[Read up to 69 Chapters in advance on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"Aaaahhh—!" Hiashi screamed.
The pain, despite being a Genjutsu, felt agonisingly real. At the same time, the vision in one of his eyes vanished completely.
Kanzou twisted the blade further, as though he intended to drive the tip into Hiashi's brain and carve through it… But he halted midway and abruptly pulled the kunai out.
Blood and gore splattered down, and Hiashi screamed, "My eye—! I-I can't see from it—!"
Terror surged through him. His Byakugan… destroyed. If that were true, his life as a shinobi was almost finished.
"Calm down. I didn't destroy your Byakugan," Kanzou said lazily. He flicked his finger, and the ruined eye instantly regenerated, appearing as though it had never been damaged at all, reminding Hiashi that it was all an illusion.
"By the way," Kanzou said casually, "let me tell you something interesting. Even though this is a Genjutsu and your injuries don't transfer to reality, there's something called cognitive acceptance injury."
"Cognitive acceptance injury?" he mumbled, a little confused.
"Yup… when a person suffers from cognitive acceptance injury, their brain becomes so overwhelmed it starts accepting the phantom injury as real. Meaning, if I destroy your eyes enough times within this Genjutsu, your brain will genuinely start believing you no longer have your eyes. And if that happens…" Kanzou shrugged lightly. "Well, you won't have eyes anymore."
Hiashi's breath hitched.
"I can even make your brain believe you're dead inside this Genjutsu," Kanzou added with a pleasant smile. "And that would result in the actual death of your body."
This was exactly what Itachi had done to Izumi in canon, except Kanzou could push it even further. With his Uzumaki body and monstrous chakra reserves, his Tsukuyomi was far more limitless.
After explaining all of this, Kanzou continued, "And this is just one of the many jutsu I possess. In truth, no one has any real idea what I'm capable of…" He leaned in with a slow, confident smirk. "So tell me, do you still think I need to be afraid of anyone?"
Hiashi found himself unable to speak.
Indeed, although he knew the village was preparing to counter the Uchiha, facing Kanzou directly made him far less confident in the Hokage faction's chances.
'Even if we all unite… will our odds really be good?'
Even if the village won, the victory would come with devastating losses. In that weakened state, the Land of Fire would almost certainly be attacked by other great nations, pushing Konoha to the brink of annihilation. Hiashi believed the Hokage would try his absolute best to avoid such a scenario, which meant the Hyūga clan couldn't expect to escape this predicament easily.
And that was disastrous for them. The Hyūga clan was already at its breaking point. If things escalated any further, they might as well consider their clan finished.
All of the Hyūga clan's businesses had been forced to shut down. Every day brought a new problem, a new disruption from sudden inspections, or thugs showing up to vandalise property and stir up chaos.
Once upon a time, no one in Konoha would have dared to provoke the Hyūga clan. But now? Even lowly street thugs strutted around with no fear at all.
Why? Because they now carried a new identity: unofficial members of the Uchiha Police Force.
Yes, what had once been the Konoha Police Force was now effectively the Uchiha Police Force.
Even Hiruzen himself had begun referring to it as the Uchiha Police Force.
After those petty thugs were granted non-staff status within the department, they started committing every crime they had once been terrified to attempt, previously making everyone's life difficult.
And the worst part?
No one could lay a hand on them.
If anyone dared to retaliate, they were immediately arrested by official members of the Uchiha Police Force.
And honestly, the damage to their businesses was still the least of their concerns. The Hyūga clan was large and wealthy; closing a few shops wouldn't immediately bankrupt them.
But it didn't stop there.
The Uchiha Police Force wasn't merely targeting their finances; they were targeting their people.
Clan members were being arrested without cause, slapped with fabricated charges, and subjected to all manner of unjust treatment.
Even Hyūga shinobi assigned to missions weren't allowed to leave the village; they were detained the moment they tried. Several who attempted to resist were injured so badly they ended up in the hospital, unable to take on missions for some time.
Even his twin brother Hizashi wasn't spared and is currently in the hospital.
How could they possibly endure this?
If things continued like this, the Hyūga clan's situation would only grow worse…
And if Kanzou refused to accept a truce now… would the Hyūga clan even survive what came next?
