Naruto: Fooling the Ninja World, I'm Hailed as a Savior

Creak.

The wooden planks made a teeth-grinding sound. Hyuga Neji sat upright, supporting himself with his hands on the floor. The alarm clock by his bed showed 2:00 AM, and the light in the room remained dim and hazy. He instinctively turned to look at the time outside the window, only to see a figure standing quietly by the window, exuding a sense of loneliness.

With his emotions still fluctuating, Hyuga Neji was initially startled, but quickly recognized the face etched with melancholy in the moonlight.

"Father?"

Neji's questioning voice reached his ears. Hyuga Hizashi, who had been lost in thought staring at the night sky outside the window, snapped back to reality and turned his gaze to his son.

"Had a nightmare?"

Hyuga Hizashi's eyes held a complex expression, but he still offered a gentle smile, raising a hand to stroke Neji's hair.

"Not really a nightmare, I guess."

Hyuga Neji's small face couldn't help but wrinkle slightly. He raised a hand to press his throbbing temples. He tried to recall the details of his dream, but everything in it seemed to melt away like snow in the morning sun. Memories flowed uncontrollably from his fingers like fine sand, vanishing with the wind. He opened his palm unwillingly, finding only a few grains of sand remaining.

For example, the eerie children's song in the dilapidated shrine, the fear and unwillingness of becoming a "scapegoat," that incredibly beautiful pair of blue eyes, and finally, the golden light that rent the night sky.

"Father."

Hyuga Neji desperately clung to those few 'grains of sand,' looking up at Hyuga Hizashi and instinctively asked, "Can the Hyuga clan possess eyes other than the Byakugan?"

Hearing this, Hyuga Hizashi was momentarily stunned, looking at him with a puzzled expression, but still explained, "If the bloodline isn't pure enough, one might never be able to activate the Byakugan, and have eyes like ordinary people." Here, he paused, as if remembering something, and added, "Speaking of which, we Hyuga clan actually have a collateral branch family, the 'Kohinatas,' whose bloodline has become so thin that none of their members can activate the Byakugan." (From Itachi Shinden)

Of course, if a Kohinata clan member truly activated the Byakugan, they would be brought back to the Hyuga clan immediately, branded with the Caged Bird Seal, and then join the Hyuga clan's Branch Family.

"So," Hyuga Neji pursed his dry lips, murmuring, "it was just a dream?"

Everything reminded him that he had just had a dream, but the figure emerging from the fire, carrying a severed head, and that magnificent pair of eyes, seemed to be etched into his mind. He could even recall the starlike rings of light in those eyes, and the horror of the golden light that had pierced the clouds before descending.

"What happened before that?"

Hyuga Neji frowned in recollection, but he couldn't remember. He just vaguely felt it was very important. This dream was too real, so real it didn't feel like a dream at all, so real it made his heart throb.

If I also had that terrifying power, could I also...

Hyuga Neji said no more, and Hyuga Hizashi didn't press him, falling into a brief silence. Clearly, both of them had their own complex emotions at this moment. The former harbored a hint of determination and extravagant hope, which he himself hadn't even noticed, while the latter was constantly recalling and craving that brief moment of freedom. What they both shared was a yearning for the figure in their hearts.

They had no idea that the emotions in both father and son had actually been sown by the same person.

[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Bluffing] [Deceiving Hearts] [Luring into a Trap]. Hyuga Hizashi has experienced strong emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [Obedient]. You have gained 600 Realization Points.]

[Ding! Your lie [Death of Hyuga] has been judged as [Deception] [Fleeting Dream]. Hyuga Neji has experienced strong emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [Heart Stirring with Delusion]. You have gained 1600 Realization Points.]

[Remaining Realization Points: 11193]

"Two achievements give more points than three achievements, by a thousand?"

In the room, the clone poofed into smoke, and the black robe flowed like liquid into the shadow beneath another figure's feet, gradually revealing Hyuga Kawa's thoughtful face. "Indeed, only truly bizarre lies can yield more points."

After materializing the "Shadow Robe," Hyuga Kawa had 10,293 points remaining. Releasing Hyuga Hizashi's Caged Bird Seal for ten seconds only cost 300 points, while immersing Hyuga Neji in the dream he personally fabricated cost 1,000 points. However, this time, Hyuga Kawa didn't complain about the system's ruthlessness. After all, only by truly manifesting a sliver of the Tenseigan's power could that scene be firmly imprinted in Hyuga Neji's mind, which would then facilitate his later designs for even grander lies.

"Anyway, I broke even, no loss, pure profit."

Hyuga Kawa changed his clothes and sat at his desk, taking out his "diary" from the drawer. While writing unrelated "diary" entries, he pondered if there were any flaws in his actions and what to do with these points next. His current strength wasn't enough. Although Hyuga Hizashi was subservient to Hyuga Hiashi, his actual combat experience was far superior to that of Hyuga Hiashi, the Main Branch head.

Perhaps only a madman like him would dare to appear brazenly before Hyuga Hizashi, not only pressuring him to the brink of explosion but also daring to threaten and fool him. If he hadn't deliberately chosen Hizashi's residence as the location, if he hadn't deliberately exuded a calm and powerful aura, if he hadn't deliberately created an extremely oppressive atmosphere, if he hadn't deliberately appeared on a desolate night, if he hadn't exploited Hizashi's concern for Neji, if he hadn't known Hizashi too well...

Every single design was essential. What seemed effortless throughout was, in fact, fraught with risk. Even a minor slip-up would have been detected by Hyuga Hizashi, and then he wouldn't have been able to escape. Even Hyuga Kawa himself, reviewing it now, couldn't help but marvel at his audacity, yet at the same time, he felt a genuine pleasure from this thrilling sensation.

"I still need to be cautious in the future. I should prioritize increasing my strength. I can't do this again next time."

Hyuga Kawa nodded, secretly making up his mind.

Hmm, definitely next time.

[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Self-Deception]. Hyuga Kawa has experienced subtle emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [Saying One Thing, Meaning Another]. You have gained 1 Realization Point.]

"...Too lazy to bother with you, you mindless thing."

Hearing the system prompt in his mind, several black lines appeared on Hyuga Kawa's forehead. He silently chanted: "Materialize ninjutsu - Lightning Release Armor."

[Spend 1000 Realization Points, proceed with materialization?]

"So expensive? Isn't that almost dropping below 10,000?" Hyuga Kawa gritted his teeth. He wasn't a miser by any means; he just had a habit of hoarding things, like a hamster. Seeing his points about to drop below 10,000 always made him feel insecure. So he really didn't want to spend this many points, and he hesitated whether to try developing it himself.

But before he could respond inwardly, at that moment, a faint meow entered his ears.

"Meow."

This meow was just interspersed among the loud chirping of insects, and it didn't seem special in this animal mating season. But Hyuga Kawa's gaze paused, and a subtle smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Ah, "points" are delivering themselves to my doorstep.