An oil-painted guy carrying a puppet, and a boy with a gourd on his back, the character for love on his forehead, and dark circles under his eyes...
Lin Ke glanced toward where Temari had come from. On the other side of the corridor, the two stood against the wall with their arms folded, one on each side, gazing coldly in this direction.
Kankuro and Gaara?
Temari seemed slightly surprised. "Not Nara?"
Lin Ke looked at her indifferently, with no desire to continue speaking. It was fine to think about such things privately, but saying them aloud meant there was an ulterior motive.
Was she trying to probe for information, or...
Temari appeared to have gotten nowhere. Her expression unchanged, she returned to her two companions.
Time passed quietly. The ninjas from both sides remained clearly separated. In truth, according to the treaty, ninjas from the two countries were not permitted to cross the border casually. But as Sunagakure weakened, more and more Konoha ninjas had crossed the border to carry out missions—
Because the Land of Wind Daimyo believed that hiring Konoha was more cost-effective while cutting military spending, the Land of Wind had taken the initiative to break certain terms of the treaty. The Land of Fire had no reason to refuse.
Only Sunagakure had been having an especially difficult time these past few years. Otherwise, the leader of an entire village would not have needed to personally meet with a mere merchant.
"Click." The door opened. Baki stepped out first, followed by the Fourth Kazekage, who had put his bamboo hat back on.
After stepping out, Baki deliberately glanced at Lin Ke. He stood together with the three Sunagakure genin, while the Fourth Kazekage headed straight for the stairway and left.
"The negotiations with the Fourth Kazekage