The ninja glanced at Hibari's face, still full of lingering fear, then at the equally miserable-looking Kagami Uchiha beside him. Without giving it much thought, he waved a hand. "Ahem, it was all an accident!
"Next time you visit, we'll make sure you have a peaceful stay. Go on, off you go..."
With that, he stepped aside. Hibari and Kagami Uchiha wasted no time, slipping away in a flash as though their feet had been greased.
The chaos in Kumogakure was brought under control before long. Apparently, they were well accustomed to such emergencies and had a whole routine for handling them.
Meanwhile, on the street where Hibari had bought his house, the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku were crouched over the traces left on the ground by Earth Release: Earth Shore Return.
A short while later, a Kumogakure ninja ran up behind them and reported, "Lord Kinkaku, Lord Ginkaku, we've checked. None of our registered ninja used Earth Style here.
"But one witness said they saw a young boy use that technique to save a little girl. Then both of them disappeared."
"Oh?" An amused smile immediately appeared on Ginkaku's face. "Interesting."
"Did a little rat sneak in?" Kinkaku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Probably someone another village sent to gather intelligence." He paused, then ordered, "Lord Raikage just ordered me to form a pursuit unit this morning.
"Go investigate whoever used that technique. See if they're still in the village."
"Yes, sir!" The ninja accepted his orders and immediately turned to carry them out.
In the end, however, none of this affected Hibari or Kagami Uchiha. The moment Hibari acted, he had considered the possibility of exposing himself, so he had withdrawn without the slightest hesitation.
By the time Kumogakure finally got around to uncovering their false identities as "traveling