His voice dropped.
It carried an undeniable command and a hint of ambiguous threat.
They bit their lips, thinking, 'As expected.'
But without hesitation, they nodded in succession:
"Mm~"
...The next morning, at dawn, a faint light appeared.
The heavy wooden door of the inn was gently pushed open.
Several figures appeared in the hallway.
Kurenai Yuhi, Ino, and Hinata all had an undisguised weariness on their faces.
Their steps showed a sense of exhaustion... They exchanged an incredibly complex look.
But more than that, it was a resolute sense of relief.
No matter what, they had finally gotten what they wanted.
They were allowed to approach the place of captivity... The news was quickly passed out through their secret channels.
In the evening, in the forest at the edge of Konoha.
"Kakashi-sensei and Might Guy are still unreachable?"
Sakura Haruno anxiously pressed Neji, who had just returned.
Neji pushed his sunglasses up and calmly shook his head: "The Anbu said that the two Jonin have more important urgent missions."
"It was directly assigned by Hokage-sama, so they cannot intervene in our matter for now."
"How could this be..."
Lee clenched his fists, his face full of unwillingness, "What do we do now? Just rely on us?"
Hyuga Neji's Byakugan remained activated, observing the inn in the distance.
He said in a deep voice: "Teacher Kurenai, Ino, and Hinata have already sent definite news and will provide internal support."
"This is our best chance, and it might be our only chance."
Tenten forced a smile:
"It seems we can only rely on ourselves. The plan remains unchanged?"
The few of them looked at each other, and finally nodded heavily... Late at night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.
Several dark figures, like tanuki blending into the night, silently avoided all the overt sentries outside the inn.
Using Neji's Byakugan's insight,
they accurately found a defensive gap and infiltrated the inn.
The corridor was unusually quiet, with only their own suppressed breathing and heartbeats.
Following the instructions received beforehand, they moved quickly and quietly.
Indeed, at several key corners or passages,
they saw the figures of Kurenai Yuhi, Ino, or Hinata.
They seemed to appear there only by chance.
Either leaning by the window gazing at the moon, or lowering their heads to adjust their clothes.
But their very presence was like an invisible signal and barrier.
Those black-clad Ninja, standing like statues, paid no heed to their appearance.
And they also showed no reaction to Neji, Naruto, Sakura, and others who quickly passed near them.
As if they were just an insignificant gust of wind.
Neji's Byakugan remained active.
He could clearly "see" the immense Chakra within the black-clad Ninja, as well as the special equipment on them that could interfere with vision.
However, at this moment,
these powerful guards were completely unresponsive to their infiltration.
"As expected... unobstructed."
Neji whispered, his fear of His Majesty the Emperor's control deepening.
This was not laxity at all, but some kind of deliberately allowed "passage."
How did Teacher Kurenai and Hinata manage this?
But now was not the time to ask that.
Under another glance from Kurenai Yuhi,
they arrived in front of an inconspicuous door.
According to the intelligence, Asuma, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba were imprisoned here.
Hinata was already waiting there.
Her face slightly red, she nodded gently to Neji and the others, indicating this was the place.
The guards had been temporarily diverted for a moment.
Lee, impatient, stepped forward and carefully pushed the door.
The door was not locked!
"It worked!"
Sakura exclaimed in a low voice, a look of joy on her face.
The few of them no longer hesitated and immediately flashed into the room.
Hinata and Ino, who was on lookout, quickly followed in, gently closing the door behind them.
The light in the room was dim, and several figures could vaguely be seen sitting or lying, locked in the shadows of the corner.
"Asuma-sensei! Shikamaru! Choji! Kiba!" Naruto called out, suppressing his excited voice, and rushed over.
Neji, Sakura, Lee, and Tenten immediately followed, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
They were ready to deal with any sudden situation and implement a rescue at any moment.
However, just as they all entered the room and their guard slightly dropped,
"Click."
A clear, crisp sound of metal gears locking came from behind them.
Everyone suddenly turned their heads.
They saw that on the inside of the door they had just easily pushed open,
a thick, Chakra-metal-glowing gate had fallen at some unknown time.
Completely sealing off the exit!
At the same time,
on the walls around the room, several complex sealing jutsu suddenly lit up.
Spreading rapidly like burning flames,
forming a massive barrier that completely enveloped the entire room!
"Oh no! It's a trap!"
"Damn it, they have a way to interfere with the Byakugan."
Neji's Byakugan instantly saw the powerful sealing energy on the barrier and cried out in alarm.
Buzz... The barrier was completely formed, and a powerful restraining force permeated the air.
Trapping all of them, along with Asuma and the others who were originally imprisoned, completely within this meticulously prepared cage!
The lights suddenly brightened.
In the shadows of the room's corner, a lazy, slightly playful chuckle was heard.
"Good evening, everyone from Konoha."
"My inn... is not a place you can just come and go as you please."
The room became brightly lit, and the moment the trap activated, a wave of despair, like a cold tide, engulfed everyone.
Neji, Tenten, Lee, and others instantly assumed fighting stances, but cold sweat had already soaked their backs.
They looked in disbelief at the completely sealed door and the barrier runes flickering with ominous light around them.
Finally, they cast their shocked and angry gazes towards Di Yan, who slowly emerged from the shadows in the corner.
Although none of them recognized Di Yan,
if their guess was correct, he must be the young Emperor.
At this moment, Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Tekka appeared behind Di Yan like ghosts.
And more black-clad Ninja silently surrounded them.
"How could this be..."
Kurenai Yuhi's face turned pale, and she instinctively took half a step back, her delicate body trembling slightly.
She thought she had paid a sufficient "price" for this opportunity.
But she never expected this to be a trap, inviting them into a snare.
Ino and Hinata were even more aghast.
Hinata's pure white eyes were filled with fear and the bewilderment of being deceived.
They looked at Di Yan.
As if for the first time truly realizing His Majesty the Emperor's ruthlessness and cunning.
Di Yan didn't even spare them three a glance, as if they were insignificant pawns.
He gently waved his hand, his tone flat but carrying undeniable authority:
"Take them down."
With the command, battle instantly erupted!
Uchiha Tekka took the lead, his Sharingan instantly activating.
His figure was like lightning, and he directly engaged Hyuga Neji, the strongest among them.
Tekka's movements were fast, ruthless, and precise, with extremely seasoned experience.
Although Neji's Byakugan could see through his movements, his body's reaction simply couldn't keep up with the opponent's rhythm.
The palm strikes of Gentle Fist were easily avoided or parried every time.
Instead, he was forced to retreat repeatedly by Tekka's sharp counterattacks.
Lee roared as he opened the First Gate of the Eight Gates Formation, his speed and strength surging, attempting to break through by force.
But two black-clad Ninja immediately attacked him in a synchronized pincer movement.
A single person might not necessarily be Lee's opponent.
But these black-clad individuals' coordination was flawless, and their taijutsu was fierce and domineering.