making objective things conform as closely as possible to the target's subjective thoughts—that was the fundamental reason the This-Realm Naraku Technique was so difficult to see through.

For instance, it could mislead someone burying a corpse into believing they were planting a tree. It could "alter" an actual corpse into a tree stump. It could twist an old friend's hysterical warning of "Run!" into a smiling "Long time no see," delivered to the target's ears.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique concealed concrete reality, reversed right and wrong, and switched truth with falsehood. It retained the shared advantages of the This Place Is Not Technique and the Hell Viewing Technique—wide range, powerful deception, high adaptability, and long duration. Nor did it require harsh prerequisites such as a Kekkei Genkai. Aside from being exceedingly difficult to learn and requiring a vast amount of chakra to cast, it was practically the strongest genjutsu an ordinary ninja without a genjutsu bloodline like Ning Qi could learn and master.

For example, at this very moment, Hyuga Hikari sat upright and watched as Clan Head Hiashi and the furious Ning Qi Hyuga argued over an almost laughable matter in the solemn hall:

"You have to add sugar to red bean soup!"

"Impossible! Adding salt is the most authentic way!"

Clan Head Hiashi looked thoroughly enraged, as though he wanted to stand up, but he ultimately restrained himself. Leaning against the desk, he turned to look at her.

"Hikari, tell us. What do you think should be added to red bean soup?!"

Although she felt that discussing this topic now might not be appropriate, since the clan head had asked, Hyuga Hikari gave the matter serious thought before speaking:

It was still the same dilapidated room that had not been cleaned in a long time. Hiashi and Ning Qi were locked in a fierce confrontation.

The longer someone was controlled by the This-Realm Naraku Technique, the more likely they were to lose the ability to act. After a living being's consciousness had long grown accustomed to the logic of reality where "things simply should be this way," it stopped thinking. This was a form of functional degeneration.

There were many servants in the entire Hyuga Clan Head's Estate who came from the branch family, such as Natsu Hyuga and Hyuga Senma.

When the This-Realm Naraku Technique had first been cast, these people still possessed considerable awareness. Yet as time slowly passed, they became increasingly sluggish. At first, they could still think and understand. Later, they could only instinctively obey the "reality" presented to them by the genjutsu. By now, even the genjutsu could no longer drive them. They had finally become trees, losing the ability to think, and were chopped into eighteen pieces like tree stumps by servants who could still move before being buried in the earth.

The servants were being slowly killed by the genjutsu, which was also why the entire Hyuga Clan Head's Estate was rapidly becoming filthy and ruined.

Fortunately, the omnipotent This-Realm Naraku Technique would automatically "alter" this reality, which outsiders might easily notice as suspicious. It used illusions to cover a rotten exterior with gold and jade.

"I won't agree to it... cough, cough. Go kill your younger brother." With his hair hanging loose, Hiashi rejected Ning Qi's proposal to exchange the lives of the clan elders for the lives of younger members such as Neji and Hinata.

"As a reward for my appreciation of your attitude, tomorrow I will place Hinata's head on Clan Head's desk." Ning Qi showed no courtesy at all.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique had one extremely obvious flaw: once someone saw through it, it would almost certainly never work on them a second time. The This-Realm Naraku Technique would lose all effect on them forever.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Hiashi truly deserved to be called the head of the Hyuga clan. During the period when Ning Qi's eyes had been weakened after advancing from the second stage to the third stage, Hiashi had noticed that something about his situation was amiss. For realistic genjutsu, once suspicion arose, the verdict was already decided. The key to the This-Realm Naraku Technique lay in how utterly "natural" it seemed, while reality itself was often unreasonable.

Hiashi soon broke free of the This-Realm Naraku Technique's control. If Ning Qi had not prepared in advance and nailed him inside this main hall, Ning Qi would likely have already been forced to flee Konoha in disgrace.

"Heh. You can cut off Hikari's head first. Let's see whether I so much as blink." Hiashi glanced at Hyuga Hikari and said with a cold laugh.

"I think red bean soup should have soy sauce added to it." Hyuga Hikari replied, looking at them both expectantly in the hope that they would approve of her taste.

Ning Qi propped up his chin and glanced at Hyuga Hikari. Since it was Clan Head's request, then... he nodded and drew the short blade at his waist.

Hiashi's expression gradually tightened, and his lips trembled faintly.

Ning Qi looked calm, but his words were almost teasing:

"Red bean soup."

"Of course it needs salt."

"You soy-sauce-adding heretic..."

—Die!

The next moment, the short blade swung out.

"Wait—" The chains rattled as Hiashi let out a roar. His unkempt face twisted, every strand of beard and hair bristling.

"Too late."

Her head flew high into the air.

Even in death, Hyuga Hikari still wore a reserved smile.

[Essence collected: 7.1%]

Blood splattered everywhere, and crimson bubbles gurgled from the smooth severed neck.

"Hikari accidentally spilled paint on the floor. Come clean it up." Ning Qi called Natsu Hyuga over from outside the study, where she was wiping the floor.

"Hikari accidentally spilled paint on the floor. I'm cleaning it up," Natsu Hyuga muttered. Though her eyes had been gouged out, the This-Realm Naraku Technique could create hallucinations directly in her mind. Thus, she could still "see" and move around like a normal person.

Natsu Hyuga swiftly carried away Hyuga Hikari's corpse.

The deaths of Main Family members were not easy to deal with. Their numbers were pitifully small compared to the branch family's, and each of them was a recognizable figure. Any accident involving them could easily draw the focused attention of the Hyuga clan and Konoha's higher-ups. After all, only the Main Family could be considered the true inheritors of the Hyuga clan's power.

