Hizashi Hyuga's eyes widened in shock, and Hiashi Hyuga's pupils shrank.
"Impossible." Hiashi Hyuga's voice twisted with disbelief and fury. "If the Byakugan could reach the level of Mangekyo Sharingan, how could I not know?"
"There is no such record in the inheritance of the Hyuga Clan."
For generations, no matter how the Hyuga Clan cultivated the Byakugan, it only improved range and insight. It never underwent a true transformation.
Such a Byakugan had no ability to confront an existence like Shadow head on. It could only serve as support.
Shadow's claim overturned everything the Hyuga Clan believed about the Byakugan. It shattered their understanding at its core.
"A frog at the bottom of a well longs for the blue of the sky, yet knows nothing of its vastness," Shadow said calmly.
He did not care about Hiashi Hyuga's doubts or Hizashi Hyuga's shock. He simply took a scroll from his sleeve.
With one hand forming seals, white smoke burst out and stirred the cold air. When the smoke cleared, a corpse lay on the icy ground.
The body had not been dead long. Its pale skin was not shriveled, and its blue hair had not dried out.
The clothing was ancient and unfamiliar, refined rather than crude. It was clearly unlike anything from the Ninja World.
And those eyes.
"Byakugan?" Hizashi Hyuga whispered hoarsely.
Seeing eyes identical to the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, his voice was filled with disbelief. Hiashi Hyuga felt as if his throat had been seized, all doubt stuck fast.
The corpse possessed a pure Byakugan, yet its appearance showed it was not of the Hyuga Clan. There was also no Caged Bird Seal carved upon it.
How could that be?
"I assume you have heard," Shadow murmured into the silence, "that on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, a meteor once fell and killed large numbers of Konoha Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja."
"You thought it was coincidence. In truth, that meteor was summoned by this man at the cost of his life."
There was no doubt. The corpse belonged to Toneri Otsutsuki's father.
His soul had already been extracted, leaving only the body behind.
Hizashi Hyuga licked his dry lips and spoke softly. "You are saying that meteor…"
"That is right," Shadow replied with a smile. "It was the power of the Byakugan after it advanced."
The meaning of those words left Hizashi Hyuga stunned for a long time. A foreigner with the same Byakugan had shown power far beyond the Hyuga Clan.
Such a being, capable of calling a meteor from the sky, had died at Shadow's hands. The contrast left him shaken.
"What is the name of the Byakugan after it advances?" Hizashi Hyuga asked. "And who was this man?"
"After advancing, it is called Tenseigan," Shadow said casually. "You may think of his clan as kin to the Hyuga Clan from a thousand years ago."
"They moved to the Moon long ago, avoided later wars, and kept their original surname. Their Byakugan inheritance is more complete than yours."
"Their bloodline purity is higher than the Hyuga Clan's, but their Byakugan purity is lower."
"To advance the Byakugan, they had only two choices."
"One was to fuse hundreds or thousands of low purity Byakugan with high bloodline. The other was to find a high purity Byakugan and combine it with their bloodline."
His gaze swept over the stunned pair and settled on Hizashi Hyuga. "So tell me, why did he come from the Moon to the Ninja World?"
Hizashi Hyuga swallowed. He already knew the answer.
Even if there were many awakened Byakugan on the Moon, no one would be mad enough to dig out hundreds of their own kin's eyes. The only option was to seek high purity Byakugan.
And such eyes existed only in the Hyuga Clan, which had always guarded that inheritance.
"So," Hizashi Hyuga asked slowly, "Neji Hyuga gouged out the Main Family's Byakugan because he learned how to advance it?"
He recalled that the first Main Family death occurred in the Forbidden Library. While searching for ways to remove the Curse Seal, Neji Hyuga must have found fragments about advancing the Byakugan and killed Hyuga Kurozuka in fear and impulse.
"He also found a method to absorb Byakugan Dojutsu Power," Shadow sighed as if regretful. "Sadly, his knowledge was incomplete."
"With the purity of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family eyes, he would not need hundreds. But he still lacks a necessary high purity bloodline."
"Without that bloodline, no matter how many Main Family members he kills or how much Dojutsu Power he absorbs, pure Byakugan alone is useless."
A realization struck Hizashi Hyuga, and his voice shook. "So the method you mentioned to break the Caged Bird Seal is to advance the Byakugan to Tenseigan?"
"Yes," Shadow nodded. "Once the Byakugan becomes Tenseigan, it can break the Caged Bird Seal."
Hizashi Hyuga took a deep breath and forced down his surge of joy. He stared at Shadow and asked, "Will you help Neji Hyuga?"
"I will," Shadow said softly. "This corpse is well preserved. I can refine his bloodline and transplant it into Neji Hyuga."
"It is not enough to awaken Tenseigan directly, but with sufficient Byakugan purity, there may be hope."
Hizashi Hyuga's eyes flickered as cruelty slowly surfaced. "How many Byakugan are needed to reach the standard to awaken Tenseigan?"
"The more," Shadow smiled, "the better."
Hiashi Hyuga's face changed at once. He cursed without regard for manners. "Nonsense!"
"Hizashi Hyuga! Do you know what you are saying? What you are doing?"
"He is deceiving you. Will you really gouge out every Main Family's Byakugan and destroy the foundation of the entire Hyuga Clan just on his word?"
Hizashi Hyuga slowly raised his eyes and turned to Hiashi Hyuga. When their gazes met, Hiashi Hyuga felt a chill seep into his bones.
"No," Hizashi Hyuga said hoarsely. "I will not only take their Byakugan."
"I will kill every Main Family member who controls the Caged Bird Seal."
If Neji Hyuga failed to awaken Tenseigan, the surviving Main Family would activate the Curse Seal and kill him. Hizashi Hyuga could not take that risk.
Everyone who held the Caged Bird Seal had to die. That way, even if Neji Hyuga failed this time, he would have time to try again.
As long as Neji Hyuga awakened Tenseigan someday, he could escape the prison of the Caged Bird and his fate.
Hiashi Hyuga's anger turned to shock, then to fear. "You are insane," he shouted hoarsely. "You are insane!"
"Hizashi Hyuga! Do you know the consequences? You will drag the entire Hyuga Clan into inevitable death and decline."
Neither Hizashi Hyuga nor Shadow answered him. Shadow stored the corpse in the scroll and faded into the shadows, clearly unwilling to interfere.
Hizashi Hyuga turned away with a cold expression, ready to help Neji Hyuga obtain enough Byakugan.
"No, no," Hiashi Hyuga begged as he watched him leave. "Hizashi Hyuga, I beg you, do not do this."
"The example of that clan on the Moon is right before us. Without the orthodox Main Family bloodline, the Byakugan will soon vanish from the Hyuga Clan."
"Without the Byakugan, the Hyuga Clan will soon disappear from the world."
At the iron door, Hizashi Hyuga stopped and glanced back slightly. "Do you not like to speak of fate?" he said, half mocking, half bitter. "This is also the fate of the Hyuga Clan, is it not?"
He left the chamber and closed the door, sealing away the furious cries from within.
As Hizashi Hyuga walked out step by step, he encountered an unexpected figure.
"Good evening, Clan Head Hiashi Hyuga."