Kadaj nodded, answering, simply, "Yeah." The Sound Five were going to be angry with him; sticking around wouldn't be wise, especially if someone like Kimimaro decided he had nothing left to lose. Tayuya would be pissed, and feeling betrayed. Kidomaru and the twins....

Kadaj was really not going to be their favourite person in the world.

"I need to get out of here for a while anyway," he admitted. "Too many ghosts," he said, softly, "I need to clear my head." Too many bad memories and upcoming arguments. Kadaj wanted to deal with them one at a time, in his own time, and he wouldn't be able to do that here because it would all crash down on him in wave after wave if he stayed.

He frowned, thinking of that. "I should leave now," he said, with a trace of a sigh. "They'll have noticed Orochimaru's gone; it won't be long before someone comes looking for me." Tayuya. Tayuya would be the one, and she was the one Kadaj least wanted to confront.

"Thank you," he said, looking Kuja in the eyes, "for hearing me out."