Hiashi desperately wanted to end this conflict. But Kanzou's demand was far too outrageous—there was no possible way he could hand over the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. Trying to reason with him, he said, "The Caged Bird Cursed Seal is truly not something I can give away… s-something else… I can—"
Kanzou cut him off with a sharp slap across the face. Cha!
Hiashi stared at him, stunned.
H-he'd actually been slapped in the face!
"I think you still misunderstand something," Kanzou said calmly. "I'm not here to negotiate with you. I'm telling you what I want. If you hand it over, good. If not…" His eyes narrowed. "I won't hesitate to throw you into prison as well, just like your younger brother Hizashi… and then I'll just have another member of your main family bring me the scroll of Caged Bird Cursed Seal. Or I can go straight to the Hyūga Compound myself and get it… Do you think your trash Clansmen have a way of stopping me?"
He tilted his head slightly. "The choice is yours, Hyuga Hiashi-dono. Do you want to rot in prison alongside your brother… or do you want to give me what I'm asking for and spare not just yourself, but your younger brother as well as your clan all the trouble?"
It sounded like a choice, but of course, it wasn't a choice at all.
Hiashi knew that. In fact, he sensed that if he refused, he might not even leave this Genjutsu alive…
On that point, however, he was mistaken. Kanzou would let him live. Killing him served no purpose and would only earn him 100 Evil Points. Letting him live was far more useful, after all; humiliating a living person is always more rewarding and satisfying than humiliating a dead one.
"So… what's it going to be, Hyūga Hiashi-dono…?" Kanzou asked, tracing the tip of his kunai dangerously close to Hiashi's eyes.
Cornered like this, Hiashi had no choice left. "I—I'll give it… the Caged Bird Cursed Seal…"
"Wise choice," Kanzou said with a satisfied nod. He flicked his finger, and the Genjutsu shattered.
Instantly, Hiashi found himself back in reality, standing exactly where he'd been before. His hands instinctively covered his eye. It tingled faintly… his vision was fine, everything looked normal… but the phantom sensation was enough to convince him that Kanzou truly possessed the power to blind him with Genjutsu alone.
'Why does someone like him have such strength…?' Hiashi cursed silently.
Unbothered by Hiashi's turmoil, Kanzou produced an empty scroll and handed it over. "Here you go. I'm waiting."
Gritting his teeth, Hiashi accepted the scroll and unwillingly began writing down the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.
For a moment, he considered altering a few details, just small mistakes, enough to hinder Kanzou.
But when he glanced up and met Kanzou's eyes, the courage evaporated. He continued writing the seal correctly.
'It's pointless to take risks… who knows what he'll do if he realises I'm giving him a fake seal…'
If Kanzou weren't this absurdly powerful, Hiashi wouldn't even have considered giving him a counterfeit, let alone the original. But Kanzou's terrifying strength left him with no choice but to give him the original seal.
Before long, he handed over the scroll. "Here… take it."
[Ding, forced the Hyūga Patriarch to hand over the Scroll of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal — reward: 15,000 Evil Points]
Hearing the system's notification, Kanzou's eyes lit up with satisfaction.
To him, the Caged Bird Cursed Seal was certainly important, but the Evil Points were just as valuable. Gaining them genuinely pleased him.
Kanzou took the scroll and, without even glancing at it, slipped it into his pocket.
The System notification was enough to let him know that Hiashi hadn't given anything fake.
Though Hiashi, who didn't know this, felt a sharp pang of regret. For a moment, he wondered if he should have handed over a fake seal after all… but he quickly dismissed the thought and focused on the more urgent matter.
"Now that I've given you the Scroll of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal… Uchiha Kanzou...sama, may I expect my clansmen to be released, and for my clan to no longer be troubled by the Police Force?" Hiashi asked cautiously.
"Your clansmen can indeed be released… but as for not being troubled, what do you mean?" Kanzou replied bluntly. "If they do something wrong in the village, isn't it natural for them to be imprisoned by the police?"
The implication was clear: he had no intention of letting the Hyūga clan off so easily.
Hiashi froze again.
'His appetite… still isn't satisfied?' he thought grimly. Gathering himself, he asked cautiously, "I was simply wondering… what must I do for there to be some leniency?"
