"Akatsuki!" Kakashi's voice carried unprecedented gravity. His Sharingan locked tightly onto the two figures above as his body tensed slightly, shielding Naruto behind him.
Temari and Kankuro immediately moved closer as well, their faces turning extremely grim.
They had just gone through a fierce battle, their chakra heavily depleted, and now they were facing two official Akatsuki members. The situation could not have been worse.
The shock on Sai's face quickly vanished, returning to his standard smile, but his eyes were filled with vigilance as he slightly unfurled the scroll in his hand.
Ling Yue gripped Senbonzakura tightly. After Shikai, the blade gave her a strange sense of blood-deep connection, but the immense expenditure had left her breathing somewhat ragged.
She forcibly suppressed her exhaustion, keeping the tip of her blade aimed at the ghost-faced high priest, though most of her attention was focused on the suddenly appeared Tobi and Sasori.
"Oh my, oh my, what a scary look~" Tobi exaggeratedly patted his chest, his tone frivolous, but the eyes behind his spiral mask swept coldly over those below, lingering briefly on Senbonzakura in Ling Yue's hand.
"That sword... what an interesting technique. To think it could slice through 'Divine Filth' so easily, hmm~"
Hiruko, controlled by Sasori, spoke in a low voice. "The Nine-Tails jinchuriki is here too. That saves us the trouble of looking for him. Bring back that woman playing with cherry blossoms and that strange sword for study as well."
Their tone made it seem as though everyone below was already theirs for the taking.
The ghost-faced high priest saw the Akatsuki members as though he had found a lifeline and cried out as he crawled desperately, "My lords! Two great lords! Save me! I belong to that lord's..."
Before he could finish, a sharp scorpion