The wind tore through the silence of the dense forest on the outskirts of Leaf Village.
Bang.
The heavy wooden door of the hidden safehouse was smashed open by a brutal force, sending splinters flying. Hyuga Xiao strode inside with Hinata in his arms. With a backhanded wave, Attraction yanked the door shut with a heavy crash, while three sealing barriers that blocked chakra detection descended in quick succession.
No lights were lit inside. Only a few dim rays of morning light squeezed through the gaps in the blinds, cutting patches of light across the rough wooden floor. The air carried the stale scent of pine and a faint earthy tang.
"Cold..."
Hinata curled up in Xiao's arms and let out a muffled groan, suppressed to the limit. Her formerly fair, delicate face now bore the ashen pallor of a corpse. White frost had spread from her eyelashes to the edges of her brows, and even her breath turned into visible white mist.
Without saying a word, Xiao strode to the wooden bed against the wall and laid her flat upon it.
The instant he touched her, Xiao's brows furrowed tightly. She was too cold. Even through her torn clothing, Hinata's body felt like ten-thousand-year black ice radiating frigid air. That bizarre extreme cold was not only freezing her blood; it was also madly devouring the remaining Stellar Chakra in her meridians.
"Bear with it."
Xiao spoke coldly. His right hand shot out without hesitation, hooked a finger beneath Hinata's collar, and violently tore it downward.
Riiip.
The cloth stained with dust and blood from the underground laboratory was roughly torn apart, exposing the girl's smooth yet bloodless back. The intricate array diagram Xiao had personally carved into her last night flickered faintly, like a dying candle swaying in a