"..."
In the noisy tavern, the corner by the window felt separated by an invisible barrier, and the atmosphere was frighteningly stagnant.
Hyūga Neji's muscles were all tense. His pale blue eyes behind the mask stared intently at the man opposite him, who called himself "Kohinata Mugen."
"Teacher?" Neji's voice was squeezed out between his teeth. "Wait, Kohinata? Are you the one who was purged by the Anbu a few years ago..."
Although he was young at the time, he remembered the name Kohinata Mugen.
He was the only special existence in the Kohinata clan in decades to unexpectedly awaken the Byakugan, but he was later found to be collaborating with outside forces and was ultimately dealt with by the Konoha Anbu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen informed the Hyūga clan of the matter, and the one who allegedly carried out the clean-up mission was none other than Hyūga Kawa.
But Kohinata Mugen should have been dead long ago. Even his wife and children were reportedly taken care of by Hyūga Kawa.
Could it be...
"That's right, Lord Kawa sent me."
Kohinata Mugen immediately confirmed his guess: "Your power is strong, but you are still too naive."
"The reason he arranged for my 'feigned death' and hidden retreat years ago was because he knew you would one day break free of your cage. He instructed me to become your guide after your defection."
Upon hearing this, Hyūga Neji felt a chill run through him, and the expression behind his mask changed.
"Impossible!" he nearly shouted, unable to control himself, his voice distorted by shock.
Fortunately, the tavern was currently bustling with noise. His sudden outburst did not attract much attention and was quickly drowned out by the louder clamor.
He immediately realized his loss of composure, forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and lowered his voice, which was now colder and angrier: "Do you know what you are saying?"
"You mean to say that Hyūga Kawa calculated my defection from Konoha years ago? And even arranged a 'teacher' for me in advance?"
Are you kidding me?
This was utterly absurd!
Seeing Neji's agitated reaction, Kohinata Mugen sneered. The laugh carried a hint of pity, a trace of mockery, and an almost imperceptible hint of reverence.
"I don't know why he was so certain you would defect, but..."
Kohinata Mugen's eyes looked at Hyūga Neji through the mask: "Do you really think that with the power you had just awakened, you could have survived escaping from him?"
"Do you believe that, with the strength he later displayed, if he had truly intended to kill you, you would have had any chance?"
At this, Hyūga Neji's heart violently contracted. The images of their brief confrontation that night, and those eyes, instantly flooded his mind.
What is going on?
What exactly is going on?
Did Hyūga Kawa long plan to find an opportunity for me to defect, and my own presumptuous actions merely disrupted his plan?
Or is everything that has happened, even now, still within his calculations?
Thinking of this possibility, Hyūga Neji's throat involuntarily bobbed, and his body trembled slightly.
He couldn't tell. He truly couldn't tell.
The colossal sense of absurdity and the bone-chilling coldness intertwined, nearly consuming him.
"Kid, you fundamentally don't understand. The person you are dealing with is simply a monster wearing human skin," Kohinata Mugen said coldly.
"His cunning, his calculations, his power... have long exceeded the scope of what you can comprehend. Don't try to guess his intentions."
"Neither I, nor you, nor even the entirety of Konoha, are anything more than pieces already set on his grand chessboard."
"What you see now may only be the darkness and injustice of the Main Family and Konoha, but what he sees may be a future far more distant and terrifying."
"Believe it or not."
With that, Kohinata Mugen stood up, looked down at him, and said, "I am merely under orders to wait for you here and teach you until you see the true nature of this world."
"Of course, you are free to refuse, and continue to hide like a headless fly, as you are now, until you are found by Konoha's pursuers or other individuals coveting the Byakugan."
"The choice is always yours." With those words, he turned and walked out of the tavern, his steps unhurried.
Watching Kohinata Mugen's figure about to disappear behind the door curtain, Hyūga Neji's fingers turned slightly white from gripping them too tightly.
Finally, amidst his struggle and confusion, he abruptly stood up, slammed a few copper coins onto the table, and wordlessly hurried after Kohinata Mugen in the direction he had left.
However, shortly after Neji and Kohinata Mugen departed, in another inconspicuous corner of the tavern, two guests also clad in black robes exchanged a silent glance.
One nodded slightly, and the other quietly placed a few copper coins on the table.
The two then rose, moving swiftly and silently to follow them, blending into the bustling crowd of the Tanzaku District, their eyes locked onto Neji's back as he disappeared into an alleyway ahead.
Neji quickly rounded the corner into a dark, narrow back alley. The stench of rotting garbage and damp mildew assailed him.
