Becomes a Rebel Ninja After Annihilating the Hyuga Clan

Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Funeral (Double Chapter)

As he pushed open the door, all eyes in the main hall turned to him.

"Oh, it's Neiki. It's so noisy outside, what's going on?" a clan elder asked gently.

"Can't you see we're in a meeting? What are you barging in for?" another frowned.

Of course, some elders who had already fallen to Neiki's control were cursing at him relentlessly, but their insults were unimaginative, filled with words like "traitor," "damned," and "you will pay." Their faces twisted in anger, reminiscent of Hyuga Hiashi before his spine was broken.

If not for the chains binding them, even with broken arms, they seemed willing to bite a chunk out of Neiki with their teeth.

8, 9, 10… 15.

Neiki silently counted the number of survivors in the room.

Three elders, twelve representatives from the main and branch families.

Most possessed highly pure Byakugan.

Truly the pillars of the Hyuga clan, capable of holding meetings in the main hall.

Neiki smiled in satisfaction.

"Everyone's asking you a question." Hyuga Hisashi frowned. The genius of the branch family seemed unusually rude.

"Oh, I recently developed a new genjutsu and wanted to demonstrate it to the elders," Neiki said.

Some elders looked surprised, while others scoffed.

So many important figures present, who did he think he was to show off?

What did he think he was worth?

Moreover, it was a mediocre genjutsu. Wasn't the Hyuga's Gentle Fist enough for him to master?

But before such criticisms could be voiced, Neiki snapped his fingers.

—In an instant.

The world changed!

All the survivors in the room, including Hyuga Hisashi, were suddenly stunned.

The originally grand and luxurious main hall had turned dark and eerie, as if stripped of all color.

Spider webs filled every corner of the room, dust covered the floor, insects crawled everywhere, and the red paint on the door had congealed into lumps, filling the room with a bloody stench.

What unsettled Hisashi most was that the distinguished elders, including Clan Leader Hiashi, now appeared gruesome.

Their hair and beards were long and unkempt, as if not groomed for a month. Chains extended from the walls, embedding into their ribs, making every movement accompanied by the sound of clinking metal.

Their eye sockets were empty, and their faces were covered in blood clots.

They turned their heads and cursed at Neiki in the center.

Before Hisashi could make sense of their curses, he saw Neiki silently draw his sword.

"Shing."

A flash of the blade.

Hisashi noticed his hands flying off.

Blood arced beautifully through the air.

It was so fast that his body hadn't even reacted; he just felt a cool sensation at the wound.

Hisashi looked up blankly.

The scene before him was utterly unfamiliar.

Someone exclaimed, "This genjutsu is so strong," before being cut down by Neiki.

Others, unaware of what was happening, had their throats slit by Neiki.

This loyal guardian of the Hyuga main family—Neiki—after pulling his sword from the back of a main family member’s head, quickly moved to kill another in the room.

Screams echoed continuously.

Even the disheveled elders beside Hisashi were not spared.

"Run… run…"

Hisashi saw one of them growling at him.

As the last person fell, the room finally quieted down.

Hisashi’s expression was dazed, and he squeezed out a shaky laugh:

"Neiki… enough, enough, you can stop the genjutsu now…"

"This is too real…"

"My… my arms are starting to hurt…"

He kept urging Neiki to dispel the genjutsu, believing that killing clan members was a joke not to be taken lightly.

Neiki tilted his head at him, showing a look of confusion.

He glanced at the blood-dripping sword in his hand, then looked at Hisashi, thinking for a moment, and reminded him:

"Is it just your arms that hurt?"

"Didn't you notice your neck starting to hurt too?"

Hisashi paused, as if feeling something, and nodded repeatedly:

"You’re right… it does seem a bit itchy…"

He rubbed his neck with his arm, feeling the itch grow stronger until he rubbed his head off his neck.

Neiki encountered no significant resistance this time.

Reality is not something everyone has the courage to face.

