Hey hey hey binge readers! It's time to take a break! Close your eyes and mention twenty Naruto filler characters. If you scored 15 and above, here👑. If you scored between 10-14 have a cookie 🍪. If you scored 5-13 you can manage a thumbs up 👍. If you scored below 5... Well... good job. E for effort.

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Chapter warning: gory themes lie ahead. It's not graphic but a heads up never hurt anyone. Brace yourself if you're squeamish!

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Kakashi sighed at the sight of the we'll known insignia. Tenten would not like this at all. "Well, there goes my sleep for a month."

***

"I have an assignment for you."

Kankuro listened to his boss' instructions attentively. Neji sounded like he was barely containing his anger, the brunet could not help but pity whoever was on the receiving end of the man's wrath because Neji being angry was never a good thing.

Anyways, the upcoming job seemed like it would be fun. Finally! They needed to do some real plundering, it had been a while since they had a substantial job and heists were already getting boring. "Yes boss." Kankuro said as he terminated the call on his burner phone.

In a few minutes, everything he needed to know about the job was sent into his phone via text which he forwarded to his younger brother. The messenger showed that it was received and read immediately, and Kankuro couldn't help the lick of irritation that flashed his face. He clicked his tongue.

"You could at least reply." The mumbled words were spoken to his brother as if he would hear him through the phone. Well the redhead had gotten the message, that was the main point, so he calmed down and cleared his contact history and message thread. That was something they always did in the gang after every job for security purposes.

One could never tell who managed to get a hand of their devices.

The brunet continued to work as if he was not just discussing some gruesome details with his boss moments ago. Believe it or not, he was a toy maker even though he was never really good with children. Kankuro's favourite kind of toys were puppets, lethal and poison coated puppets that he could send as a parcel to an unsuspecting target. One touch and they were dead.

They had not been on jobs interesting enough to call for the need of his puppets recently but if the anger in Neji's voice was any indication, this upcoming job was going to get really messy. And messy, he liked. Kankuro closed his toy store after that it was time for him to leave. He would go home immediately after work but there was a place he needed to be first.

He came to a halt in front of the strip club that was on the receiving end of his boss' wrath, debating whether to go in or not. A decision was made after a moment or two and he went inside the place. The man was immediately hit with the thumping bass of the music against his chest as he transitioned from the inconspicuous exterior to the frazzling interior of the whore house.

He had actually been so engrossed in designing battle type puppets that he had no time to spare for one of his many sexcapades, Kankuro vaguely observed somewhere at the back of his mind. Sex pets, beautifully proportioned women, hanged around every corner of the place, trying to lure unsuspecting men into their honey layered traps and wring all the money out of them for their master.

It was honestly tempting but the urge to take one for himself died long ago when the truth behind this place was discovered.

Kakuro could not say he felt bad for the sex pets per say, everyone had been through shit at one point or the other in their lives so sympathy was far fetched coming from him. He was however glad that he could rescue them from their horrendous lifestyle (if they really wanted rescuing because let's face it, humans are ungrateful assholes).

Kankuro chose to order a drink from the bar and just scout the place languidly. His eyes lazily roamed the club, mentally breaking everyone in his vision apart- thief's instinct- and gauging just how much they actually worth with just a single glance. He zeroed in on a particular figure at the VIP section of the club.

Neji had instructed him to gather information on a slave auction. The only person he knew that would have information on a possible auction in this place was none other than the boss himself; Hanamiya. Said man was blissfully unaware of the lurking danger guised as brown bored eyes, discussing and exchanging money chests with some rich sleaze.

He would need to corner him when he was least expecting anything to happen to him and kidnap him for Gaara to do his shit. Hanamiya should enjoy the tranquility and money while it lasted, it wouldn't be too long before he started missing it.

"Keep the change." With a plan set in place in his head, Kankuro gulped down the rest of his vodka, slammed a generous amount of tip for the bartender on the tabletop and left the club. The next time Hanamiya opened his eyes, he was bound to a chair by his legs and arms.

"What- where- how did I get here?!" The sleazy man stumbled upon words to use, his sudden kidnapping obviously throwing him off the hoop. One minute he was in bed (in his heavily guarded mansion, mind you) and the next, he is tied up like a cheap criminal.

The slave dealer focused on calming himself down to assess his surroundings. He was in a bare room that had only one small, high, window, the only source of light in the place. It should be around noon if he was going by the amount of light that streamed through the window..

