Neji and Hanabi were walking home from the theatre.
The performance hadn't ended yet, but the final act was painfully dull.
The plot about the protagonist's beloved brother defecting from the clan and turning against him was full of dramatic twists and "deep" themes, but in the end, it felt far-fetched and detached from reality.
Yes, the clan in the play had indeed made mistakes—but the brother's reason for slaughtering his kin and defecting "for power" was flimsy at best, like the script had thrown logic away just to force a dramatic showdown between siblings.
It was like wrapping a dumpling purely to show off the dipping sauce.
"And that usually gentle big brother, secretly hiding a twisted heart capable of butchering his own family just to become stronger—how could the protagonist, who lived with him every day, never notice anything?" Neji grumbled, still complaining about how ridiculous the story was, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
At some point, he realized Hanabi had stopped walking.
"What is it? Do you also think the play didn't make sense?"
Hanabi pointed to a nearby rooftop, her face lighting up with joy.
"Brother Neiki!"
Neji followed her gaze and saw Neiki standing on the roof, his long hair stirring in the summer breeze.
The two of them hurried up to him. But as Neji got closer, he suddenly slowed down, his expression tightening.
Hanabi, on the other hand, ran straight to Neiki's side, looking up at him with wide, bright eyes.
"Brother, are you up here enjoying the view?" The scenes from the play were still swirling in Neji's mind, making him vaguely uneasy. He tried to make small talk. "It is a beautiful evening."
The sunset dyed the village in a blood-red glow.
Neiki didn't answer. He kept his eyes fixed on the distance, as if he were waiting for something.
The silence stretched on for a few seconds.
Neji's throat felt dry.
"Brother, your mission these past few days… wasn't far from Konoha, was it?"
The smell of fresh blood was everywhere.
Too fresh.
Neiki glanced back at him, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint smile. He shook his head slightly.
"The sky itself has no color. It doesn't deceive anyone. It's people's eyes that deceive them. Ignorance is inevitable for most."
"And you, Neji—you have eyes that can see through everything. You are so close to the truth, yet you insist on letting your heart mislead you."
He patted Neji's shoulder, then pointed off into the distance.
"This brutal world can no longer be hidden behind pretty lies."
"Along with the rest of the ignorant masses, Neji… open your eyes and see the truth."
Neji followed the direction of his brother's hand.
The sunset burned above the Uchiha district.
What truth?
All he could see was a peaceful, quiet neighbourhood.
A few vague figures were moving stealthily in that direction.
The next second—
A water dragon wrapped in crackling lightning suddenly lunged into the sky.
Then.
It plunged back down.
"Boom—!"
Half of the Uchiha district was instantly flattened.
Dust billowed upward, blotting out the sky.
Neji's expression froze.
"…Why?"
He turned toward Neiki.
His brother's eyes had gone completely indifferent—
A look Neji had never seen on his face before.
Detached.
God-like.
He heard Neiki say, calmly:
"I will break all the chains."
"As for you—once you are free, do your best to survive."
"Live long enough for us to meet again… then ask me."
Neiki turned and walked away, his steps unhurried.
He headed straight toward the Hyuga main compound.
"Is Brother Neiki going to the clan meeting?" Hanabi asked, still innocent and cheerful.
Neji's body went rigid.
It was as if all the jokes he had made in the past had crawled out of the shadows and wrapped themselves around his throat.
Konoha was under attack.
And Neiki… was walking toward the Hyuga main house.
Fragments of memories—truths Neji had refused to face, clues he'd noticed and then forced himself to ignore—suddenly surged through his mind, magnified a hundredfold.
…
"Do you know Tokuma?"
…
"What about Tsukune?"
…
"I'm Takizawa Sanmei, assigned by the Hokage to investigate the disappearance of Hyuga Tokuma and the others."
…
"To avoid showing weakness to the enemy, you must endure your grief."
Neji had adjusted his sad expression, glancing around the room that only held him and his brother.
Where's the enemy?
…
"Brother, you've been lecturing a lot lately."
"I know you won't listen now. I'm not talking to the 'you' of today."
…
"Is this chicken?"
"Pigeon."
…
"Is there… some indirect way to counteract the Caged Bird seal?"
"There is. Kill all the Hyuga main family members who know the Caged Bird command seal."
"Then you try it." Neji sulked.
"What do you mean 'try'? I already have."
…
"Where are you going, Brother?"
"To plant a tree."
…
"I… I don't want to go back…"
"Why don't you want to go back?"
"Dad is sick. Sister too… Mom… Mom's been sleeping for days… Sister Natsu, Sister Morima, a lot of people are sick. At night, they plant a lot of trees in the yard… I'm afraid they'll plant me as a tree too…"
…
"Brother, you're preaching again."
"Still complaining? Hmph. In a few days, you'll miss it."
…
"Do you want to come with me?"
…
You are so close to reality, yet you choose to be misled by your heart.
Fear.
Dread.
The feeling of standing in a world that had quietly turned strange and wrong.
The battle in the Uchiha district raged on in the distance, growing fiercer by the minute.
But Neji no longer cared.
He stared in the direction of the Hyuga main house, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Because as Neiki walked away—
He understood perfectly.
That would be the next place where the "truth" erupted.
That was where Neiki would break the chains.
That was where the bloody, ugly reality waited.
"I want to find Brother Neiki…" Hanabi whispered, seeing Neji's abnormal expression.
Neji jerked back to himself, staring at her as if waking from a nightmare.
Really… go?
Shatter the illusion?
Could he accept the truth, accept reality?
…Of course he had to go.
A burning rage, born from betrayal by the person he trusted most, shot through his chest.
His expression twisted. He grabbed Hanabi's hand and vaulted down from the rooftop.
"Let's go!"
Go stop him.
Go question him.
Go… drag him back.
…
To firmly nail the Uchiha for rebellion, Konoha had been waiting for them to strike first.
The Hokage and Danzo had both openly appeared in various locations, but the Uchiha never took the bait.
Only when ANBU reported Naruto's kidnapping did Konoha finally grasp what was happening.
Attacking their own clan would have consequences later—but the searing memory of the last Nine-Tails attack outweighed any concern about future political fallout.
When the report arrived, the enraged Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, personally led a team to the Uchiha district's edge and unleashed a massive Lightning–Water Dragon Bullet, claiming many Uchiha lives in a single blow.
The tragedy that had taken the Fourth Hokage, Uzumaki Kushina, and half the village—
Could never be allowed to happen again.
The Uchiha had gone far beyond anything Hiruzen could tolerate.
"Fugaku!"
"Get out here!!"
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