Inside the temporary command center at Training Ground 23, the gathered Konoha elites were all visibly startled by the intelligence Uchiha Fugaku shared. "Stealing the Byakugan? Fusing visual prowess?"
Every single one of them held a key position within Konoha and had access to their own intelligence channels. They were all more or less aware of the operation launched by the Konoha high command last night; in fact, their presence here was itself a planned part of Konoha's contingency.
Now, the expressions on everyone's faces turned solemn.
Hyūga Natsu looked around at the crowd and nodded. Picking up where Uchiha Fugaku left off, she reminded them, "My Yin Release clone can only stall Hyūga Hizashi for a short moment to buy time for your operations."
"That time... is roughly ten minutes!"
After hearing this, Namikaze Minato already had a plan forming in his mind. He looked at Natsu and asked, "Miss Natsu, regarding the danger you mentioned, do you have any suggestions?"
Natsu immediately turned her head, pointing toward the civilian and shinobi members of the Hyūga Clan gathered in the spectator stands, and said gravely, "The entity about to be born from Hyūga Hizashi is called the 'Tenseigan.' It is an eye on the same level as the Rinnegan of the God of Shinobi, the Sage of Six Paths."
"And what drives its formation... is a massive quantity of Byakugan."
Natsu paused in deep thought for a moment before continuing, "Right now, there are far too many Hyūga clan members gathered at the venue... If we can evacuate a large number of innocent Hyūga civilians, perhaps... we can delay the evolution process of the Tenseigan."
"A preemptive strike at the root?" Minato nodded, casting a grateful look at Natsu. "I understand."
With that, his expression turned severe as he looked at the nearly one hundred elite Konoha shinobi assembled there, opening his mouth to declare, "Regarding the internal turmoil of the Hyūga Clan, Lord Third Hokage has granted me discretionary authority. Konoha has entered Level 2 Combat Readiness. I ask that everyone follow my orders from here on."
"We will now begin laying out the operational plan—"
"Kushina." Minato first looked at Uzumaki Kushina, who had rushed over. "Lead the Barrier Team to reinforce the barrier at the center of the venue and set up the Four Red Yang Formation."
"Got it!" Kushina nodded immediately.
Next, Minato pulled out a map of the site hastily drawn up by the logistics department. Looking at three other shinobi present, he pointed to three marked locations and said, "Lord Orochimaru, Clan Head Fugaku, and Uchiha Shisui—I must trouble the three of you to head to these three locations. Once the sealing formula is laid down, channel your chakra into it to activate the Four Red Yang Formation."
"Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza—take your subordinates and clansmen immediately to evacuate the civilians on site."
"Aburame Shibi, lead your men to the entrance to maintain order."
"Prioritize evacuating the civilians in the venue, then guide the civilians in the areas surrounding the Hyūga compound into the shelters."
"Next, the Jonin Squad..."
With the advance warning from Hyūga Yū, even though Konoha was skeptical of his prediction, they had made prudent preparations out of respect for Yū's current status in the village. Order after order was quickly dispatched by Minato. Squad after squad of shinobi turned and dashed toward various locations around the venue immediately upon receiving their tasks. However, just as Konoha began taking action to guide the bewildered Hyūga clan members away from the venue, a change occurred at the center of the field.
Fighting fiercely against Natsu, Hyūga Hizashi's expression suddenly shifted dramatically. He abruptly halted his pursuit of Natsu and stood rooted to the spot. The purple chakra coating his body churned violently, followed closely by a look of shock and agony on his face. "My body... I can't control it? Wait, what... what is this thing?!"
At this moment, as his Byakugan's peripheral vision caught sight of the Hyūga clan members beginning to diminish and leave the venue, an overwhelming rage surged from the depths of his heart straight into his head!
It was as if a voice was roaring in his brain: Stop! Stop!
Quickly, I must go stop them immediately!
Kill them, kill them all!
Hizashi was horrified to discover that this suddenly rising emotion—and the spiritual energy controlling his body—did not belong to his own will or thoughts at all!
Yet this will was so terrifying, like a giant pile of five hundred sewn-together corpses hovering inside Hizashi's mind. In a single instant, Hizashi seemed to hear those five hundred corpses stacked like a mountain chanting, whispering, incanting, and roaring in unison right in his ears!
He couldn't make out what those things were roaring about. Amidst the chaotic noise, Hizashi's eyes grew increasingly vacant and hollow.
In the next instant—
BOOM!!!
