While they waited for Musa to prepare the arrangements, they sat at a table with tea and snacks he'd left for them, an odd act of mundane hospitality in this tense situation. Suzume was playing with a string, playing cat's cradle in a way that Akira had never seen before.

Suzume was irritated, bothered, emotional, but at the same time she was thinking clearer, her actions were more effortless and unwasteful. Jabari had been killed only a week ago and she had never let herself forget. After seeing his tapestry, the one he had gifted her, up there at the auction and also realizing the man who she had saved while failing to save Jabari was one of the people responsible for the raid that led to his death was all too much. Her mind raced. Her body was restless.

But she couldn't let it take over. She couldn't let anything happen to her family. The moment they disappeared past the horizon with their captors, Suzume felt herself change. A shift. She liked it. She knew what she had to do and she knew she could do it. A confidence she knew would leave so she held fast to it while it lasted.

"Suzume-san," Akira said now, leaning forward and Suzume looked up at him, her hands still moving, "do you remember when you stood up for a little girl against a group of sixth years on the streets? Back when you were attending the Institute?"

Suzume did. That was the time she woke up in a well. She didn't care to remember it and frowned as she answered, "Yes. How did you know about that?"

His eyes grew softer. "That was my sister Naoko. You defended my sister against some of the students who often teased me about being held back a year. When she ran back to the house covered in bruises and telling me about you and crying about how they took you, I went to search for you and found nothing. I prayed that you would be at school the next day and when I saw you I was relieved."

He rubbed his fingers around the cup in his hands and smiled, "Do you remember getting chocolates and notes from someone you didn't know at the institute?"

Suzume's tension subsided, her hands stopped, and her eyes were wide and bright like a child's. "Was that you?"

"That was me. I was trying to show my gratitude without getting you mixed up with my problems."

"It's so nice to meet you! I looked forward to your notes everyday!"

Akira laughed genially. "I'm glad! My siblings love chocolate so I thought you'd like sweets too, and made sure to include some for you each time."

Suzume dimmed slightly. "Every time? You never just left a note?"

"Hm, I don't think so? I missed some days but every time I left a note, I left chocolate too."

The door opened then and Musa appeared. "You can come out now."

Musa escorted the shinobi out into the desert only a few yards away from the sleeping town. There was a figure next to a camel close enough for them to see that it was the muscular woman. Musa told them to wait where they were for a few seconds so he could talk to her, and he went to do so.

Neha removed her hood as Musa reached her side. She sniggered. "You got blackmailed? By an 11 year old?"

"Not blackmailed, guilt tripped maybe, but not really that either."

"Guilt tripped?"

"Yeah, remember that time you went undercover as a merchant? The kid who got killed by Sora?"

Neha frowned. "Of course."

"Well, she's that kunoichi from the shinobi team who befriended the kid. I gave her my card so that I can help if she ever needed it, but I never thought she'd connect me to the Revolution. Look," he sighed, "she's just a kid. Could you go easy on her?"

Neha appraised the kunoichi standing across from her in the desert. Then she bared her teeth in a delighted grin. She leaned closer to Musa. "You're underestimating her, Musa. Look at her eyes."

Musa did but just ended up giving the woman a weird look a second later. She lifted her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you don't see it! It's the scariest thing on earth."

"What is it?" Musa demanded, miffed.

"The stupidness of youth."

Neha stepped forward, closing some of the gap between her and the shinobi. She wondered how much closer she could get before the fearlessness in the girl's eyes wavered. But it never did and they were standing almost toe to toe when she had to stop before she barreled into her. The girl was looking up at her and the woman got a good look at the large eyes below her.

"Nice to see ya again. You were my bodyguard a while back weren't ya?"

The girl nodded. Neha looked over at Akira. "Nice to see ya too, massage kid."

He kept his mouth shut, looking conflicted about how he should react and opted to remain silent. She returned her attention to the girl.

"I heard ya blackmailed our Musa to call me here to talk. You've got guts, eh. What do ya want?"

"Please return my superiors."

Neha's eyebrows shot up her forehead and they seemed to pull her eyes open wide with them. "Huuuuuuh?" Then she swung her whole head back and burst out into laughter.

Suzume frowned as the woman kept laughing, wondering what was so funny. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Musa sigh.

