"Genjutsu?"
Uchiha Shisui was already suspicious of Hyuga Kawa due to recent events. He had been keeping his guard up against Kawa, who remained still. The moment Kawa moved, he immediately sensed the chakra fluctuation. He felt the scene before him briefly distort and instantly realized he had fallen into a genjutsu.
Hum!
The three tomoe in Shisui's eyes spun rapidly, gradually merging to form a single shuriken-like shape. This was the Mangekyo Sharingan. Shisui's ocular power almost elevated a level. The scene before him began to distort, like an old television losing signal, with a large amount of static permeating his retina.
Finally, he "woke up."
And the moment he "woke up," the sight before him was that of Little Hyuga Mugen, who had been forming hand signs, also trapped in the genjutsu. But Mugen merely stiffened slightly, then uncontrollably pulled out a kunai and suddenly slashed a long cut across his chest.
Pfft!
The cut practically split open his entire chest and abdomen. His internal organs were clearly visible, and crimson blood splattered onto Uchiha Shisui's face. Yet, he stubbornly maintained his dazed expression, not even blinking despite the blood flowing into his eyes. He wanted to see what Hyuga Kawa truly intended to do. He wanted to understand why Hyuga Kawa had hidden his abilities.
However, the scene that followed completely exceeded Shisui's expectations.
"What are you doing?"
The smile vanished from Hyuga Kawa's face. He instantly appeared before Mugen, saying in a deep voice.
"Cough, cough! You brat, you can even use genjutsu? Even the Uchiha clan can fall for it?"
Little Hyuga Mugen leaned against the tree trunk and sat down, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He looked up at Hyuga Kawa and joked, "As a Hyuga, you're really neglecting your proper duties."
As he spoke, Hyuga Kawa took out an emergency bandage from his ninja tool pouch, intending to dress Little Hyuga Mugen's wound. However, Mugen weakly shook his head and smiled, "Enough, it's useless."
"As a spy, I had a jutsu placed on me. When my mind is interfered with, I'll take my own life. This injury is beyond saving."
"It's a pity. If I hadn't been restrained by your genjutsu, I would have wanted one last spectacular moment before I died."
Saying this, he lowered his head to look at his clothes, which were ripped open, revealing a large area of torn explosive tags underneath. This made the "awake" Uchiha Shisui break out in a cold sweat. At such close range just now, if Mugen had really ignited those explosive tags, he and Itachi would have been severely injured, if not killed.
So, Hyuga Kawa saved them both? No, that's not right. If it were to save them, there would be no need to draw them into the genjutsu. Hyuga Kawa must be planning something.
"You…"
At this point, Hyuga Kawa sighed and proactively asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
Little Hyuga Mugen said nothing, struggling to raise his trembling left hand, fumbling for something in his pocket. Hyuga Kawa gently moved Mugen's fingers aside and helped him retrieve what he wanted.
It was a pack of rolled cigarettes and a lighter.
Click… click-click…
Hyuga Kawa took a cigarette from the pack and put it in his mouth. He held the lighter, tried a few times, and finally lit the cigarette.
"Hiss… Exhale…"
Little Hyuga Mugen held the cigarette, slowly and deeply inhaling. The smoke flowed deep into his lungs. After savoring it, he exhaled, and with the smoke, blood also came out.
"Although things have escalated to this point, still…"
He lowered his eyes, his consciousness becoming increasingly hazy, and said in a faint voice, "What I've done is all my personal actions and has nothing to do with my wife and child…"
"That sounds really good," Hyuga Kawa smiled, but still softly said, "I'll investigate."
"Thank you."
Little Hyuga Mugen's lowered eyes lifted slightly. He seemed to see the ugly cursed seal through his forehead protector and smiled, "I, too, once resented myself for having thin bloodline ties."
"But I don't know whether I'm unfortunate or fortunate compared to you."
"You drew them into genjutsu, so I assume you seek something. The only valuable thing on me is this Byakugan."
"If it's useful to you, then take it. I only hope you can… help me look after their mother and child. I'm sorry…"
His voice grew fainter and fainter until, finally, the cigarette in his mouth fell, and he lost all sound.
"…"
Uchiha Shisui saw Hyuga Kawa fall into a prolonged silence before him. A moment later, he slowly extended his hand and plunged it into Little Hyuga Mugen's left eye socket.
Pfft.
Blood splattered.
Hyuga Kawa's fingers retracted, and in his palm lay a single white eyeball, still warm.
A Byakugan.
A Byakugan without the Caged Bird Seal.
For someone from the minor Hyuga branch family with thin bloodline ties, it was already incredible to awaken a Byakugan. Even the Konoha higher-ups hadn't expected it. If Little Hyuga Mugen hadn't hidden it so well, he would have been forcibly brought back to the Hyuga main house and branded with the Caged Bird Seal, becoming a branch family member.
"So, Hyuga Kawa was after this Byakugan?"
Uchiha Shisui understood upon seeing this. He then watched as Hyuga Kawa put the Byakugan away, stood up, and tossed the lit lighter onto the corpse.
Meanwhile, in the true reality.
"You, what are you doing again?"
Little Hyuga Mugen, who was supposedly dead in Uchiha Shisui's eyes, was perfectly alive. He watched Hyuga Kawa point the tsuba of the sword in his hand at Uchiha Shisui.
"Applying a double-layered genjutsu," Hyuga Kawa said casually. "Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu mastery is impressive; one layer wouldn't fool him."
"In their eyes, you are already dead."
Yes, everything Uchiha Shisui was seeing at this moment, including Little Hyuga Mugen's death, was what Hyuga Kawa wanted him to see. Although Uchiha Shisui being able to detect the anomaly of "Kyouka Suigetsu" surprised Hyuga Kawa a little, that was all it was. If one layer of illusion wasn't enough, then he would apply two. If two weren't enough, then he would apply three. Until Hyuga Kawa's chakra ran out, as long as Uchiha Shisui didn't harden his heart and forcibly break free with "Kotoamatsukami," he would only sink into an endless corridor of illusions.
"Double-layered… genjutsu…"
Little Hyuga Mugen first froze upon hearing this, then looked at the dazed Shisui and Itachi. The corners of his mouth twitched, gradually forming a smile.
"Two geniuses from the esteemed Uchiha clan, defeated in genjutsu by a Hyuga. This is truly, truly, hahaha…"
A moment later, Little Hyuga Mugen's face still held a smile. His bloodshot eyes stared intently at Kawa, asking, "What exactly do you want to do? Why did you save me?"
"I want you to leave Konoha alive, find a place to hide and recover from your injuries."
Hyuga Kawa's voice was soft as he looked down at Mugen, who was leaning against the tree trunk: "I will take good care of your wife and child, ensuring their lives in Konoha are undisturbed, and even better than they are now."
At these words, Little Hyuga Mugen's pupils sharply contracted.
Wife and child…
This was his biggest weakness. It was also one of the reasons he became a spy. It was precisely because his wife and child were still in Konoha that he didn't choose to flee when facing Kawa and the two Uchiha, but instead chose to fight to the death.
"What's the price?" Mugen's voice was hoarse and dry.
"Wait."
Kawa looked up in the direction of Konoha, yet it was as if he was gazing into the distant future: "I want you to wait for a moment, to wait for a drastic change to occur within the Hyuga clan."
"Wait for a child named 'Hyuga Neji' to defect from Konoha."
Saying this, Hyuga Kawa lowered his head to look at the dazed Mugen, his voice carrying a clear hint of amusement as he softly said, "When he defects from Konoha, I want you to find him and become his teacher and bodyguard."