But to Ning Qi, who planned to catch all the Hyuga clan's survivors in one sweep next week, such long-term trouble no longer counted as trouble.

Ning Qi wiped the bloodstains from his face and spoke blandly.

"Tomorrow, I will let you and your daughter reunite."

This time, Hiashi did not curse at all. He lowered his head, shadows covering his face, but his faintly trembling body showed Ning Qi that he was not as calm as he pretended to be.

Ning Qi left.

Hiashi slowly raised his head. His expression was somewhat vacant. He slightly opened his mouth, wanting to call out to stop him, but no sound would come.

Ning Qi's faithfulness to his word placed immense pressure on Hiashi.

The other man was so cold-blooded that he barely seemed alive.

...I'm sorry, my daughter.

Hiashi slowly closed his eyes.

He vaguely seemed to see his shy, adorable daughter with her bobbed hair pleading, "Save me." His heart was torn to pieces in an instant.

However...

No.

He truly could not.

Hiashi did not believe Ning Qi would honor the agreement and truly spare Hinata and the others. More than his own daughter, the Main Family branch led by the remaining Hyuga clan elders was the Hyuga clan's final hope.

This was all for the continuation of the Hyuga clan. This was the responsibility he, Hyuga Hiashi, had to bear as the head of the Hyuga clan... He kept telling himself that.

"Oh, I just remembered—you have another daughter. Hanabi, right? No wonder you're so heartless. So she's the one you love most. I heard Hanabi is next door right now, so let's not wait until tomorrow. I'll bring you her head now..." At some point, Ning Qi suddenly returned. He did not know where he had heard the news, but he spoke to Hiashi in the room through the window with some excitement.

Judging from his portrayal in the original work, compared to his eldest daughter Hinata, Hiashi clearly preferred his second daughter Hanabi and had chosen her as the next head of the Hyuga Family. No wonder Hiashi did not care much about Hinata's life. So she had long been treated as a discarded piece by Hiashi.

Ning Qi felt that he had guessed the answer. Just as he turned to act—

"Wait..."

Unlike his silence earlier, this time Hyuga Hiashi, no longer able to bear the torment in his heart, finally spoke.

"You... you demon... Spare them. Spare my two daughters, and I'll tell you everything you want to know..."

As he spoke, he covered his face with an arm, yet tears still streamed uncontrollably down his face. The intense guilt of betraying his clansmen for personal reasons left him unable to breathe.

"Heh."

"Sorry. You spoke too late."

What?

Hiashi raised his head in stunned disbelief, only to see Ning Qi looking at him regretfully.

"I always keep my word. If I say I'll kill them, I'll kill them. You surrendered too late—but it's fine. You still have a Hinata. That's enough to continue your bloodline, right?"

Only after I came back did you think of surrendering?

How could there be such a good deal!

Ning Qi snorted with laughter and turned toward Hanabi's room, leaving Hiashi, whose face instantly filled with despair, to frantically struggle against the ropes binding him.

When Ning Qi returned, Hiashi caught the suddenly stronger stench of blood on him and went mad for a long while. He sternly declared that since his daughter Hanabi was already dead, he would never tell Ning Qi another piece of information. But when Ning Qi gradually grew impatient and prepared to leave again, telling him to wait until tomorrow to touch his second daughter's head, Hiashi still surrendered.

After telling Ning Qi the information he wanted, Hiashi seemed to finally die. He slumped in his seat and did not move again for a long time.

More than being a clan head, he would rather have been a father.

Moonlight filtered through the branches and leaves, scattering broken shadows across the ground.

Ning Qi looked back. A huge phantom Byakugan floated above the Hyuga Clan Head's Estate. This was the sign that the This-Realm Naraku Technique had been activated. Much like the technique's ability to "alter" reality, outsiders would probably have this phantom Byakugan "rationalized" into something like a flag-shaped ornament standing on the roof.

The This-Realm Naraku Technique was not fundamentally a genjutsu cast on people, but a genjutsu cast on space. Everything within its spatial range could only perceive reality after it had been "altered" by the genjutsu. Yet for people outside that range, this person-specific "altered" reality no longer held. Things in reality remained what they truly were. This was also an obvious flaw of the technique.

As for Ning Qi's countermeasure, it was simple: he merely had to ensure that everything on the surface of the Clan Head's Estate remained normal.

No one would know that Ning Qi had transformed the entire Clan Head's Estate into a gaping abyss, waiting for prey to walk willingly through its doors.

Thinking of the "negotiation" process with Hyuga Hiashi just now, Ning Qi frowned slightly. The This-Realm Naraku Technique was ultimately only a genjutsu Ning Qi had created in rough form. The side effect of becoming ineffective once seen through was still too fatal. The technique's greatest advantage was that its activation was extremely difficult to detect, making it highly covert. Yet if even one person successfully escaped the This-Realm Naraku Technique's control in the future and spread word of it everywhere, whether the technique could still function would become a huge question mark.

It was like an elephant in the room. Once one person raised a question, everyone would realize it.

This was an important direction for improving the technique in the future.

It was already very late when Ning Qi returned home, but the lights were still on. When Ning Qi pushed open the door and entered, Neji, sleepy-eyed but determined to wait for his older brother's return, stared blankly for several seconds before suddenly widening his eyes, all sleep gone.

"Brother, did you bring a cat home?" he asked, pointing at the little one in Ning Qi's arms.

Ning Qi then tossed Hyuga Hanabi, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, to Neji.

"You'll share a room with her tonight."

Huh?

"W-W-Wait, Brother." Holding the girl, who was at most two years old, Neji looked completely at a loss.

What did that mean?

His brother had been out for so long. How had he suddenly come back carrying a child?