Neji, having escorted Hinata back to the Main House Compound, returned to his own home.
Aoran (Shadow Clone) was leaning against the door frame waiting for him, but what he said startled Neji.
"Why didn't you beat them to death?"
Neji opened his mouth, saying in astonishment, "No... there's... there's no need for that, right?"
Aoran made a gesture and walked inside.
As he walked, he asked, "This is the first time you've encountered something like this, isn't it?"
"Mhm."
Neji didn't actually go out much. Although he had started training in Gentle Fist from a young age, dealing with outsiders was a first for him.
"The Hyuga Clan is a Prestigious Family, and Hinata was just kidnapped."
"Do you think the Main House would let Hinata run around alone?"
A flash of realization suddenly crossed Neji's mind. He finally understood that something was wrong.
"But, why?"
Aoran chuckled, "Some answers you must find yourself."
"When you find it, I will tell you why."
[Father told me to listen to Brother Aoran, so I must keep an eye on Lord Hinata recently.]
After a brief thought, Neji asked, "Why should I have beaten them to death?"
Although he hadn't killed anyone, the attitude of Clan Disciples towards life was far more indifferent than that of ordinary people.
After all, those in the Ninja World who are soft-hearted won't leave descendants.
"When people who should know better bully the weak for Petty Gains,
"that means these people were inherently evil."
"Since you didn't beat them to death this time, next time they will use the same reason to bully other weak people."
"Or, they might stab you in the back when they get the chance."
After hearing Aoran's words, Neji hesitated, "Shouldn't we give them a chance?"
Aoran shook his head slightly, "A person's nature is very difficult to change, unless they experience a major upheaval or pay an extremely huge price."
"This small chance of change cannot compare to Hinata's safety."
"You will encounter many similar things in the future, so it's Better to Kill the Wrong Person Than Let the Guilty One Go."
"Better to Kill the Wrong Person Than Let the Guilty One Go, Better to Kill the Wrong Person Than Let the Guilty One Go..." Neji muttered a few times, silently engraving the phrase in his heart.
"Neji!"
A deep voice rang out. Neji looked up and saw Hayato walking in from outside the door.
"Brother Yuren!"
After Hizashi's death, Hayato said he had a very important thing to do, and he hadn't even returned for Hizashi's burial the day before.
Neji had always been worried, so seeing Hayato return eased his mind.
Hayato walked over and rubbed Neji's head, "Has Lord Hizashi been buried?"
Neji could now accept the fact of his father's death: "Yes, Brother Yuren, he was buried yesterday."
Hayato then said to Aoran, "Thank you for your trouble, Aoran. You can go back now."
Hearing this, the Shadow Clone knew that the main body was calling him back.
"Understood, Brother Yuren."
Hayato felt a strange look cross his brow when Aoran called him that, as the contrast between Aoran when he was the Owl and his current harmless appearance was stark.
"Neji, remember what I said."
"I understand, Brother Aoran."
Aoran was someone Father had specifically mentioned before he died. Although Aoran wasn't much older than him, Neji was very obedient.
After Aoran left, Neji asked doubtfully:
"Brother Yuren, what did you guys go out to do?"
Hyuga Hayato pressed Neji's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "You'll find out in a couple of days."
"You will be very happy."
...The border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fire.
Yato and Cii searched along the estimated retreat route.
They really did find many Kumagakure corpses, as well as the four-sided arrow shot by Aoran.
Besides the corpses of hibernating animals that hadn't been eaten, Aoran had intentionally left arrows as markers when cleaning up the battlefield.
Yato's expression grew a little more serious with every deceased Kumagakure ninja he checked.
Until he tracked all the way to the corpse of Totsui (the one whose leg was shot off).
He discovered from the scattered footprints nearby that the team had split up from this spot.
"Search around this area."
Although Cii was young, being brought out alone by Yato meant his role was naturally significant.
He quickly finished surveying the nearby terrain and found most of the other Kumagakure corpses.
After Yato checked everyone's wounds, he weighed the Heavy Arrow in his hand.
Although he couldn't use a Bow and Arrow, he still had common sense.
The weight of this arrow was several times that of a normal arrow, which implied a stronger bow and a longer range.
"Should we keep searching, Lord Yato?" Cii asked, having watched him ponder for a long time.
Yato sighed, "I estimate these are all their corpses. Pack up as many as you can, and leave the rest here."
"Yes."
The Kumagakure personnel had prepared for the worst, but they hadn't expected so many bodies.
Cii took out a storage scroll marked with the character 'Corpse' and began loading the bodies into it.
Yato gazed at the vast, white sky:
"This matter is very complicated. Hurry back and tell the Raikage to summon the people from Konoha as well."
...On the other side, Aoran (main body) waited near his home for the returning Shadow Clone.
With a 'poof,' the Shadow Clone turned into smoke and vanished.
Aoran received the memories from the recent period and learned that Neji had disrupted Hinata and Naruto's meeting several times.
"Heh..."
Aoran's lips curled into a slight arc. The Main House was truly disgusting, using the death of Hizashi of the Branch House as a bargaining chip for benefits.
Heh... I knew it. How could a Main House Young Lady like Hinata so coincidentally run into bullies, and how could Naruto coincidentally be right there?
It was as if everyone in the Hyuga Clan had died off.
It turned out to be a transaction.
Anyway, Hinata had a hard time pursuing Naruto. Now that they haven't met, it's a good thing for Hinata.
Finishing his thoughts, Aoran knocked on the door.
"Karin, I'm back."
"Coming, coming!"
Karin's tender voice was accompanied by the pitter-patter of footsteps.
"Brother!"
As the door opened, Karin poked a round head out.
"Why did you take so long to come back?"
Although Yuehua had come over and told Karin that Aoran wouldn't be back for two days, Karin still missed him very much.
Aoran casually ruffled Karin's hair:
"There, didn't I come back? I'm going to take a bath first, and I'll talk to you later."
Karin hummed and twisted Aoran's hand away.
"Then Big Brother, hurry up and go!"
She didn't know that Aoran's main body had gone outside and wiped out the Kumagakure Delegation; she only thought Aoran had been staying with Hizashi these past few days.
Aoran glanced around the house; nothing had changed from before. He had only been gone for a few days.
Karin still had no problem heating up food...