Orochimaru gave a sinister chuckle. "Go on. I wish you success in your revenge, Sasuke-kun."
Without looking back, Sasuke led Jūgo, Suigetsu, and Karin straight out of the base.
The Taka Squad had officially assembled. The flames of vengeance in Sasuke's eyes burned at their fiercest, and he refused to wait another moment!
On a road through the wilderness.
"Sasuke! Where exactly are we going?"
Suigetsu asked lazily, carrying Kubikiribōchō over his shoulder.
Sasuke stared ahead and coldly uttered a single name. "Kirigakure."
At that name, Suigetsu's face fell, as though he had swallowed a fly.
"Kirigakure? Are you kidding me? I never want to go back to that hellhole as long as I live!"
Sasuke stopped and glanced back at this orphan of the Hozuki Clan.
A descendant of a prestigious Kirigakure clan who refused to return to his village-there was no need to guess what a sordid mess lay behind that.
"You might not have heard."
"Kirigakure has changed completely. The new Mizukage has turned the place upside down."
Suigetsu curled his lip dismissively. "Tch. What the hell does that have to do with me?"
"I heard Kirigakure's scattered Kekkei Genkai clans are returning in large numbers. Even your Hozuki Clan seems to have gathered its people again and begun rebuilding."
Suigetsu froze, then shook his head frantically. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
So many members of the Hozuki Clan had fled back then. They had long since concealed their names and scattered to the ends of the earth. How could finding them be so easy?
Even if Kirigakure had kindly decided to recall them, those clan members who had suffered would never agree!
"Don't try to fool me. Our Hozuki Clan would never be stupid enough to return to that Bloody Mist Village!"
A mocking smile curved Sasuke's lips.