"Who's there? Get out!"
The moment that voice reached his ears, Hyuga Hizashi instinctively activated his Byakugan. But to his astonishment, in his perception, there was no one around except Neji. Only the sound of the wind and rustling leaves, along with his own breathing and heartbeat, so quiet that even the chirping of insects seemed to have vanished. Hyuga Hizashi activated his Byakugan, looking around, but found no source for the voice.
"Where are you looking?"
The ethereal voice came again. This time, Hyuga Hizashi heard it clearly, turning sharply towards the sound behind him. But there was no one, still. Trees stood silently before him, their dense branches swaying in the wind, casting shifting shadows, as if countless figures were hidden among them.
Until, a soft, slow footsteps gradually approached. Just by listening, one could discern the owner's relaxed ease. Despite walking within the Hyuga compound, filled with Byakugan users, it felt as though they were strolling leisurely in a garden.
A moment later, a figure emerged from the shadows. The ink-like blackness spread in Hyuga Hizashi's Byakugan vision. The black shadow stopped before him. Hyuga Hizashi stared intently at the face beneath the black robe, as if to pierce through it and discern every inch of flesh beneath the hood. But beneath the hood, only a dense, viscous shadow surged like a living thing, chewing up and swallowing his exploratory gaze, cast like a moth to a flame, leaving no hope of mercy, not even a speck of residue returned.
A monster from the abyss.
This thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and cold sweat trickled down Hyuga Hizashi's temple. A person who had silently infiltrated Konoha, ignoring Konoha's perception barrier, even infiltrating the Hyuga clan compound, and could ignore Byakugan perception. The person was standing right before him, yet he couldn't perceive them at all. If the person hadn't spoken, he probably wouldn't have noticed anything until they were standing behind him, raising a blade to slit his throat.
Was this some secret jutsu? Or some bloodline limit? Even "Transparent Escape" couldn't achieve this, could it?
"Who are you?"
Hyuga Hizashi frantically analyzed the information in his mind while speaking to buy time, reaching into his kimono to signal an enemy invasion.
"The moment you send that signal, it'll be enough for me to cut your throat. And before reinforcements arrive, I can kill that child too."
A cold, calm voice, tinged with an undeniable killing intent. Hizashi's body instinctively stiffened, and his hand movements immediately froze. The strange way the person appeared and the calmness in their tone made Hyuga Hizashi dare not doubt the truth of those words in the slightest. With the strange ability to block perception that the opponent had shown, if they truly possessed the power to instantly kill him, they could indeed leave safely and silently, without leaving any trace behind.
So, did the opponent have the power to instantly kill him?
"..."
Hyuga Hizashi slowly withdrew his hand from his kimono, staring intently at the black shadow before him, and said in a deep voice, "What do you want to do?"
Yes, he dared not gamble. This person before him was too bizarre. His own life or death didn't matter, but Neji was right behind him. And the fact that the opponent didn't directly attack him meant they might not be harboring murderous intent.
But Hyuga Hizashi couldn't guess at this moment that the black shadow, whom he feared and even dreaded, was actually someone he had met not long ago.
The black shadow, which was Hyuga Kawa, did not answer Hyuga Hizashi's question, but calmly watched him. Silence fell between the two again. Only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard, along with Hyuga Hizashi's increasingly heavy breathing, and even his quickening heartbeat. Just as the atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive to its extreme, and Hyuga Hizashi's fingers twitched, unable to resist making a move.
"You said all the suffering that child endured would become a treasure that makes him stronger?"
The black shadow in front finally spoke. Although the voice was still hoarse and terrifying, Hizashi let out a sigh of relief. The person before him, though at eye level, felt as if they were looking down from a commanding height. Their deep gaze swept over him bit by bit. It was as if an invisible dark hand was gripping every inch of his skin, slowly tightening, as if to wring out a pool of blood.
"What do you want to say?"
His last remaining thought of resistance quietly dissipated. Hyuga Hizashi frowned and said in a deep voice.
"You're deceiving yourself," Hyuga Kawa said calmly. "Suffering is just suffering. It's not something to be glorified, and certainly not a valuable asset."
"Suffering will only drain one's flesh and blood, making them sensitive and extreme."
At this point, a hint of mocking laughter entered his tone. "Just like your parents did to you."
"They shattered your worldview, filling your mind with their accepted values, lives, and worlds."
"They wanted you to obey, they belittled you to the extreme, they said this was right, they said this was your fate. You wanted to struggle, to resist, but their faces changed. They yelled at you, they cut off your hands and feet, they locked you in a cage."
"They beat you, cursed you, persuaded you, pleaded with you, but they refused to let you go. They said it was wrong, they said I was right, they said, I'm doing this for your own good, so you gave up, you joined them."
Staring at Hyuga Hizashi's increasingly grim expression, Hyuga Kawa's words grew sharper and more sarcastic: "Much later, you found your child, just like you used to be. You thought he would be like you, like a dog, kneeling and accepting fate, so you..."
"Enough!"
An almost uncontrollable low roar interrupted Hyuga Kawa's remaining words. These sharp words were like knives, constantly carving at the flesh of Hyuga Hizashi's heart, making his entire body tremble. Each word made him recall the past, the two blurred faces in his memory, and the words spoken by those blurred faces.
"What do you know!" He no longer cared about fear or apprehension, gritting his teeth, "I, I was for..."
At this point, his last words seemed to get stuck in his throat, making his Adam's apple bob. For Neji's good? Wasn't that what the other person had just said?
"Cough! Ugh!"
At this thought, Hyuga Hizashi's face suddenly turned pale. He clutched his mouth, a strong sense of nausea rising within him. So disgusting. Not disgusted with others, but with himself. He was unwilling to admit in his heart that he truly couldn't understand Neji's thoughts, couldn't understand why Neji would be so resentful, when he was the one who harbored killing intent towards Hinata, when he was the one who was wrong, when...
Now, he could no longer understand his rebellious former self. He was born just fifteen minutes after his older brother, Hyuga Hiashi.
It was just these short fifteen minutes that made him a branch family member, branded with the Caged Bird Seal, losing his self and his freedom.
He had once resisted and questioned, but now he only felt, wasn't this just "fate"?
When did it all begin? What exactly was he doing?
"Some birds cannot be caged. Every feather on them shines with the light of freedom. They are born to belong to the sky."
Hyuga Kawa raised his foot, slowly walking closer to Hizashi, coming to his side. His words were full of temptation: "Hyuga Hizashi, tell me your choice."
"Will you choose to be a cruel executioner, personally breaking the wings of a bird flying towards the sky?"
"Or will you choose to be a father?"