After a few spurts of giggles, Neha composed herself and wiped away the tears on the edge of her eyes. "My bad." She sniffed and took in a deep breath. "Man, I've never laughed that hard in such a long time. You want me to return your superiors, eh? And you asked so politely. I've never met such a cute Sand Shinobi."

Before Suzume could reply, the woman snapped her fingers, an idea sparking her.

"I got it! As a reward for the laugh, I'll bring you to our headquarters."

"Neha-dono! I don't think that's--"

"Don't worry about it, Musa. After all," she smirked down at the shinobi, "they're just kids remember?"

Neha soon ran into the problem of having no camels for the shinobi to ride on. Akira told her they could just run. She looked at him like he was crazy but after the two of them insisted on it, she shrugged and let them do what they wanted.

When they set forth toward the headquarters, Neha laughed her head off again from humor but more astonishment as she watched them keeping pace with her camel.

"You shinobi are crazy!" she hooted gleefully into the quiet desert.

"Your superiors don't really match up with their reputation do they?" Shun said conversationally to the kids because she doesn't give a fuck about regular enemy interactions. "They were way too weak."

The girl immediately visibly stiffened and turned her head to glare at the woman. "They're stronger and smarter than you will ever be!"

Neha was taken aback by the girl's show of emotion, but took it in stride, glad to see that at least one of these uptight shinobi acted their age. "Oh? Well they got caught by people who were dumber than them then?"

Suzume knew there was nothing she could say to that and pouted.

Neha grinned in victory. "Ha! See, I'm smarter!"

"They're better rebellion leaders than you!" Suzume attacked once more. "They've accomplished more than you."

"Rebellion leaders?"

"My siblings have been going against authorities too! So they're rebels, and they're much, much, much more amazing than you could ever be! They're going to defeat you without even trying!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"You wait and see!"

Akira was listening to them and felt baffled by the situation. What are you two doing?

Neha led them to their base town in two hours. There were two people waiting for them at the entrance. It was a man Suzume had never seen before, and the silver haired woman from before.

"Who are these two?" Taro asked as Shun disembarked from her camel. "And were they just keeping up with your camel?"

"Taro, Shun, meet the kids of the kids we captured. These kids are demanding the other kids back."

"And you just brought them to our secret headquarters?"

"Why not?"

Recognition sparked Shun and she bent down to Suzume's level. "You couldn't be the little boy from the inn could you?"

"What?!" Neha joined Shun in her examination of Suzume. "No way!"

"I am."

Shun smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you again. My real name is Shun, what's yours?"

Suzume didn't accept her hand. "Where are our superiors?"

"Hold your camels, girl. First we need to make sure you're not going to be a danger to the town." Neha gestured for them to follow her. "If you cooperate, we'll lead you to them."

They escorted them to a building, the streets quiet while everyone slept, only a couple of silent footed guards passing by. Inside, the room had maps wallpapering the surfaces and bookshelves full of scrolls. Taro turned on a lantern. Neha tapped the table top. "Remove all of your weapons."

Suzume and Akira didn't move to do so.

"I said ya had to cooperate right?" Neha was all smiley. "You'll go through with it, eh?"

Suzume's eyes grew narrower and as she glared, pulled off her sword. Akira followed her lead and placed down his set of kunai and shuriken. The rebels didn't accept this and Neha shook her head in amusement.

"I said all of them."

Akira's never seen Suzume look so displeased as she knelt down, pulled down her leg warmers and removed the daggers secured there, three around each ankle. She chucked them into the pile. He thought that was it but he went wide-eyed as she proceeded to tear a seam of her pants to let a pile of senbon needles fall readily into her hands, lifted the part of her shirt that covered her hips to pull off a weapons and supplies belt, and finally, extracted both of the hidden blades she administered to the sole of her sandals.

Akira was gawking at this point. Suzume dropped the hidden blades lazily into the pile and this quelled the bandits' suspicion.

"By golly..." Neha whispered, awe-struck, "you a walking arsonal?"

"Will you let us see our superiors now?"

"Nope. Next is the interrogation." Neha turned a chair around and sat backwards in it, facing the two shinobi. "We need your names."

"Akio."

"Tanaka"

"Alright, undercover names, eh? Fine. Your superior, Gaara, told us some interesting things a few hours ago. He told us that if we continued to do what we've planned, taking over the country from the daimyo and the shinobi, then we'd only succeed at most in weakening the nation and opening it up to foreign countries to invade. What do you think?"