The fifteen high-ranking Hyuga members in the room mostly didn’t react even when Neiki dispelled the illusion.

—They stared blankly at the changed surroundings, watched Neiki kill people, saw Neiki kill others and then come for them, and finally saw Neiki kill them.

Although hesitant about Neiki’s actions, they dismissed it as part of the bizarre genjutsu Neiki was demonstrating.

Perhaps only when the sword entered their bodies did they realize something was wrong.

But by then, it was too late.

No one could foresee Neiki slaughtering his kin, just as no one knew that the clan meeting they attended was actually held in a slaughterhouse, with them being the next to be butchered.

The contrast between illusion and reality was too stark, making the real world seem distant, and Neiki's swift actions didn’t give them time to react.

From drawing his sword to the last head falling, it was only a matter of breaths, and everything was settled.

[Essence Collected: 96.7%]

"Neiki, have you finished?"

From the head seat, Hiashi, ear turned, asked as if he and Neiki were accomplices.

"It’s done." Neiki was picking through his spoils.

This operation alone had pushed the Byakugan essence progress to 96.7% just from the branch family members. Only a few more main family Byakugan essences were needed to advance his eyes to the final stage.

The process wasn’t simple but went smoothly enough. From the moment he outsmarted Clan Leader Hiashi and took over the main house, today's outcome was a foreseeable future.

With the Jutsu of Tranquility in place, Neiki held the power to single-handedly sway the entire Hyuga clan. But clearly, how to gather the Hyuga members, avoid Konoha’s subsequent pursuit, and maximize his gains while still in Konoha was Neiki's strategic focus.

"You’ve accomplished a great revolution for the Hyuga clan. Though your methods were bloody, these were necessary sacrifices. The ancestors will understand, for the Hyuga clan will no longer be shackled by the Caged Bird." Hiashi sighed.

Neiki knew Hiashi was trying to frame his actions as a revolution rather than rebellion. Hiashi had previously expressed his thoughts; political beings always valued legitimacy.

Although Neiki didn't care, he indeed wouldn’t allow the Caged Bird to be revived under his control.

—Perhaps by a different name.

Caged Chicken, Caged Duck, or something similar.

Of course, it wouldn’t be for maintaining the clan’s continuity but merely for controlling others.

The targets of control expanded from just the Hyuga clan to everyone.

Neiki was quite generous.

He didn’t seek to enslave others for generations.

Compared to the Caged Bird, bringing a branch-main family system, his method was entirely different and indeed a form of progress.

"Has the war between the Uchiha and Konoha broken out outside?" Hiashi asked, knowing Neiki had mentioned this before.

"Yes, the Uchiha have no chance of winning." Neiki replied indifferently, hoping the Uchiha could at least cause some trouble, given he had helped them avoid the Night of the Massacre by dealing with Itachi.

"Konoha doesn’t either," Hiashi shook his head, predicting a double defeat, "After this battle, Sarutobi might want to step down, but he must remain because the Fourth Great Ninja War would require a respected figure to coordinate. Without the Uchiha and Hyuga, Konoha is weaker than ever, and other villages will seize this opportunity… This will be a life-and-death struggle for Konoha."

Neiki glanced at him. It wasn’t hard to predict, but given Hiashi’s month-long confinement, his sharp political insight was impressive.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

"Why do you say this?"

"I just feel fortunate that you’re leaving Konoha, so even if Konoha falls, the Hyuga clan will survive." Hiashi’s words were plentiful.

Neiki seemed to have a realization, nodding slightly:

"So… like you, Fugaku might have also arranged an escape. Whether the Uchiha lose or Konoha fails in the Fourth War, Konoha is no longer a safe place. Even if Sarutobi doesn’t pursue them relentlessly, Fugaku must have sent at least one Uchiha out of Konoha by now."

"Yes, this is likely the common thought among most clan leaders. The continuation of the clan is more important than anything." Hiashi nodded in agreement.

Konoha was a sinking ship, a hole Neiki and the Uchiha together had carved.

