He, Neji Hyuga, would not sink to that fate, not even in death.
Neji Hyuga shot forward along the ground, his Byakugan burning with pure and icy killing intent. His target was clear, the throat.
The elder's cloudy Byakugan shrank in shock, terror surfacing on his withered face. Before his dulled nerves could even form a cry, a hand like an iron clamp seized his thin neck.
The old throat was crushed instantly, cutting off any sound. Neji Hyuga followed with a brutal strike, snapping the neck with a sharp kacha.
The elder's body twitched a few times before falling completely still. His Byakugan lost their last trace of light.
Neji Hyuga gasped for breath, staring at the lifeless body as cold air flooded his lungs and his stomach churned violently. He realized what he had just done.
He had killed someone. He had killed an old man.
A strong wave of nausea surged up, and Neji Hyuga raised a hand to cover his mouth, his face pale. This was his first time killing, and the physical revulsion and shock hit him hard.
After a long while, his breathing slowly steadied. He looked at the corpse again, at the Byakugan without the Caged Bird.
At the elder's age, those eyes were already useless and close to blind. Even so, Neji Hyuga swallowed and reached out, fingers closing together as they moved toward them.
With a wet tearing sound, flesh was ripped apart in the silence. Two gray-white, cloudy eyeballs were forcibly dug from the sunken sockets, still carrying a trace of warmth.
Blood finally poured out, flowing from the empty sockets and mixing with a murky fluid as it spread across the cold floor. Neji Hyuga's fingers were slick with sticky red, tangled with fine nerves and flesh, and his body trembled despite himself.
He clenched his teeth and held those cloudy Byakugan tightly. It was as if he were gripping the key to the cage.
At dawn, the red light of sunrise filtered in like a stained veil. The glow barely passed through the vents of Forbidden Library and spilled into this silent place. Dust that had settled for years rolled in the beams, mixed with a sweet metallic smell that made people feel sick.
"How, how is this possible?"
Two young Hyuga Main Family Ninja stood pale as paper. Fear locked their bodies in place, and their pupils shook hard in the dim light.
"Another Main Family has been killed…"
"The Byakugan… it is gone…"
"It was dug out…"
Outside Ancestral Hall, members of the Hyuga whispered in panic. Their frightened voices broke the morning calm of the Hyuga Clan, and the news spread at once through the vast Hyuga Clan Compound. Shock and confusion moved faster than anyone could stop.
The last time a Main Family elder died and a pair of Byakugan was lost, the Hyuga Clan was shaken to its core. It was later confirmed to be the work of the traitor Orochimaru, and it already felt like a distant past. But now, it had happened again.
Another Main Family member had been killed, and their eyes taken.
"Disperse. What are you all crowding here for?"
A stern voice sounded from behind the crowd outside Ancestral Hall. With undeniable pressure, it forced people aside as its owner walked steadily into the blood filled scene.
Still disguised as Hiashi Hyuga, Hizashi Hyuga wore the robes of the Main Family, outlining a tall and straight figure. His cold face was rigid, precise like carved stone, with no sign of emotion.
Behind him followed several Main Family Elders. Their pale eyes swept across the scene, and deep within them lay a frozen calm that made others lower their heads.
"Clan Head…"
A young Main Family member stepped out of Ancestral Hall and looked at "Hiashi Hyuga" with a trembling voice. "Grandfather Heizuka's Byakugan was…"
"It must have been the Branch Family…" another young Main Family member blurted out in fear.
"Silence."
Hizashi Hyuga cut him off with just two low words.
Many people had already heard it, and they all knew what he was trying to say. The atmosphere grew heavy, and the Branch Family members lowered their heads, holding their breath and avoiding the gazes cast by the Main Family.
Under this pressure, both Main Family and Branch Family felt their nerves tighten. Anyone capable of doing this without alerting others was either someone like Orochimaru from the village's upper ranks, or someone from the Branch Family.
"Before the truth is found, no one is allowed to speak recklessly. Return to where you belong."
After the reprimand, Hizashi Hyuga led several Main Family Elders into Ancestral Hall and then deeper into Forbidden Library. Their steps echoed softly as they passed beyond the door.
Before entering Forbidden Library, one of the Main Family Elders glanced at the door and frowned. He moved closer to "Hiashi Hyuga" and said in a low voice, "The Sealing Technique has been released."
Hizashi Hyuga's eyes paused for a brief moment, but his face showed nothing. He shook his head calmly and said, "Do not rush to conclusions. It could also have been undone by the Hyuga Black Tomb. Let us see the body first."
The elder nodded, without the slightest doubt.
They soon saw the corpse, the bent body of the old man, and their hearts sank. Where the Byakugan should have been, there were only two empty holes, dark with dried blood.
The torn flesh around the sockets had already turned black and dry, and the eyelids hung loose like rotten skin. The brutal sight made several Main Family Elders feel pain in their own eyes, fear and anger showing on their faces.
"Time of death was around two in the morning."
A Main Family Ninja responsible for the examination spoke in a low voice. "His throat was crushed first, then his neck broken. There are no other wounds, and the method was extremely decisive."
"One strike to kill?" Hizashi Hyuga frowned. "Could the killer have come to steal secret techniques, then been forced to hide in Forbidden Library when the Black Tomb returned?"
The meaning was clear to everyone at once. If the motive was to steal secret techniques, then it could only be someone from the Branch Family.
"It cannot be confirmed yet," the examiner hesitated, then shook his head. "No books are missing. It looks less like theft and more like it was done for the Byakugan."
He paused before continuing, his voice dry. "Grandfather Heizuka was very old. If the killer was good at hiding, they could have followed him and acted after entering the empty Forbidden Library."
"There is also one more thing. The way the eyes were taken was extremely crude."
After a short pause, he added, "So we can likely rule out Orochimaru returning to Konoha and sneaking into the clan again."
The words stirred silent waves in their hearts, and the elders' eyes flickered. If it was not Orochimaru, the man known for human experiments and past crimes, then the chance of an internal killer rose sharply.
Suspicion took root among the Main Family. Why would someone inside want the Byakugan? Would they strike again, and who would be next?
The thought that elderly Main Family members might be targeted made the silence suffocating. Only heavy breathing could be heard, mixed with fear and anger that no one dared voice.
At last, Hizashi Hyuga spoke.
He knew that as the one now acting as Main Family clan head in place of his brother, he had to give orders.
"Full lockdown."