"Well, we're all Konoha shinobi, aren't we? And the Uchiha and Hyūga are two of the strongest clans… Although the Hyūgas are mostly trash, whatever." Kanzou waved that aside casually. "So yes, I could agree to ensuring the Hyūga are treated leniently. But…"
"But what?" Hiashi pressed.
"For one, the Hyūga need to be very mindful of their behaviour. Any intolerable action will not be tolerated. And secondly…" Kanzou paused before continuing, "One billion ryō will be the remuneration fee."
"O-One billion ryō?" Hiashi exclaimed, stunned. For a moment, he wondered if he had heard correctly.
Kanzou repeated with a smirk, "Yes. Once that is paid, all the debts of the Hyūga clan will be written off… and your clansmen can continue living peacefully."
He personally didn't care about such things all that much, but for the clan, wealth was essential.
Hearing the demand, Hiashi cursed inwardly. 'Greedy bastard.'
But he didn't let a hint of it show on his face.
The amount was so absurdly high he didn't even know how to respond. Thankfully, the Hokage had already promised to assist him; otherwise, escaping this predicament would have been impossible. Since Hiruzen had agreed to help, Hiashi didn't waste time bargaining. He simply nodded. "I have no problem."
He knew bargaining was pointless. More importantly, he didn't dare to try.
If Kanzou took offense, what guarantee did Hiashi have that he wouldn't change his mind and crush the Hyūga completely?
"Good," Kanzou said. "Have the money delivered. Once it arrives, your clansmen will be released."
Saying that, he waved his hand dismissively, signalling for Hiashi to leave and stop wasting his time.
Kanzou himself was eager to return to his study and unroll the Caged Bird Cursed Seal scroll so he could complete his Mark of Ownership. He had no interest in wasting another moment dealing with Hiashi.
Although Hiashi was deeply offended by Kanzou's dismissive attitude, he had no other choice. And truthfully, he didn't want to stay anywhere near Kanzou any longer.
Now that he was promised that his Clansmen would be released, he turned and left to arrange the payment.
…
In his study, Kanzou had already unrolled the scroll of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal and was examining it intently.
"This cursed seal…" he murmured as his eyes traced the intricate details. Then he nodded to himself with a small smile. "Yes… It'll work. With this, I can finally create the Mark of Ownership."
Although the Caged Bird Cursed Seal was designed specifically for Hyūga physiology, their body structure, nerve pathways, and chakra network, and would be extremely difficult to apply to a non-Hyūga, none of that really mattered to him.
What mattered was that this cursed seal contained a few key elements he needed, and these key elements would help him resolve the problems he'd faced earlier when designing his Mark of Ownership. Kanzou felt completely confident.
"Fufu… Hiashi, you did prove to be useful," he nodded to himself.
Not only had Hiashi handed over the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, but he had also given Kanzou fifteen thousand Evil Points.
That alone made the entire exchange worthwhile.
'Wait a moment… isn't this an opportunity?' Kanzou blinked, a thought striking him.
When Uzumaki Kushina had handed over the Uzumaki Fuinjutsu scrolls, he had also received 15,000 Evil Points.
A clear pattern was emerging.
"Let's test it. Which clan is next?" Kanzou muttered, a glint flashing in his eyes.
Many clans and families in Konoha had their own secret techniques, but most of them were obscure or insignificant. Kanzou doubted he would receive any Evil Points for forcing some random clan to surrender their minor secret arts.
It had to be one of the major clans. Only then would the system reward him.
Among the well-known clans, only a few truly stood out: the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, the Aburame with their insect-based techniques, the Inuzuka with their ninken, and the Sarutobi—though the Sarutobi lacked any real secret jutsu of their own.
But even if he forced the Aburame or Inuzuka to hand over their techniques, Kanzou had no intention of learning them.
The idea of using his own chakra to breed insects, turning his body into a living hive with countless bugs crawling across his skin, was revolting.
He would never go near such a disgusting jutsu, and he certainly wouldn't allow Mikoto to come into contact with it either.
After all, Mikoto's body belonged to him… and aside from his fingers and tongue, nothing else was allowed to crawl over her in such a disturbing manner. Least of all insects.
Besides, the Aburame clan's secret techniques weren't particularly powerful to begin with.
In contrast, Kanzou was far more interested in the Nara clan's shadow manipulation and the Yamanaka clan's mind-control techniques.
