In their eyes, the Fourth Kazekage had been more than the Kazekage. He had been their father. Now that they had heard the terrible news, their feelings were impossibly tangled.
Suddenly, a fierce wind swept in from ahead. Sand flew up, obscuring their view, and two figures could be faintly seen darting out.
"Who's there?"
"Ah!!!"
"Enemy attack!!"
Almost instantly, tension gripped the Sunagakure party, and shouts rang out one after another.
But the shouts soon turned to cries of fear.
"No, don't!"
"Stop!"
Terrified screams rose in quick succession. Kankuro's and Temari's expressions changed sharply.
They looked ahead and saw two figures charging toward them. There were only two, yet the pressure they gave off was unimaginable.
In the blink of an eye, the figures came into view.
"Get Gaara out of here!!"
Kankuro, his face stricken with fear, moved to pass Gaara from his back to Temari and stand against the two attackers himself.
But before he could act, the two men were already in front of him.
One wore a black mask and black robes. The other wore a vortex-patterned mask that left only one eye exposed.
"Hand over the One-Tail, and you can live."
The Vortex Mask Man spoke coldly.
At once, a chill ran down Kankuro's and Temari's backs. The pressure was crushing.
Gaara lay across Kankuro's back and slowly opened his eyes. He wanted to spread his fingers and attack, but his injuries from the match left him unable to move.
"It seems you don't intend to take my advice," the Vortex Mask Man said evenly.
Kankuro set Gaara down, then charged at the man with a roar.
To his shock, both he and Karasu's weapons passed straight through the man's body. He couldn't land a hit.
The next second, the Vortex Mask Man