In the forest outside Konoha.
"You did a splendid job," Shikaku said, genuinely praising Neiki as he watched him.
Neiki had brought Hanabi out of his own house. When this happened, all the informed higher-ups in Konoha realized that Neiki's so-called search for Hanabi—carried out under the banner of the Hyuga clan head's "final order"—had only ever been an excuse to move freely through Konoha and sow discord.
Neiki had known from the start that Hanabi was hidden in his house.
He might have been the one who hid her there himself.
Ten minutes wasn't enough for Konoha to evacuate tens of thousands of people, but it was more than enough for Neiki to spread the truth, shake the authority of Konoha's leadership, and carve the first rift in the village's internal unity.
"You're too kind," Neiki said, tossing the remote control to Hanabi and motioning for her to take it to Shikaku.
"Hanabi, do you know what great deeds your brother Neiki has done?" Shikaku asked as he received the remote, carefully sealed it away, then looked down at the adorable long-haired girl standing in front of him.
"I don't know," Hanabi said, shaking her head in confusion.
Shikaku glanced at Neiki. "Can I tell her?"
Neiki didn't speak, but the slight curl of his lips was answer enough.
Taking that as consent, Shikaku said to Hanabi, "He killed your parents, and many of your relatives and friends. Most of your clan died by his hand."
Hanabi's mouth fell slightly open. She looked at Shikaku, then turned to Neiki. As if suddenly understanding something, she raised her voice in protest.
"It wasn't Neiki's fault! He did it to protect me!"
Shikaku was so shocked that he momentarily forgot how to speak.
What is that supposed to mean?
Do you think your parents and relatives were monsters, so Neiki killing them was "saving" you?
He couldn't make sense of her logic. All he could do was frown, realizing that Neiki's style of brainwashing was… very unique.
Hanabi tried to walk back to Neiki's side, but the nearby Anbu held her in place.
"Do you have any other ways to activate the explosive tags?" Shikaku asked.
Neiki simply smiled at him without answering.
Standard explosive tags could be triggered with hand seals. The remote-control trigger was just a modification Neiki had added to heighten the sense of threat.
So—of course he had other ways.
Shikaku's eyes narrowed.
This guy had planned everything out carefully. There was no way he hadn't prepared a backup.
Realizing that, Shikaku finally let Hanabi return to Neiki's side.
If Neiki possessed other means of detonation, then the remote in Shikaku's hand alone was meaningless.
They couldn't trust Neiki's "good faith."
They still needed to evacuate civilians and remove the explosive tags before Konoha could truly escape his grasp.
"We'll need to monitor you for a while," Shikaku said, proposing a compromise.
As long as Neiki stayed far enough away from the explosive tags, even if he took out another remote, it wouldn't be able to send a signal.
Neiki shook his head. "That wasn't part of the agreement."
"And I, Neiki, always play by the rules. As long as you don't attack me, I won't activate the explosive tags."
Shikaku nodded slightly, remembering the two explosions that had gone off after Neiki was attacked. In the end, both had been triggered in direct response to aggression.
Though, if you considered entrapment "playing by the rules"…
"Let's hope so," Shikaku said coldly.
With the deal concluded, Neiki turned to Hanabi and smiled.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Like a child boarding a train for the first time, Hanabi didn't fully understand what this departure really meant. She just followed Neiki, a little dazed.
They hadn't taken more than two steps when—
"Neiki—!"
A furious shout rang out, startling a flock of roosting birds into the air.
Neiki turned to see a figure wreathed in blue light charging toward him through the trees, slipping past Shikaku's shadow jutsu and striking with a palm that split the air.
Gentle Fist · Lion's Fang!
The young man roared.
"You—die!"
Using my technique on me?
Neiki shook his head, unsure whether he felt more disappointed or relieved.
He drew the long sword from his back, meeting the attack like a hunting lion pouncing on its prey.
Eight Trigrams Sword · Lion's Fang!
Sword and palm collided. In Neji's disbelieving eyes, the technique he'd launched crumbled under Neiki's blade, shattering instantly and offering no resistance at all.
Boom!
Neji was blown away, crashing hard into the dirt.
Several Anbu immediately rushed in and restrained him.
"What are you doing, Neji?" Shikaku snapped.
Attacking Neiki could give him the perfect excuse to detonate more explosive tags inside the village. That was why Shikaku had been both shocked and enraged by Neji's sudden charge. For a moment, he'd even suspected that Neji's appearance might be yet another layer of Neiki's scheme.
But as the seconds ticked by and no explosion rocked Konoha, Shikaku calmed slightly. Seeing that Neji wasn't badly injured, he thought of something and turned to look at Neiki, who still stood there with his sword out.
Was it because the attacker was his brother?
Neiki could have used Neji's attack as justification for another blast. No matter which part of the village exploded next, the people affected would unquestionably lay the blame at Neji's feet.
And once the whole world knew that Neji was Neiki's younger brother, his position in Konoha would become even more precarious than it already was.
"So this is… the true face of Lion's Fang?" Neji shouted hoarsely at Neiki, struggling against the Anbu restraining him.
In that brief clash, he'd realized something.
The Lion's Fang technique Neiki had taught him had never truly been a Gentle Fist technique.
It was a sword technique.
Only as a sword technique could Lion's Fang unleash its full destructive power.
He understood that now.
So this is the real Lion's Fang?
Is this your real face?
"Why are you doing this?" Neji's question carried more than one meaning—was he asking why Neiki had taught him a flawed version of the technique, or why he had become this person?
Tears streamed from his eyes, down to his nose, his lips, his chin—then fell, one by one, onto the dirt, soaking the dusty ground.
Neiki glanced at Shikaku.
Shikaku frowned, but ultimately he waved the Anbu off.
"Do you really want to know?" Neiki asked softly.
His gentle voice carried Neji back to the peaceful afternoons of the past. When Neji looked up, countless overlapping images of Neiki flashed through his mind.
Which Neiki had been false?
Which had been real?
He couldn't tell anymore.
But after hearing all the rumors about Neiki—about his escape, the village-shaking explosions, the Hyuga massacre—after breaking out of his cell, evading capture, and forcing his way here, wasn't he standing in front of Neiki precisely because he wanted to understand?
Because he wanted the truth?
Do you really want to know?
Neji nodded.
He didn't even have time to answer out loud.
Thud.
As his head dipped, a sword punched straight through his abdomen.
Pain exploded in his belly and raced up his spine, slamming into his brain. Neji looked down to see the steel buried in his stomach, blood pouring out around the blade.
Then he forced his gaze back up.
Neiki, the one who had run him through, was smiling at him—warmly, brilliantly.
The Anbu swarmed in, and Neiki quickly stepped back. The entire clearing dissolved into noise and chaos.
Just before Neji lost consciousness, he heard Neiki's voice.
"Then survive."
"Ask me again… when we meet next time."
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