Kaiza's body was thrown into the sea.
This was the traditional method of execution for criminals in the Land of Waves. Gato not only monopolized force, but also had the official backing of the daimyo. His control over the nation's shipping routes was, strictly speaking, legal.
Thus, when Kaiza led the villagers to protest at the docks and surrounded Gato's ships, Gato executed him under the charge of "terrorist activity." The justification was thin—but sufficient.
Those in power never lack reasons to legitimize their crimes.
That day, Inari's mother, Tsunami, and his grandfather, Tazuna, searched the sea for a long time.
That day, the villagers fell into silence.
That day, Inari buried the birthday gift Kaiza had given him—treating it as if it were Kaiza's body.
Begging would not bring peace.
But… what else could they do?
Inari covered his face, tears soaking into his palms.
The world before Neiki was pure white.
There was no sense of direction—up, down, left, right, front, back—all had lost meaning.
There was no weight. His hand passed straight through his own body.
There was nothing but endless white. If he could not see himself, Neiki might have thought he had been blinded by an eternal, overwhelming light.
As with every previous stage of the Byakugan's awakening, information surged into his mind.
Even before the post-awakening weakness had fully passed, Neiki already understood the nature of this place.
This was the ability his Byakugan awakened upon reaching its final stage.
Entering a domain known as Shibai.
Here—
Neiki was omnipotent.
Just as white contains all colors.
"The transplantation of Hashirama cells has always had an abysmally low survival rate," Neiki muttered, holding a vial filled with vibrant green fluid."If I were outside, I would proceed with extreme caution. But here… failure is impossible."
These cells came from Danzo's underground laboratory in Konoha. Though modified to be less violent, they remained immensely dangerous.
Without years of bodily adaptation like Danzo's, consuming them in the real world would almost certainly turn Neiki into a tree on the spot.
Neiki shook his head and swallowed the vial.
Aside from the white of Shibai Space dimming slightly, nothing happened.
No pain.No violent reaction.
The Hashirama cells merged into his body seamlessly—so perfectly that not even Hashirama's phantom face appeared on his chest.
Power spread through him.
His taijutsu strength increased.His physical resistance increased.
His ninjutsu power increased.His ninjutsu resistance increased.
Even his chakra reserves doubled.
This was the terrifying might of perfectly integrated Hashirama cells.
Neiki could now use basic Wood Release techniques. Advanced Wood Release remained beyond him—not because he lacked talent, but because he had never seen them.
He had no intention of wasting Shibai's omnipotence on instant mastery.
He could analyze and develop them himself.Or learn them from scrolls.
Either way, he would eventually obtain them.
More importantly—
Shibai's omnipotence was not free.
The cost was the white essence accumulated within this space—formed from Byakugan Essence.
If Neiki's wish exceeded the value of that essence, the excess cost would fall directly on him.
In theory, he could wish for Rinnegan.
In practice, his current reserves were nowhere near sufficient.
Hundreds of Byakugan eyes weren't worth even a single Rinnegan.
Neiki couldn't help but feel that his clan members had died cheaply.
Reality alteration was inefficient.
Creating something from nothing was expensive.
Neiki preferred intelligent wishes.
For example:"Allow my body to successfully absorb Hashirama cells."
Rather than:"Give me Hashirama's abilities."
Since Neiki already possessed the cells, the probability of success already existed. For Shibai Space, it merely needed to ensure a low-probability event occurred.
The difference in cost was enormous.
"I've developed a technique that allows ordinary people to cultivate Byakugan," Neiki said politely, taking out a scroll."Please perfect it."
This jutsu had been created before the Hyuga massacre. It was meant as a safeguard—ensuring Neiki could gather enough Byakugan Essence even if he failed to reach the final stage naturally.
The technique had never been tested.
Neiki's analytical ability ensured learnability, not effectiveness. In the past, he often created jutsu with A-rank complexity but D-rank results.
This one, however, was different.
It was inspired by how pearls formed around grains of sand inside oysters.
Neiki believed it would work.
Perfecting it shouldn't cost much.
Shibai Space did not require time to act.
Almost instantly, the white domain darkened—like white clouds turning into black storm clouds.
Neiki frowned.
That much essence… just to perfect it?
He unfurled the scroll.
It kept rolling.
And rolling.
Until it finally hit the ground.
Neiki froze.
"…Did it get longer?"
It took nearly ten seconds to fully unroll.
The original two-point-four-meter scroll had expanded—
to twenty-four meters.
No wonder it consumed so much essence.
This…
This was true perfection.
"…My apologies," Neiki muttered softly.
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