Inside the Ancestral Shrine, there was deathly silence.
The thick stench of blood left behind by the brief, bloody slaughter earlier hung in the air like congealed glue, clogging Hiashi Hyuga's every breath. He panted heavily, his chest heaving violently. Sweat mixed with splattered blood ran down his taut jawline and dripped onto the cold floor, spreading into small patches of dark red.
"Huff... ha..."
His Byakugan were laced with horrifying bloodshot veins as he stared fixedly at the solitary altar deep within the Ancestral Shrine.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong!
Just moments ago, the bloodline-linked, perfectly responsive connection between him and the core of the great underground formation had suddenly... snapped.
Like a string stretched to its limit, violently severed by a sharp blade at its most resounding note!
That pulse from deep underground—one that made him tremble and filled him with fervor, a pulse belonging to an ancient god—was still there, but it had become strange and cold. It carried the detached indifference of a predator studying its prey, utterly lacking the familiar warmth of their shared origin.
"What happened... How could this happen?"
Hiashi Hyuga's throat was dry, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper scraping together. Staggering two steps forward, his hands frantically formed secret seals known only to the heads of the Main House throughout the generations, trying to awaken once more the chakra mark he had personally activated—the symbol of the Main House's supreme authority.
There was no response.
It was like a stone sinking into the sea.
No matter how he drove the Main House bloodline within him, no matter how many times he sent his chakra probing underground, all he received was bottomless nothingness. It was as though he still held the key, but someone had replaced the lock!
A bone-deep chill shot