"You…" the Great Elder rose from the ground, trembling with fear and fury. His eyes burned with indignation. No one had ever dared treat him this way.
"Bastard! Let my father go!" shouted a man beside him as he lunged at Naraku with a Gentle Fist strike.
"Hyuga Yemen?" Naraku glanced at him coldly, then flicked his wrist.
Hyuga Yemen collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"H-How can this be…?" Yemen gasped. The sensation was all too familiar—his tenketsu had been sealed.
"How did you do that?" he grunted, trying to activate his chakra. But the flow was completely blocked by a far stronger force.
"Air Palm with Eight Trigrams can knock out chakra," Naraku calmly explained. "So if your chakra is strong enough, it can naturally seal tenketsu at a distance with just pressure."
"What?!" the Second and Third Elders stared in shock.
To use Air Palm to seal chakra points remotely through pure pressure—this was unheard of. They had assumed Naraku was a mere jonin, but the power he had displayed shattered that assumption.
"You… you have the Bird in the Cage seal!" the Great Elder choked out, face red with rage and fear. "Hyuga Naraku, don't go too far!"
The Second Elder began forming a hand sign to activate the cursed seal—but when Naraku's right hand moved slightly, he flinched and retreated.
What had happened to Yemen was enough to terrify him. One of their elite had been defeated with a simple gesture and still lay unmoving on the ground.
None of this was how things were supposed to go.
The once-mighty elders of the Hyuga clan now stood like frightened dogs. And Naraku hadn't even taken a single step.
"I don't want to do anything," Naraku said, setting the Great Elder down like discarded trash. His face remained expressionless. "But you all seem to have forgotten something."
"In the shinobi world, strength decides everything. The one with the bigger fist makes the rules—and breaks them too."
"Why do you think the Cloud Shinobi even dared attempt such a thing? Because they have the Fourth Raikage—and two perfect Jinchuriki. Their fists are bigger."
Naraku's words weren't only for the Hyuga clan. They echoed what he wished he could say directly to the Third Hokage.
After the White Fang's suicide, after the Fourth Hokage's death, after Sannin fled or fractured, what did Hiruzen do?
Suppress the Hyuga.
Suppress the truth.
The elite jonin from the branch family were expected to follow orders—no objections, no questions. And the Uchiha? Slaughtered to a man, save one, to preserve their bloodline.
He failed Naruto, too—neglecting the boy in the name of sentimentality and indecision. That weakness led to disaster.
The same goes for these elders—full of pride, but they only show their power to the branch family, never to true threats.
"You…" the elder pointed a trembling finger at Naraku, but dared say no more.
He had no doubt now—Naraku would kill him, if pushed.
"I don't care to get involved with you," Naraku said as he walked away. "Just don't get in my way."
No one dared stop him.
…
After returning to his residence, Hizashi approached him.
"You were too impulsive today," Hizashi said, though with more concern than reproach. "Even if you overpower the Hyuga clan, they still control the Bird in the Cage seal. Our lives are still in their hands."
"They won't dare try," Naraku said with a quiet smile.
His Yin chakra attribute had now reached 80%.
The Bird in the Cage seal worked by binding the spiritual body. But now, his spiritual strength had become so powerful that the seal's effect could be suppressed—or even rendered completely inert.
Once he awakened the Tenseigan and mastered the Truth-Seeking Balls born from it, he'd be able to remove the seal entirely.
The Hyuga elders should be thankful they didn't try activating the seal today.
If they had, and it failed—they would be the ones trembling in fear now.
At least for the moment, they still believed they had control.
"Still… I need to accelerate my Yin release training," Naraku thought. Yin release encompassed genjutsu, the Yamanaka's mind arts, the Nara clan's shadow techniques—even the Hyuga and Uchiha bloodline arts.
His latest training had been with Kurenai and Shisui, studying genjutsu more deeply.
"My brother is already working to calm the elders," Hizashi added. "You shouldn't worry too much."
"I understand," Naraku said evenly. Then, after a pause: "Uncle Hizashi, be careful. And watch over Neji."
Hizashi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"If they can't deal with the problem directly… they'll try to eliminate those close to it. You and Neji might be their next targets."
Naraku smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
He was certain now—Hiruzen, or more likely Danzo, would send someone to assassinate him. If not officially, then quietly.
…
The Next Day
Outside her home, Kurenai stepped out dressed neatly, carrying two lunchboxes.
Just then, a bearded man leapt in front of her, grinning awkwardly.
"Kurenai, I got two movie tickets! Let's go see something together," he offered.
"Oh, Asuma?" Kurenai froze for a moment, then recognized him.
"Sorry, I have something to do today. Maybe another time."
She kept her tone polite—he was the Hokage's son, after all.
"…Another time, huh?" Asuma's smile faltered.
She had said that before. And the time before that.
Wasn't he worthy enough?
"…Alright." He turned away, though reluctant.
But once Kurenai left, Asuma quietly began following her.
He trailed her through the forest on the outskirts of Konoha, skulking through the underbrush like a shadow.
"It's a date," he muttered bitterly.
Soon, Kurenai stopped near a tree.
From his hiding spot, Asuma saw someone already there—leaning casually against the trunk.
His pupils narrowed.
"Hyuga Naraku!"