"This..."
Looking at the ruins before him, Nara Shikamaru's face was deathly pale. He simply could not believe what he was seeing.
Tonight, he had been at the Hokage Building, handling the tasks Asuma had assigned him.
Though there were two Advisor Elders, Asuma, having only recently become the Sixth Hokage, naturally trusted his disciple more than them.
Besides trust, it was also a matter of ability.
Utatane Koharu's capabilities had long ceased to be any secret.
"Shikamaru, you need to stay calm!"
A cryptic expression surfaced on Asuma's fair, jade-like face before he began earnestly, sorrowfully trying to persuade his disciple.
Well, for someone who had gone dark like him, destroying everything was his Ninja Way.
Still, even if everything truly had to be destroyed, it had to be done by his own hand.
"...I understand, Asuma-sensei!"
Shikamaru could not shed a single tear. Looking at the clan grounds reduced to rubble and thinking of his mother and clansmen, he felt lost and regretful.
If he had possessed enough strength, would the clan have been spared? Or perhaps...
At this moment, he was already regretting that his clan had targeted this enemy.
The one responsible for this was undoubtedly Tang Ping, the Lord of the Blazing Sun.
Even if Tang Ping had not done it personally, it could not possibly be unrelated to him. Thus, the confusion and regret in Shikamaru's heart rapidly transformed into hatred.
The kind that could not be washed away even by draining all the waters of the world.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Several voices jolted Shikamaru awake.
He saw Tsunade arriving with Shizune, and his eyes instantly reddened.
The Blazing Sun Country stood behind her. Could this incident even be connected to her?
With hatred driving him, his mind was working faster than ever before.
Unfortunately,