Out in the open!

Outside the Temple, Karin faced off against Baki's Sunagakure squad!

Baki recovered from the shock of Karin's ability and steeled himself to face death!

"Other than that terrifying ability, that woman isn't much of a fighter! Temari, Kankuro, forget about keeping me alive. Kill her, then stop the enemies inside the Temple from stealing the Dragon Vein!!!"

Temari and Kankuro couldn't bring themselves to do it. "But... Sensei!!"

Baki was fearless. "Remember, you're ninja!! If you let them take the Dragon Vein, you'll be traitors to Sunagakure!!"

Just as the confrontation threatened to end in mutual destruction, something changed.

Footsteps from the Temple entrance drew all three of their attention.

Baki in particular stared fixedly into the darkness of the entrance. When he made out the face of the first man to emerge, his eyes became bloodshot with shock!

"O-O-Orochimaru...!?"

To Baki, it still felt like yesterday that they had joined forces during the Chunin Ninja Exams to launch the attack on Konoha that had nearly sparked a war across the shinobi world!

Orochimaru smiled amiably. "It's been a while, Baki. If I remember correctly, the Konoha Crush was four months ago? To me, it feels like forty years..."

While Baki fell into frightened silence, Temari and Kankuro's eyes burned with hatred. Orochimaru was the murderer who had killed their father, Fourth Kazekage Rasa!

Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged. "Don't look at me so frighteningly, Temari, Kankuro. I regret what happened to your father. Those who harm others ultimately harm themselves. Everyone involved has suffered retribution, including me..."

Though they hated him enough to grind their teeth, Orochimaru's overwhelming presence left Temari and Kankuro struggling even to move their feet, let alone rush forward to fight him to the death!

Baki struggled to prop himself up. "Orochimaru, I heard the Third Hokage sealed your hands. Is that true?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Never mind my hands, Baki. If you don't get those injuries treated soon, your life will be in danger!"

Just then, Sasuke and Kabuto emerged from the shadows inside the Temple.

Sasuke Uchiha...!?

Temari and Kankuro's eyes widened.

Temari thought, He only joined Orochimaru two months ago. I never imagined we'd run into him here so soon!

Kankuro thought, Gaara nearly lost his life helping Naruto bring him back! Yet he has the shameless nerve to come here with Orochimaru and cause trouble in our Land of Wind!

Sasuke looked at Karin and asked with concern, "Karin, are you hurt?"

Karin's words belied her feelings. "D-don't underestimate me. I'm not that easy to hurt..."

Sasuke looked at the shattered steps and stone pillars, then at the two pools of blood on the ground that clearly belonged to different people, and fell into thought.

"Karin, deactivate your Ketsuryūgan. There's no need to fight now..."

"Ah..."

Warmth filled Karin's heart. The horizontal lines vanished from her pupils, and the weakness that followed nearly made her lose her footing. She gripped the wall tightly to stay upright, unwilling to let Sasuke see her in such a sorry state.

"..." Sasuke silently withdrew his gaze without stepping forward to support her. For one thing, that would have been an overly intimate gesture toward a girl, and he deliberately avoided giving the wrong impression. For another, he knew Karin was a proud girl at heart. Such unnecessary concern would only hurt her.

Their interaction seemed unremarkable to an outsider, yet every part of it reflected a bond spanning two lifetimes!

Orochimaru broke the silence. "Kabuto, go and treat our esteemed Mr. Baki's injuries."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Kabuto Yakushi answered respectfully and stepped forward.

Instinctively keeping his guard up, Baki tried to move away. Unfortunately, his severe injuries left him helpless, and he could only watch Kabuto approach.

Noticing Baki's tension, Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Mr. Baki, we were partners once, too. There's no need to act as though you're facing a mortal enemy, is there?"

Baki was a battle-hardened veteran who knew that desperate circumstances called for flexibility. Besides, Karin alone, a girl around Temari's age, had already made him suffer enough. Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi were another matter entirely!

Killing all three of them would be far too easy!

Right now... I need to put the bigger picture first. My life hardly matters, but Temari and Kankuro mustn't die for nothing in a place like this!

A worldly smile appeared on Baki's face. "Ah, sorry for the trouble, Mr. Kabuto!"

It was worth noting that Baki had never once given Sasuke a proper look. In his eyes, Sasuke was nothing more than a puppet who had willingly let Orochimaru use him for the sake of revenge!

To ease the somewhat strained atmosphere between them, Baki half-jokingly said, "Come to think of it, Mr. Kabuto, you won't take the opportunity to kill me while treating me, will you?"

White light reflected off Kabuto Yakushi's glasses as he smiled sinisterly. "As long as you don't take the opportunity to attack me with your signature Wind Blade, I probably won't..."

"Heh, fair enough. Just a joke. We know each other well enough, don't we?"

Baki looked at Kabuto Yakushi's right eye.

"That Sharingan was only recently transplanted, wasn't it? You've changed quite a bit. What brings you to such a remote place?"

Ignoring Baki's string of probing questions, Kabuto Yakushi crouched down. The green glow of Medical Ninjutsu enveloped his hands as he began treating Baki's injuries.

Seeing that Kabuto Yakushi refused to answer, Baki knew he would get no useful information and could do nothing against this group. Anxiety stirred within him. This is a crucial time for Gaara's chances of becoming Kazekage. Even with Yura and me recommending him, there are still so many obstacles to gaining the higher-ups' approval. Please don't let this stir up any more trouble...

Twenty minutes later, a healed Baki rose from the dried pool of blood.

"Thank you..."

"Temari, Kankuro, it's time we returned to the village to report."

Under Baki's repeated meaningful looks, Temari and Kankuro could only suppress their emotions and follow at his side.

Before leaving, Baki said, "Everyone, you should leave as soon as possible, too. I know you came to Rōran for 'sightseeing,' but Sunagakure and Konoha have now restored diplomatic relations. Given your sensitive identities, you should take care to avoid any misunderstandings!"

Orochimaru smiled. "To tell you the truth, Baki, we actually need to stop by Sunagakure on this trip!"

Baki's expression changed dramatically. "What did you... say!?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Running into you here saves us a great deal of trouble. After all, even we ninja ought to do things 'out in the open'!"

Baki's face hardened. "Forget it. You can kill me out in the open, but if you think I'll lead the enemy into our home, I'd rather die by your hand!!"

Orochimaru calmly shook his head. "You misunderstand. I'm only interested in the truths of this world. The only truth in the Land of Wind worthy of my attention is already in my possession..."

Catching Orochimaru's implication, Baki lamented inwardly, The Dragon Vein... they really have stolen it!!

Orochimaru grew serious. "I truly have urgent business. Someone entrusted us with paying a visit to your village's Granny Chiyo."

At that, Baki's thoughts raced. Are they really not going to attack the village? Orochimaru's words may be merciless, but he really isn't someone who goes about things in such a roundabout way...

Baki asked, "Incidentally, who entrusted you with this?"

Orochimaru calmly turned, pointed at the boy behind him who had remained silent throughout, and solemnly said, "The Sunagakure Defector who died at this Sasuke Uchiha's hands not long ago—Red Sand Scorpion!"

—"What did you say!!??"