Kidnapped the Wrong Person?

Moriyue charged ahead like a crazed bull, while Ando and Kazeki pursued behind him like escort fighters. Hinata, bound tightly from head to toe, struggled nonstop, and the ropes outlined her perfect curves with unmistakable clarity.

Even the two of them had to put in considerable effort to keep up with Moriyue. Kazeki's short legs were moving so fast they nearly left afterimages, while Ando was already starting to run out of breath.

Although Shino and Kiba had decent stamina by Konoha ninja standards, they were far inferior to those three. Before long, they could no longer keep up with Moriyue and the others' freakish speed.

"Carrying someone and still running that fast... Captain, you didn't use another forbidden technique, did you? This is... too exhausting..."

Ando leaned against a large tree, his chest heaving. He was having trouble enduring such intense exertion.

"Captain, that girl... she seems to be the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter, Hyuga Hinata..."

Kazeki had clearly remembered something. Many years ago, an incident involving Hinata had occurred.

Kumogakure envoys visiting Konoha had kidnapped Hinata, intending to use her to threaten Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family, and obtain the secrets of the Byakugan.

But how could Hyuga Hiashi agree to that? He killed the Kumogakure envoy on the spot. Naturally, Kumogakure demanded an explanation afterward. Regardless of the facts, their envoy had died at the hands of Konoha's Hyuga Hiashi. A life for a life. No matter how wrong that man had been, it was still Kumogakure's internal affair. Either hand over Hyuga Hiashi's corpse, or Kumogakure would declare war on Konoha. Pick one.

The outcome was obvious. Hyuga Hiashi was still alive and well. As a member of the Main Family, how could he possibly go die? Instead, his younger brother from the Branch Family, Hizashi Hyuga, "voluntarily" offered to kill himself in order to preserve Hyuga Hiashi.

At the time, not only did the Third Hokage fail to stand up for the Hyuga Clan, he even agreed to let Hizashi Hyuga die by suicide and hand Hizashi's body over to Kumogakure. Such a humiliating compromise did indeed remove Kumogakure's excuse to start a war and, from the bigger picture, safeguarded the greater good.

What outsiders did not know, however, was that there was a deeply rooted conflict between the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family and Main Family. The Main Family possessed the "Caged Bird Seal," a Curse Mark that could decide the Branch Family's life or death with a single thought. Their relationship had already become strained to the extreme. At that critical moment, Hizashi Hyuga, leader of the Branch Family, "voluntarily" died in his brother's place, and the Branch Family justifiably lost its leader. Think about it. Think carefully.

"Don't worry. This is the Chunin Exams. Even if something happens, the major villages won't say anything openly. It's just that... this girl must have some kind of life-saving item on her. Konoha's ninja may have been following her all along."

"We don't plan on killing her for now. We just need to take the scroll first."

Moriyue was interested in Hinata, but there were many things he could not do during the Chunin Exams. He was interested in the Byakugan, as well as the Caged Bird Seal the Hyuga Clan's Main Family used to control the Branch Family. However, neither was something he could investigate openly. He only wanted to get the scroll, then use Hinata to trade Shino and the others for some resources.

Moriyue dispelled Kazeki's doubts, while Ando had already gone off to keep watch around the area. They would rest here for a while and hope they did not encounter another team.

Hinata, stuffed inside the sack, had taken another chop to the neck from Moriyue earlier and was still unconscious. Moriyue did not think much of it and began searching her directly for the scroll.

"We need the Heaven Scroll. It'd be even better if we could get it in one go..."

"Cough, cough, Captain, I must remind you that we are still in the middle of the exam. You can't... at the very least, you shouldn't..."

Kazeki looked more awkward than ever before. In that fleeting glimpse earlier, she had also seen Hinata's ample figure beneath her shirt. Then she looked at her own flat chest and could not help letting out a breath.

Were they really that big? She must have been seeing things, right? Yes, that had to be it. It was not her fault—it was the world's fault.

"Uh... that was an accident. But it seems this girl... doesn't have a scroll on her..."

Moriyue coughed awkwardly. He had searched nearly all of Hinata's body without finding any trace of a scroll. Could it be that the scroll was not on her?

Had he actually kidnapped the wrong person? This was a little awkward.

"She shouldn't be able to hide it anywhere. There's nowhere else on her that could hold something, unless..."

He stared at Hinata's formidable chest. There... perhaps... something could be hidden there?

"Um, Kazeki, check there. We didn't find the scroll. See if it's there."

Moriyue felt he really could not continue doing this himself. With the increasingly strange look Kazeki was giving him, he was afraid she would pounce on him and bite him the next second.

"Alright."

Nodding, Kazeki moved closer to Hinata. Some things did not seem like much from afar, but only when seen up close could one feel the shocking impact.

"...No. It really isn't on her."

Kazeki's pupils shook. After finishing the search, her gaze was somewhat unfocused. What even was this? They were way too big. She felt like if she slammed her head into them, she could suffocate herself to death. What an enormous evil.

Hinata, having been searched one after another by the two of them, opened her eyes amid Kazeki's shock. But what she saw before her left her equally dumbfounded.

"W-Where is this? What did you do to me?"

Hinata's face flushed crimson, redder than a traffic light at an intersection when you were already one minute late. She struggled desperately, but could only wriggle twice like a bug.

It was no wonder she was afraid. Waking up to find her clothes disheveled, bound into a bundle in an extremely suggestive position by her enemies—anyone would start doubting their life.

"...Well, if I said we didn't do anything... would you believe me?"

Moriyue awkwardly scratched the back of his head. The hellishly embarrassing atmosphere left him at a loss as well. No, they were enemies right now. Why were they making this so difficult?

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere did not last long before Ando, who had been keeping watch nearby, broke it.

He hurried over to Moriyue with several quick steps, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.

"Captain, I saw several teams moving toward our position at the same time from a distance. Judging by their routes, they seem to be deliberately surrounding us. We may have been exposed."

Moriyue nodded. Whatever it was, as long as it eased this awkward atmosphere, it was fine. So they were surrounded? No big deal. It was not like it could not be dealt with. Compared to explaining to Hinata that he was not a pervert, fighting was much simpler.