"Who's there? Come out!"
The instant the voice reached his ears, Hyūga Hizashi activated his Byakugan without hesitation.
To his shock, his perception revealed no one else around except Neji. The area was completely empty.
Only the sound of wind rustling through leaves, his own breathing, and his heartbeat remained. Even the insects had fallen silent.
Hizashi scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan, but he could not locate the source of the voice.
"Where are you looking?"
The ethereal voice came again.
This time, Hizashi heard it clearly. He whipped his head around toward the sound.
Still nothing.
Trees stood silently before him, their dense branches swaying in the wind, casting shifting shadows that looked almost like hidden figures.
Then, slow, unhurried footsteps approached.
Just from the sound alone, one could tell the person was walking with complete ease and confidence—as if strolling through a garden rather than infiltrating the heavily guarded Hyūga clan grounds, where the Byakugan reigned supreme.
Moments later, a figure emerged from the shadows. The inky blackness seemed to bleed and spread even under the piercing gaze of Hizashi's Byakugan.
The figure stopped directly in front of him. Hizashi stared intently at the face beneath the black robe, trying to pierce through the hood and see every detail.
But beneath the hood was only thick, churning darkness—like something alive. It swallowed his probing gaze whole, offering nothing in return.
A monster from the abyss.
The thought flashed through Hizashi's mind as cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Someone had infiltrated Konoha undetected, bypassed the village's sensory barriers, entered the Hyūga clan estate, and now stood right in front of him—completely invisible to the Byakugan.
Even though the person was standing before him, Hizashi could sense nothing.
If this intruder hadn't spoken, he might not have noticed them until a blade was already at his throat.
What kind of secret technique was this?
Or was it some bloodline limit?
Even the Transparency Jutsu couldn't achieve something like this.
"Who are you?"
While frantically analyzing the situation in his mind, Hizashi spoke to buy time. His hand slipped into his robe, reaching for the signal to alert others of an intruder.
"The moment you send that signal, it will be more than enough time for me to slit your throat. And before any reinforcements arrive, I can kill the boy as well."
The calm, indifferent words carried an unquestionable killing intent.
Hizashi's body stiffened instinctively. His hand froze mid-motion.
The intruder's bizarre appearance and the utter calmness in their tone left Hizashi with no doubt that the threat was real.
With the ability to completely block perception that this person had already demonstrated, they could very likely kill him silently and escape without a trace, leaving no evidence behind.
Did this person truly possess the power to kill him instantly?
"…"
Hizashi slowly withdrew his hand from his robe and stared hard at the black figure. "What do you want?"
Yes. He didn't dare gamble.
This person was far too eerie.
It didn't matter if he himself lived or died, but Neji was right behind him.
The fact that the intruder hadn't attacked immediately suggested they might not have come purely to kill.
Yet Hizashi had no idea that the black-robed figure he now feared and dreaded was actually someone he had met not long ago.
The shadow—Hyūga Kumokawa—did not answer Hizashi's question. He simply watched him in silence.
An oppressive silence fell between them once more. All that could be heard was the rustling of leaves in the wind, Hizashi's increasingly heavy breathing, and his rapidly beating heart.
Just as the atmosphere grew unbearably heavy and Hizashi's fingers twitched with the urge to strike—
"Everything that child has suffered… you said it would become the treasure that makes him even stronger?"
The black figure finally spoke. Though the voice was still hoarse and terrifying, Hizashi felt a slight sense of relief.
Even though the person was standing at eye level with him, it felt as though they were looking down from above. Their deep gaze slowly swept over him.
It was like invisible black hands gripping every inch of his skin, slowly tightening, threatening to squeeze out blood.
"What are you trying to say?"
All thoughts of resistance faded. Hizashi frowned deeply.
"You're deceiving yourself," Hyūga Kumokawa said calmly. "Suffering is just suffering. It is not something to be praised or glorified, nor is it some kind of precious wealth."
"Suffering only drains a person's blood and flesh, making them sensitive and extreme."
At this point, a hint of mocking laughter entered his tone. "Just like what your parents once did to you."
"They shattered your worldview and crammed their own values, their view of life and the world, into your head."
"They wanted you to obey. They belittled you at every turn. They told you this was right. They told you this was your fate. When you struggled, when you resisted, they changed their faces. They shouted at you. They cut off your hands and feet. They locked you in a cage."
"They hit you, cursed you, reasoned with you, begged you—but they would never let you go. They said you were wrong. They said only they were right. They said they were doing it for your own good. So in the end, you gave up. You joined them."
Watching Hizashi's expression grow uglier by the second, Kumokawa's words became sharper and more cutting. "Many years later, you see your own child going through the same thing you once did. You believe he will end up just like you—kneeling like a dog and accepting his fate. So you…"
"Enough!"
A suppressed roar finally broke through, cutting off Kumokawa's next words.
Those sharp words cut into Hizashi's heart like knives, making his entire body tremble uncontrollably.
Every sentence dragged up memories of the past, of two faces that had grown blurry in his mind, of the words that had once come from their mouths.
"You don't understand anything!" Hizashi snarled through gritted teeth, fear and caution forgotten. "I… I did it for…"
The words caught in his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed.
For Neji's own good?
Wasn't that exactly what the intruder had just described?
"Cough! Urgh!"
Hizashi's face suddenly turned pale. He clamped a hand over his mouth as a wave of nausea hit him.
How disgusting.
Not disgust toward the other person—disgust toward himself.
Deep down, he didn't want to admit that he could no longer understand Neji's feelings. He couldn't understand why Neji hated so fiercely. After all, he was the one who had shown killing intent toward Hinata. He was the one at fault. He was the one who…
The person he was now could no longer understand the rebellious self he had once been.
He had been born only fifteen minutes after his older twin brother, Hyūga Hiashi. Those mere fifteen minutes had made him a branch family member, marked with the Caged Bird seal, and stripped him of his freedom and sense of self.
He had once resisted and questioned it all. But now, he simply thought: wasn't this just "fate"?
When exactly had it started?
What had he been doing all this time?
"Some birds are not meant to be caged. Their feathers shine with the light of freedom. They belong to the sky by birth."
Hyūga Kumokawa took a step forward, slowly approaching Hizashi until he stood at his side. His voice was full of temptation. "Hyūga Hizashi, tell me your choice."
"Will you choose to become a cruel executioner and personally break the wings of a bird trying to fly toward the sky?"
"Or will you choose to be a father?"
***
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