"I agree. You would not be able to hold our country together if you attempted to."

"But what if that's fine with us?"

Suzume and Akira were both surprised by this. Suzume narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We have no loyalty to this country. We just want to be treated like people, to not worry about starving or having our homes taken from us. If another country invades, takes down the oppressive authority, and the people are all the better for it, I would trade our nationality in a heartbeat."

Suzume didn't know what to say. She knew she didn't like the idea, but was disappointed in herself for prioritizing nationality over the well being of the people. She herself didn't care about the Sand, but only cared about the village because of her siblings, so it wouldn't be good for the Sand to be taken over, she didn't want that.

Neha raised her eyebrows at Suzume, and prompted, "How do you feel about that, starry eyes?"

Resolve shone in the girl's eyes and she bowed her head, shocking everyone in the room. "I know that the Sand has turned their backs on you. And while I can't speak for the Sand, I can assure you that my superiors can prove that you can rely on us to look after the people. If they promise you this, would you be willing to give the Sand another chance?"

Shun and Taro both exchanged looks from behind a wide eyed Neha. Surprise at the respect the kid was giving them, for not defending the Sand but realizing its faults.

Neha's surprise sobered. "Are you confident that we will be satisfied by how the Sand will change?"

Suzume straightened up to meet her gaze fiercely once more. "Our superiors will not disappoint you."

There it was again. Those stars in her eyes as she spoke about the kids in their cells. Who were they to her for her to speak of them with such loyalty?

Just then, the sound of people yelling and fires being lighted outside caught their attention. A man burst into the room.

"Neha-dono! The shinobi are gone! They escaped out of their chakra cuffs!"

"Impossible. I have their keys on me..." Neha's sentence trailed away as she felt the emptiness in her pocket and started to pat herself down looking for the keys. "Dammit..."

The adults rushed out of the room. They ran to the prison and rushed down the stairs. Their comrades moved aside to let them pass and they reached the cell to see it indeed vacated and the chakra cuffs abandoned in the hay.

Neha burst out laughing, head thrown back, and she laughed until she was red in the face. "I wouldn't have expected any less! Well, we weren't going to do anything important with them, anyhow. Sorry to disappoint you, little shinobi--," Neha searched around sharply, "where'd those kids go?"

"In hindsight, we should've known they would be able to escape on their own," Akira was saying as they ran across the desert.

He looked over at Suzume and chuckled, "You're that impressed?"

She met his eyes with the most bright expression, "Aren't they cool?"

Akira shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder why you and Ri-chan can't seem to get along. Now that the Sand Siblings are free, we can continue on with the mission."

"Not yet. The rebels aren't done with the black market."

"What do you mean?"

"There are rebels stationed there and they're going to set off a bomb on the city hall once the leaders return. They want to kill the Councilman."

"How do you know that?"

"It was on their walls, their plans."

"But that was all in a different language!"

"I've been learning. Though I'm still not fluent I understood enough. Also" Suzume's face darkened, "do you remember the man who killed Jabari, Akira-senpai?"

"Yeah... Are you still not okay about the tapestry?"

"No, it's not that this time." Suzume's face darkened. "He's stationed at the black market. Sora was in the list of names of planted rebels, with the label rogue shinobi next to his name."

"Then, that means," Akira surveyed Suzume carefully, "we might run into him."

"So after I do this, you'll really leave me alone?"

"Cross my heart," Ritsu said, prodding the man in the back. "Now get going."

The bandit spat onto the ground to release some of his frustration and grumbled as he went forward.

He had also kicked a rat on his way there, and it had hit the wall with a horrible squelch, fell back to the ground, and then scampered away. Ritsu never thought he would find another place as disgusting as this. It smelled like puke was seeping from the walls.

From a few blocks away, there was a tiny one story building that Ritsu thought looked fuzzy, like it was covered in hair. As they got closer, Ritsu was appalled to see that the fuzziness was because of hundreds of flies that buzzed around the small, boxy pub.

The place looked like it would go out of business with only three other people at the front, two of them passed out drinking and the other getting there. There was a skinny old man behind the bar whose eyes were milky and oozing puss, indulging himself a drink as well.

The bandit knocked on the bar. "Hey, nasty old man. I want a room."