The sound of a door opening and closing brought him out of his reverie and he turned his head to see who was in the room with him. Just a few meters ahead of him was a man whose hair reminded him strongly of blood. His impassive pale green eyes assessed him unblinkingly as if he was trying to decipher what was going on in his mind.

The redhead should be no taller than 5'8 feet but the way he stood with clear confidence, arms crossed above his chest casually, made him seem taller than he actually was. "I would cut to the chase." The man's voice was deeper and raspier than Hanamiya was expecting it to be, like the sound of sand particles colliding with each other.

It was a strange analogy but it somehow suited the proper description of the redhead's voice.

Hanamiya tilted his head in a show of defiance. The man obviously wanted a piece of information from him. Considering his line of work, Hanamiya had a lot of information in store capable of ruining the life of a well-known politician to bits. He considered it normal that he would be an easy target for quick information.

However,

Who was this brat to think he could treat him like a common shoplifter? "There is nothing you want that I have. I strongly suggest that you release me if you want to live a little longer." He threatened flatly. Just because he was an information storehouse, he had connections mafia bosses and was ultimately protected by them.

It was why the police never laid a hand on him or his business, because he had backing from the underground. This kid was toying with fire if he thought he could kidnap him and get away with it. The gang's protection he was under would want the crucial information he contained in other hands so his rescue was due at any moment.

"You are going to sell your best pets, Bunny included, off at an auction. Where is it taking place?" The redhead continued like he never even spoke in the first place, and it caused a sliver of irritation to spark in Hanamiya just before he registered the words.

Bunny? That was what they were after?

"Bunny?" He feigned ignorance and frowned thoughtfully as if he was actually thinking. "Ah! You were set on this by Eve, weren't you?" He asked rhetorically, a cocky smirk pulling his lips upwards. "Too bad, I sold that bitch already. In just a few days, that whore would be sold off to some sadistic geezer that would use it like the slut it is."

If Hanamiya was hoping for a reaction from the redhead, he was barking up the wrong tree because the man's green eyes just blinked boredly at him. "Well I tried asking nicely." He spoke after a solid minute of staring and left the room for Hanamiya to gaze at the door in confusion.

Kankuro and Temari were playing cards just outside the room when Gaara stepped out of the place. Both stopped to give their brother a once over. To another person (except maybe Naruto or Neji), Gaara looked as apathetic as he usually was but they knew better; this was just a calm before the storm.

"You think he would use the thing?" Kankuro asked his sister while dealing the cards.

"He would surely use it. How many do you think before Hanamiya is vomiting screams?" Temari questioned back as she picked up her hand. A look at the cards almost made a smug grin stretch her lips, she got a good hand.

"He looks like he's got some liver, I'd give him five." Kankuro appraised, face carefully blank so as not to give himself away as he pondered on what to play. He finally chose a play.

"Nah, I'd say four." Temari refuted easily and at the same time made her own play.

"Wanna bet on it?" Kankuro asked, referring to both the game and their discussion. Not one to back down from a challenge, Temari took him on.

"You're on."

Gaara pointedly ignored his siblings and stepped back into the room where Hanamiya was bound. In his arms were some items that he would use to prod information out of the sleazy fuck. It was nothing much, just a pair of pliers, gloves, a blindfold and his personal favorite, what Temari and Kankuro called 'the thing' for absolutely no reason at all. Gaara set the items down and slipped the gloves on.

"Nothing you do would make me talk. If you're not willing to pay for that bitch, there's no damn way I am saying anything. And why should I sell it to Eve? He has nothing to offer. He has no power, just some pretty money." Hanamiya mouthed off as Gaara came closer to him with the blindfold and pliers.

The redhead blocked his vision with the fabric, ignoring Hanamiya's taunts about him being a secret sadist that got off on seeing men bound submissively. The fucker wasn't expecting it when the pliers got under his thumb nail and ripped it off.

Bits of flesh and blood tore along with the nail and Gaara reveled in his scream. The blood however was not enough. He ripped another, and another, never giving Hanamiya the time to process one pain before another rippled through his system.

The screaming died out after a while, leaving the slave dealer in a shivering mess. Being blindfolded, he could only anticipate the pain but not know where it was coming from. His loss of sight heightened his other senses so the pain he felt was intense.

Sensory deprivation. Ironically, several of the sex pets were tortured with sensory deprivation by men with poor BDSM etiquette. Hanamiya of course turned several blind eyes to this even if they ended up being severely injured. Karma was best served cold.