Both techniques had obvious uses in combat and subterfuge.
'The Ino–Shika–Chō trio are more reasonable… I'll handle them later.'
Kanzou's gaze narrowed as he settled on his next target. "Let's start with the Aburame clan."
The next unlucky victims had been chosen.
Kanzou had no interest in actually learning the Aburame clan's secret techniques, but that wasn't the point. He cared only about committing evil and behaving like a scumbag. The techniques themselves were irrelevant; it was the Evil Points he wanted.
"Let's send a message to Shin and Souta to focus their attention on the Aburame clan…" he murmured.
He wrote down a set of instructions and handed them to one of the Zodiacs to deliver to Shin, then turned his attention back to creating the Mark of Ownership.
…
Somewhere else in the Uchiha Compound
Carrying a small shopping bag, Mikoto arrived at a grocery shop within the Uchiha Compound.
The Uchiha Compound was different from the other clan districts in Konoha. Unlike most clans, the Uchiha lived in what was practically a self-contained village. They had their own shops, services, and small industries, everything a clansman might need, so they rarely had to leave the compound for daily necessities.
This had always been the case, but the trend had only intensified ever since Kanzou became patriarch.
After all, the relations between the Uchihas and the other clans have been growing extremely strained; as a result, the Uchiha no longer visit shops outside the compound unless necessary.
So, whenever Mikoto needed groceries, she came here. She was a regular, and she was on friendly terms with the shopkeeper who ran the place.
"Ara… isn't this Mikoto-sama??" the middle-aged lady called out as soon as she spotted Mikoto approaching.
Several other women in the shop turned toward Mikoto and bowed respectfully. "Mikoto-sama… Mikoto-sama…"
After all, she was the Patriarch's wife; everyone in the clan respected her, and it was only natural they greeted her with such formality.
"Ahiru-san, everyone—good afternoon," Mikoto said with a gentle smile, returning their bows politely.
"Good afternoon, good afternoon," Uchiha Ahiru replied with the same warm smile as did others, before she asked, "So then, Mikoto-sama, what can I get for you today?"
Mikoto took out a small list from her shopping bag and handed it to Ahiru. "Here's the list."
"I see… I'll get these items. Please wait a moment," Ahiru said before heading into the shop.
Meanwhile, Mikoto continued chatting with the other women about various happenings within the clan, rumours, gossip, personal affairs, who fought whom, and who achieved what.
It had become a routine part of her day.
As they talked, Mikoto noticed one woman standing unusually quiet. Concerned, she asked, "Nashiko-san… are you not feeling well?"
Uchiha Nashiko stiffened at being addressed and stammered, "I-I'm fine, Mikoto-sama…" Her fists tightened for a moment, betraying her hesitation, but she quickly bowed and said, "I-I have things to do at home, so I'll be leaving. Please take care…" She hurried past Mikoto and walked away toward her house.
Mikoto turned slightly, watching Nashiko leave… then, from the corner of her eye, she glanced down at the crumpled piece of paper that had dropped into her shopping bag at the exact moment Nashiko walked by.
'This is…' she thought, but she didn't take it out immediately. Instead, she turned back toward the other women and continued discussing clan matters, just as Ahiru returned from the back carrying the groceries Mikoto had requested.
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Sometime later, at a women's lavatory in the Uchiha Compound
Mikoto stepped inside and walked up to a particular stall. She knocked lightly.
The door opened at once, and she slipped inside before closing it behind her.
"Well… I'm curious what you needed to speak about, if it was urgent enough to call me here," Mikoto said lightly as she looked at the woman sitting on the toilet seat. Nashiko was visibly nervous and frightened, and Mikoto could see it instantly.
Nashiko looked up at her and whispered, "Mikoto-sama… before I say anything, I need a-assurance… I need your word… that my daughter, Mira—she won't be harmed. She's innocent… she has nothing to do with any of this…"
Mikoto blinked in confusion. "Wh-what are you talking about? What happened to make you this worried? And why would your daughter be harmed?"
Nashiko bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Actually… my husband… he was approached by…"
And when Mikoto heard Nashiko's words, her expression turned cold. 'That cuck… he really hasn't given up, has he?'
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Read up to 69 Chapters in advance on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]