A Debt of Life

Sai buried himself in the sand, staring straight ahead.

As a member of Root, his mission this time was to kill Temari and seize Sunagakure's funds.

For a Root member, this was no difficult mission, nor was it something that called for hesitation.

Danzo's orders came before Konoha.

Root members had no feelings, only missions.

The two beside him were also outstanding members of Root. With all three of them acting together, success was all but assured.

Soon, they spotted Temari and two Special Jonin from Sunagakure.

"Kill those two Special Jonin first. This woman's father is the Fourth Kazekage. She might know something about the One-Tail Jinchuriki," Sai said coolly.

"Yes," the other two replied.

One of them was a member of the Yamanaka Clan.

The Yamanaka Clan member raised his hand and aimed at one of the approaching Special Jonin. It was the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique, Mind Transfer Jutsu.

The Special Jonin from Sunagakure, who had been walking along, suddenly stopped.

His companion looked at him in confusion.

The next second.

"Thwack!"

The controlled Special Jonin from Sunagakure slashed his companion's throat.

The sudden turn of events left Temari frozen in place.

Before she could react,

a Root ninja appeared behind the controlled Special Jonin from Sunagakure.

"No!" Temari cried out.

"Thud!"

The Root ninja's Ninja Blade pierced the Special Jonin from Sunagakure through the heart.

Only then did the Special Jonin regain control. He looked at Temari before him and, with the last of his strength, grabbed the Ninja Blade.

"R-run!"

Temari saw the terrible state of her comrade, clenched her small fists, and ran toward Sunagakure.

But as soon as she turned, she saw two ink-drawn lions blocking her way.

"You have nowhere left to run," a young man's voice rang out.

Temari turned around and saw Sai and the two Root ninjas.

"Who are you people?" Temari knew she probably wouldn't get away.

"We're shinobi from Konoha," Sai said, walking toward her.

"Impossible. Sunagakure and Konoha are allies. You can't be... You're Danzo's men!" Temari began, then suddenly realized.

"You're clever. Too bad you're going to die." Sai smiled faintly and vanished.

Without hesitation, Temari took out her weapon, the Three-Star Fan.

It was a ninja tool that could be used for both offense and defense.

"Bang!"

Sai kicked Temari and her fan away.

She saw the ink lions pouncing at her from behind and felt utterly hopeless.

Just then, the ink lions vanished.

No, they had been smashed apart.

Temari stared at the newcomer, utterly shocked.

Though she had never encountered Su Yu face-to-face, she had seen the Anbu member's attire when Su Yu fought the One-Tail. There was no doubt it was him.

Su Yu caught Temari, one arm around her slender waist.

"I'm an Anbu member under the Hokage's faction."

At his words, Temari breathed a sigh of relief.

Then her face flushed. Being held like this by Su Yu made her feel shy.

"I'll treat you in a moment. Stay behind me and don't leave." Su Yu let go of Temari and had her stand behind him.

Standing behind Su Yu, Temari felt safe under his protection.

The Yamanaka Clan ninja raised his hand.

Before he could use his secret technique, a hand pulled him straight into the ground.

The other Root ninja met the same fate.

Seeing this, Sai immediately leaped away.

He took out his scroll, summoned an ink-drawn bird, and climbed onto it.

As he rose into the air,

Sai glanced back.

At that single glance, he froze.

Su Yu was right behind him.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun.

The S-rank genjutsu, Hell Viewing Technique, activated!

Sai's expression stiffened.

Su Yu's Ninja Blade slashed across his neck without mercy.

By the time Su Yu landed with Sai's corpse,

Temari hurried over to him.

"Thank you for helping me. If you hadn't been there, I'd probably be dead."

"I saved your life. A simple thank-you won't repay that debt," Su Yu said as he gathered the three bodies.

"How can I repay you for saving my life?" Temari looked at Su Yu, her face slightly flushed.

After gathering the bodies of the three Root members, Su Yu looked Temari over.

Temari's face grew even redder, and she couldn't help turning her head away.

"I want to know about the Ancient Kingdom of Roran," Su Yu said slowly.

"Huh?" Temari froze.

She had thought Su Yu wanted...

"Tell me where the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran are. I want to take a look," Su Yu continued.

"Well... Though the Ancient Kingdom of Roran isn't within Sunagakure's territory, it's currently under Sunagakure's protection, so..."

"So without you to guide me, I can't get to the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran?" Su Yu understood what Temari meant.

"That's right." Temari nodded.

"Then I'll accompany you to Konoha first, and afterward, you can take me to the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran," Su Yu said after a moment's thought.

"All right. Sorry for the trouble," Temari said, brightening.

With Su Yu protecting her, she felt at ease.

"I'll report the Root ninjas' attack on you. You can act as if it never happened. The current situation between Konoha and Sunagakure mustn't be disrupted." Su Yu glanced at the two dead Special Jonin from Sunagakure and spoke to Temari.

"I understand. Sunagakure will handle this discreetly. Actually, Lady Tsunade had already warned us about this, but Sunagakure's leadership didn't take it seriously. They thought Danzo wouldn't do anything extreme. I never expected..." Temari looked at her two fallen comrades, regret in her eyes.

If she had known this would happen, she would have made a serious recommendation to Sunagakure's leadership.

"Konoha will certainly compensate you. And when supplies are transported in the future, Anbu from the Hokage's faction will be assigned to protect them," Su Yu said, looking at Temari.

"I trust the Hokage won't disappoint me." Temari knew Su Yu was telling the truth.

Tsunade wouldn't pretend this had never happened. She would surely compensate Sunagakure.

As for what would happen to Danzo?

Temari knew that even the Hokage couldn't do much about him.

"Don't worry. One day, I'll deal with Danzo of Konoha," Su Yu said casually.

Temari first stared at him blankly. Then her eyes widened, disbelief written all over her face.

What had she just heard?

An Anbu ninja from the Hokage's faction had said he would deal with Danzo?

"Don't just stand there. Gather them up. We're moving on," Su Yu reminded her.

Temari came to her senses.

By the time she had gathered her comrades' bodies, Su Yu had already walked a long way ahead.

Temari hurried after him.