“Well said. Then give it back.”
Ao looked up and saw a figure perched on a branch. The figure, backlit by the sunlight, was partially hidden by the leaves. The piercing sunlight created a halo effect, giving the figure an almost angelic arrogance.
Ao couldn’t see the figure clearly, but he instantly recognized those shining eyes.
“You…” he muttered in shock.
Turning back, Ao saw that Nara Suzaku’s expression had turned grim.
The slender figure leaned casually against the tree, dressed in a simple but sharp outfit. He tossed a specially shaped kunai in his hand, looking down at everyone below with a mocking and disdainful gaze.
There wasn’t a single Konoha ninja who didn’t recognize that face, just as there wasn’t a single Kirigakure ninja who didn’t recognize those cherished Byakugan.
Considering the dire fate of the Hyuga clan, the identity of the young man with a complete pair of Byakugan, lounging in the tree, was unmistakable.
The battle between Konoha and Kirigakure raged on, but a strange silence began to spread from the young man at the center.
The once-clear sky started to darken with clouds, a common occurrence on the island, as unpredictable as the appearance of Neiki. The Konoha forces could hardly believe that this traitor, who had committed such heinous acts, would dare to show himself so brazenly after fleeing from Konoha!
Did he still think he held the remote capable of destroying the entire Konoha village?
Their hearts were filled with boundless killing intent.
The first to act was the one most deeply hurt by Neiki.
“Hyuga Neiki!!”
A furious roar echoed as Neiki turned his head. He saw two terrifying white spirals tearing through everything in their path, heading straight for him.
Facing the attack filled with hatred and rage, Neiki shook his head, casually tossing the kunai towards the spiraling attack. He smiled, and just before the attack reached him, he chuckled softly and vanished from everyone’s sight.
Huh?
No one saw how he disappeared. The Konoha ninjas, stunned, looked around but couldn’t find Neiki. It was as if his familiar figure had been a shared illusion.
Boom
The massive tree Neiki had been standing on was completely destroyed. In the resulting crater, the Inuzuka ninja named Inuzuka Do realized he had missed. He and his ninken reverted to their forms, landing on the ground and sniffing for Neiki’s scent.
“Do, watch out at your feet!”
A voice from Akimichi Sidou and Yamanaka Masao warned from nearby, having noticed the disturbance.
Inuzuka Do looked down at the pit where only the special kunai Neiki had left remained.
Initially dismissive, Do suddenly recognized the symbol on the kunai.
This…
Isn’t this the Fourth Hokage’s…?
As if to confirm his suspicion, Neiki’s figure suddenly appeared beside the kunai, like he had teleported.
Neiki picked up the kunai and gave Inuzuka Do a friendly smile.
“Die!!”
Inuzuka Do reacted instantly, thrusting his kunai towards Neiki.
Neiki casually swung his black sword.
There was no sound of clashing metal.
Inuzuka Do’s kunai was sliced cleanly by the black sword. Inuzuka Do watched in horror as the slow-moving black sword effortlessly sliced through his neck.
What a sharp sword… This was Inuzuka Do’s last thought.
The next moment, his head flew high into the air.
Blood dripped from the blade as Neiki stepped over the body. When the enraged ninken leaped at him, Neiki didn’t even glance, casually swinging his sword to eviscerate it. The loyal ninken howled briefly before joining its master in death.
Neiki stepped out of the crater, his black sword glistening in the sunlight, as clean as if it had been washed. This was a sword he had synthesized using his unique ability, merging a standard sword and its duplicate, enhanced with a trace of Byakugan essence.
Its sharpness and hardness were greatly enhanced, capable of cutting through metal like paper. Though the synthesis had doubled the sword’s weight, it felt perfectly balanced to Neiki, who had absorbed Hashirama’s cells, significantly enhancing his physical abilities.
But everyone’s attention was not on the sword; it was on the kunai in Neiki’s other hand.
“It’s definitely the Flying Thunder God Jutsu…” Nara Suzaku’s face was extremely serious, echoed by Akimichi Sidou and Yamanaka Masao.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, closely allied with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and with a strong connection to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, were intimately familiar with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, having even served as Minato’s personal guard during the Third Shinobi World War.
To learn that someone else had mastered this high-difficulty space-time ninjutsu, especially an exiled Hyuga Neiki, sent chills down their spines.
“On the day of the Uchiha rebellion, Konoha’s external information archives were burned, and we found that a scroll of the Sealing Jutsu was missing. So it was you…” Nara Suzaku said darkly.
The Sealing Scroll contained the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. The burnt archives, and the missing scroll, pointed directly to Neiki.
“I don’t need to explain anything to dead men,” Neiki replied coldly.
“The Flying Thunder God Jutsu requires intense combat awareness. There’s no way you could master it in such a short time. If that’s your confidence to face us, you should just surrender and avoid suffering,” Nara Suzaku said icily.
Ao, observing both sides, suddenly had an idea and smiled. “Indeed, why explain to dead men? Neiki, we’ll help you against Konoha today!”
Neiki glanced at him but said nothing.
Ao’s face darkened with anger.
He understood the look. It was the same as the one Neiki gave Nara Suzaku—a look that said he wouldn’t waste time explaining to a dead man.
Did Neiki really intend to fight both Konoha and Kirigakure by himself?
Was he really that arrogant?!
Become a Patron read up to 40 chapter ahead public release ^_^
Please join Discord Server so we can talk ^_^