"Where is the auction taking place?" Gaara questioned once again. All he received was saliva on his face.

Hanamiya spat blindly at the stupid brat and gritted his next words out. "Choke on my dick, cockslut." The silence that followed had the slave dealer genuinely fearing for his life.

"I really tried to be nice." The redhead's voice took on a sudden ominous tone as he went to retrieve 'the thing'. It was a vial of concentrated acid. Gaara walked over to Hanamiya and leaned in till his lips were just inches away from his ear. "Let me tell you a secret."

At Gaara's whisper, unbidden shivers wracked down Hanamiya's spine as the redhead's ominous breath tickled his ear.

"The Mujina gang is no more." With that revelation, Gaara untied the blindfold that covered Hanamiya's eyes and leaned back. The man's was pleasantly jolted by the news even if it was obviously false. Not that Gaara couldn't wipe out the gang, Neji had instructed him to lay low and he obediently complied. This scumbag though, needed a taste of mind torture.

"W-what do you m-mean they are no more?!" Hanamiya demanded answers. He was under the protection of the gang, they were supposed to be barging in any moment and blowing the head off this brat's neck. But wait, weren't they supposed to keep him from being kidnapped in the first place?!

What was going on? Could it be that the gang was forsaking him? Or could actually be true that they were no more?

Gaara started opening the buttons of his shirt to reveal his chest slowly, almost tauntingly. At first Hanamiya didn't understand what the man was doing until he could see the black and navy blue ink markings on the pale chest. Then the shirt parted completely and all the slave dealer could think of was, shit.

Gaara grinned madly at the way Hanamiya's eyes widened at the sight of the tattoo that decorated his skin. "The demon of the sand." The other rasped as realization dawned on him rather quickly.

Fear.

Gaara loved it. He could feel his bloodlust peaking at the swollen, darting eyes of the man in front of him, his trembling figure, his ragged breathing and most of all, his fear. It made him feel alive! "That's right, Miya," Gaara stalked over with a predatory gait. "What is it that lowlifes like you call me again?"

Hanamiya suddenly gained strength to unfreeze and started struggling in his restraints, trying to move away from the monster walking towards him. Gaara got to the struggling man's chair and bent over it, placing a hand on one of the armrests and popping the vial open with another. "That's right, they call me the Sand man."

Hanamiya knew the Sand Man, every damned person in the underground knew the Sand Man. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. He was done for!

"W-wait! I would tell you everything I know! P-please just spare me, please!" He started begging for mercy and spewing information in a desperate attempt to save his life. Not so cocky now, was he? Unfortunately for him, Gaara preferred his victims when they were screaming and Hanamiya, he decided, had a very nice one in his lungs.

Temari and Kankuro barged into the room when the screams suddenly died out. Gaara was covered in vomit- most likely Hanamiya's, from shock- and he was looking dejectedly at the limp, deformed, acid burnt, body that slumped forward on the chair.

"He broke."

Gaara's voice breached the silence that had rested upon them. That was not fun, his bloodlust had not even been sated yet.

"No shit." Kankuro fumed angrily because he would have to be the one to clean up things and sawing a corpse into pieces wasn't exactly as easy as movies made it seem. Dammit, he would have to bury it in somebody's yard then. Their problem if the police finds it there.

"Did you at least get something out of him?" Temari asked, taking a step back as the putrid smell of vomit, blood and burnt skin from coming Gaara hit her head on.

"Yes." The redhead replied. "I'm taking a bath." And he was gone.

"That jerk." Kankuro muttered after his retreating figure. The siblings' relationship with each other was not a buddy-buddy kind of relationship, it was one based mostly on respect and even fear for their younger brother. There was a reason for it.

"Guess the both of us were wrong." Temari cast a glance at the corpse's missing fingers (which were scattered on the floor around his chair) and at the rapidly corroding flesh the acid caused. She was a fool to think, with how sharp tongued the Hanamiya person seemed to be, that Gaara would stop after peeling off four fingernails.

"Guess we were." Kankuro echoed.

After Gaara's long bath (during which Kankuro disposed Hanamiya's corpse), the redhead shared the information he gained with his siblings and boss. Neji had Shikamaru look into the information Gaara got from Hanamiya. As expected, the lazy man was quick to run through it and give a feedback even if it was just to get Neji out of his hair.

