Toru Kujyo raised an eyebrow and watched him with interest, saying nothing.
"If I'm valuable enough for you to stake everything on me..." Sasuke's lips curved with unmistakable Uchiha pride. "Then aren't two scrolls alone selling me a little short?"
Toru Kujyo's smile deepened at those words. He admired Sasuke's perceptiveness and nerve. This was the Uchiha he had hoped for-not an avenger drowning in hatred, but a ruthless leader who knew how to leverage his own value for greater gains.
"Well said." Toru Kujyo clapped his hands. "Then, as an additional investment in that 'value' of yours, what else do you want?"
"I want something good." Sasuke's eyes burned. "Something that can take my strength to an entirely different level. You have something like that, don't you?"
"Of course," Toru Kujyo admitted without hesitation.
He was about to say something when a sharp clatter suddenly came from the kitchen, followed by the sound of shattering porcelain.
Both of them turned to look.
Karin stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, a shattered plate at her feet. Her face was deathly pale, and her usually lively eyes were now filled with terror and disbelief.
"Lord Toru Kujyo..." Her voice trembled. "They... they're here..."
"Who?" Toru Kujyo's gaze sharpened instantly.
"So much... several incredibly powerful, incredibly evil chakra signatures!" Karin unleashed her sensory ability without restraint. She could even clearly "see" the shapes and locations of those chakra signatures. "Five! They've already crossed the village's outer barrier, and they're heading this way at high speed! Their target... is Sasuke-kun!"
Before she finished speaking, both Toru Kujyo's and Sasuke's expressions darkened.
A murderous chill instantly replaced the warmth of the courtyard.
Meanwhile, in the dense woods near the Naka River on the outskirts of Konoha.
Five figures flitted through the shadows of the