The surging sea of dust finally settled, leaving only motes drifting through the hole in the ceiling, dancing in the beam-like moonlight.
Amid the ruins.
Naori, her right arm wrapped in her sleeve, leaned weakly against a broken wall, forcing her exhausted body to hold on with sheer will as she waited for Rikusei to awaken.
"How do you feel, President?"
Mao lay sprawled without a hint of decorum across a shattered stone slab. Gazing at Futsu-no-Mitama standing beside her, clear and reflective as a mirror, she glanced self-mockingly at her own dusty, disheveled reflection on the blade.
"Not bad, Assistant Mao."
Naori wrapped a simple bandage around her right arm and tended to the broken bones beneath. A trace of exhaustion showed on her face as purple hair fell over her shoulders, concealing her pale, bloodless features.
"I'm going back."
The girl abruptly straightened, gripping her shinobi blade as she rose. She glanced at Rikusei, whose breathing was beginning to stir, her expression grave.
"You're not waiting for Rikusei to wake up?"
"One person admiring my ugly state is enough."
Mao sealed her ninja blade into a scroll. Seeing blood still pouring from Naori's right arm, a trace of pain flashed through her eyes as she pulled a talisman from her ninja tool pouch and tossed it over.
Regret rose in her heart. She should not have used taijutsu enhanced by Sage Mode so recklessly and without holding anything back.
"What is this?"
The moment Naori caught the talisman, her attention was drawn to the character "Sage" in its center. She could also sense the enormous Sage Jutsu chakra within it, surging like a great river.
The treasured art of Toad Country, the Sage's technique.
Naori slowly spoke its name in her heart. Sage Shima had mentioned this treasure