"The information is authentic. However, from what I am seeing here, it seems like the ANBU are also on their trail. Almost half of the victims are the kidnapped teenagers from the news. They don't seem to know that there would be a slave trade though. What are you going to do?"

"This is actually good." Neji's words didn't surprise Shikamaru for he was thinking along the same lines as he. The whole lot of the slave trade victims would be a handful even for the Tori. If the police rescued the teenagers, they would have less of a burden on them. "We would help out the police on this one."

"Roger that."

Only three members of the Birds were needed for this job, and those were the sand trio; Shukaku, Black ant and Kamaitachi. "You would leave the teenagers that were randomly kidnapped from the news for the ANBU, they would take care of them. The rest of the slaves would be under our care. And separate Hinata from the rest of them, she's under my personal care."

"Hinata?" Kankuro asked in confusion.

"Bunny." Neji clarified. "I would take care of the ANBU officers, make sure to leave no trails behind."

"And what do we do about the others?" Temari was the one to ask this time. Neji's face darkened with something the trio rarely ever saw. His voice was steely as he gave his next command.

"Kill them all."

• • •

The siblings were quiet as they rode to the venue of the trade. They all had designated roles in the plunder. Temari was going to rally the slaves because she was a woman and most of the sex pets were women, they would listen to her words better than they would if Kankuro or Gaara went to get them (especially when the former had a permanent scowl on his face and the latter was an impassive bastard that would most likely make the victims choose slavery over freedom).

Kankuro's job was to handle the people at the entrance and the ones at the parking lot. He was stuck with such a job because Gaara wanted the biggest part of the blood fest. That greedy bastard. Gaara's only interest in this job was seeing the life escape those perverted rich personalities and their blood decorating the floor, nothing else.

He was toying with Velonica, his precious Gatling gun, all through the ride. Shino had given her some enhancements that he was itching to try out. The moment their truck stopped at the entrance of the trade venue, the redhead switched the safety off and jumped out of the vehicle.

The guards at the entrance didn't know what was coming for them. The only warning they got (and probably the last sounds they heard) was the continuous firing of a gun.

"Oi Ga- Shukaku, don't go stealing my bounty!" Kankuro yelled angrily as he also began working the guns on his battle puppet with precise target. One bullet was all he needed for each person, they all dropped dead at his feet. Gaara was not listening to him though, the brat.

Temari rolled her eyes at her brothers' antics and went off to do her own job. Sai had given them a rundown of the building plan of the venue so she wasn't just around running blindly. It was a wonder how that guy did things like this but he was insanely good at his job.

"Hey, who-!" Temari did not give the guy the chance of completing his sentence before she blasted his head off. She backed away from the spurting blood from his head but was alert enough to spot two hitmen aiming at her. Her fingers were faster than theirs on the trigger.

Temari did a quick job of scanning the area for more guards, satisfied when she found none, and went to the cage the slaves were locked in. "Oh shit." The woman muttered at the sight.

They were all naked and were wearing electric collars, separated into males and females, and worst of all, drugged. None of them would be capable of reasonable thinking with the way they were. Shit. There was no way of telling who among them were the kidnapped teenagers now unless she acted on instinct.

There was no time to waste. Temari figured that they should be able to understand some commands at least and shot the door open. "Rise up now!" She yelled and much to her pleasure, they all rose like zombies. Even then she would need help in moving them to the truck so she called on Kankuro.

"Aw sis, I was having fun here!" The idiot's complaint reached her through her ear piece followed by the sound of somebody choking (probably on their own blood).

"Get your ass over here right now or I would end you." That did the trick, Kankuro was at the cage in a matter of seconds. The both of them transported the slavery victims to their truck and secured them by locking it up. They would go and help Gaara but that would most likely end with them getting caught in the crossfire so they wisely stayed up and went back to the building when the sounds of gunfire finally ceased.

The stench of fresh blood hit them before the sight itself did. Vermilion stained the interior walls in gruesome splashes and dribbled thickly across the floor. On the platform where the sex pets were supposed to be displayed stood their brother who was as clean as he was the time he walked into the place.

They were sure that some of the rich politicians and perverts had hitmen that would no doubt have been firing back as Gaara did, but the redhead did not have a single scratch on him. This was the Sand Man that put people to sleep, the demon of the sand; Shukaku. A freaking monster, that was what he was.

Kankuro whistled, puppet slung across his shoulder and a hand in his pocket as he used his leg to prod the bodies closest to him. From what he saw, each and everyone of the people in the place were shot on their necks. How insane was this guy again? He didn't miss a single person.

