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Akira was actually being generous. He used an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu on nothing more than a low-ranking ninja.
The next instant, a crimson Sharingan appeared in Hyūga Ko's eyes.
"This is…!"
His heart jolted. Before he could even react, his vision blurred and the world before him warped completely.
In Ko's eyes, the tree beside him transformed into a peerless beauty, stunning beyond words.
Under the genjutsu's influence, his desires were amplified without limit.
He began to struggle violently.
Seeing this, Akira released his grip at just the right moment.
The next second, Hyūga Ko lunged toward the nearby tree.
Then he hugged it tightly.
His face wore an expression of utter bliss.
It was obvious he was enjoying himself immensely.
All of it was the result of Akira's Mangekyō Sharingan illusion, pushing him into doing something utterly shameful.
Akira nodded in satisfaction. This guy's appearance was perfect for testing his genjutsu abilities.
Judging from the results, his skill in illusions was still top-tier.
What Akira didn't expect, however, was that this seemingly insignificant act would become the fuse that ignited the night of the clan's destruction.
Of course, that was a story for later.
Nearby, Hyūga Neji was completely dumbfounded.
"Cousin! Cousin! What are you doing?! Stop it already!"
He rushed over to intervene, only to be shoved away by Ko.
"Get lost! Don't mess with my fun!"
Neji tried again and again, only to be heartlessly pushed aside each time. Finally, he realized something was very wrong.
He pointed at Akira, his face twisted with rage. "Damn it! It has to be you! You did this, didn't you?! Make my cousin stop right now!"
Akira didn't even bother responding. He turned around and walked away.
He had tested his abilities enough. It was time to leave.
As for the brat behind him, he had zero interest.
"Bastard! Uchiha Akira, if you dare walk away, you're dead!"
"You humiliated the Hyūga clan like this. Our strongest members will never let you get away with it!"
Hearing that, Akira suddenly stopped and turned back.
He began walking toward them again.
Seeing the indifferent look on Akira's face, Hyūga Neji felt an inexplicable wave of panic.
He regretted it.
Why did I have to call him back? Something really bad is about to happen…
Am I going to end up humping a tree like my cousin?!
"Y-you… don't come any closer! What do you want?!"
Akira's steps were unhurried, his voice calm.
"I almost forgot. You slapped me earlier."
"And I'm the kind of person who believes in returning favors. Since you gave me a slap, it's only fair I give you one back."
As the words fell, Akira's body began to swell. He grew taller, his hair lengthened, and dense, powerful muscles bulged across his frame.
In an instant, he shot up to nearly two meters tall.
He had entered his brute form.
As he advanced, Akira casually swung his hand.
A massive tree, thick enough that two people couldn't wrap their arms around it, was snapped clean in half.
If that had landed on someone's head, it would have exploded like a melon.
"Ahhh!!! Don't come any closer!!!"
Witnessing that terrifying display of strength, Hyūga Neji fainted on the spot, his pants darkening as he lost control.
He'd been scared so badly he pissed himself.
"Tch. Boring."
Akira clicked his tongue, unimpressed. He dismissed the brute form and returned to his original size.
He had wanted to test the strength of that form on a human target, but clearly that wasn't happening now.
The transformation had incredible presence, but it came with a downside. It blew his clothes apart.
Akira glanced down at himself, now wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, and sighed helplessly.
Looks like I'll need to keep more spare outfits in my system inventory.
Otherwise, ending every fight in my underwear really hurts my intimidating image.
He glanced at the unconscious Neji with clear disgust. The clothes were soaked with piss. No way he was wearing those.
Not wanting to head home shirtless, Akira turned his gaze toward Hyūga Ko.
"The size isn't quite right, but it'll have to do."
After changing clothes, Akira left the area.
Behind him were the unconscious Hyūga Neji and Hyūga Ko, who was left with nothing but a pair of shorts.
More than ten minutes later, Ko finally stopped.
Five minutes after that, he found another tree.
As dusk fell.
On Konoha's main street, beside a roadside tree, a crowd of villagers had gathered in thick rings.
"Eww, who is this guy? How can he do something this obscene in broad daylight?!"
"The nerve on him! Doing something like that so openly!"
"Sigh… society's really going downhill."
"Hey, look at his eyes. They're pure white. Isn't he from the Hyūga clan?"
"No way! So someone from the Hyūga clan is into this kind of thing? Never would've guessed!"
"Old Teuchi! Old Teuchi! Get out here, there's a great show! Come take a look!"
…
The villagers watched Hyūga Ko's performance with great interest.
A ninja doing something like this in public was a first, especially one from a major clan like the Hyūga.
Miss this, and you'd probably never see anything like it again, so they made sure to watch their fill.
Of course, not everyone enjoyed gawking.
An older woman squeezed through the crowd and tugged gently at Ko's arm, trying to persuade him.
"Child, child, don't do this. Please stop…
Even if you have… special interests, you should enjoy them at home, not out in public."
"Get lost! Don't mess with my fun!"
Ko flung her aside and continued indulging in his own world.
"Oh dear…"
The woman sighed, shook her head, and turned away helplessly.
Not long after she left, a member of the Hyūga clan finally arrived.
"Move it, move it! Stop staring! There's nothing to see here!"
The man's face was dark as he roughly shoved the villagers aside.
They were furious but didn't dare speak up, retreating and opening a wide path for him.
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?! You've completely disgraced the Hyūga clan! Stop this right now!"
Hyūga Tokuma stormed up to Ko and roared at him.
Ko didn't react at all, as if he hadn't heard a word, and continued his "great work."
Sensing something was off, Tokuma quickly activated his Byakugan.
The next instant, he saw the problem and cursed out loud.
"Damn it! Some bastard used a genjutsu on him! The Hyūga clan will never let this go!"
Bang!
He slapped the tree in half. "Stop embarrassing us and come back with me!"
Still under the genjutsu's control, Ko froze for a moment.
Then he noticed Tokuma beside him and instinctively reached out to grab him.
"You bastard!"
Tokuma was furious, but genjutsu wasn't his specialty.
And this wasn't just any illusion. It was an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu.
Normal methods of dispelling illusions were completely useless.
Left with no choice, Tokuma struck Ko's neck with a sharp chop.
"Damn it…"
This was beyond humiliating.
Tokuma's face was darker than a storm cloud.
"Pfft…"
One villager couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Like a chain reaction, more and more villagers started laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha…"
The sound of laughter made Tokuma's expression even uglier.
Being mocked by a bunch of commoners filled him with rage, and regret.
If he'd known this would happen, he never would've come. Let the clan lose face. He wasn't the one being punished anyway.
But now that he was here, he couldn't just abandon this idiot.
With no other choice, he hoisted Hyūga Ko onto his back and hurried away, enduring the mocking stares of the Konoha villagers as he left the scene.
"..."
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