Finally Found It

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Yamanaka Santian formed the final hand seal, then sent his mind into the woman's body, which Akimichi Timon and Nara Luyan had firmly restrained.

"It worked."

"Shaziyi" opened her eyes. The fierce look in them had vanished, replaced by Yamanaka Santian's exhausted gaze.

She blinked, apparently unaccustomed to the feel of this body.

"Phew..."

Nara Luyan finally let out a breath. He glanced at the uneven knife wounds across Akimichi Timon's body and the marks left by Lightning Release chakra shocking him, then looked down at his own Konoha uniform, which had nearly been cut in half at the waist. He gave a wry smile.

"Women really are a hassle... Good thing there was only one. If there'd been another, we'd probably have been done for."

"Yeah... I didn't expect Kumogakure's ninja to be such tough fighters."

Akimichi Timon tied Shaziyi up securely, then dropped onto the ground and panted heavily.

"Santian, you can come out now. She's all tied up."

"Shaziyi" nodded. The moment the jutsu was released, her eyes suddenly sharpened, returning to their original fierceness.

"You bunch of scum! Damn Konoha ninja, you'll—mm... ngh..."

Nara Luyan took a roll of tape from his ninja pouch and wrapped it around Shaziyi's mouth several times.

"Women really are a hassle..."

After tying Shaziyi up, Nara Luyan turned to Yamanaka Santian.

"You all right, Santian?"

"I'm fine."

Yamanaka Santian wiped the sweat from his forehead. His face was still a little pale.

"That woman's mental strength really was something, but I managed to hold on."

He looked at Shaziyi, still glaring fiercely despite being tied up securely, and chuckled.

"I don't know where you got the nerve to come here and cause trouble with just three people."

His gaze lingered briefly on the woman's impressive chest before shifting into the distance. Hyuga Qinglan was approaching, carrying Druid, whose arms and legs had been broken.

"Your Highness, I'll leave this one to you." Hyuga Qinglan dropped Druid, who was already unable to move, onto the ground.

"I've sealed all his chakra points and broken his arms and legs."

After a brief pause, he added, "He can basically only move his head now. We can't send him off to pick cotton, but he should still be good enough to take out some frustration on."

"Oh, oh..."

The Son of the Daimyo froze for a moment, then caught on and waved his hand grandly.

"Bring me my whip!"

"..."

The three members of Ino-Shika-Cho fell silent in unison. They turned to look at Shaziyi on the ground, their eyes showing a little sympathy.

Shaziyi's heart skipped a beat. Her sharp eyes immediately fixed on the approaching Hyuga Qinglan. She couldn't speak, but she wasn't deaf, and she'd heard every word he'd said.

Damn him...

"..."

Hyuga Qinglan's eyes first fell on the deep cleavage at her chest, but only for an instant before he looked away.

He was curious whether a weight that could rival Tsunade's would cause trouble in a fight, but after living three lives, he was long past being interested in such things.

Even if a trace of curiosity crossed his mind, he would only think about it.

That was all.

"Rip."

Hyuga Qinglan showed no mercy as he tore the tape away in one pull.

"You bastard! Pervert! Freak! Beast..."

The words burst from Shaziyi's mouth. Pain and humiliation surged through her at once.

"Mm—!"

Before she could finish, Hyuga Qinglan slapped the tape back over her mouth.

"I didn't expect an ice-cold beauty on the outside to have nothing but foul language in her mouth..."

Hyuga Qinglan glanced back at the three standing quietly nearby. They all shrugged at nearly the same time, clearly already familiar with their captive's sharp tongue.

"Santian, can you get into her mind and extract information about her chakra?"

Hyuga Qinglan suddenly asked.

As he recalled it, the Yamanaka Clan—or some other clan—had a technique that let them enter someone's mind at any time and interrogate them for information.

"No, Captain. I'm not skilled enough to use that technique..."

Yamanaka Santian wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "I can't use it as well as Inoichi. If I force it... the target might end up brain-dead."

"Could you still get any information?"

"What do you mean, Captain?"

Yamanaka Santian paused, clearly not expecting Hyuga Qinglan to ask.

He hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Well... I can't say for sure..."

"Then try—"

"Captain."

Nara Luyan spoke up quietly, breaking his silence. "Why not wait until we take her back to the village and let the Torture and Interrogation Force handle it?"

"If we do it ourselves and she dies without giving us any information, that would be a waste."

"And the other one might know just as much as she does."

Luyan pointed toward Dekai, whom the Son of the Daimyo was whipping furiously in the distance.

"This woman's probably a squad leader. She knows far—"

Luyan abruptly raised his voice.

"Timon, knock her out!"

Akimichi Timon struck the back of Shaziyi's neck without hesitation, knocking her unconscious with a single clean blow.

Luyan hurried over, tore the tape off her mouth, and quickly felt around inside it with a finger. He pulled a tiny blade from between her cheek and gum.

The blade was thin as a cicada's wing, cleverly hidden between her gum and cheek. It would have gone unnoticed without a careful search.

"Phew... Good thing I noticed..."

He let out a long breath, then looked at Hyuga Qinglan.

After all, Hyuga Qinglan was the captain. Whatever happened, the final decision was his to make.

"Good point..."

Hyuga Qinglan nodded thoughtfully.

"Then we'll take this woman with us. As for the rest, we'll interrogate them first, then send the information back to the front lines and the village."

"..."

Nara Luyan fell silent for a moment. He felt there was something off about Hyuga Qinglan's behavior, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Was he reacting too slowly? Or was it something else...?

"Hopefully I'm just overthinking it..."

He shook his head, pushed the jumbled thoughts aside, and turned to direct the cleanup.

The morning mist shrouded all of Yugakure.

Unlike bustling Konoha, this small town, famous for its hot springs, seemed quiet everywhere.

The occasional ninja hurried through the streets, unwilling to linger in the silence.

Even so, with war raging across the Shinobi World, this place was already a rare haven of peace.

At least, it wasn't like the Land of Rain, where refugees were everywhere.

The real Hyuga Qinglan stood quietly in the shadows. His gaze passed over the hot spring hotel signs scattered around him, and he sighed to himself.

"Half my chakra... should be enough for a Shadow Clone."

Hyuga Qinglan endured the ache and tugged his hood lower, concealing most of his face.

So much time had passed. He wondered if anything had changed.

He pondered silently, but kept walking.

Before that earth-shattering battle took place, his days on the moon had been quite comfortable.

Unlike the strict Main Branch and Branch Family system of the Hyuga Clan on Earth, the divisions between the Main Branch and Branch Family on the moon were more a matter of differing ideals.

There was no discrimination, only peace.

It was during that time that he made plenty of preparations in the Shinobi World.

But Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha had been so dazzling back then that he'd had no choice but to avoid their limelight.

Hyuga Qinglan followed a forest path and crossed several cliffs before finally stopping in front of a hidden cave.

Vines partly concealed the entrance. Unless someone looked for it deliberately, they would never discover what lay beyond.

"Finally found it..."