The alley was dim, with only distant residual light barely outlining the shape of the assorted junk.
The area ahead was completely empty. Kohinata Mugen's figure had vanished, as if he had never been there.
"Hmm?" Neji's face behind the mask changed. He subconsciously prepared to use his senses.
However, just as his chakra was about to condense in his eyes.
Pssh!
An extremely faint but hair-raising sound of flesh being torn suddenly came from a very close distance behind him!
Neji reacted almost instinctively, using the Body Flicker Technique to widen the distance, while simultaneously turning to the source of the sound.
He saw that not far behind where he had just been standing, one of the two black-robed figures who had followed him into the alley was now decapitated.
Thump!
The head rolled onto the dirty ground, eyes wide open, retaining a look of unbelievable horror.
From the headless neck, blood was gushing out like a fountain, staining a large section of the patchy wall red.
And Kohinata Mugen, who had appeared there at some point, held no blade. Only the edge of his right palm was smeared with startling fresh blood, which was slowly dripping.
He stood there, as if he had performed a trivial act, and looked at the other surviving black-robed person. That person's reaction was also quick.
The moment he witnessed his companion's death, he forcefully pushed off with his feet, leaping forward, and simultaneously twisting his body in mid-air, rapidly forming hand seals at his chest!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A scorching fireball spat out from his mouth. Carried by a wave of heat, it whistled toward Kohinata Mugen, who was still standing in place!
Kohinata Mugen made no move to dodge or form a hand seal. Around his white eyes, faint blue blood vessels suddenly bulged out!
Byakugan, Activate!
He raised his blood-stained right palm to his face, directly facing the incoming scorching fireball.
Tch!
The fireball, upon contact with the space immediately in front of Kohinata Mugen's palm, was silently and cleanly sliced into two equal halves right down the middle.
The two separated halves of the fireball flew past either side of Kohinata Mugen's body, slammed into the wall behind, and exploded into two patches of charred marks!
Neji saw clearly that the moment Kohinata Mugen moved, the flow of chakra in front of his palm underwent an extremely subtle change, forming a sharp "line!"
This "line" was not a physical entity, but it disrupted the stability of the fireball's internal chakra structure through the interference and guidance of chakra flow, causing it to disintegrate on its own.
In the next moment, Kohinata Mugen's figure vanished from his spot and reappeared right in front of the black-robed person who had just finished releasing the Ninjutsu.
The black-robed person didn't have time to react at all. Kohinata Mugen's palm had already pressed against his heart.
Fingers easily pierced through the clothing and skin, reaching into the chest cavity and grasping something that was violently pulsating.
Then, with a swift tug!
Pssh!
A still-twitching, steaming heart was pulled out by Kohinata Mugen. The light in the black-robed person's eyes instantly dimmed, and he fell straight backward.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you."
Kohinata Mugen's hands, stained with warm blood, hung naturally at his sides. He looked at Hyūga Neji in the distance and smiled: "Make good use of your eyes and your power."
"And, welcome to the world of shinobi."
Meanwhile, at the Konoha Hospital, in the Intensive Care Unit.
Soft sunlight streamed through the half-closed blinds, casting patchy shadows on the clean floor.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
The air was filled with the distinct sterile scent of disinfectant. The rhythmic and monotonous electronic sound of the life monitor echoed in the quiet room, like the faint beat of a life.
Hyūga Kawa lay still on the clean white hospital bed, his eyes tightly shut, his complexion so pale it was almost transparent, like a fragile glass figurine.
Various precise instruments were connected to his body by tubes. The numbers and curves flickering on the screen were his only remaining, faint connection to this world.
He was covered by a thin blanket, but on his exposed neck and arms, some unhealed wounds were still visible.
The Hokage's hat was placed on a nearby table. Sarutobi Hiruzen stood alone by the bedside, his silhouette stretched long by the sunlight.
His eyes were now deeply focused on the unconscious Hyūga Kawa on the bed, complex, indecipherable emotions flickering within them.
The mix of emotions eventually coalesced into a long, heavy sigh that slowly dissipated in the silent ward.
"Alas..."
Finally, he slowly turned and walked with slightly unsteady steps toward the ward door, opening it.
Click.
The door hinge squeaked softly as the ward door was gently pulled open.
Light from the outside poured in, simultaneously revealing the scene outside the door clearly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Several figures stood silently outside the door, having clearly arrived earlier but maintaining a tacit silence, afraid of disturbing the peace inside the ward.
When the ward door opened and Sarutobi Hiruzen's figure appeared in the doorway, everyone's gaze immediately focused on him.
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds. Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke: "Come in."
---------------------------------------------
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi