His back smashed hard into the stone wall, sending out a heavy, frightening thud. Cracks spread across the wall's surface from the point of impact like a web.
"Puh!"
A large mouthful of thick blood mixed with shattered internal tissue spilled from Homura Mitokado's mouth. It splattered onto the ground and slid down the wall as his body collapsed limply.
His limbs bent at grotesque angles, clearly shattered beyond repair. Each weak, painful twitch forced more blood from his mouth and nose.
He struggled to lift his head, his face filled with pain and fear, and looked at Neji Hyuga who still stood where he was. From deep in his throat came a broken, terrified voice.
"How… is this possible?!"
When did Neji Hyuga become this strong?
Lady Aoi's pupils tightened as well. She instinctively pulled Hinata Ryoma Mirai farther back, shielding her behind herself, and took the stance of the Gentle Fist, her body tense and ready.
She could tell that the principle behind Neji Hyuga's strike was similar to the "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm", compressing Chakra and driving it through the enemy's vital points. But the power and speed were on a completely different level.
There had been no hand seals, no activation of the Pure Byakugan, and no buildup at all. How could such a fierce and terrifying impact be released in an instant, and how could that much Chakra be controlled so easily?
Neji Hyuga slowly lifted his lowered gaze and locked eyes with Lady Aoi. She met his stare, squinting slightly as she focused on his eyes, and asked in a heavy tone, "Your eyes, what happened to them?"
Those eyes were clearly different from the Pure Byakugan. Deep within them, she sensed a hidden power, like a heavy pressure being forced down and held back.
They had only been gone for a few days. How could Neji Hyuga have changed this much?
And also…
Neji Hyuga: You do not know this, but Pure Byakugan can also evolve through emotional stimulation.
"Move aside," Neji Hyuga said calmly.
"Neji Hyuga, you cannot attack Hinata Ryoma Mirai," Lady Aoi said with her body tense, her voice low and heavy. "If you hurt Hinata Ryoma Mirai again, there will truly be no way back."
"I said, move aside," Neji Hyuga replied, his tone dropping to freezing cold. "This is the last warning."
"Otherwise, you will die by my hand, just like those Otsutsuki Main Family above."
He slowly raised the hand covered in thick, sticky blood and aimed his palm at Lady Aoi, who stood in front of Hinata Ryoma Mirai. The smell of blood in the air seemed to grow sharper and more suffocating.
"What did you say?"
Lady Aoi's expression changed instantly, and a strong sense of dread tightened around her heart.
"Neji Hyuga!"
Slumped in a corner against the wall, lying in a pool of blood, Homura Mitokado let out a hoarse and twisted roar. Blood kept spilling from his mouth as he coughed violently. "Cough, cough. You, what did you do to the Otsutsuki Main Family?"
"What did I do?"
Neji Hyuga slightly turned his head and glanced at the dying Homura Mitokado, naked killing intent showing on his face.
"Since I already struck down Fugaku Uchiha, do you really think I would spare their lives?" he said.
Those words crashed into the minds of Lady Aoi and Homura Mitokado.
Even though they already had a guess, hearing this cold admission with their own ears still struck them like thunder. Their blood seemed to freeze in an instant.
"Why?"
Hiding behind Lady Aoi, Hinata Ryoma Mirai could no longer tell whether she was trembling from fear or from the wrath ignited by the cruel truth. Her voice shook as she spoke. "Why would you do that?"
"Of course it was for these eyes!"
Neji Hyuga cut her off, his tone twisted with half-truths and fanatic heat. He slowly raised his hand and gently brushed his fingers around his eye sockets with an eerie obsession.
"You really do not know, do you?"
"Pure Byakugan is actually just like Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Those with great talent can make it evolve through extreme emotional stimulation."
"These eyes are called Giant Tenseigan."
His expression grew more unhinged and feral, the corners of his mouth pulling into a near-mad grin.
"That is why I killed Fugaku Uchiha. That is why I killed those old Otsutsuki Main Family. I killed them all," he snarled, his face filled with sick and intoxicating delight.
"With their blood and their lives, with all the wrath and hatred buried in my heart, I finally obtained it. This is the power strong enough to break free from the cage."
This was, of course, a lie.
Neji Hyuga still remembered his father's final warning. He was not a madman like Itachi Uchiha and would never harm Hinata Ryoma Mirai or other innocent people just to awaken Giant Tenseigan.
However, the power of these eyes was too strong and too tempting. Even in this incomplete state, it had already raised his strength by a huge margin.
If other Branch Family Members members or outsiders learned the true method of awakening Giant Tenseigan, that it only required the so-called Otsutsuki Clan Bloodline and a large amount of Pure Byakugan, then all members of Ryoma Clan, including Hinata Ryoma Mirai, would face endless hunts and slaughter.
So he could only claim that the awakening of Giant Tenseigan was the same as Mangekyo Sharingan, relying on intense emotional stimulation. The only difference from Three-Tomoe Sharingan was that it depended more on the release after prolonged emotional buildup, rather than the way of the Uchiha Clan.
In any case, only he knew of Giant Tenseigan's existence, and only he had made Pure Byakugan evolve. The right to explain it belonged solely to him, and suspicion from others meant nothing.
But the three people present did not know he was lying.
Looking at the blood-covered face of Neji Hyuga, at the genuine and terrifying madness in his expression, and listening to the twisted yet self-consistent logic in his words, Lady Aoi and the others felt a chill rise from their feet to their heads, as if even their souls were trembling.
The Ryoma Clan's Pure Byakugan could become stronger through extreme emotions, just like the Uchiha Clan's Three-Tomoe Sharingan?
Why had the clan records never mentioned this? Why had generations of Otsutsuki Main Family never spoken a word of it? And how had Neji Hyuga discovered it?
At that thought, Lady Aoi seemed to realize something. The shock on her face faded, replaced by uncontrollable wrath.
"It was you," she said. "Those Otsutsuki Main Family who died one after another in the clan were all killed by you."
"That is right," Neji Hyuga admitted openly. "I once sneaked into the Forbidden Library to steal the secret techniques of the Otsutsuki Main Family. Instead, I accidentally discovered the secret of Giant Tenseigan."
"Then that old man saw me, so I had no choice but to use his life to confirm that the secret was real."
"Cough, cough. Bastard. Animal," Homura Mitokado cursed with his last strength while coughing up blood. "You are destroying the foundation of Ryoma Clan and Root!"
Neji Hyuga's smile vanished, leaving only cold and obsessive killing intent.
"If Itachi Uchiha could do it, why can I not?" he said coldly. "I only hate that I was not extreme enough, that my hatred toward the Otsutsuki Main Family was not deep enough. I am still one step away from the true Giant Tenseigan."
"Do you want the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan to happen again within the Ryoma Clan?"