Chapter 7: The Hawk Striking the Cage

This terrifying speed is an absolutely subversive blow to ninjas.

The logistics ninjas broke out in a cold sweat, finally understanding why Asuma was silent.

"You continue; I must report to the Hokage."

Asuma felt his pocket, wanting to smoke a cigarette, but suddenly remembered this was a game.

Although the Mall also sells cigarettes, he could not bear to buy them.

"A game world outside the ninja world?"

Sound Ninja Village, a secret underground research base.

In the dimly lit room, various glass containers were placed, containing extracted special test subjects: Jugo's blood and cells.

Orochimaru licked his lips, his snake-like golden slit pupils revealing a sense of uncertainty and suspicion.

He was even wondering if Yakushi Kabuto, who had transmitted this message, had betrayed him.

Absurd.

But the more this was the case, the more Orochimaru felt an itch in his heart, wanting to uncover the truth.

It was a pity that Yakushi Kabuto, who had already become a player, was being strictly monitored by the Anbu and could not get away; otherwise, he would really like to conduct a thorough dissection study.

"Lord Orochimaru."

A ninja exuding a cold aura of chakra walked into the laboratory.

Orochimaru did not turn his head, threw a piece of paper tucked inside Yakushi Kabuto's intelligence report over, and ordered: "Kidomaru, you and Jirobo go together and bring the person back to me."

Kidomaru carefully caught the paper and discovered it contained information about a Noble of the Land of Fire.

"Eternal life, truly something to look forward to."

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up.

He did not expect such a huge change in the ninja world; the plan to destroy Konoha needed to accelerate its progress.

Two days later.

Even the two logistics ninjas with the weakest combat awareness had become professionals.

"Neji and I are both Fighters, Yakushi Kabuto is a Stalker, and there is also a Mage apprentice. There are many professions in the Samsara Game; I don't know who is the strongest."

The more Asuma spoke, the more alarmed he became.

The professions of the Samsara Game cover knowledge from other worlds.

Whether it is a Fighter, a Stalker, or a Magic apprentice, behind them are independent energy systems like those of ninjas, implying different other worlds.

The more intelligence he collected, the more he felt the mystery and terror of the Samsara Game.

Asuma sighed and said: "Let's stop here for today; everyone get some good rest."

Uzumaki Naruto was not yet satisfied and wanted to continue, but was sternly stopped by Asuma.

Their souls enter the game world while their physical bodies in reality are in a dormant state; staying offline for too long will lead to malnutrition.

Neji exited the game.

Just as he was preparing to cook a meal to replenish nutrition, he noticed someone had entered the house, and a letter had been placed on the living room table.

After opening the envelope, he finished reading it in silence.

He stood up and walked toward the center of the clan grounds, arriving inside a luxurious courtyard.

"Is that Neji? Come in."

A gentle and honest voice came from inside the room.

Neji walked into the room expressionlessly and respectfully, slightly raising his head.

A man wearing a wide white robe was kneeling on a soft cushion.

His long black hair draped over his shoulders, his eyes were pure white, and his forehead was smooth, without any pattern.

"Clan Head."

Neji respectfully knelt on one knee on the ground.

The man before him, with a familiar face extremely similar to his father's, was the current head of the Hyuga Clan, the noble Main House member Hyuga Hiashi.

Hyuga Hiashi smiled gently and said: "Are you tired lately?"

Although the event of the Hokage commissioning an S-Rank mission was strictly confidential, the rumors recently spreading faintly in the village made him, as the Clan Head, unable to sit still.

Neji shook his head and said: "Being able to share the village's burdens is a ninja's duty."

Hyuga Hiashi frowned, but quickly recovered, reminding him: "The village is important, but likewise, you are also a genius of the Hyuga Clan and need to share the family's burdens."

"Yes."

Neji responded in a low voice.

Hyuga Hiashi's gaze fell on the youth before him, a hint of guilt flashing in the depths of his eyes, and he slowly said: "Neji, the village is a great tree, the Hyuga Clan is the trunk, and you are the branches and leaves on the trunk. Only when the trunk is sturdy can the branches and leaves grow better; do you understand?"

"I understand."

It was still a brief response.

Hyuga Hiashi frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the floor, and seeing Neji, who was looking down in silence with an expressionless face, he finally withdrew his hand silently.

Unwilling to tell the family the mission intelligence?

The mission commissioned by the Hokage was of a very high level, appearing only during ninja world wars.

But now it was a time of peace, and there were no signs of troop buildups in any country, so the suddenly issued S-Rank mission was particularly special.

Seeing that Neji still did not make a sound.

Hyuga Hiashi shook his head and said: "You may go. I hope you can remember that the family is always your backing."

"Yes."

Neji silently exited the room.

The matter concerning the Samsara Game was a secret mission assigned by the Hokage; as long as he did not speak, even the Hyuga Clan Head of the Main House would not dare to pressure the Branch House too much.

Once the Main House learned of the Samsara Game, they would also learn that he was capable of breaking free from the Caged Bird.

At that time, he would certainly be placed under heavy surveillance and locked back into the cage.

This was something Neji absolutely could not tolerate.

For this reason, he had even prepared himself to be tortured by the Caged Bird, never expecting Hyuga Hiashi to let him leave so easily.

Was it because of guilt, or pity?

A surge of anger suddenly welled up in the depths of Neji's heart; he clenched his fists tightly, his nails piercing his palms, and fresh blood flowed out between his fingers.

He returned to his room, a scroll now in his hand.

After unfolding it, he read the text on the scroll carefully, until the very end.

Neji closed his eyes tightly, pressed his fingers together, and the chakra within his body flowed slowly into his eyeballs, moving along a complex trajectory.

The next second.

As if being scorched by flames, intense pain swept over him, starting from his eyeballs and spreading to his entire head, just like throwing his eyeballs into a raging fire, the vigorous flames constantly eroding everything.

In just two seconds, Neji collapsed to the ground, unable to maintain the posture of the technique, his hands tightly gripping his eye sockets.

When he opened his eyes,

A pair of Byakugan were covered in scarlet bloodstains, and even his vision had become blurred.

But the twisted, hideous pattern on his forehead seemed to have faded in color by a fraction.

The Caged Bird, a shackle branded directly onto the soul; even the dead brought back by Edo Tensei could not escape this cursed fate.

Even the researcher Hyuga Tenin did not have a perfect method to lift the curse.

Attempting to remove the Caged Bird was extremely dangerous and carried the risk of blindness.

For a ninja possessing the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, becoming blind meant being reduced to a useless person.

However,

Neji covered his face tightly, savoring the pain that reached deep into his soul.

Was it from the moment the Caged Bird was branded, or when his father died?

He had pessimistically attributed everything to fate, believing it was all the mockery of destiny, hating the Main House while acting like a dog resigned to its fate.

Until the appearance of the Samsara Game.

Just as the mysterious person said, this was a game; as long as one won, the reward would be a massive prize capable of changing one's destiny.

Even if it meant agonizing pain, even if it meant gouging out his own eyes, as long as he could break free from the shackles of fate.

It would all be worth it!

(End of this chapter)