Several ninja instantly sprang from the shadows and surrounded the ninja.
The ninja showed no sign of panic. Clearly, he already knew who they were. He tossed the person slung over his shoulder into their arms and quickly said, "This is the person our lord wants. Take her back immediately, and move as fast as you can the whole way!"
The others nodded at his words. After slinging Hinata over a shoulder, they vanished completely in a few bounds.
Seeing them leave, the man hurriedly turned and headed back the way he had come.
Although they wanted to leave immediately after carrying out such a mission, they had to return to the inn before their cover there was blown, lest they reveal that Kumogakure was behind it.
The people who had created the disturbance in the front courtyard also scattered, concealing themselves as they ran toward the inn.
Meanwhile, back at the Hyuga Clan compound, Hyuga Hiashi sat in a room with an icy expression. Beside him sat a guilt-stricken Hizashi Hyuga.
Sitting across from them was ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi, who had seen the Hyuga Clan's signal flare.
Uchiha Itachi sat opposite Hyuga Hiashi with a solemn expression. "Clan Head Hyuga, has something happened to the Hyuga Clan?"
Although he phrased it as a question, Uchiha Itachi's tone made it sound like a statement of fact.
Hyuga Hiashi forced a smile at his words. "You must be joking, Captain Itachi. What could possibly have happened to our Hyuga Clan?"
Naturally, Uchiha Itachi did not believe him. He also knew that if he kept approaching the matter so delicately, the man before him would probably continue evading his questions.
He immediately cut to the chase. "Then may I ask what that distress signal above the Hyuga Clan compound was about?"