The dim, ruined first floor of the building was silent.
Only the faint rustling of drifting ashes could be heard, along with a stench of blood so thick it seemed almost lickable.
The entire interior of the building was a complete mess. Calling it a field of broken walls and rubble would have been more fitting.
Dark red stains of shocking desolation remained on the uneven, pitch-black floor.
Drip... drip...
Jiraiya-sensei stepped toward the corpses, his feet landing in the dried pools of blood. Dark red blood splashed onto his trouser cuffs, staining them crimson.
He crouched before the headless corpse lying in an unnatural pose and carefully began examining every detail.
Moonlight shone into the building through the doors and windows that had been reduced to wreckage, revealing every observable feature of the corpse to him.
"They're Kirigakure Ninja, and the bodies are still warm."
Jiraiya-sensei placed his hand on the charred corpse. His brows furrowed instinctively as he said in a low voice, "They must have died not long ago!"
He flicked out a kunai and gently cut open the corpse's chest.
The roasted body still had all its internal organs intact. The warmth confirmed his guess. Aside from the exceptionally gruesome manner of death, every other part was no different from that of an ordinary person.
"What about the course of the battle?" Dan Katō asked from behind him.
Jiraiya-sensei did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the heads scattered across the floor and the broken, shriveled corpses lying nearby.
He had seen plenty of scenes far crueler and bloodier than this before.
But Jiraiya-sensei had never seen any scene like this, with such lingering brutality and savagery hanging in the air.
Especially those mangled corpses missing arms and legs. Their injuries did not