Breaking into the Ancestral Shrine

Night lay deep as water, and Konoha Village's clamor gradually subsided in the late hours. Yet the Hyuga Clan estate remained brightly lit, its tense atmosphere hanging over the entire area like a heavy shadow.

A day had passed since Xiao Jie's disappearance had thrown everything into chaos, yet there was still no clue as to the intruder's whereabouts.

The Hyuga Clan's security had grown even tighter. Patrols had doubled, and every corner was closely monitored. Yet none of it seemed able to stop the shadow lurking in the dark.

Neji stood outside the walls of the Hyuga Main House estate, his figure nearly blending into the darkness of the night.

A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as his Byakugan faintly shone, observing everything around him.

He knew he had to be even more careful. One misstep, and his trail would be exposed.

"It's time," Neji murmured, his voice carrying a trace of resolve.

He took a deep breath, and his body instantly melted into the night. Like a silent ghost, he slipped soundlessly into the Main House estate.

His steps were light yet steady, each one precisely avoiding the patrols' line of sight.

His Byakugan glimmered in the darkness, sensing everything around him as though the entire world lay under his control.

At last, he entered the gates of the Hyuga Ancestral Shrine.

This was the Hyuga Clan's core territory, overseen year-round by the Grand Elder himself. However, ever since Xiao Jie's disappearance had sparked chaos, the Grand Elder had been forced to leave the ancestral shrine to personally oversee the search for Xiao Jie.

This gave Neji a perfect opportunity. Of course, that had also been part of his plan.

His breathing instantly ceased, and even his heartbeat stopped. His entire body seemed to become a lifeless object. He easily bypassed the alarm mechanisms in the ancestral shrine courtyard and arrived at the entrance to the main hall.

However, just as he was about to step into the ancestral shrine's main hall, an invisible barrier suddenly blocked his path.

Neji's body stiffened slightly as his Byakugan opened at once, sensing the barrier's power.

A moment later, "Damn it, why is this barrier so troublesome?" Neji cursed under his breath, a flash of anxiety passing through his eyes. He had no experience dealing with barriers.

Although he had anticipated this before coming and had long prepared to force his way in and seize what he wanted, that plan was meant for breaking open the secret technique scrolls. Forcing his way in now was too early. He might be caught before he even found where the secret manuals were stored.

I'll head back first and ask Tsunade tomorrow if she knows a way to silently break through barriers. Neji reluctantly prepared to retreat, but at that moment, another barrier suddenly appeared behind him. Caught off guard, he slammed straight into it.

"This is bad. It's an extremely advanced barrier. Not only can it detect outside intruders, it can also automatically shift its position over time."

Neji's heart jolted. He had not expected the Hyuga Clan's barrier to be so variable.

As an alarm was about to sound, Neji's heart leaped into his throat. He knew that once the alarm went off, the entire Hyuga Clan would descend into chaos, and he would have nowhere to run.

Damn it, get ready to run. I have the Breath Concealment Art. If I'm fast enough, they might not catch me... Wait, try this...

At the very moment the alarm was about to sound, Neji drew upon the power of the Primordial Bagua Diagram and completely suppressed the rune circuit of the Caged Bird curse mark.

At that instant, Neji's Byakugan underwent a subtle change. The Byakugan he had nourished with qi for so long emitted a pale blue radiance.

It possessed a purity beyond even the Main House's Byakugan. He clearly felt the barrier's power instantly dissipate before him, as if it had never existed at all.

Whew~

Neji let out a long breath and wiped away the cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Just as I thought, barriers won't stop the Main House's Byakugan!" Neji steadied himself, then quickened his pace and passed directly through the barrier into the ancestral shrine's main hall.

The hall was completely silent, with only ancient lamps swaying faintly. Portraits of successive Main House members lined the walls, each one exuding an imposing air.

Neji's gaze fell upon the floor at the center of the hall, where a massive sealing formation emitted a faint glow.

"Is this the treasure the Main House has accumulated over a thousand years?" Neji murmured, delight flashing in his eyes.

He quickly approached the sealing formation. It flashed with light, then, as if confirming the visitor's authority, gradually fell silent.

After the formation vanished, Neji saw the handle beneath it. Excitedly, he lifted the floorboards, revealing the entrance to a massive underground chamber filled with all kinds of ninjutsu scrolls, secret technique books, and precious intelligence files.

"Eight Trigrams Air Palm, Fire Release ninjutsu, Earth Release ninjutsu, Water Release... Clan secrets... This is information on the Uchiha Clan... Heh, your opponent really knows you best. So many scrolls. Hehe, should I take them all? Would the Grand Elder and clan head faint from crying? But if I do that, Konoha will inevitably fall into even greater chaos. Then leaving with Tsunade would stand out far too much. Anyone would know something was wrong..."

Neji's eyes lit up, but his brow soon furrowed again. He could not take all this precious information. How was he supposed to choose?

Just as he hesitated, the Primordial Bagua Diagram in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly emitted a faint glow.

Neji's heart stirred. The Heavenly Secrets Spring erupted from the Inner Landscape like a waterfall, passing through his Sea of Consciousness and surging into the underground chamber.

In an instant, a vast quantity of spring water rose like a tide and washed over every scroll and file. Miraculously, not a single sheet of paper became wet.

Before long, the water receded, withdrawing from beneath Neji's feet back into his Sea of Consciousness. Yet within the clear spring water, tadpole-like characters were reflected one after another.

The Heavenly Secrets Spring, now entirely returned to the Inner Landscape, coiled around the Heavenly Secrets Tower like an ink-black dragon and wound upward. It gradually turned transparent as it returned to its source, while on the first floor of the Heavenly Secrets Tower, jade slips appeared one after another on the shelves, sorted into categories.

"Wonderful!" Neji rejoiced inwardly, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Now I don't have to agonize over it. I'll take everything!"

He swiftly cleared away every trace of his intrusion, resealed the underground chamber entrance, and then silently left the ancestral shrine.

The moment he stepped out of the ancestral shrine, his heart filled with an unprecedented confidence.

"The Hyuga Clan's treasures are all in my hands now," Neji murmured, a cold glint shining in his eyes.

The night remained deep, and a thin mist hung over Konoha Village.

Neji's figure gradually disappeared into the darkness, as though he had never been there. Yet his heart was filled with new plans and ambitions. This chaos was merely the beginning of his rise.

With Neji's actions, the fog surrounding the Hyuga Clan grew ever thicker, while the truth quietly vanished into the darkness.