With that, he gave chase.
Chiyo did not stop him. Though she judged his danger level low—after all, he had saved Kankuro—this was a delicate moment, and caution was wise.
She had to admit they owed him. Without his help, Kankuro would have died.
Chiyo and Temari were still moving forward when a sudden scream rang out from a nearby ridge. It was Baki's voice. Startled, Chiyo spun around and raced there with Temari.
What they saw stunned them. A tiger—was that really a tiger? A massive beast, its fur pure white, a faint halo of pale light around it. One huge paw pinned Baki to the ground. Its face was ferocious, as if it might devour him the next instant.
On the grass a short distance away stood that "youth," arms folded across his chest, looking down at Baki with cold eyes.
"Who exactly are you?" Even under Byakko's pressure, Baki's expression did not waver. He stared at Shigeo and barked the question.
Shigeo's guess had been right.
Byakko had found no trace of Deidara. Unwilling to return and admit failure—too embarrassing—it chose a mountaintop and took a long nap.
As Shigeo passed through this forest, he sensed the tiger's presence and came to fetch it. Baki followed close behind. Shigeo knew he was tailing them and assumed he only wanted to probe his identity, so he ignored him. He hadn't expected Baki's real purpose: to kill him.
But Baki lacked the ability. After a brief volley of kunai, Byakko pounced and flattened him with one strike.
That was the scene Chiyo, Temari, and the other five saw on arrival.
"Isn't it a little late to ask that now?" Shigeo said. "When you tried to kill me without a word just now, why didn't you ask? If I were lying dead under your hand, I suppose I'd be one more wrongful ghost of Sunagakure, huh?"
Baki's brows knit tight. "So what if that's true? You're no simple man. You appeared right at this critical time. Either you have designs on Sunagakure, or you're hiding some other scheme. People like you—we can't let live."
Shigeo laughed. With a casual wave, Byakko wrinkled its brow, then released Baki and padded back to Shigeo's side.
"Can't let me live? You think you can kill me? Our goals actually align. I planned to help you while I handled my own business. Looks like that won't be necessary." He turned to leave.
Flat on the ground, Baki sprang up and shouted, "Why didn't you kill me?"
"Because you're a fool," Shigeo shot back. "Gaara was taken two days ago. Instead of rushing to save your own disciple, you're here fabricating suspicions and picking a fight with me. If that isn't foolish, what is?" He cut him a glare, then glanced at Chiyo and Temari. "I intended to help you. But with a fool like him representing Sunagakure, handle it yourselves."
Shigeo and Byakko vaulted away and vanished.
Baki fumed. Chiyo's face tightened with worry. "You were reckless. At a time like this, one more ally is better than one more enemy."
"But his origins are unknown!"
"He saved Kankuro. Even if he's 'unknown,' what can he do—kill all of us? Or snatch Gaara from those two enemies by himself? Use that supposedly brilliant mind of yours and think." Chiyo frowned and signaled everyone to move on.
Among the five jōnin were trackers. If they moved fast enough, they would find Gaara.
Suspicion came naturally to Baki. Though unhappy, he had to admit he'd been rash. If the man were truly an enemy, Baki would already be dead. Instead, the stranger had left with the white tiger.
Had he misjudged him?
Whether Baki had or not, Shigeo didn't care. Since they doubted him, he would let them doubt him to the end—and see who paid the price.
…
In the forest, Shigeo and Byakko traveled at an unhurried pace along the ground. Byakko looked dejected and kept its mouth shut.
Seeing it like this, Shigeo laughed to himself. Whenever he performed Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to call it, the tiger always strutted, looking down on him. A little setback would do it good.
"I heard there are trackers among those Sand shinobi. They should be able to find the target. How about we tail them from the shadows? We'll definitely locate Deidara and Sasori that way." Shigeo couldn't resist another jab.
Byakko turned its head away and refused to look at him. If not for its thick skin and fur, its face would be tomato-red. One of the Four Heavenly Spirits of the skies, and yet to find one man it had to trail behind those shinobi sniffing their leavings? It was mortifying. Was it worse than a dog?
"Alright, alright. Don't sulk. Let's reset, yeah? From now on, don't call me 'brat,' OK?" Shigeo tried to bump up his standing in the tiger's heart.
Byakko snorted. "Brat. Brat."
"Chikusho. How are we supposed to work together like this?"
They walked and bantered for a long while. At last Byakko, still uncomfortable, asked, "What do you mean by reset?"
"Deidara and Sasori passed through Sunagakure before. If we retrace their route from the village, can you pick up Sasori's scent?" Shigeo asked.
"Of course. As long as I encounter a person's scent, I can find them," Byakko said, spirits lifting. Finally, a chance to wipe away its shame.
They slipped back to the outskirts of Sunagakure to look for traces of Sasori. Using its powerful sense of smell, Byakko found the direction Sasori had taken. They set off at once…
Their pace was fast, but the detour cost them a day. When they returned to the forests of the Land of Rivers, Shigeo released Cheng Mei'er from the pocket space. "You've been inside a day. Bored? Hungry? Eat."
He went to hunt. Cheng Mei'er tried to make a fire and waited to roast the meat.
Watching the beauty and the youth who had just walked off, Byakko muttered, "Brat, you were pretty anxious at first. These last two days you don't seem in a hurry. Why?"
(End of Chapter)
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