"Dammit, someone needs to organize the troops!"
Itachi looked around anxiously and shouted, "Where is Kazuma-sama?"
"Where is Mizuki-sama?"
"Where are the Jōnin from those Ninja Clans?"
"Why aren't they stepping up to organize everyone's defense?"
Everyone looked at one another, not knowing how to answer.
"At first, we could still hear Mizuki-sama giving orders and organizing the defense."
"But later, the defenses somehow collapsed, and the entire village descended into chaos. We never heard Mizuki-sama's voice again."
"Could Mizuki-sama have... fallen in battle?"
Although he had long been mentally prepared for it, hearing this news still made Itachi's heart convulse violently.
Since the Third Hokage's death, Mizuki had probably been the kindest person to him. And unlike Kazuma-sama, whose kindness was filled with ulterior motives, Mizuki had never asked for anything in return.
Mizuki had only ever given to him, never demanded anything from him.
It was precisely because of that "pure" help that Mizuki had managed to enter Itachi's closed, lifeless heart, becoming his friend and even a bond in his heart.
But now, that bond was about to disappear as well.
How could Itachi not feel pain?
Especially when Itachi knew perfectly well that he himself was the culprit behind all these disastrous consequences.
That clear realization made his heart feel as though it were being repeatedly twisted by a knife, the pain unbearable.
He silently lowered his head, and the deathly aura around him grew even thicker.
After a brief silence, Itachi forced himself to pull himself together and asked in a low voice, "Then what about Kazuma-sama?"
"Did he also perish?"
"Well..." Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We don't know. Ever since the fighting started, we haven't seen Kazuma-sama anywhere."
Perhaps he could not withstand being talked about, because the moment Kazuma-sama was