Arrival at the Village

Hyuga Tanaka and the others quickly departed, leaving markers along the way so Uzumaki Hane could find them. They reached a safe spot and prepared to rest while they waited for him.

Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo rested while keeping watch over their surroundings. Yamamoto Satoshi tended to his companion. They waited a long time, but Uzumaki Hane still did not return, and Yamano Koromo began to worry about his safety. Hyuga Tanaka reassured her, "Koromo, it's all right. With Hane's strength, he can definitely get away if he wants to."

Yamano Koromo managed a smile. "That's right. With Hane's strength, he'll definitely be fine."

Hyuga Tanaka was actually very worried about Uzumaki Hane too. With Uzumaki Hane's strength, he could indeed escape without trouble, but he had become more eager to fight since that mission. Hyuga Tanaka feared that Uzumaki Hane would get caught up in the battle and fail to leave in time.

After a while, a sound came from the bushes. Hyuga Tanaka immediately stood, shielding everyone behind him, and shouted, "Byakugan!" Then he saw Uzumaki Hane running toward them in a sorry state.

Hyuga Tanaka said, "It's Hane. He's back."

Sure enough, Uzumaki Hane emerged from the bushes. He looked at the others and said with a smile, "I'm back. That summoned beast was strong, and I couldn't resist fighting it for a while. I wasted quite a bit of time." His legs gave out, and he nearly fell. Yamano Koromo rushed to his side and caught him, asking gently, "Hane, are you all right?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "I'm fine. I just used up a little too much energy. You didn't run into any danger along the way, did you?"

Yamano Koromo said, "No." She then helped Uzumaki Hane over to a tree trunk and sat him down.

Hyuga Tanaka asked, "Hane, what happened to that giant lizard?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "It's fine. It seemed to be under some kind of restriction and didn't follow me."

Hyuga Tanaka said, "That's good."

Uzumaki Hane looked seriously at Yamamoto Satoshi. "Mr. Yamamoto, let's discuss this mission now."

Yamamoto Satoshi said, "As you all know, the two of us set out together for Konoha Ninja Village, but we stopped at that castle to shelter from the rain on the way, and Naka was captured. I'm truly sorry for causing you to fall into a trap." He bowed his head to Uzumaki Hane and the other two in apology.

Uzumaki Hane watched Yamamoto Satoshi, who kept his head lowered. After quite a while, Uzumaki Hane said, "We'll let it go this time." Then he turned to Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo. "Tanaka, Koromo, let's decide whether to continue the mission."

Hearing that, Hyuga Tanaka looked at Uzumaki Hane and said, "Hane, you decide. I have no objections."

Yamano Koromo also looked at Uzumaki Hane and said, "Hane, I have no objections either." Uzumaki Hane was now the leader of the team, and they would not oppose whatever he decided.

Seeing the looks on their faces, Uzumaki Hane knew they had entrusted him with such an important decision because they trusted him completely. Deeply moved, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Mr. Yamamoto, we'll continue the mission, but we hope nothing like this happens again. Otherwise, we'll have to cancel it."

Yamamoto Satoshi apologized again. "I'm sorry. Nothing like this will happen again, I promise. Please rest assured."

The group then sat silently by the tree trunk, saying nothing more. Uzumaki Hane rested quietly. After all, he had used up too much energy earlier.

After a while, the girl, Yamamoto Naka, woke up. She looked around in confusion and asked, "Where is this? What happened to me?" Yamamoto Satoshi explained everything to her in detail, then said to Uzumaki Hane and the others, "This is my companion, Yamamoto Naka." He then said to Yamamoto Naka, "These are the ninjas I hired from Konoha Ninja Village: Uzumaki Hane, Hyuga Tanaka, and Yamano Koromo."

Yamamoto Naka bowed to them and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, you three. It was because of me that you Konoha ninjas ended up in such a dangerous situation. I'm truly sorry."

Uzumaki Hane still found Yamamoto Satoshi somewhat odd. He looked at the two Yamamotos and said seriously, "Since we accepted this mission, we'll see it through. But I hope there won't be a next time. Let's set out now."

Yamano Koromo asked, "Hane, don't you need to rest a little longer?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "No. We've already lost quite a bit of time, so we need to get moving as quickly as possible."

Neither Hyuga Tanaka nor Yamano Koromo objected to Uzumaki Hane's decision, so the group set off.

The five of them traveled for a full day and arrived at a small mountain village. It looked peaceful and serene, but for some reason, it gave Uzumaki Hane an eerie feeling.

They entered the village and found it far too quiet. Uzumaki Hane and the others went on guard.

Hyuga Tanaka asked, "What's going on? Why isn't there anyone in the village?"

Yamamoto Satoshi and Yamamoto Naka both looked deeply worried. Yamamoto Naka ran straight to the nearest house and called, "Uncle... Uncle..." She pounded on the door with her right hand, but there was no response from inside.

Yamamoto Satoshi also ran to another house. As soon as he knocked, the door swung open, revealing not a soul inside.

Yamano Koromo went straight into the house to look for clues. Uzumaki Hane kept his guard up as he looked at Hyuga Tanaka and said, "Tanaka, I'll leave it to you." Tanaka understood what Uzumaki Hane meant and shouted, "Byakugan!" He began searching the surrounding houses.

Uzumaki Hane concentrated, alert to every movement around them. After a while, Hyuga Tanaka shook his head. "Hane, there's no one in any of the houses around here."

Yamano Koromo walked over as well and said, "Hane, there are leftovers in the house. They were probably left a few days ago."

Meanwhile, Yamamoto Naka walked over, looking lost and dejected. She had checked many houses, but no one had answered.

Yamamoto Satoshi came over too. "They're all gone. We're too late."

Tears streamed from Yamamoto Naka's eyes as she cried, "It's all my fault. If you hadn't had to rescue me, you might have made it in time."

Uzumaki Hane comforted her. "There's no blood or bodies in the village, so they're probably still safe. What we need to do now is find them as quickly as possible."

Hyuga Tanaka said, "Most likely, they were taken by that gang of bandits. But since the bandits didn't kill them, I imagine they'll be safe for the time being. Yamamoto, where are those bandits, and how many are there? Tell us everything in detail."

As Hyuga Tanaka spoke, he gave a signal indicating that someone was approaching. But it was wishful thinking for the newcomer to hope to evade Tanaka's Byakugan. Apparently, the newcomer did not know they had someone from the Hyuga Clan with them.