"Rally up their money and be quick about it." Temari ordered while she tore off the shirt from some sleaze with pot belly. She wrapped the fabric around her gun and dipped it inside the pool of blood that had gathered beneath the person.

"Hey let me do it, I am better at drawing than you are." Kankuro demanded. Temari passed him the soaked material without complaints because he was right. The brunet jumped unto the platform and began sketching a well known figure on the stage. "Heh, I'm not as good as Choju Gigaa but it's recognisable."

Kankuro shrugged as he finished the wings, the insignia of the Birds. He threw the gun back to Temari who caught it on reflex. "Idiot, the safety is still off!" She scolded as she unwrapped the soaked shirt from it but did not discard it just to be safe. She could burn it later when they got away.

They packed up the money that they found with the men here and threw it into their truck before entering. Temari was at the back with the victims while the boys were upfront. "I need a bath, I smell." But nobody minded Kankuro's words as they drove off.

• • •

It was silent. Unnervingly silent. The police/agent troupe carefully advanced closer to the venue of the trade as if expecting a surprise attack from the traffickers at any moment but all they were met with was just silence. Tenten could not decipher what was going on because she was not on the front lines but the little she could see made her uneasy.

The rest of the rescue squad were instructed to stay back while Kakashi, the head inspector and some dogs went ahead to inspect the place.

Tenten's heart thrummed loudly in her chest against her will for Kakashi. While she might still hold a grudge against him for withdrawing her from her initial mission, she still did not want him to die yet. It had been minutes since they entered the place and not one of them had given the signal to barge in.

Had they been killed? Ambushed? But if they were, the dogs would have alerted the rest of the squad with their loud barks; everything was too quiet to be an ambush. A few minutes of deadly silence passed before an instruction came from inside the venue to the leader of their platoon squad. Tense silence ensued until...

"ANBU agents, be on guard and scout the perimeter. Security agents are to go in with the rest of the rescue squad." The ANBU squadron leader spoke tersely and commanded his group to spread out after giving them further instruction while the security agents ran inside the trade hall.

Tenten was not sure about what she was expecting to see when she entered the place but it certainly was not this. Blood stained everywhere. If the bullets and guns that were scattered all over were any indication, there had been a cross fire between the slave dealers and a foreign party which was most likely responsible for this bloody mess.

"Check for survivals and scout the perimeter for the targets." Kakashi's authoritative voice temporarily moved Tenten from her shocked state and she did what was instructed.

The head inspector was somewhere making a phone call, perhaps to the forensics, while the agents searched every body that was sprawled here and there on the floor. Nobody made it alive and worse, the victims were nowhere to be found. Some people couldn't stand the sight of so much blood and corpses in one place that they vomited.

Tenten would have been among those people if one thing had not caught her interest as she surveyed, the very thing that Kakashi hoped she would not see; the drawing on the platform at the front of the hall. The girl's shot gun fell with a clatter on the bloodstained floor as she ran towards the stage, uncaring whether she was stepping on a body or not.

The distinctive shape of the drawing was clearer now that she was standing on the platform next to Kakashi whose impassive grey eyes never left her trembling form. Tenten's knuckles were white from how hard she clenched her fists- they were here. The Birds were here and she just missed an opportunity to kill them!

"Not here Tenten." Kakashi's cautioning voice vaguely registered in her mind but it did enough to stop her from lashing out immediately.

Her breaths were haggard with anger and a sense of insufficiency. If she had argued well enough against Anko and went in as Meigui, she would have gotten the Birds! She would have killed them and avenged her family! Instead she allowed Anko to decide what she did and missed a golden opportunity.

Tenten was livid as well as frustrated, that much her colleagues could see because none of them came within a talking distance to her, not even Kiba. The ride back to their head quarters was a tense one both because of the shock that they met everybody dead and because the Tori was apparently behind it.

The Xinyang's sour mood lasted all through the week which didn't go unnoticed by her house mates. How would it when she practically stayed indoors for days and threw temper tantrums? Kiba and Lee could only explain that her foulness was as a result of a mission turned wrong but neither knew the real reason she was upset.

Hyuga had not been home for days, not that Tenten realised, but when he did came back the whole compound knew because he was the only one that could invoke a reaction from Tenten. A bad reaction. The sounds of their argument could be heard five blocks away from theirs, at least that was how loud their housemates felt they were.