Purple chakra erupted around Hizashi, turning into a towering pillar of light. Inside the beam of light, Hizashi moved like a controlled puppet. Pivoting on his heel, he prepared to pounce in the opposite direction toward the crowd of Hyūga clan members in the stands!
Right at that moment—SWISH!
The sharp whistle of an arrow echoed!
An arrow shot swiftly from behind Hizashi, slipping through the gaps in the flowing chakra and piercing straight through his lower leg!
The faint teal chakra attached to the shaft instantly spread throughout Hizashi's body.
Bang!
Hizashi collapsed onto one knee, a look of struggle emerging on his face. Soon, as memories of the things "he" had done over this period flooded his brain, clarity returned to his eyes. A look of terror instantly filled his gaze. "Wait... these... all of this was done by me? What... what have I done?!"
Very quickly, his expression shifted again—becoming dark, cold, and arrogant, as if two Hizashis were conversing simultaneously within a single body: "It had to be done! Only like this can I become the Tennin and break free from the Caged Bird!"
"No, that's wrong! This isn't right! I never wanted to harm my clansmen!"
"You're wrong, I DID!"
"I hate the Main House, I hate the Hyūga Clan, and I hate that brother who was born just a few minutes before me—Hyūga Hiashi—even more!"
"Hasn't this always been what I wanted most? I want to prove to Hiashi—"
"Even if I'm demoted to the Branch House, I can still surpass him! I can become the strongest Hyūga!"
"I... I..."
Hizashi trembled all over. His eyes shifted back and forth—from clear to arrogant, from remorseful to freezing cold... Kneeling on the ground, his body abnormally began to swell amidst the intense emotional turmoil!
As if touching the deadline of a certain fixed logic, a transformation from mind to matter began occurring on Hizashi's body. His form rapidly bulged and expanded, pushing out crater-like hollow sockets on his arms, chest, thighs... every part of his body.
Seeing this scene from the edge of the arena, Natsu, who was raising her bow to shoot again, paled. "It's starting..."
Her gaze turned sharp as she gritted her teeth slightly. Caring no longer about maintaining the stability of this clone, she directly synthesized an immense amount of Yin Release chakra within her body!
Natsu's physical body visibly withered away at a speed noticeable to the naked eye. In return, the faint teal light in her eyes burned with increasing brilliance!
Brilliant to the point of touching a certain boundary!
The chakra burst straight out of her body, turning into a fine teal thread that pierced through the clouds and reached straight to the surface of the moon!
In the next instant—WHOOSH!
The sky above the venue suddenly sank!
A massive swath of clouds in the stratosphere seemed to be compressed by a colossal entity, plummeting downward rapidly. The dark clouds hovered above Konoha, casting the entire village into gloom.
Immediately after, the dark sky split open right down the center. A giant full moon replaced where the sun should have been, appearing directly in the sight of everyone in Konoha below.
Amidst the howling winds and the darkened daylight, Natsu used the very last thread of her clone's strength to raise her palm, aiming it at Hizashi, who was kneeling on one knee with his flesh squirming frantically. She clenched her hand tight and barked cold command: "Authority Two: Celestial Gravity Manipulation!"
In the next instant—CRACK!
Lightning flashed through the cloud layer, and the full moon flared with blinding light!
High up in the sky, a glowing red dot pierced through the high clouds, friction against the atmosphere dragging a long, crimson tail of flame behind it like terrifying thunder, or heavenly fire descending upon the world. In a split second, the entire venue flared with blinding brightness!
Before anyone present could react, a straight, crimson pillar of light connected heaven and earth, shattering both the Four Violet Flames Formation and the other barrier set up by the Barrier Team, slamming directly into Hizashi's position at the center of the venue!
"—BOOM!!!"
The earth tore apart, and the entire venue shook violently!
Even the elite Konoha shinobi who had been tempered by the Third Great Ninja War couldn't keep their footing under this horrific commotion. They could only grab onto whatever was near them to steady themselves, looking on in sheer terror. "What was that just now?"
"A... jutsu?"
"No way, what kind of jutsu is that absurd?!"
"Look, the barrier broke! In the center of the venue, there's... is that a rod?"
"Not good!"
A few sharp-eyed shinobi saw the crumbling barrier in the center of the venue, and inside the barrier, white wind pressure accumulated to the extreme, nearly solidifying.
"The impact of that falling object was forcibly contained inside by the barrier, but the barrier is about to shatter!"
"If that impact bursts out, it's going to destroy the entire Hyūga compound!"
At this critical moment, four voices suddenly echoed around the perimeter of the venue: "Sealing Technique: Four Red Yang Formation!"
