Chapter 96: The Escape of the Sunagakure Ninjas

"Thud!"

Baki stepped forward and waved his hand. A gust of wind blew, and the pursuing Corpse Crows let out a shrill cry and fell to the ground. He turned around and shouted loudly.

"Temari, Kanpō, quickly take Gaara and run! Never look back. I'll hold them off here! Hurry up!"

Upon receiving the order, the two didn't dare to hesitate any longer and immediately got up and ran away at full speed. Baki, who was left alone, was looking at Shisui Uchiha in front of him with a sweaty forehead. This guy was overly calm.

"Why? Why did you just let them go? With your strength, it would be easy to catch up with them, right?"

"Ah~ Although I thought so at first, they are still just three underage brats. To be honest, competing with such brats is the most boring thing. It's not honorable to win against them. Adults are better because they have to pay the price for their choices!"

Shisui's tone, which had been relaxed at the beginning, suddenly turned cold and solemn. His eyes were fixed tightly on Baki in front of him, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot - overestimating one's own strength!

"Sasuke, go after them. Remember, you must stop them!"

"Okay, you should also be more careful!"

"Don't worry. Leave this to me!"

Sasuke leaped forward and came to the stands. Looking at Naruto, who was lying unconscious in front of him, he was filled with intense anger and slammed his fist hard on Naruto's head.

"Ouch! It hurts so much! Who? Who's hitting me?"

Naruto, who had just been awakened from his sleep, shook his head and looked around for the person who had attacked him. Then he saw a pair of angry eyes.

Those eyes, cold, contemptuous, and with a hint of disappointment, looked so familiar.

Ah! It was Sasuke.

"What, you were sleeping soundly, weren't you? Why don't you sleep a little longer? The enemies are at our doorstep, and you're still snoring away here! Aren't you ashamed to be a ninja?"

Facing Sasuke's scolding, Naruto sat up straight obediently and didn't dare to utter a single word of complaint. Sasuke's lectures were both familiar and strange. It was familiar because he used to scold him like this all the time, and strange because he hadn't heard such scolding since the Forest of Death.

He even felt a little touched to the point of tears when he heard it.

(▼ヘ▼#)

Looking at Naruto, who was indulging in self - pity, Sasuke finally couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed Naruto by the collar and ran outside.

This idiot. If they kept talking nonsense like this, they would really never find those people!

While running, Sasuke saw Itachi confronting Orochimaru. Their eyes met.

"Brother, don't lose!"

After leaving this sentence, Sasuke ran away at full speed.

Itachi stared at Sasuke's disappearing figure for a long time and couldn't come back to his senses. The big stone in his heart finally fell.

Anyway, he could feel that Sasuke deeply loved Konoha and would never collude with someone like Orochimaru. It seemed that all his previous worries were just overthinking.

Orochimaru's eyes also followed Sasuke's departing figure with excitement on his face. That body would be his soon. Whether it was in terms of ninjutsu or appearance, it was his favorite type. It was simply wonderful.

Sarutobi noticed Orochimaru's distraction. Sarutobi's blade on Orochimaru's neck deviated. Taking this opportunity, Sarutobi grabbed Orochimaru's wrist, spun him around, and threw him high into the air.

Orochimaru landed steadily after making a beautiful arc in the air, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with no sign of annoyance but rather a look of contentment.

"Who would've thought that after all these years, you still kick so much ass, teacher! You're still as sharp as ever!"

"Shut up, Orochimaru! What the hell are you here for? There's nothing you want here. Leave right away!"

Due to their decades - long teacher - student bond, he was reluctant to take action against Orochimaru in the past. He always believed that the child he had raised wasn't a bad - hearted person; rather, he just got too obsessed with something, lost himself and ignored the people around him.

But now, his weakness and indulgence have led Konoha into the current predicament. He bears a considerable part of the responsibility for Orochimaru becoming what he is today.

If he had noticed Orochimaru's strangeness earlier and stopped him, would he be different now?

It's a pity that there's no "what - if" in the world. Now, he has to face off against his former beloved disciple.

...............

"Ah!"

"Kanpō, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

While the two were helping Gaara escape, Kanpō's legs gave way, and he fell heavily to the ground, pulling the other two down with him.

Temari shakily got up from the ground and asked with concern, looking at Kanpō, who was in pain.

"Ah, the injury from that woman with [Chakra Enhanced Strength] still hasn't healed. I think a rib is broken. Temari, you take Gaara and run away quickly. Once we cross the border, they can't do anything to us!"

"But what about you..."

Kanpō was lying on the ground weakly but desperately urging her and Gaara to run. As his elder sister, how could Temari just leave her brother behind and run for her life?

"Temari! You understand, right? Gaara is the hope of Sunagakure. As long as he's alive, we can make a comeback no matter how many times. The most important thing for you now is to get him back safely! Do you understand?"

Gaara, who was lying on the ground groggily, heard every word Kanpō said.

Why?

As his family, he and Temari should hate him quite a lot. Why are they leaving the hope of survival for him?

Maybe it's not because they care about him, but because of Shukaku inside him. Gaara's lowered eyes were filled with indescribable loneliness.

....

Temari bit her lower lip tightly and looked at Kanpō lying on the ground reluctantly. Finally, she helped Gaara up and ran towards the Land of Wind.

Watching Temari's disappearing figure, Kanpō smiled slightly.

Don't worry, Temari, Gaara. Even if I can't use all my strength now, I'll buy you some time to escape.

...............

Sasuke and Naruto, who were speeding through the trees in the forest, suddenly stopped. Sasuke glanced at Naruto.

"Naruto!"

"Yeah!"

Not far away, a row of Poison needles flew in unison and landed not far in front of them. If they hadn't noticed and simply kept running, they might have been hit.

"Damn it!"

Kanpō clicked his tongue unusually loudly. These two guys were more sensitive than each other to the Booby Traps he had carefully set up. They were really troublesome.

...

"Are you going to come out on your own or do I have to 'invite' you out?"

Sasuke's eyes scanned the surrounding dense forest and stopped in one direction, staring straight ahead at the bushes. Although he said "invite" on the surface, his face showed no sign of inviting at all.

"Snap! Snap!"

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