It wasn't as if Sasuke had heard about the practices of the Hidden Mist, how the shinobi were put through brutal training and an even more brutal final exam in an effort to produce the most unquestioning killers. The Kiri-nin he'd encountered over his time as an active Konoha-nin had both lent credence to and questions about those rumours -- the ones they'd run across just now seemed unlikely to have killed a roomful of rabbits, let alone their own classmates.

But whether Kiri was a constant bloodbath or a petting zoo, it didn't mean that Adela's parents hadn't performed an act of treason in smuggling her out of the village. And if they were clanned, with a bloodline and a child who showed evidence of that bloodline ...

"I see," he said finally, tone troubled. "That explains why they turned on you so quickly. They must not have recognised you at first."

Which begged the question of just how many people knew who Adela was and what price Kiri or her clan might be willing to put on her head. Sasuke knew well enough the price of a pair of Uchiha eyes, especially ones that had activated the Sharingan, and he'd heard whispers before of the money that a bloodline clan was willing to lay out for the return of one of their own gone rogue.

Dead or alive. His expression darkened, lips thinning: just what had Obito been thinking? Adela's presence in Konoha was bad enough, but as an active-duty Konoha-nin ... it was as good as a slap in the face to Kirigakure, unless some other deal had been worked out to allow it.