Raiga's Counterattack

Out collecting firewood ahead of an incoming storm, Naruto, Neji, and Rock Lee start back toward the restaurant when Neji catches sight of an odd bolt of lightning flashing up from the gold mine. Raiga, waking to find Ranmaru limp and unresponsive, rounds furiously on Karashi. Tenten throws herself at the swordsman but is swatted aside by the crackling power of his blades. Raiga then orders Karashi to hand over the three genin or watch him and his mother Sanshō die, and the frightened young man promises to lead them to the pass.

Coming to, Tenten realises Ranmaru still breathes and hauls him somewhere safe. Karashi tracks down the genin and spins a lie that Tenten has slipped off a cliff and must be pulled to safety. While the three rush off on the false trail, he tries to force his reluctant mother to pack up and abandon the restaurant, dragging her when she digs in her heels. Tenten carries Ranmaru back and presses him to keep living, arguing that the lives he helped cut short under Raiga were never given the same choice.

Sanshō will not be moved and instead sets about cooking her Curry of Life for the boy. Far off, Naruto, Lee, and Neji are being overwhelmed, the raging weather only sharpening Raiga's strength, and the old woman sets out to bring her curry to the exhausted fighters. This entry belongs to the anime-original Kurosuki Family Removal Mission, which unfolds outside the manga.