Creak.
The wooden boards made a harsh sound as Neji Hyuga pushed himself upright with both hands. The alarm clock by the bed showed 2:00, and the room was still dim and murky. His breathing had not fully settled.
He turned his head toward the window without thinking, only to see a figure standing quietly there. The person was still, carrying a sense of loneliness that filled the space.
Still shaken, Neji Hyuga jumped in fright at first, but quickly recognized the face under the moonlight. That face looked tired and distant, yet familiar.
"Father?"
The confused voice of Neji Hyuga reached him, and Hizashi Hyuga, who had been staring blankly into the night outside, came back to himself. He withdrew his gaze and looked at his son.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Hizashi Hyuga's eyes were complicated, but he still showed a gentle smile. He raised his hand and lightly patted Neji Hyuga's hair.
"It should not count as a nightmare."
Neji Hyuga frowned slightly and pressed a hand to his swollen temples. His small face showed clear confusion.
He tried to recall the details of the dream, but everything slipped away like melting snow under the morning sun. The memories felt like sand in his hand, flowing through his fingers and disappearing with the wind. No matter how hard he tried, he could not hold on.
He opened his palm unwillingly and found that only a few grains remained. They were fragments he could barely grasp.
The strange nursery rhyme in the ruined shrine, the fear and anger of being chosen as a substitute, those unbelievably beautiful blue eyes, and the golden light that cut through the night sky at the end. These images lingered in pieces.
"Father."
Neji Hyuga clutched tightly to those few remaining "grains" and looked up at Hizashi Hyuga. He asked without thinking, "Can the Hyuga Clan have eyes other than the Byakugan?"
Hearing this, Hizashi Hyuga froze for a moment and looked at him in confusion. He still explained patiently, "If the bloodline is not pure enough, someone may never awaken the Byakugan and will have ordinary eyes, just like normal people."
After a pause, as if recalling something, he added, "Actually, our Hyuga Clan has a collateral line with the surname 'Kohinata.' Their bloodline is so thin that none of them have awakened the Byakugan." This knowledge came from Itachi's teachings.
Of course, if any member of that line truly awakened the Byakugan, they would be brought back to the Hyuga Clan immediately. After being branded with the Caged Bird Seal, they would join the Hyuga Clan Branch Family.
"So…" Neji Hyuga pressed his dry lips together and murmured, "It was just a dream?"
Everything told him it had only been a dream, yet the figure walking out of the flames with a severed head felt carved into his mind. Those magnificent eyes refused to fade.
He could even recall the ring-like light within those eyes, and the shock of the final golden beam breaking through the clouds and crashing down. The feeling lingered in his chest.
"What happened before that?"
Neji Hyuga frowned and tried to think harder, but nothing came back. He only felt that whatever he forgot had been extremely important.
The dream had been far too real, so real that it did not feel like an illusion from Root. His heart was still beating fast because of it.
If I could have that kind of terrifying power, then maybe I could too…
Neji Hyuga said nothing more, and Hizashi Hyuga did not press him. The room fell into a brief silence, heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Clearly, both of them were caught in their own complicated emotions. One formed a resolve and a longing he himself did not notice, while the other kept recalling a taste of freedom and felt greedy for it. What they shared was a growing desire toward the same figure in their hearts.
Neither of them knew that this desire had been planted by the very same person.
[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Bluffing] [Manipulating the Heart] [Luring into a Trap]. Hizashi Hyuga experienced intense emotional fluctuation and reached the level of [Obedient], gaining 600 Reality Points.]
[Ding! Your lie [Death of the Hyuga] has been judged as [Fabrication] [Dream Within a Dream]. Neji Hyuga experienced intense emotional fluctuation and reached the level of [Delusional Thoughts], gaining 1600 Reality Points.]
[Remaining Reality Points: 11193]
"So two achievements gave more points than three by a thousand?"
Inside the room, the clone burst apart with a soft bang and turned into smoke. The black robe flowed like liquid into the shadow beneath another figure's feet, gradually revealing the thoughtful face of Ryuji Hyuga.
"As expected, only truly absurd lies give more points."
After manifesting the Shadow Robe, Ryuji Hyuga had been left with 10293 points. Using Remove on Hizashi Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal for ten seconds only cost 300 points, while pulling Neji Hyuga into a dream he personally fabricated cost 1000 points.
This time, however, Ryuji Hyuga did not complain about the system being unfair. The cost felt acceptable.
Only by manifesting even a trace of the power of the Tenseigan could that scene be burned deep into Neji Hyuga's mind. That would also make it easier to design even bigger lies later.
"In any case, I made it back. No loss, pure profit."
Ryuji Hyuga changed clothes and sat down at the desk. He took out his own "diary" from the drawer.
While writing completely unrelated "diary" entries, he reviewed his actions for any flaws. At the same time, he thought about how to use the points next.
His current strength was still not enough. Although Hizashi Hyuga acted submissive in front of Hiashi Hyuga, his real strength ranked near the top within the clan, and his combat experience far surpassed that Main Family clan head.
Only a madman like him would dare to appear openly before Hizashi Hyuga, pushing him to the brink and even threatening and deceiving him. Any normal person would have avoided such a risk.
If he had not deliberately chosen Hizashi Hyuga's residence. If he had not deliberately projected calm and overwhelming confidence. If he had not deliberately created an extremely oppressive atmosphere, and chosen the lonely depth of night.
If he had not used Hizashi's concern for Neji Hyuga. If he had not understood Hizashi so well.
Every detail had been necessary. Though it looked effortless from start to finish, any small mistake would have alerted Hizashi Hyuga, and escape would have been impossible.
Even now, as Ryuji Hyuga reviewed it all, he could not help but marvel at his own recklessness. At the same time, he felt a genuine thrill from the danger.
"I need to be more careful in the future. I should raise my strength first. I cannot do this again next time."
Ryuji Hyuga nodded, silently making up his mind. Yes, next time for sure.
[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Self-Deception]. Ryuji Hyuga experienced slight emotional fluctuation and reached the level of [Saying One Thing, Meaning Another], gaining 1 Reality Point.]
"…I cannot be bothered with you, you brainless thing."
Hearing the system notification in his mind, several dark lines appeared on Ryuji Hyuga's forehead. He silently thought, "Manifest ninjutsu, Lightning Release Armor."
[Cost 1000 Reality Points. Confirm manifestation?]
"So expensive? That would almost drop me below 10000." Ryuji Hyuga ground his teeth.
He was not someone who refused to spend anything, but he had the habit of hoarding like a hamster. Seeing his points close to falling below 10000 gave him a strong sense of unease.
Because of that, he really did not want to spend them and hesitated about trying to develop it himself. He was still weighing the choice.
Before he could answer in his mind, a faint cat's cry reached his ears.
"Meow."
The sound was mixed in with the loud chirping of insects, and in this season it did not seem unusual. It was just another noise in the night.
However, Ryuji Hyuga's gaze paused, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Points had delivered themselves right to his door.