When Kakashi and the others found Neiki, he was sitting on a branch, looking down at everyone as if he'd been waiting for them for a long time.
On the ground lay the dismembered body of the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha. This formidable ninja, who had endured a lifetime of hardship and had only recently incited the Uchiha revolt—single-handedly facing half of Konoha—now lay dead in a grotesque mess of severed limbs.
Only his head had rolled to the group's feet. Despite the empty eye sockets, his face still wore a calm, faintly mocking smile.
Many of the ninja frowned.
"The masked man actually let you live," Neiki said, glancing at Kakashi.
"Neiki… last night, you led us to that 'Uchiha Madara' just to have him kill me, didn't you?" Kakashi took a deep breath and asked, all the while scanning the surroundings for traps.
He wasn't sure what Neiki intended, but if Neiki dared to remain here alone instead of fleeing, Kakashi and his team had no reason to hesitate.
Several shadows spread out, silently circling behind Neiki as they confirmed there were no obvious traps.
"No," Neiki replied. "I led you there mainly so he couldn't interfere with my plan. Killing you was just a way to weaken Konoha." He patted his backside, then rose to his feet, speaking as if they were discussing something trivial.
The canopy above blocked the starlight, leaving Neiki's upper body shrouded in darkness, but his pale Byakugan eyes gleamed ghost-bright in the night.
"Your plan?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes, buying time as his comrades closed in. "Does that plan include the complete destruction of the Hyuga clan?"
Kakashi already knew about the Hyuga tragedy. The true culprit was officially "still under investigation," but once Neiki stole Sharingan and attacked Danzo, this seemingly deranged branch member of the Hyuga clan became the prime suspect in everyone's mind.
"Strictly speaking, my goal was freedom," Neiki answered calmly. "Wiping out the Hyuga clan was only a means to that end. Without the main family giving commands, the Caged Bird Seal is just a pretty tattoo."
He pushed up his hair, revealing the green seal on his forehead, and smiled softly.
It looked like a teenager proudly showing off a new toy to his friends.
Everyone's expressions darkened.
The faint sound of a long sword slicing through the night wind whispered through the forest.
Perhaps because his hair was damp with sweat, the strands that had once been neatly combed now hung over his face, turning his scholarly appearance into something wild and unrestrained.
They had all suspected it for a while, but hearing Neiki openly admit it still made his former comrades feel dizzy and estranged, as if they were facing a stranger in a familiar skin.
To kill one's own clan for the sake of freedom…
Kakashi shook his head.
His gaze grew dangerously sharp as he stared at Neiki, his voice cold:
"So the Uchiha clan's rebellion is also connected to you? And that 'Uchiha Madara' isn't actually an ally of the Uchiha at all?"
Neiki's smile stayed gentle, but a hint of pride crept into his tone, like an artist presenting a completed masterpiece:
"Everything is connected."
"To destroy the Hyuga clan, I had to weaken Konoha and throw it into turmoil. That made the Uchiha rebellion inevitable. As for the Nine-Tails, that was their choice. The Uchiha released it on their own—that has nothing to do with me."
After all, even in the original "story," unleashing the Nine-Tails was practically the only card the Uchiha had left.
Neiki didn't bother explaining further, but it was obvious to everyone that this lunatic was deeply entangled in every disaster that had struck Konoha today.
The surrounding Konoha ninja inched closer to him.
"How could you do something like that?" someone demanded. It was unclear whether he was trying to distract Neiki or genuinely wanted an answer.
"Just thinking about breaking free from the main family's control was enough," Neiki said, the corners of his lips curling. "It didn't just make it possible—it made my hand move even faster."
Faster…
…What a monster.
"Are you really Neiki?" Kurenai Yuhi couldn't stop herself from asking.
She'd always been on good terms with the Hyuga clan and had pinned high hopes on this Hyuga branch prodigy, even considering him as a candidate for her first genin team once she was promoted to jōnin.
Their teacher-student relationship had never formally begun, but Neiki's earlier enthusiasm for genjutsu—constantly seeking her out to discuss its mechanics—had left a deep impression on Kurenai.
A genius who was also hardworking… Neiki had once been a model that other Academy students were encouraged to emulate.
Despite Kakashi repeatedly warning that Neiki was now extremely dangerous and likely a defector, Kurenai had still clung to a sliver of hope.
However…
Looking at the familiar face and gentle smile in front of her, Kurenai felt like she'd stepped into an illusion.
Could the introverted, diligent, earnest Neiki she'd known truly be capable of such slaughter?
Could someone switch between truth and lies so effortlessly?
"Didn't you teach me how to tell genjutsu from reality, Kurenai-sensei?" Neiki asked her with a smile. "Can't you tell which one this is now?"
Was he saying that this was his real self, and the Neiki from the past had been nothing but an illusion?
The image of that shy boy, blushing as he called her "Kurenai-sensei" while earnestly studying genjutsu, rose vividly in her mind.
Whether it was sorrow over the loss of that "good student" or sheer anger, Kurenai's hand trembled around the kunai she held.
The details of the Hyuga clan massacre hadn't been made public yet, but rumors had begun circulating in a very narrow circle. Shikaku had forbidden most people from entering the Hyuga estate; even so, the single word "massacre" in the brief reports was enough to suggest the horror of the scene.
Her voice shook.
"I don't care whether this is genjutsu or reality," she said. "I just want the feeling of my kunai in your heart to be real."
More real than reality?
Neiki chuckled. "You might be disappointed, then."
The June night breeze rustled through the forest, carrying the scent of wild grass. Insects droned in the trees.
Somewhere, a dry leaf was crushed underfoot with a soft crunch.
"Now!" Kakashi shouted suddenly.
A shadow flashed through the night sky.
An instant later, Neiki, still standing on the branch, flinched. He looked down to see two massive blades thrust straight through his abdomen.
Blood poured out in sheets he couldn't stop.
Chain: Double Fang Slash!
"You were too careless, Neiki," Kotetsu Hagane whispered in his ear, then shouted, "Izumo, bind him—don't let him die!"
"Listening to this bastard talk almost made my lungs explode."
"We have to take him alive to the interrogation unit and see exactly what he's done!"
Seeing Neiki turn toward him with a stunned expression, Kotetsu grew even more pleased and leaned in.
"Save your strength. Whatever you want to say, say it to the interrogators."
"…Run…" Neiki's voice was faint and strangely familiar to Kotetsu.
Kotetsu turned his head.
On the ground, Kakashi and the others were staring up at him in shock. Kurenai shouted something, but Kotetsu couldn't hear a word.
The world seemed to plunge into a silent ocean.
Sounds drifted, muffled and distant, as if underwater.
Kotetsu stared blankly—until Neiki's figure suddenly appeared behind Kurenai, his descending blade barely blocked by Kakashi's frantic parry.
Only then did Kotetsu realize—
If Neiki was there… then who was this at his side?
As the awful thought dawned on him, Kotetsu twisted around and saw "Neiki" dissolve back into the form of his partner, Izumo Kamizuki. The twin blades in his hands had skewered Izumo straight through the abdomen.
How…?
The explosive tags plastered over Izumo's body started to burn. Gritting his teeth through the agony, Izumo shouted:
"Run!"
He shoved Kotetsu away with all his strength.
Boom!!
The explosion drowned out his voice. Flesh and blood splattered over Kotetsu as the shockwave flung him deep into the forest, his fate unknown.
Meanwhile, outside of Kotetsu's broken perception, the real battle was only just beginning.
"It's a wide-area genjutsu! Everyone, fall back and spread out!" Kurenai shouted as she retreated.
She didn't know the exact nature of the technique, but most large-scale genjutsu distorted space and perception within a set range. If they could get out of the bounded area, its power would weaken.
As the Konoha ninjas scattered, Neiki looked calmly at Kakashi.
"You're in my way," he said.
When Neiki used genjutsu to "beautify" his killing, his control became less precise—just like during the Hyuga massacre. Everyone had seen him slaughter the clan with their own eyes; he hadn't turned people into pigs, sheep, or anything else.
The more he used illusions to cover up his actions, the more likely it became that someone sharp would see through them.
So, at the Hyuga estate, he had relied on genjutsu only to disguise his appearance and alter the layout of the compound—not to hide the killings themselves.
The same applied here.
But his current opponents weren't the complacent Hyuga elders. They were wary, prepared—and one of them was Kurenai, a specialist in genjutsu.
The ambush on Kotetsu and Izumo had already put everyone on full alert. After Neiki's failed attempt to cut Kurenai down, she had immediately exposed the existence of the illusion.
That was the weakness of this genjutsu in actual combat.
It had originally been designed to target the Hyuga; its effectiveness outside that niche was limited.
Fortunately, Neiki had anticipated this.
"Is that what gives you so much confidence?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowing.
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