On the morning of the fifth day in the Forest of Death, the iron gate at the exit cast a long shadow beneath the sunlight.
Temari stood in the open space inside the gate. Her four ponytails had been tied back up, and a few faint scratches still marked her honey-colored skin, but the wound on her right shoulder had healed completely without leaving even a scar.
Chiba's Wood Release treatment was so effective that Sunagakure's medical ninja would have been driven into despair just watching it.
Gaara and Kankuro stood five meters behind Temari. Kankuro's puppet had been mostly repaired, while Gaara's Sand Gourd rested quietly on his back. His pale green eyes were fixed on some point deep within the distant woods.
When Chiba emerged from the forest, Temari's body visibly tensed, the ends of her freshly tied four ponytails trembling slightly in the morning breeze.
"Did you get the scrolls?"
Temari pulled out the Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll from her pouch and waved them before Chiba.
"We had them all by the third day. The scrolls from those two Amegakure ninja you gave us, plus the ones we took ourselves—even tying them together felt excessive."
Chiba nodded, his gaze shifting from the scrolls to Temari's right shoulder.
"Does your shoulder still hurt?"
"It doesn't." Temari stuffed the scrolls back into her pouch. Her voice was stiff, but her gaze avoided Chiba's. "Your medical ninjutsu really is impressive. It's better than those quacks from Sunagakure by who knows how much."
"Of course. I'm the legitimate heir of the Senju Clan. Medical ninjutsu is a family trade."
Temari snorted and turned to walk two steps toward Gaara and Kankuro, only to stop again.
Kankuro was frantically winking at her from behind, silently mouthing, "Go on, sis." One glare