Whoosh—!
Qu Zhen instinctively flung a kunai toward the sound, but there was nothing there but empty air.
"Are people from Konoha always this unfriendly?"
The voice drifted from left to right, then up and down, so ethereal that Qu Zhen couldn't pinpoint its source.
"Come out!"
Qu Zhen stopped and warily swept his gaze across the area.
Suddenly, he heard a soft laugh from above. Delighted, he pushed his Wind Release Chakra to its limit, took a deep breath, and snapped his head up, forming Hand Seals with both hands. But before he could unleash Great Breakthrough, a gigantic shoe print slammed into his face.
Thud—!
Qu Zhen crumpled to the ground, completely out of control.
His last memory was of a handsome older brother squatting in front of him. He couldn't make out what the man said.
When Hoshino Maki returned to the outpost with Qu Zhen in tow, he found little more than a heap of rubble, the walls scorched black.
What a shame. The Sunagakure Shinobi could have made use of the building after occupying it.
Pakura stood in the center, surrounded by desiccated corpses sprawled in every direction.
Hoshino Maki swallowed. Get any closer and he'd melt; look at her any longer and he'd explode!
"You're back?"
Pakura noticed Hoshino Maki's return, and the wariness in her eyes faded. She glanced around, put her hands behind her back, and—thinking no one would notice—nudged a dried-up corpse farther away with her foot.
Killing was one thing, but did she really have to kick the body?
He could only think it, though. He wouldn't dare say it out loud.
Hoshino Maki nodded and was about to speak when several figures appeared beside him. They were the squad that had gone after the other messengers.
The moment the