Xia Yan's words were utterly sincere, his tone gentle yet firm, and he refused to abandon Kusunoki even at such a critical moment.
All of this seemed to make Kusunoki feel Xia Yan's resolve.
Kusunoki had also heard about how Xia Yan treated people in the Anbu. He was gentle, friendly, and treated everyone in the Anbu well.
Such a personality hardly seemed suited to the Anbu, but this fellow's mission success rate and efficiency were beyond question.
For a moment, Kusunoki wavered inside. He even began to question whether what he was doing was right.
But as an Anbu member, and as an Anbu captain, Kusunoki quickly regained his composure.
The Anbu's duty was to complete their missions, even if it cost them their lives.
Still, he no longer mentioned the scroll in his hand. It was a fake, meant to keep Xia Yan drawing the attention of that demon-like fellow.
And although Kusunoki was not afraid to die, he wanted to live, too. He also wanted to see exactly what Xia Yan intended to do.
"Here he comes!"
Just then, Xia Yan's eyelid twitched slightly. He hurled Kusunoki to the side, paying no heed to whether the man was injured.
Then he twisted slightly, dodging the spear-like lengths of iron sand before landing firmly on the ground.
Looking at the Third Kazekage Puppet floating in midair, Xia Yan took a deep breath.
He knew this thing could fly and had considered that he would probably be caught before long, so this was hardly unexpected.
"Quick reactions." Sasori slowly emerged among the treetops, his voice still hoarse and low. "But I don't like playing cat and mouse. This is as far as you go."
"Who exactly are you?" Xia Yan did not mind exchanging a little nonsense with Sasori,