The old man guffawed between hiccups in answer. He wobbled out from behind the bar and opened the back door for them. Once they were all inside, he shut the door on them.

"Have fun~" his muffled voice said and then there was a loud crash of glass and another weird hiccuping chuckle.

Ritsu lifted an eyebrow. "What now?"

"Patience, my dear sirs."

The bandit went up to the back wall and kicked it, making three panels swing out like a door. The smell of dust spilled out, a distant creaking, and a moist breeze wafted by. They couldn't see past the darkness.

"There you are. In you get," the bandit gestured for them to go through while he scooted for the door, "I suppose this will be the end of our arrangement."

"Not fucking likely," Ritsu grabbed a fistful of the bandit's shirt and threw him forward. "You go first."

He threw out a few good choice of swear words under his breath as he clambered into the narrow corridor.

Beyond the narrow hallway was a flight of stairs leading down that was open enough that they didn't need to walk sideways any more. At the end of the staircase sat waiting a hooded figure who didn't move or speak, only took in shuddering breaths, and appeared to be guarding the door beside him.

"Hey, Carl," the bandit said to which the hooded figure coughed violently. Unconcerned, the bandit opened the door and let himself in.

The shinobi followed after and immense dense chatter and the scent of alcohol and feces surrounded them. The room was crammed with people and no pause of sound, people were drunk and there would be little scufflings of fist fights.

In the middle of the circular room was a shaky platform, and on top of it, bandits were dragging up their catch who were tied with ropes with burlap bags over their heads. Once they got them to the top, they'd reveal the person's face to elicit an uproar of jeering while the auctioneer's voice tried to combat the crowd's.

"You're telling us the Counselor comes here?" Ritsu couldn't imagine such a pampered man subjecting himself to this company and environment.

"Sure does," the bandit said, and pointed to a separate section above the ground floor where Saboten and some of his shinobi were looking down. Of course they would have a separate area for themselves. Baki couldn't believe he was attending an auction right after both of the honoured siblings and the rebels slipped out of his grasp.

"He does his shoppin' here all the time. Has a thing for his own shinobi, younger the better. One of my best customers." The bandit sneered.

A kick flew to the bandit's crotch and the man went down clutching it. "I should've killed you the day we met," Ritsu spat down at him.

Baki steadied his student with a grip on his shoulder. "Now's not the time."

"My apologizes, sir."

The two left the bandit who was still unable to let out a breath, and Baki wondered if Akira kicked hard enough to leave permanent damage. Hopefully that was the case.

The two of them blended into the crowd. They kept an eye on the Councilman. He had two guards with him, Baki recognized both of them. Muna and Noboru. He had assumed that whatever poison the rebels had given them wouldn't be sufficient enough to keep them down for the rest of the mission, but it was still disappointing that they recovered so quickly. Both had been dangerous shinobi in the past, their loyalties always questionable, so he wasn't all that surprised to see where they ended up in life. They're going to be tricky enemies.

Time passes, and there had only been regular men and women on sale. They needed the councilman to buy a shinobi. Their plan required it, otherwise they would have to think of another way to sneak themselves into his ranks.

"Next up is going to empty your wallets out fast!" the auctioneer bellowed above the din. "I'll take it slow. Alright. Get ready. It's a boy, age 13, a Konoha shinobi--"

The excitement of the crowd swallowed up the auctioneer's voice. The swell of enthusiasm was uncontrollable.

In contrast, the Suna shinobi in the crowd felt their skin run cold.

"A Konoha shinobi! And--- there's more!" the auctioneer managed to be heard placing the crowd into anticipated silence. "He's the heir to the Nara clan, possessor of the shadow release kekkei genkai--"

He lost them again.

Baki managed to stifle a groan. This wouldn't be easy to explain to Konoha.

Realizing that there was no hope of calming the crowd down again, the auctioneer decided to go ahead and bring up the shinobi. They roughly pulled the boy up on stage, pulled off the bag from his head to reveal his face. The boy looked worn, with bags under his eyes, long disheveled hair, cracked lips, and his legs were shaking, but he still stared out calmly and sharply into the sea of people.

"Ritsu, our first priority is to rescue the Konoha shinobi at any costs," Baki said, without looking away from the foreign shinobi. "This could cost us the alliance. If we are able to go ahead with the mission, do so, but no extreme risks should be taken."

"Yes, sir."