Orochimaru, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Shisui, and Uzumaki Kushina—four powerful shinobi possessing immense chakra—simultaneously channeled their chakra into the barrier!
Four crimson barriers rose, enclosing the shattered Four Violet Flames Formation and reforming a giant red cubic barrier in the center of the venue.
In the next instant—BOOM!!!
The second wave of impact completely shattered the inner barrier and exploded outward. The Four Red Yang Formation, capable of containing even the Ten-Tails, bulged and wavered before finally stabilizing once more.
The shinobi present all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Right then, Minato's steady, warm voice echoed across the spectator stands: "Everyone—"
"—Hurry! Continue evacuating the civilians!"
Hearing his voice, the spirits of the Konoha shinobi present lifted as if finding their anchor. They immediately resumed action, protecting the large crowd of ordinary Hyūga civilians as they evacuated the venue.
Meanwhile, in an empty corner of the venue, Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath. Looking around repeatedly to ensure no one was paying attention to him, he slowly closed his eyes. When he reopened them, an intricately patterned, extraordinarily magnificent Mangekyō pattern flared to life within his Sharingan!
Hss... Aside from the Tennin, Hyūga Natsu... actually possesses power no weaker than the Mangekyō Sharingan?
And with a strike like that...
Hyūga Hizashi... should be dead, right?
Fugaku narrowed his eyes slightly, using his Mangekyō Sharingan to observe the scene in the field.
By now, the center of the field had been transformed into a giant crater with a two-hundred-meter radius.
Dust rolled up into the sky, obscuring all sight.
However, the Mangekyō Sharingan could see the chakra reactions within. Under its vision, there was no longer any human-shaped chakra reaction left inside the crater.
Which meant that even Natsu herself had perished under her own jutsu.
This made sense; Fugaku immediately deduced that Natsu's jutsu was meant for mutual destruction.
After all, earlier, Natsu's main body had already appeared at the temporary command center. The one fighting Hizashi in the venue was merely a clone created via Yin Release—one that was indistinguishable from the real thing and possessed all her abilities.
A Yin Release clone, phasing ability, tactile genjutsu, a compound longbow, combined with this terrifying ultimate forbidden technique designed for mutual destruction... created a unique combat system.
Natsu executed such a horrific jutsu through a clone, preventing her true body from taking damage while fooling her enemy into believing they were fighting Natsu in person. Then, relying on this ultimate card, she took her enemy down with her.
Up until his death... Hizashi probably still believed he was fighting Natsu herself.
At this thought, Fugaku couldn't help feeling emotional. The Hyūga Clan truly produced talent after talent. It was impressive enough that a terrifying monster like the Tennin, Hyūga Yū, had emerged, but now even the Tennin's wife was this powerful...
This was a good thing for the Uchiha Clan.
The more brilliant the Hyūga Clan—also a top-tier shinobi clan—was, the safer the Uchiha Clan's situation in Konoha would be.
Besides, the Uchiha weren't lacking either. With two powerful individuals like himself and Shisui, plus the brilliantly talented Uchiha Itachi... They just needed to be careful about hiding their true strength to avoid Danzō's suspicion, while maintaining good relations with Hyūga Yū so Minato wouldn't misunderstand...
However, just as Fugaku was about to deactivate his Mangekyō Sharingan and call it a day, a faint yet remarkably intense surge of purple chakra suddenly lit up within his field of vision!
"Wait... This is?!"
In the next instant—RUMBLE!!!
The entire venue shook violently once again, as if something utterly horrific was about to crawl out from the depths of the earth! Fugaku's pupils shrank. Just as he was about to investigate further, a wave of commotion and bloodcurdling screams suddenly erupted from a distance!
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
"MY EYES! MY EYES!"
"EYES! AHHHH! MY EYES ARE FLYING OUT!"
Fugaku snapped his head around toward the spectator stands on the other side, only to see—
Behind him, member after member of the Hyūga Clan suddenly began twitching violently, collapsing to the ground while clutching their eyes and wailing in agony!
Then—POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!
POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!
A continuous sequence of sounds echoed out—resembling popping bubbles, or highly elastic sponge spheres being squeezed out of sealed bottles!
Fugaku immediately saw a Hyūga clan member suddenly fall to his knees, throwing his upper body back, tilting his face upward, and opening his eyes wide. In the next moment, a pair of Byakugan floated right out of his hollow, empty eye sockets!
Countless pairs of Byakugan floated up and flew out into the air!
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