Raj pondered for a moment, then followed the lingering scent of Noboru Hyuga.
Ao, bound tightly like a dead dog, had already been knocked unconscious earlier, so the rough ride didn't cause him to faint again.
The Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu skills were impressive.
When Raj caught up, the group had already merged with another Hyuga squad.
As he debated whether to reveal himself, one of them spoke first:
"Is that Raj? I am Hiashi Hyuga."
'Oh right, they have the Byakugan... X-ray vision - such a convenient ability.'
Raj mentally scoffed before leaping with Ao onto the main road.
Sure enough, he spotted a man in the
distance who looked almost identical to Hizashi.
"Meow~ How's this main family member doing?"
"Uh..."
'Good question.'
The Hyuga Clan members exchanged awkward glances, unsure how to answer.
While Raj had indeed rescued Sowa, he had also slapped him in the process.
Sowa's breathing was shallow and labored, his body riddled with broken bones.
'What to say? This is... complicated.'
Hiashi paused for a moment before replying, "Sowa can't be saved. But thankfully, the Byakugan remains intact.
We must thank you for your assistance."
He bowed deeply, his gratitude genuine.
The Hyuga Clan had never considered the possibility of the main family being targeted - a grave oversight on their part.
Though Raj had nearly beaten the main family members to death with a single slap, the truth was that it had preserved the Byakugan.
'To feel grateful for the slaughter of our own clansmen... This is a strange sensation.'
The other clan members were torn, unsure of what to say.
Their eyes shifted to something Raj was dragging behind it.
'What's that?'
Hiashi glanced over and his eyes widened slightly.
"Is that Ao from the Kirigakure?" he asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
"Meow!"
Raj nodded, dragging Ao forward like a dead dog and tossing him into the middle, arranging him neatly beside Noboru Hyuga.
'Even if you can't have the Byakugan, you can still be with the main family. Everything must be perfectly arranged.'
The others didn't quite understand, but the sight felt deeply unsettling.
"We've been trying to capture him for a long time, but we never succeeded. I never imagined... Could you tell us what happened?" Hiashi said, his voice filled with emotion.
Ao was a master of sensory perception.
Though his abilities couldn't match the Byakugan, his participation in every Kiri Ninja operation in this region demonstrated his crucial importance.
Yet this vital figure had been captured by a black cat.
The main family and seven branch family members had been completely outmaneuvered by the Hozuki Clan.
Not only had Raj rescued them, but he had also captured Ao from under the noses of so many enemies.
Compared to this, the Hyuga Clan's performance was utterly humiliating.
"Meow~ No problem. But... um, shouldn't we try to save him?" Raj pointed at Sowa.
He appeared to have suffered multiple bone fractures, internal organ damage from the shockwaves, and complete Chakra exhaustion...
"He's beyond saving. He's already dead," Hiashi sighed softly.
Though saddened, he didn't she'd tears.
"A commander's incompetence dooms his entire army. This fool had the Byakugan and still fell into an ambush. Who else is to blame?"
Raj nodded slightly.
Indeed, Sowa was beyond saving.
But a little stimulation might earn some Points.
Sure enough, its Points had surged again.
'Huh?'
A quick glance revealed over four thousand more Points than before.
Raj pondered this, concluding that most likely came from the Kiri Ninja.
After all, the Hyuga Clan members didn't seem particularly moved by Sowa's death.
'What a waste.'
He'd been too heavy-handed, killing all three Kiri Ninja outright.
'If he'd left them barely alive to squirm, his Points would probably have climbed even higher.'
But that was just wishful thinking.
On the battlefield, showing mercy to enemies meant cruelty to oneself.
Raj had no intention of playing the saint.
In fact, he'd even considered using his Byakugan to wait until the Hyuga squad was wiped out before intervening.
But the plan seemed impractical and too risky, so he'd acted directly to save them.
Of course, the rescue didn't go exactly as planned.
For instance, Sowa had been accidentally squashed...
"Oh right, meow! I swatted two branch family members in that direction earlier. You should go rescue them quickly!"
Raj suddenly remembered the two branch family members and the remaining Kiri Ninja, immediately pointing toward the area where he'd sent them flying.
'Flew them away... Your rescue method is a bit rough, isn't it?!'
Hiashi was stunned for a moment, then immediately activated his Byakugan, expanding his detection range to its maximum.
Within moments, he "saw" three figures.
All were lying on the ground, but the Branch Family members' Chakra was still flowing smoothly, indicating they were likely unharmed.
One person, whose Chakra flow was disrupted, was likely the Kiri Ninja, having been struck with a pressure point technique.
"Take a few men and come with me. The rest of you, return to camp."
After speaking, Hiashi vanished in a flash.
Rescuing lives was as urgent as putting out a fire.
'Who knew if the Branch Family members had been injured by his rough rescue methods? What if the Kiri Ninja's pressure point techniques wore off...?'
'Hmm, it shouldn't come to that.'
The atmosphere was complex, especially for the four survivors who had been in the same team as Sowa and the two branch family members.
But when they thought about it carefully, if Raj hadn't arrived, the two wouldn't have just been sent flying - all four of them might have died here.
So...
"Thank you for saving us. If it weren't for you, we would all be dead."
The four bowed deeply.
A debt of life could not be repaid with mere words of gratitude.
They weren't ungrateful, but unsure how to repay the debt immediately, they decided to keep the gratitude in their hearts for now, planning to find a way to repay Raj or the Nohara Clan when they returned to their village.
"Meow~ Don't worry, Senior Hizashi and I are old friends. We're practically family," Raj said, waving a paw with the air of a seasoned veteran.
The branch family members fell silent for a few seconds.
'This cat...'
At first glance, it sounded reasonable, but upon closer thought, it felt like he was taking advantage of the situation.
'What a pain.'
'Never mind, let's just ignore him.'
The rest of the group secretly grumbled to themselves, then moved slightly away, lifting Noboru Hyuga and Ao to carry them back to camp.
Raj noticed his points had increased by over five hundred in that short time.
It wasn't much, but it represented the Hyuga Clan brothers' genuine gratitude.
'How heartwarming.'
Now came the dilemma: should he follow them or return to Tsunade to report the situation?
Going to the Hyuga Clan might yield more points, but considering Tsunade's temperament...
'Best not to provoke her.'
He hadn't expected to encounter such a situation during his stroll.