Yingqiao glared at Hinata on the Viewing Stand with burning hatred. "One day, I'll rip that woman's eyes out and offer them to my father's spirit!"
"I'm practically laughing myself to tears!" Neji's temples throbbed visibly, his white eyes radiating terrifying killing intent. "Man, your stupid 'victim-blaming' mindset really takes the cake! So according to you, if my father tried harming others, he deserved death? And the victims deserved to be hurt by him? Did you even forget to look in the mirror this morning? Do you even realize how full of yourself you are?"
"Neji, don't hold back! This scum doesn't deserve to live!"
Sakura and the others were furious too. What a messed-up victim-blaming excuse! Was Hinata—the real victim—supposed to get kidnapped and tortured instead?
"What the hell is Yingqiao thinking?"
Yingqiao's team leader slammed his fist against a nearby pillar in frustration. The apprentices of the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee wore grim expressions. They had never been particularly close to Yingqiao before—this team only formed for the Chunin Exams. Even though their relations with Konoha weren't great, they still had basic morals. Yingqiao's twisted logic shattered every last one of their principles.
"I'll go apologize to the Konoha side immediately. Absolutely cannot let Yingqiao drag the entire Cloud Village into trouble!"
After sensing murderous intent from numerous Konoha Jonins, Yingqiao's team leader took a deep breath, preparing to explain things to the Third Hokage. With what Yingqiao just said, one wrong move could easily trigger war. Peace had finally returned after years of hardship—he had no desire to relive the horrors of war.
"We should go explain our position to Sakura's group too."
Shuo, apprentice of the Fourth Raikage, and Xi Chuo, apprentice of Killer Bee exchanged helpless glances. Although unfamiliar with Yingqiao, outsiders would naturally perceive them as teammates sharing identical attitudes. If they failed to clarify their stance, people might mistakenly believe this represented Cloud Village's overall view—especially given their masters' positions as Raikage and Raikage's brother.
"Go ahead," Yingqiao's team leader rubbed his temples, feeling extremely frustrated. What terrible karma did he accumulate in a past life to end up with such an unfortunate student?
With resigned determination, Shuo and Xi Chuo approached Sakura's group. As soon as they got near, countless hostile gazes pierced through them. Under such intense scrutiny, their smiles stiffened noticeably.
"What do you want? Here to defend your teammate?" Sakura's party stood expressionless, exuding icy killing intent, clearly ready to attack at any moment.
"Don't misunderstand—we're here to apologize!"
Shuo wore a bitter smile. It sucked getting treated like this when they weren't even in the wrong.
"Apologize?" Sakura shot them a sidelong glance. "For your teammate?"
"Exactly!"
Xi Chuo felt extremely embarrassed but had no choice but to step forward. "What Yingqiao said reflects only her personal opinion, not the stance of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. The events of that time were not your fault. We hope everyone will not come to dislike the entire Village Hidden in the Clouds because of Yingqiao."
Shuo and Xi Chuo adopted a humble attitude. First, the matter itself was due to Yingqiao's distorted values, so they were clearly in the wrong. Second, both of them had learned some details about past events from their respective masters. Their visit this time was also an important mission—to gather information about the person on the border several years ago.
As soon as Shuo and Xi Chuo thought of what their master had told them, they felt extremely pressured. Who would have imagined that Konoha possessed such a terrifying nuclear weapon? If someone provoked them enough, they could just drop a "meteor" over the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and then everyone involved could simply ascend to heaven without further resistance.
Chapter 218: Neji's Magic-Sealing Domain [Part 3]
"There's no use telling us about this matter. Back then, the two victims were one below and one here. You should still beg them for forgiveness!"
Sakura was unmoved by their apologies and instead passed the problem to Hinata and Neji.
"Uh, this..."
When they saw Hinata, both Shuo and Xi Chuo were taken aback for a moment. Isn't this the girl who had just sent another examinee from their village to the hospital? It turned out she was the victim kidnapped years ago. Their expressions then became even more awkward.
The current feeling of Shuo and Xi Chuo is just like gossiping about someone's rumors behind their back, only to turn around and find that person standing right behind them, having heard every word. How awkward and uncomfortable that would be!
"If Neji nii-san is willing to spare her life, I won't object. But if he is determined to kill her, I hope none of you will try to stop him!" Hinata said expressionlessly. "As for the Village Hidden in the Clouds, we aren't so bored as to implement collective punishment. As long as you don't provoke trouble first, we won't bother bringing up what happened back then!"
"Don't worry about this; I can guarantee in my master's name that Yingqiao's actions are entirely her own. The Hidden Cloud Village will absolutely not deliberately cause trouble because of this matter!" Shuo immediately invoked the Fourth Raikage's name. Actually, he himself had the authority to make such a decision. The Hidden Cloud Village wasn't so trivial as to confront the Hidden Leaf over an ordinary genin with mediocre talent. Of course, if war ever broke out someday, then things might be difficult to predict.
"Yeah, and there are bound to be casualties in the Chūnin Exam. If any accidents happen, that's just normal." Xi Chuo also chimed in, trying to help smooth things over. They certainly didn't want the situation to escalate.
"Just watch the game peacefully!"
Hinata turned her head back again and fixed her eyes on the battle below.
Seeing this, Shuo and Xi Chuo could only exchange a smile and turn back to their own territory. Judging from the other party's attitude, they probably wouldn't confront the Hidden Cloud Village over what Yingqiao had said.
At this moment in the arena, Neji and Yingqiao were already locked in a fierce battle. Although Yingqiao was disliked by Sakura and others, her strength was not weak. She skillfully wielded a short blade, delivering attacks aimed precisely at Neji's vital points.
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