Moyu watched him leave in silence and exhaled faintly. "As the patriarch of a great clan, to watch your men die without lifting a hand how irresponsible. A family like that won't last long."
He turned to head home, but before his foot even touched the threshold, Hyuga Hiashi's figure flashed back from the shadows. A fierce kick slammed into Moyu's chest, sending him flying more than ten meters before he steadied himself on the ground.
"What's this? Didn't you just run off? Why come back looking to die?"
Hiashi had returned for a surprise attack, and Moyu had taken the hit head-on. His face darkened; being caught off guard by such a move irritated him deeply.
"Since you're too foolish to understand kindness," Hiashi said coldly, "then I'll finish you here."
As the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi's strength was far above that of ordinary shinobi. He opened his Byakugan in an instant, veins crawling around his temples as pale eyes fixed sharply on Moyu.
"If you insist on arrogance," he continued, "then I'll send you to the west myself."
Moyu brushed the dust from his chest and looked at him as if hearing a child boast. "I warned you not to be too arrogant as a man, or you'll end up struck down by heaven itself."
Their words collided with the same sharpness as their killing intent. The exchange ended in an instant the air cracked as both moved at once.
Hiashi's body lowered, his palms flashing forward as chakra surged. "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
But Moyu's movements were faster, heavier. His physical strength alone already exceeded Hiashi's, and what truly set him apart was the cold, invisible pull of soul power that rippled behind every strike.
Hiashi's vision wavered. His Byakugan faltered, sight blurring at the edges. It wasn't an illusion formed by chakra something deeper was pressing directly on his consciousness.
"W-what is this…?" he muttered through clenched teeth. "You… you use illusions? That's why my vision"
Moyu's lips curved slightly. "Not bad. You're sharper than you look. A veteran of war would notice." His tone turned faintly mocking. "But maybe it's just cataracts. Or perhaps it's your own hallucination. After all, I don't possess the eyes your clan depends on."
Hiashi's focus broke for an instant. The idea clawed at him. This man had no kekkei genkai, no ocular lineage then what kind of illusion could bind his mind so cleanly?
Moyu's gaze darkened, and in that breath, his eyes shifted. A deep, blood-red glow rippled through the black, a color that tore through the dim night.
Hiashi's breath caught. The sight was disturbingly familiar, yet his mind refused to connect it to the Uchiha. After all, the clan's records were clear Moyu was not one of them.
And yet, in that moment, those crimson eyes said otherwise.