The instant the Starry Sky Illusion Realm collapsed, Hyuga Xiao dropped to one knee.
It was not surrender, but the agonizing pain of the Curse Mark, like tens of thousands of red-hot steel needles piercing his marrow at once. Veins bulged across his forehead as the black pattern of the Caged Bird Seal writhed madly beneath his skin, greedily sucking away every trace of Chakra like a living creature. Sweat dripped from his chin, spreading into dark stains across the pure white floor.
"You can still stand. That already exceeds my expectations."
Hyuga Hiashi's voice came from the fragments of the illusion realm.
Xiao raised his head.
The Ancestral Shrine's true appearance reassembled before him—there was no starry sky, no murals, only a vast circular stone chamber. Three hundred and sixty-five Byakugan were embedded in the walls, each emitting a faint blue glow as they slowly turned like living eyes, staring fixedly at the two figures in the center.
Hiashi stood three meters away.
He wore the pure white robes of the Main House, with the Hyuga Clan crest embroidered on his cuffs. His face, usually adorned with a gentle mask, was utterly expressionless now. His Byakugan was fully activated, veins standing out savagely around his eyes, yet deep within his pupils lay the stillness of stagnant water.
"From the day you saved Hinata, I knew you were unusual." Hiashi spoke slowly, his voice echoing through the stone chamber. "A Branch House child should not have had that kind of look in his eyes—that was not gratitude, nor loyalty. It was hatred hidden in his bones."
Xiao clenched his teeth and forcibly mobilized the remaining Chakra within him.
The Tenseigan Prototype flickered deep in his pupils, barely suppressing the rampage of the Curse Mark. He could feel an invisible pressure