"Ah! We forgot to notify Takumi-kun!"
Tenten seemed to suddenly remember. "What should we do? Go back and tell him?"
"Not needed."
Neji, who had already activated his Byakugan, said calmly. "Takumi is already following us."
"As expected of Takumi-kun!"
Lee said excitedly. "Such a keen sense of smell, detecting our departure."
"Isn't that natural? Don't forget, he's a Jonin."
Neji couldn't help but roll his eyes and deactivated his Byakugan.
"He's a year younger than us, yet he's already a Jonin, while we're still Genin."
Tenten couldn't help but sigh.
"Stop the nonsense, we're almost at the village."
Neji said. "We'll act according to the situation when we get there. Don't reveal ourselves lightly."
"We don't know who belongs to the Kurosuki Family. Acting rashly would expose our movements."
At this moment, the Rokusuke they were searching for had already been caught by the Kurosuki Family and brought before Raiga.
"Rokusuke, I was pained to learn of your escape."
Raiga's gaze, hidden beneath his hood, fixed on the trembling Rokusuke. "I always remember the good memories you brought me."
"Let me hold a funeral for you. That way, all those good memories can be preserved."
Tears fell from Raiga's eyes, but his face held a hint of anticipation.
"No, please don't do that!"
Rokusuke was terrified, repeatedly waving his hands. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Slap!
Pressed to the ground by a Kurosuki Family's member behind him, his eyes were full of despair.
He had wanted to save his buried friend, never imagining he would soon follow in his companion's footsteps.
His eagerness to save his friend had cost him basic judgment.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I'm sorry."
He apologized desperately, hoping for forgiveness.
But how was that possible?
How could Raiga, with his abnormal obsession with funerals, cancel an order already given?
The Kurosuki Family's members skillfully placed him in a coffin and, as they had done before, carried the coffin to the graveyard.
But Raiga, who should have gone with them, did not. Instead, he stood on a cliff, looking down below.
"I remember now, when we replaced the local official and ruled this mine, the joy of being freed from those heavy taxes, those smiles were so real."
Tears again fell from Raiga's eyes. "I really liked this guy once."
"They're coming, the troublesome ones."
A clear boy's voice came from under the cloak behind him.
"Is that so? How exciting."
Wiping away his tears, Raiga's eyes held a hint of anticipation. "Who will this guy have brought as reinforcements?"
"Four, no, five?"
The boy sensing their numbers felt something was off. "One person is bound by chains. Why?"
"Oh? This is interesting."
Raiga smiled, unconcerned.
Relying on the boy behind him, Ranmaru, and his Kekkei Genkai to direct enemy positions, they were invincible.
No matter how many came, he didn't care.
"Four people are already hiding below. Two more are nearby."
Ranmaru reported the enemies' positions.
"Ah, I see."
Raiga responded calmly.
Below the cliff.
"How is it? Is Rokusuke still alive?"
Looking at that coffin, Naruto couldn't help but ask worriedly.
Neji immediately activated his Byakugan. "It's okay, he's still breathing."
"Then we need to finish this quickly!"
Lee said, ready to charge forward. "The longer we delay, the worse it will be for Rokusuke-san."
"Exactly. The air in that coffin is limited. We need to rescue him as soon as possible."
Tenten also said.
Neji, who had initially wanted to wait for Takumi, heard their words and could only grit his teeth and say, "Alright, go!"
The four immediately rushed out. "Tenten, you're responsible for the enemies on the left!"
"No problem!"
Tenten responded, took out a scroll, opened it, and with a poof, a three-section staff appeared.
She charged forward, using her skilled techniques to knock out the enemies on her side.
Lee and Naruto also knocked out their enemies instantly.
Dealing with these ordinary people, they could handle them with ease.
This was the huge gap between Shinobi and ordinary people.
Neji also dealt with his enemies. Looking at the only remaining person in a black robe, he said, "Hurry up and deal with him, then rescue Rokusuke-san."
Lee immediately charged forward.
The man in the black robe, scared, fell to the ground, revealing a young face beneath the hood.
"Huh?"
Lee stopped. Looking at the sole of his foot so close, the young man in the black robe couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
"Karashi, is that you?"
Lee asked doubtfully.
The others, seeing it was an acquaintance of Lee's and hearing the name, realized it was Grandma Sansho's grandson, and gathered around.
Only Neji moved the unconscious Rokusuke out of the coffin.
"Quite capable, aren't you?"
Raiga looked down from above, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.
He could tell their Taijutsu wasn't weak.
"It's starting."
Ranmaru warned, and then began to use his Kekkei Genkai.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique."
Raiga immediately cooperated by using the Ninjutsu.
Below, Neji and the others immediately responded. "Karashi, you take Rokusuke-san and leave here immediately. It's going to get dangerous!"
"This isn't ordinary mist, it's Ninjutsu!"
Neji immediately judged, then activated his Byakugan, looking for the enemy's position. "On the cliff!"
Everyone immediately jumped up.
"The mist has risen."
Takumi looked at the mist obscuring vision before him. For him, this kind of mist couldn't block anything.
Relying on his Observation Haki, he could easily determine Raiga's position.
'Before dealing with you, let's remove your external radar first.'
A glint of mischievous amusement flashed in Takumi's eyes.
"Good opportunity!"
With the mist obscuring vision, Yugito immediately realized this was a perfect chance.
But just as she was about to break the chains, she hesitated.
She felt a bit reluctant to leave Takumi's side.
This thought had just surfaced when she was immediately startled.
'How could I have such a thought?'
Yet she involuntarily began recalling the peaceful days she had spent in Konoha these past two days.
No distant, scornful gazes.
Even though she had lost her personal freedom, at least the looks others gave her were not those directed at a monster.
Lost in thought,
She had already missed the first opportunity to escape.
Actually, even if she tried to run, escaping from Takumi would be impossible.
The mist might block others' vision, but it couldn't block Takumi's sight.
And at this moment.
Unnoticed, thunderclouds had appeared in the sky.
Electric snakes darted through the clouds, giving her a bad feeling.
"Even if these people die before me, I don't want to hold a funeral for them."
Raiga looked down from above. Through the mist, he saw the four below, Neji and the others.
"In that case, I'll just kill them all."
He suddenly pulled out two weapons wrapped in white cloth from under his cloak.
Lightning flashed, the white cloth tore, revealing two strange short blades.
They were the Lightning Blades: Kiba.
Two bolts of lightning shot from the blades, flying into the thunderclouds above.
The electric snakes Takumi had seen were precisely the lightning created by the Lightning Blades: Kiba.