Recently I've discovered this design for a 0.4" x 0.4" arduino compatible board:
https://hackaday.io/project/3117-a-even-smaller-nanite-temple run 2 online
My proposal:
- a similarily sized Tinyduino, possibly powered by a small battery cell
- a neopixel addon board which can be soldered to the bottom side of the board (using spacers)
Using a small battery cell is a great idea, but make sure to consider power management to maximize battery life, especially with neopixels, which can draw significant current.