"I pegged you to be the type to throw tantrums like a child but seeing it live would always amaze me." Tenten was angrily struggling with her stupid front door when Hyuga's unwanted voice reached her ears.

She was out for once throughout this week but that was because she had classes (in which she skipped Anko's). She was positively stressed out and she absolutely didn't need Hyuga raining on her already cloudy day. Nature, it seemed, was just not on her side today.

"Mind your business, Hyuga-san." Tenten retorted offhandedly and continued struggling with her door instead. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a reaction at being called a child but of course Hyuga would always somehow know that she was affected by his words and find something totally annoying to say about it.

"At least you're not denying that you're a child. An eight year old would behave better than to sulk all day and pass aggression down on others. Keep your problems to yourself."

At his words, Tenten just snapped. All the pent up frustration from the past week gushed out of her like a broken dam in her next spoken words as she turned around to face the thorn on her side.

"Excuse me?! I no come to you crying about problem or disturb you, why are you disturb me?!" Once again her grammar took a turn for the worst, not like she could give two cents about it in her current angry state.

"On the contrary my friend," there was obvious sarcasm in the last word. "You are disturbing me with your brooding and your unreasonable pacing. Not only am I being affected, our other cotenants are constantly worried because they do not know what would set you loose or what would calm you down. Deal with your problems and don't trouble other people with it."

Tenten did pace around whenever she was agitated but it was none of his business, this she wanted to say but then again, considering his last few sentences, Hyuga was right. She was being nasty to everyone and they were none the wiser about what was eating her up.

Her mouth closed from the way it had opened earlier to give a comeback and she brusquely walked into her apartment. She couldn't even be embarrassed that all this while she had forgotten that her front door was a push to open. She, blinded with anger, had been doing the exact opposite.

Neji stared at Xinyang's door for a moment before shaking his head in the 'shame shame' motion and walking into his own apartment. He had to get everywhere ready for a new inclusion, Coconut's bad temper could not slow him down.

Anko was already in class when Tenten arrived at school. Both women met gazes before the older tore her eyes away in favour of writing down the topic of their course subject today. "How nice of you to finally join us, Miss Xinyang. I take it that you know the penalty for arriving late to class." Arriving late equals to arriving later than Anko.

The chestnut haired girl nodded morosely. "Yes Anko-san." She muttered and went to seat at the far end of the class, away from Anko's knowing gaze. As she suspected after the class ended (Anko's was her last class for the day), the purple haired woman called her aside for a talk.

"I heard from Kakashi, how the mission went and I have never been more happy that I did not allow you to sneak in with the victims." Anko did not beat around the bush with her. She knew the exact reason Tenten skipped class and was in a general bad mood the moment Kakashi informed her about the mission details.

"You should have let me go Anko-san, I would have-"

"Would have done what?" Anko cut in before Tenten could get her words down. "Would have done what? Listen brat, you were there, you saw it. Over fifty people were killed that day and every single one of them had only one bullet wound, on their necks! What would you have done against that?! And that's just speaking of the people inside the place! The girls and boys you were supposed to rescue are missing, what if you were abducted too? What would you have done?!"

Anko placed both hands on Tenten's shoulders in a sisterly manner.

"I know you're upset that you had a chance of knowing who the Birds are and missed it, but think about the facts and be happy that you have another chance." The woman sighed. "I know Hayate said not to go after revenge and I agree with him but if you really want revenge for your family then hastiness would only lead to your downfall. Patience and proper planning never killed anyone, don't let the opposite kill you."

Anko left Tenten alone in the lecture hall with those words of wisdom in hopes that the impulsive girl would think over her words and accept her advice. She understood Tenten, and she knew that even if she was advised against revenge, Tenten was still bitter about her family and would search for the Birds. It was her job to make sure that at least, she didn't die from her bloodthirsty quest. That was what she swore on Hayate and Yugao's grave.

Somewhere else in a police office, detective Yamato received a message from an anonymous mail whose IP address the intelligence team could not trace.

'Come for the girls and boys at Xxx Xxx location 7pm sharp.'

***

I know officers do not search crime scenes the way Kakashi ordered his agents to in real life so as to avoid contamination of the scene, but let's just ignore facts for the rest of this fic, ja?

I think this is officially the longest number of words I've written in a chapter! It's just 150 words short of 6000 words. Should I make the chapters lengthier? 10 000 words and above perhaps?

Did you like the chapter? What are your thoughts concerning it? Please vote and review, tysm.

See you in the next chapter, bye.

-Star.