The Anbu Who Caught Truants

The moment Sakura said it, she regretted it a little. Not because she felt bad about insulting Naruto, but because she remembered that Sasuke's parents were dead too.

According to Shikaru Nara, Sasuke's older brother had killed them. That was also why Sasuke had become the way he was now.

She glanced sideways at Sasuke with her large green eyes. When he showed no reaction to what she had said, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But even as she relaxed, another thought troubled her. Sasuke hadn't reacted at all. It seemed he really didn't care about her.

Just then, Naruto suddenly shouted:

"Sasuke! Sakura! Shino... Shino's gone!"

Sakura spun around, blinked, and rubbed her eyes. She even reached out to feel the spot where Shino had been sitting.

It was still warm, but no one was there. Shino really had vanished.

Shino disappearing was almost too easy to accept. He barely had any presence to begin with. But something was clearly wrong.

Shino wasn't the only one. Nearly all the children from the well-known ninja clans had left, and only a handful of students remained in the classroom.

Iruka didn't explain clearly. At the very least, he didn't answer Ino's question. Instead, he gathered his books, walked up to the lectern, and motioned for Ino to return to her seat.

Aside from Naruto lying sprawled on the floor, nothing seemed amiss. Iruka was used to Naruto doing things like that. He sighed and resumed the lesson.

"Sakura Haruno, where are you going?" Iruka asked softly with a smile.

"Only Hanabi and Kiba were taken away by their families. Shikamaru and the others must have skipped class!"

Ino was still thinking about the note Sakura had left her, torn between believing Sakura was lying to her and believing she had