Kankuro lightly shook the blood off his puppet and watched his prey flee into the distance. He licked his lips, the purple patterns painted on his face appearing even more bewitching beneath the blood.
But he felt that still wasn't enough to repay his anger.
They had finally caught them here. Following the blood trail, they would find them soon enough.
This ambush had truly left Rasa furious.
It was practically plucking a tiger's whiskers—bullying them right on the Land of Wind's territory. If word got out, how could they retain any face while continuing to rule Sunagakure?
Their family had only just managed to regain control of Sunagakure's authority. A few days ago, they had even ruthlessly executed several restless troublemakers from the merchant guild.
They could not let these people ruin everything.
"Kitty, my dear little kitty, where are you? Come out now."
The bloodthirsty voice drew closer step by step. Suzuki Iwa hid beneath a sand dune and gritted his teeth.
If it had only been Kankuro, then with that puppet technique of his, they would have been evenly matched at best. If the ambush squad had not suddenly barged into their fight, how could he have been defeated and injured in a sneak attack so quickly?
That pack of shameless bastards.
His smoke bombs and other tools for buying time had long been used up. If it were only him, it would not matter, but Miki Nagi, that petite little girl, was beside him. What a pity.
He had failed to protect her.
Failed to fulfill the responsibility a man should bear.
"I'm sorry."
Suzuki Iwa clutched his arm as blood dripped steadily down. His consciousness was beginning to blur.
Miki Nagi had also been badly injured in the earlier beating and had already fallen unconscious.