"So… where do you think that Uchiha would go?" Neiki asked.

Hiashi didn’t question Neiki’s intent, pondering if he were the Uchiha leader…

"The Land of Tea or the Land of Waves, perhaps. Far from the war zones, with no ninjas, and the Uchiha have always had the idea of establishing an independent ninja village."

"I see," Neiki noted these places, then looked up after collecting the last Byakugan, "I’ve finished my business. Do you have any last words?"

Neiki thought Hiashi still had untapped potential, stressing the words "last words."

"I almost forgot

something."

"Come out, Hinata, bring the clan ring," Hiashi called loudly.

Hearing this, a small door opened, and Hinata walked out, her eyes closed, likely on Hiashi’s orders, either to avoid the bloody scene or seeing Neiki’s face.

She nearly tripped over a corpse.

But she managed to reach Neiki, holding the ring high.

Neiki, uninterested in the Hyuga clan’s legacy, didn’t take the ring but looked at the mark on Hinata’s forehead.

"What does this mean?" he asked.

He didn’t need such a gesture.

Hiashi, understanding Neiki’s question, smiled:

"I told the elders that Hinata’s talent was insufficient, so I decided to have Hanabi inherit the clan head position. As per tradition, Hinata had to become a branch member… If it were before, no matter how the elders pressured me, I wouldn’t do it. They’re my precious daughters. But now… it’s a form of protection."

Indeed, Hinata’s forehead bore a fresh Caged Bird seal, placed by an elder who had died by Neiki’s hand.

This meant that the once-prestigious main family’s eldest daughter had become a branch member like Neiki.

Although, from today, the Hyuga clan might no longer distinguish between main and branch families.

The Caged Bird would limit her potential, but Hiashi didn’t expect Hinata to display extraordinary abilities.

He arranged for the Caged Bird seal on Hinata to prevent others from coveting her Byakugan, thus reducing the risk of her being harmed.

"Are you sure you don’t want the ring?"

"No need."

"Alright, Hinata, since he doesn’t want it, take it back and store it."

Hinata wobbled back.

"I’ll give you a quick death." Neiki raised his sword.

"Wait until my daughter is a bit farther…" Hiashi pleaded.

Neiki didn’t mind waiting, so he nodded.

…

A single slash.

Head and chains fell together.

On a blood-red carpet, Neiki walked, his sword in hand, under the sunlight.

The trees in the courtyard thrived, nourished by death.

Neji, in a daze, stepped over the corpses, walking past.

Under the Jutsu of Tranquility, he didn’t notice Neiki passing by. Only Hanabi beside him seemed to sense something, glancing in Neiki’s direction.

Neiki stepped over the bodies, reaching the estate’s entrance, when sudden laughter rang out.

He turned back.

The Byakugan projection on the rooftop slowly transformed into a large character for "Memorial."

A grand funeral was underway inside the main house.

The coffins held only the deceased's clothes.

A black-and-white photo of Hizashi hung above.

At a certain moment, a young man in the front row suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter.

An elder couldn’t stand it, reprimanding:

"Neiki, your father is dead, why are you laughing?"

Despite this, the young man’s laughter continued.

The laughter echoed until now, four years later.

…

Neiki, why are you laughing?

…

Me?

I’m laughing at the rule of fifty, with heaven allowing for forty-nine.

This fate left me one chance of survival.

Though difficult, beneath this chance lies your countless bones.

This cage of generations of servitude will be shattered by my sword.

This thousand-year-old clan will be overthrown by me.

The tightly locked door to the sky—

—I finally have the key.

…

Neiki smiled, turning his gaze from his younger self, stepping onto a new path.

The funeral scene for Hizashi in his memory crumbled with the end of the Jutsu of Tranquility.

Illusions faded, revealing the funeral for the entire Hyuga clan under this twilight.

Birds cried, accompanying the laughter of the boy from four years ago at the funeral, resonating for a long time.