All Neji saw was a flash of white light. Its intensity overwhelmed even the Byakugan's extraordinary perception, making him instinctively close his eyes.
When he opened them again a moment later, he found himself back in the forest from before.
The puppets he had seen earlier lay scattered all around him, while Naruto, Hinata, and Boruto were hurrying toward him.
Several chakra tails formed from Golden Light trailed behind Naruto, curling around empty air as though they had something bound inside them.
"Neji, you're all right? I came as soon as I got my clone's memories. What happened to you...?"
Seeing that Neji had returned to normal, Naruto was about to ask him something when he suddenly noticed that something seemed different about Neji's Byakugan.
It wasn't a change in their appearance or shape, but an indescribable feeling—
It was somewhat like looking at his own glowing eyes through a Shadow Clone after activating Metamorphosis Mode.
"I received Ancestor Hamura's legacy... but now isn't the time to talk about that." Neji looked off into the distance as he spoke. "I'll explain on the way. Otsutsuki Toneri could be in serious trouble!"
"We were attacked by monsters just now, too."
Hinata spoke up.
"They've already made it all the way out here?"
Neji was surprised.
"Take a look. Were these the monsters?"
As Naruto spoke, he tossed the invisible monster held in his chakra tails onto the ground, then formed a Rasengan in his hand and brought it toward the creature.
He wasn't attacking it, though. He merely held the Rasengan in front of it.
A strange sight unfolded.
The relatively small Rasengan Naruto had deliberately formed began shrinking the instant it touched the creature, while the monster gradually emerged from invisibility, revealing its true form.
It was a snow-white monster