"I want chaos in Konoha," Neiki said, smiling like a villain.
Everything had already gone beyond repair.
Looking at him, Itachi slowly shook his head.
Konoha had produced its greatest traitor.
Tomorrow, war was inevitable.
Even though Konoha was prepared, the leaked intel meant the Uchiha clan would also be better prepared.
What kind of clan were they?
Fanatical. Ambitious. Absolutely fearless when it came to decisions.
Itachi could already see it: tomorrow's battle might drag all of Konoha into ruin.
—The Uchiha would definitely lose, but those nations and shinobi who had suffered at Konoha's hands during the Third Great Ninja War, seeing a chance, might also return with a vengeance.
Once a conflict of that scale began, it would stain the entire world.
The Uchiha's failure would not be Konoha's success. The Uchiha would simply lose even more thoroughly than Konoha—
So thoroughly they wouldn't even have the right to die as innocents.
"Why?" Itachi's voice steadied.
"I hate the Uchiha clan because they nurtured ambitions they shouldn't have, cast aside the bigger picture, and fell into narrow-minded selfishness."
"And you? Why do you hate Konoha?"
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Inside Tsukuyomi's world, unless Itachi actively released the technique, Neiki could not leave. Illusion Substitute could only shield him from the damage of genjutsu—it couldn't eject him from the space itself.
Perhaps in the future, the technique could be refined in that direction.
Honestly, Neiki didn't particularly care. Three days in Tsukuyomi were less than an instant outside. His goal was already achieved: stopping the Uchiha massacre and ensuring the Uchiha rebellion would erupt tomorrow.
"In fact, I don't hate Konoha," Neiki corrected calmly. "It's just that a half-dead Konoha happens to suit my interests better."
Itachi was taken aback. He stared at Neiki for a long time, thought in silence, then suddenly looked up.
"…The Hyuga main family?"
"Are you planning to target them?"
Neiki raised an eyebrow.
As expected, Itachi's ability to connect dots was frightening.
Itachi had known for years that Neiki's relationship with the Hyuga main family was awful. He knew this as Neiki's friend and rival of ten years.
When they were children, Neiki had been bullied by those main-family heirs who held the Caged Bird's trigger command. Itachi couldn't stand it and had stepped in more than once. Even back then, he found it absurd that these pampered heirs could hold Neiki's life in their hands with just a few words.
As they grew older, that blatant bullying became rare. Neiki had learned to bow and smile, to show appropriate "respect" toward the main family.
Those early incidents seemed less like children's cruelty, and more like deliberate "lessons"—a way for the main family to carve a rule into every talented, "rebellious" branch-family child:
The main family holds your life and death. So learn your place.
With that background, Itachi could fully understand Neiki's hatred for the main family—and for the green Caged Bird seal on his forehead.
"Yes. For freedom, this is a step I have to take," Neiki said flatly.
For freedom, the main family had to die.
For freedom, Konoha had to decline.
For freedom, war had to break out.
Neiki had originally planned to let Itachi carry out the Uchiha massacre first, then annihilate the entire Hyuga clan at the clan meeting the next day and defect from Konoha. That way, the names of Konoha's Twin Prodigies would become legends across the ninja world—but there'd be no tangible benefit beyond that.
Losing two major clans in a single day would certainly weaken Konoha and draw the attention of other villages. It would be a huge blow. Konoha might not be able to field many pursuit teams, and if war broke out, they might not even have the energy to chase down a rogue like Neiki.
That was Neiki's original plan—decent, but nothing special.
But after closely observing the Uchiha's preparations for rebellion, Neiki suddenly realised:
He didn't have to wait.
He didn't have to run.
He didn't have to be the one hunted by Konoha.
He could be the one invading Konoha.
Between him and Konoha… Konoha could be the one living in fear.
Directly provoking a war between the Uchiha and Konoha was far more interesting than letting Itachi quietly wipe out the clan.
In the original course of events, Danzo and Obito would harvest all the Sharingan.
Konoha wouldn't suffer truly crippling losses.
War wouldn't break out.
And Neiki, after defecting, would still have to watch for Konoha's pursuit and international bounties.
But if he shifted things—prevented the massacre, handed the intel to the Uchiha, and let the coup explode into the open—everything would flip.
The Scroll of Seals.
The Sharingan.
Danzo's Wood Release experiment data—all the things he might never have been able to touch might now fall into his hands.
And in the process, countless potential enemies of Konoha could be cut down.
Compared to illusions like Hell Viewing Technique, this was an entirely different scale of nightmare.
With the Uchiha and Konoha at each other's throats—
He wouldn't just be hunting the Hyuga clan.
He could treat the entire Konoha as his hunting ground.
…
"Yes," Neiki repeated, "it's all for freedom."
Even Itachi couldn't help but be struck by the depth of Neiki's resolve.
A long needle lifted Neiki's forehead protector, revealing the green seal beneath. Even in the genjutsu world, the curse mark showed a stubborn, disturbing vitality.
"Sorry," Itachi said, shaking his head. "I can't let you chase your freedom if the price is all of Konoha."
He had no sympathy for the Hyuga main family. But to wipe them out, Neiki needed Konoha plunged into chaos.
Still bound to the cross, Neiki glanced at him and sneered.
"You think you get to decide that?"
The irony of their positions was almost laughable.
Neiki, from the Hyuga branch family, was trying to stop Itachi, from the Uchiha clan, from destroying the Uchiha.
And Itachi, an Uchiha, was trying to stop Neiki, a Hyuga branch member, from destroying the Hyuga main family.
It was as if Neiki were the Uchiha clan head's eldest son—
And Itachi were the branch-family prodigy sworn to protect the main family.
"How many times have we fought?" Itachi suddenly asked.
"This is the first time," Neiki answered with a bright smile.
Seeing Itachi's confusion, he added, "Because this will be the first time you see me fight seriously."
He'd been holding back his true power all along. No wonder he was still so confident even with half his chakra spent.
Itachi exhaled, then nodded slightly.
"I've sensed it in our previous matches."
"But you're not the only one with hidden cards."
"I won't let you stop me, Neiki."
Their positions were completely opposed. There was no persuading each other. With Illusion Substitute, Neiki was effectively immune to a Tsukuyomi one-shot. In the end, the real outcome would be decided in the physical world.
The red sky of the Tsukuyomi space began to crack and fall away.
Neiki shook his head slightly.
"You don't get to decide that."
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