I knew you'd be here.
I'd expect no less from the Anbu Black Ops...
under the direct command of the Hokage.
To think I wouldn't be able to deceive you with that corpse...
Now tell us everything. What's this about?
Bonds
You jerk! Why did you betray us?!
You shouldn't make too much of a commotion here.
Things will get troublesome, you see.
- You jerk! - Naruto!
Here...take this.
It's yours, isn't it?
Thank you.
It was an order from Danzo, right?
Danzo has teamed up with Orochimaru...
and is attempting to do something...
You were chosen to be the go-between...
for Danzo and Orochimaru.
What're they planning...?
With Orochimaru, he's planning to...
once again destroy the Leaf Village...
Isn't that right?
No, that's not--
I can tell right away that your smile is a lie!
And I can tell right away that what you're saying is a lie!
Now that you have found me...
my mission is considered a failure.
I can't handle all of you guys by myself...
And...if you know that much...
then there's no point in hiding anything.
You're exactly right.
We're going to crush the current Leaf Village.
Say what...?!
The real mission I was given was to gain the favor of Orochimaru...
and create an opportunity for a collaboration...
in order to crush the Leaf Village.
Do you know what you're saying?!
- To do such a thing-- - That's not all.
I also have the duty of secretly sending...
information about Orochimaru to Lord Danzo...
In other words, I have also been entrusted with a mission as a spy.
Keep going.
Own up to everything you're hiding.
So basically what you're saying is...
while proposing the collaboration with Orochimaru...
you're trying to outflank him?
You've been given such a dangerous mission...
Orochimaru will definitely betray us...
once the Leaf Village has been crushed.
It's to make sure we've always got the advantage.
I get it...
Danzo wants to make the Leaf Village his own, huh?
You made preparations for that all by yourself...
The information I wrote in black ink
transforms into small animals...
and carries the information out while protecting itself, you see.
This ability of mine was valued highly...
and so I was selected for this mission.
Many people will die, once again...
if things become turbulent in the Leaf Village!
Do you even know why you're doing this?!
No idea... They're my orders, so...
Sai, you...
Let me tell you one more thing...
Sai is the name I was given just for this mission...
I'm nobody.
I'm a tool for Lord Danzo.
I don't exist.
So no matter what you say to me, it's pointless.
Then...
Then why...
do you hold on to that picture book with such care?!
The two kids on the cover...
are you and your older brother, right?
You're holding on to that picture book with such care...
because it's the only thing that proves your existence, isn't it?
You haven't been able to discard your emotions as completely as you say.
Even Shinobi can't completely discard their emotions.
As proof of that...
when I handed the picture book to you earlier...
You said thanks and took it.
You were relieved to get back...
the picture book that can prove your existence.
Why does having this picture book prove my own existence?
The reason why you don't want to part with that book...
is that you can't forsake yourself as a younger brother...
Do you know why?
It's because your bonds with your older brother...
were that important to you!
You don't want to erase the bonds you have with your older brother...
Bonds...
Sorry, but we had a look inside the picture book.
Only the picture in the center-facing pages is unfinished.
Sai... I also know that you're from The Foundation.
And I also know that you received special training...
from Danzo in order to suppress your emotions.
Special training...?
It's the same as the evil practice...
once conducted in the Village Hidden in the Mist a.k.a. Blood Mist Village,
in order to take away emotions.
The Blood Mist Village ... The Hidden Mist...?
That's where Zabuza's from!
Then...
A long time ago...
in the Village Hidden in the Mist a.k.a. Blood Mist Village,
there was an extremely difficult obstacle in order to become Ninja.
You even know about that graduation exam...?
That graduation exam?
What's that graduation exam?
Fellow students kill each other.
Fellow comrades who all ate from the same bowl...
make teams of two and fight each other...
until one of them dies.
Comrades who until that point would help each other,
talk about their dreams and compete with each other...
Looking at the flow of the picture book,
it appears you're defeating enemies...
and taking away their weapons and armor...
On the facing pages at the center...
you will end up fighting your older brother...
You killed your older brother...
No!
I was planning on giving this to him.
But when I was just about finished with the picture book, he...
He...
died from sickness.
What do you mean...you don't feel anything or have any emotions?
I mean just what I said.
Even so...
If you have a brother, you should be able to imagine...
what it would be like to lose him, right?
Yeah, well...you could say that...
My brother's dead, after all.
Then all the more...
I wonder if I should've looked like that.
What're you trying to say?
Well... I didn't know what kind of look to make
when my brother died...
In The Foundation, there were many children of broken families...
brought about by battle.
He was one of those children.
I became close with him, like a brother.
We weren't related by blood...
But he often said nice things about my drawings.
In this picture book...
what I wanted to show him most of all...
was what were supposed to be the final pictures on the facing pages.
But after he died...
I couldn't remember what I was going to draw.
Unfortunately Sai...
I'll be having my clone stand guard over you here.
All right!
Now it's back to square one...
We're going to save Sasuke!
I wouldn't bother.
I...
met Sasuke.
Sasuke always has Orochimaru with him.
That is to say, you'll have to fight Orochimaru once again.
You'll end up being chopped up into pieces...
and turned into a test subject if you pursue reckssly.
And...
And what?!
Sasuke said he doesn't care about you...
Sakura said you think of Sasuke like a brother.
And yet...
For a guy like that, why...?
Why are you trying to get him back...
going so far as to oppose Orochimaru and put your life at risk?
Why is that? When nobody's ordering you to do so?
I used to really hate Sasuke.
Even though, like me, he didn't have a family...
he was elite and I was always at the bottom.
But it was actually fun being with him.
He...
He's the person who acknowledged me...
more than anyone else.
Sasuke...
is my friend.
It's a special bond I was finally able to make.
A bond.
Even so...
Even so, with Orochimaru as your opponent...
It doesn't matter who the opponent is!
If my arms get torn off, I'll kick him down.
If my legs get torn off, I'll bite him down.
If my head gets torn off, I'll stare him down.
If my eyes get torn out, I'll curse him in my grave!
Even if I get chopped up into pieces...
I'll take Sasuke back from Orochimaru!