Around them were the shouts of bids, but they knew it was for naught. The price grew higher and higher, and already there were people who dropped out of the competition and many left in a rage.

Sure enough, they saw the Councilman stand from his seat and bellow, "1 million ryo!"

That shut everyone up quickly, grumbling in disappointment as they gave up. No way this man would let such a catch slip through his fingers. Baki had to wonder where he was getting the money.

"1 million ryo, going once! Going twice!"

"1.5 million ryo!" came a voice, surprising everyone.

Baki craned his head to see who had spoken up against the Councilman but could only manage see a hooded person. The people around him started to give him a wide berth, completely clearing a circle for him to stand in.

Saboten glowered down at the man from his balcony. "2 million."

"3 million!"

"10 million!"

The mysterious man grew silent.

"10 million going once, going twice!" The auctioneer slammed down the gavel. "Sold to the gentleman for 10 million!"

Before the auctioneer was done, the mysterious man had waded through the crowd and disappeared.

The two shinobi had done the same.

In the back, the konoha shinobi was making quite the scene, thrashing and throwing the slavers across the room. One of the slavers managed to inject the shinobi with something. Whatever it was made the boy collapse to the floor after a couple of feeble attempts to keep awake. They moved the shinobi into his cell and locked the door.

With the area now calm and clear, the two Suna shinobi rose from the ground inside the Konoha shinobi's cell. Voices were coming around the corner as Baki transforms into the boy and Ritsu brought the limp boy's arm around his shoulders.

After Ritsu exchanged a look with his superior, making sure it was alright, he transported himself and the konoha shinobi out of there.

Baki lies down and acts unconscious, slowing down his heartbeat and his breathing, relaxing his muscles. He heard the owners of the voices open up the door to his cell and enter. The slavers picked him up roughly and tossed him over a shoulder. He sensed the councilman and his rogue escorts. He's handed over to someone, they attach chakra cuffs onto him. The group then starts to head out of the area and into the streets.

As they travel, Baki memorizes the turns and the steps they make indicated by the shift in weight by the person carrying him until he had an entire map connecting the hidden market with the Councilman's secret headquarters.

He was now able to place the destination in relation to the rest of the blackmarket.

The group stops and the creaking of a door opening before they start again. Down some stairs, and then they level out. The air was moldy and moist. Water?

They stopped again, a clattering of metal, the swing of metal, and he was thrown into a cell. The door slammed shut and they locked it.

"We know you're awake," they finally spoke up.

Baki kept up the act.

"Oi, Baki."

Well, now there's really no point in acting.

As Baki sat up, he filled up his original size, no longer the young Konoha shinobi, and stood to approach his cell door, towering over the rest with all of his 6 foot height. The Councilman, Muna, and Noboru stood on the other side of the bars, unthreatened by their prisoner's glare.

"Good of you to drop by, Baki." Saboten smiled in delight. His beard twitched. "You've all chased me out so far."

"It was really idiotic to go out to the market when you knew we were on your tail, Councilman," Baki rumbled deeply.

Saboten smiled. "I just see no reason to practice caution. I don't see myself losing. Even to the monster of the Sand."

"Where is this confidence coming from? You lost both of your opposing parties right under your nose yesterday."

"I'm sure Gaara will murder the rebels for me. And I can handle the leftovers." Saboten stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I'm more worried about what you stole from me, Baki. I'm going to get my hands on that Konoha shinobi and get my money's worth too. You were the one bidding against me at the auction weren't you?"

Baki didn't bother affirming or negating his theory. "How are you planning to explain that the people directly trying to take your power from you have disappeared? If you even do manage to take care of Gaara, how are you going to explain that the village's only jinchuuriki went missing?"

"I'm sure the Akatsuki would give me a pretty price."

Fury fell onto Baki. "You would sell out your own village?"

"Don't give me that look, Baki. I've been doing just that for years. Well. I'm glad I got my hands on you." The Councilman's gaze lingered raunchily on Baki's form. He started walking out of the prison. "Enjoy your cell. I'll be back for you."

The whole party exited behind him, leaving Baki alone. He took this time to fully observe his surroundings. He had ten cellmates who he could tell have already been drugged with their fuzzy and jerky chakra streams and limp bodies. This was doable.

"I can practically hear your brain working overtime."

