The moon pierced the soul.
Except for Yoruha,
no one understood what had just happened.
All they saw was Uchiha Itachi glaring at Sasuke—
and then, in the blink of an eye,
Sasuke collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Itachi vanished into the darkness like a phantom.
The gears of fate had turned once again—
cold, cruel, and relentless.
🔔 Ding!
"The host's time in the sign-in area has expired.
Congratulations! You have successfully signed in and received the following rewards:
➤ Byakugan (Optimized Version)
➤ Yin Release Mastery"
"…Huh?"
Yoruha blinked.
Frowning, he glanced at the system window.
Byakugan?
System, are you messing with me?
He had just risked his life, tagging along with Sasuke into the heart of the Uchiha clan's compound—
on the literal night of their extermination—
and signed in right in front of Uchiha freaking Itachi.
And the system gave him Byakugan instead of Sharingan?
Was this a prank?
It's not that the Byakugan was weak.
On the contrary—just look at those Otsutsuki maniacs. Their Byakugan abilities were ridiculously OP.
Take Yasaka's Air Strike, for example—
it could shatter Six Paths Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo in one hit.
And don't even mention the Tenseigan—
the evolved form of the Byakugan, which was pure nightmare fuel.
Still…
as a time-traveling protagonist in the ninja world, not having red eyes made Yoruha feel a little left out.
"Fortunately, it's the optimized version… at least outsiders won't be able to notice anything."
📜 Byakugan – Optimized:
When activated, grants the full power of the Byakugan—
but the eyes retain a normal appearance. No visual change.
So basically…
at least his dad wouldn't start interrogating his mom like:
"Why the hell does our son have Hyuga eyes!?"
As for Yin Release Mastery—
it made sense.
The Byakugan was essentially the result of Yin Release fused with the Hyuga clan's bloodline.
So when Yoruha received the Byakugan,
proficiency in Yin chakra came bundled with it.
He sighed and looked down at Sasuke's unconscious form at his feet.
"Come on. Let's get Sasuke to the hospital first."
For a brief moment,
Yoruha felt genuinely sorry for him.
At school, Sasuke was always being compared.
When he got home—same thing.
He was always in Itachi's shadow, no matter where he went.
Yoruha could picture it clearly:
Every time the Uchiha held a family gathering,
the whole clan would probably surround Itachi, singing his praises.
"Itachi's so gifted!"
"Such a calm young man!"
"You should learn from your brother, Sasuke!"
And Sasuke?
If he was lucky, someone might toss him a pity compliment:
"Oh, he's Itachi's little brother. He'll grow into it. Maybe."
Yet despite all that,
Sasuke still held onto his pride.
Still believed in himself.
Still chased greatness.
That kind of will…
wasn't easy to come by.
Before long, the ANBU arrived.
They took Sasuke from Yoruha's arms
and escorted the rest of the kids to a safe location.
On the way back—
the mood was somber.
Even Choji, who normally couldn't go ten minutes without a snack,
didn't say a word about food.
"Shikamaru… what do you think… really happened back there?"
Shikamaru sighed.
What was there to say?
The entire Uchiha clan was dead silent.
ANBU had appeared from every direction.
Not a single Uchiha had walked out alive.
"Something serious went down. That's for sure."
Yoruha looked at everyone and finally spoke:
"No one could have predicted what happened tonight.
Let's just head home. Don't overthink it.
We've got class tomorrow."
Even if the Uchiha clan had been wiped out…
life had to go on.
"Yeah… let's go." Shikamaru agreed.
"Sasuke's still lying in the hospital. It'd be kind of inappropriate to grab barbecue right now."
"Alright. See you guys tomorrow."
"Good night!"
Everyone parted ways, heavy thoughts weighing on their young minds.
Yoruha and Ino walked Hinata home first.
As they neared the Hyuga compound,
Yoruha looked at Hinata with a guilty expression.
"Hinata… I'm sorry about what happened today.
If I hadn't made that bet with Sasuke,
you wouldn't have had to see something so horrible."
Hinata's cheeks flushed pink.
She smiled softly, her voice as gentle as always:
"It's alright, Yoruha-kun.
As long as you're with me…
I'm not afraid of anything."
Yoruha reached out and gently ruffled her soft hair.
His hand lingered for a second.
He meant it when he said he was sorry.
But more than that—
he made a silent vow.
I have to become stronger.
I won't let Hinata be in danger ever again.