"..."
When the black-robed figure appeared and gently extended his palm to place a sphere of light into Hiashi's chest, Hizashi Hyuga's pupils shrank involuntarily.
Especially seeing that Hiashi had no power to resist, his entire body frozen in place, unable to move, with only the fear in his Byakugan proving he was still conscious, Hizashi felt a chill at such a bizarre and terifying method.
"My Lord."
He respectfully bowed his head for a moment, then pressed his slightly dry lips together and asked, "May I ask what you intend to do with Hiashi?"
The shadow appearing here now was, naturally, Arata, who had been lying in ambush.
The one outside was merely a shadow clone.
The plan had proceeded without a hitch. Hizashi, overwhelmed by a torrent of complex emotions, hadn't noticed him at all, making it easy to strike at his heart.
"It seems you're still reluctant to kill him?" Arata glanced deeply at Hizashi.
"No, it's not that." Hizashi quickly shook his head, explaining, "I'm not yet familiar with Hiashi's habits and behaviors. I'm worried my impersonation might have flaws. If it affects your plan..."
Arata didn't particularly care about his private motives. He withdrew his hand from Hiashi's chest.
Ignoring Hizashi's uncertain gaze, he untied the bandage around Hiashi's forehead and handed it to him, saying calmly, "Take off your forehead protector and switch it with his. Use the bandage to cover your Caged Bird seal."
Only then did Hizashi notice the scar on Hiashi's forehead. Countless speculations surged through his mind, filling him with shock.
At this moment, the still-conscious Hiashi gradually realized what Hizashi and the black-robed man behind him intended to do.
'This guy... he wants Hizashi to replace me?!'
Hiashi's pupils trembled violently. A bone-deep chill nearly swallowed him whole.
'When did this start?'
'Who exactly is this person? Someone from Kumogakure, or something else?'
'Could it be that even the Kumogakure ninja slicing my forehead with a kunai was part of the plan?!'
If that Kumogakure ninja hadn't cut his forehead, he wouldn't have wrapped it with a bandage. And without that bandage, Hizashi wouldn't be able to perfectly conceal the Caged Bird seal on his forehead…
The more Hiashi and Hizashi thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. Hizashi, however, felt more lingering fear and relief, relief that he had chosen wisely and aligned himself with the right side.
This was no longer a simple conspiracy.
This was complete manipulation, treating them all like puppets on strings.
Everyone, including Kumogakure, Konoha's high council, and the Hyuga clan, was being played like a fiddle.
"Don't worry, he'll only enter a state of suspended animation."
Only after Hizashi had fastened the headband did Arata reply calmly, "His consciousness is still active, but his body is no longer under his control. He has become my 'puppet'."
Hearing this, Hizashi, who had just covered his seal with the bandage, froze briefly.
But soon he realized something and felt a chill in his heart.
Didn't that mean if he ever lost his value, this lord could personally control Hiashi to replace him at any time?
"But," Hizashi hesitated, "what about Kumogakure..."
"That's not your concern." Before he could finish, Arata interrupted. "Your only job is to play your role well."
Saying this, he extended two fingers, chakra surging within him. Using chakra scalpels, he gouged out Hiashi's eyes.
Shlorp.
Two bloody Byakugan were removed. Arata tucked them into his robes.
Including the eye he had previously tricked Orochimaru into obtaining from a main house member, Arata now possessed three Byakugan.
However, the Caged Bird Seal destroyed the optic nerves, specifically, the brain nerves connected to the Byakugan. It didn't directly destroy the branch house's Byakugan themselves.
After the seal was activated, the Byakugan would go blind, but they wouldn't disappear.
That was why Hiashi and the others had been so confident Kumogakure would not discover the deception too soon.
To avoid exposure, Arata took out a pair of blind branch-family Byakugan left behind by Orochimaru and replaced Hiashi's eyes with them.
Hizashi, witnessing the entire process, felt his awe for the methods deepen. At the same time, his gaze towards Hizashi held a trace of pity.
The proud main house clan head, now having his Byakugan ripped out, about to be replaced by him, a branch member, ultimately becoming a puppet stripped of freedom...
Thinking this, an unhealthy flush even appeared on Hyuga Hizashi's face.
'Brother, can you finally understand the despair and pain of the branch house now?'
In truth, Hiashi did feel it: the despair, powerlessness, regret, and pain of having his fate manipulated, of being unable to control his own destiny.
The mental impact of everything that had happened today nearly broke the clan head.
Especially upon hearing that he would remain in this state forever, Hiashi was silently, desperately begging "kill me" in his mind.
He would rather die at the hands of Kumogakure than become an involuntary "puppet."
But it was no longer up to him.
From the moment he, as the main house clan head, decided to abandon Hizashi, it was already too late for regrets.
Now, Hizashi was merely doing to him what Hiashi had done to him.
"My Lord."
At this moment, Hizashi suddenly knelt, pressing his forehead to the floor in a deep bow, his plain robes spreading on the ground. He asked respectfully, "Forgive my presumption, but I have not yet asked your honored name…"
Unlike the past, when he was forced to show respect to the main house due to the Caged Bird Seal, the Hizashi kneeling now was genuinely in awe of this Lord.
"My esteemed name?"
Arata's gaze dropped slightly, looking down at the kneeling Hizashi. He spoke slowly, "I haven't used my true name for a long time. But speaking of it, your Hyuga clan could be considered my relatives."
Hearing this, Hizashi, whose gaze was still fixed on the ground, was stunned. He hadn't expected this Lord to have ties to the Hyuga clan.
"My surname," Arata said softly, "is Otsutsuki."
A sensation, as if emanating from the depths of his bloodline, made Hizashi bow his head even lower. However, his gaze flickered slightly as he racked his memory.
'The Otsutsuki clan?'
'Was there such a clan in the ninja world?'
'Could it be some reclusive, hidden clan?'
He didn't doubt Hyuga Arata's lie in the slightest. He even attributed it to his own lack of knowledge, resolving to consult ancient texts once this matter was concluded.
[Ding!]
[Your lie [Otsutsuki Arata Style] has been judged as [Deceptive Misdirection]. Hyuga Hizashi experienced emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [Complete Conviction]. You have earned 1000 Reality Points.]
[Remaining Reality Points: 11651]
Hearing the system notification in his mind, Hyuga Arata couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Should he be surprised it was the "Otsutsuki clan"?
Just borrowing the surname had netted him 1000 points.
It seemed this lie still held significant value.
Click.
The door opened.
Hizashi, his expression numb, walked out carrying Hiashi's "corpse."
He held a scroll in his hand, and Hiashi's body was covered with a white cloth.
Of course, in the eyes of Hyugo, Hiruzen, and the others, it was 'Hyuga Hiashi' carrying out the corpse of 'Hyuga Hizashi.'
"Hiashi, did you use the Caged Bird Seal to destroy the Byakugan?" the cautious Hyuga Hyugo still asked.
Hizashi gently placed Hiashi's"corpse" on the ground. He kept his head down and didn't answer Hyugo's question, but Hyugo simply assumed he was lost in thought, overwhelmed by grief.
So, he leaned down, lifted the white cloth covering the "corpse," pried open an eyelid to look at the dull Byakugan, and finally relaxed his tense old face slightly. He turned and nodded to the main house elders behind him.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.