Noboru silently stepped into view. His heavy lidded eyes making him look just as boredly arrogant as they had when the two of them were comrades. His smile was lazy too, and Baki doesn't remember seeing this arrogance fail even when he was captured and sent on his way to the Blood Prison. Noboru was shorter, but was of a similar type as Baki, more stocky and built like a fortress, a look of a man who promised not to crumble easily.

"I see you have been well," Noboru said, "I heard you're a Councilmember now. Your blatant kissing up worked out in the end."

"Ah," Baki looked up at the ceiling, "I remember now why we were never friends. And as I've been telling you for years, I respected Rasa and his family, and you didn't. And who isn't a rogue shinobi doing illegal, immoral acts for a life?"

Noboru grinned, "Who's the one behind bars?"

"You're right, I am the one behind bars. But I'm not serving someone under coercion."

"Coercion?" Noboru repeated, considering. "At first, perhaps. But then I realized this was exactly what I wanted. I'm using this situation to my advantage."

"Good for you then." Baki let his gaze stray to look around his cell once more. Noboru didn't like this and attempted to reclaim his attention.

"I heard from the Councilman that the monster of the Sand is trying to become Kazekage. What a joke." He scoffed. "Why do you follow that kid anyway?"

"Why do you follow that bastard?" Baki retorted.

"Because there's something in it for me. I get to do what I want."

"That's where we're different. What I have to gain from it is infinitely more valuable."

"You can shove all that infinite up your ass. You people and your high-minded nonsense keep people like me from doing what they want."

"Maybe we'd let you do whatever you want if it wasn't complete shit."

"Rich coming from a grown man taking orders from a deranged, juvenile murderer." Noboru's mouth stretched into a toothy smirk. "You and me, Baki, we're not as different as you might think. People are either leaders or pawns. Pawns choose who to listen to based on what they get out of the deal and the leaders get people to order around to accomplish their goals. It's all self-centered."

"Unlike with you and the Councilman," Baki now looked at him, "I care about Gaara."

Noboru giggled. "Caring has nothing to do with this type of relationship! It's a contract. I'm not a diehard soldier. I didn't sell my soul and body to this man, and I never will be one to do something like that."

"Do you think it is foolish to swear your loyalty?"

"Why do you swear allegiance to the Sand?" he said in exasperation. "Because you were born there? That's enough to die for a place run by people who couldn't care less about your deep loyalty? Why do people sell their lives and deaths to others? Leaders are nothing more than people with power who need others to die for them. Where does your real loyalty lie? In yourself." Noboru placed a hand on his chest. "People who think otherwise are just fooling themselves or are fools themselves."

"Just because you can't have deep connections doesn't mean they don't exist."

"Deep connections?" he guffawed. "Look where deep connections led Yashamaru! Rasa considered him his right hand man but sent him to be murdered by his son. Those deep connections killed Karura. I remember how you stuck around those three, Baki. Now you've stuck to those three kids. Habits sure are scary. Can you not manage to live without them around you?"

Baki's hand reached out to grasp Noboru's front and pulled him roughly into the bars of the cell, the smile not wavering for a second from his face, enjoying the reaction he was able to produce. "Are you being coerced into this, rogue shinobi Noboru."

"You're still asking that now?"

Baki's hold on him tightened. "I would answer wisely."

"I am doing this willingly," Noboru said every syllable clearly and slowly, "Senior Dune Jonin Baki."

Baki's eyes narrowed. "You'll regret that."

"As far as I can see, we're at an advantage. I don't see us losing enough for me to regret anything."

"Interesting, I don't see us losing either."

"You won't be as calm when you get drugged." Noboru pried Baki's hand away, now free, he started to walk out. "Well, be excited. It's an otherworldly feeling. Maybe it'll change your mind. Make you see my side a bit clearer."

"I would rethink your story a bit more. You never know where the winds will blow."

"I'd worry about yourself, Baki." He turned to look at him one more time, a crazy glint in his eyes. "That drug, what can I say, it's life-changing."

Noboru's presence gets further away and then disappears. Baki waits where he is for a full hour just to make sure no one was around.

His fingers glowed. Baki used the chakra he'd siphoned from Noboru to cut through his chakra represser. He then sent his chakra into the wall and up into a seal-- one of the hundreds that Suzume planted the first night into the mission-- he knew was nearby, marking the location he was in.

Baki was in position.