High up on a tree trunk shrouded in thin white mist, amid gaps between leaves damp with dew.
Sasuke, lying hidden among them, had calmed down. His pale, handsome face was expressionless as he looked at Naruto and spoke coldly.
"You're right... that scroll really was given to me out of charity..."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Sakura froze for a moment before hurriedly saying in a flustered voice.
"Sasuke, don't take it to heart... N-Naruto was just talking nonsense..."
Naruto, meanwhile, snapped out of his stunned daze. Looking at Sasuke, who was calmly staring straight at him, he opened his dry mouth but had no idea what to say.
His lips moved slightly, and in the end, he could only force out a stiff reply.
"Th-that... I was just saying whatever came to mind..."
After saying that, his expression turned awkward. He regretted putting Sakura in such a difficult position.
Yet Sasuke paid no attention to his words and continued calmly.
"Yesterday, while you two were gone, I ran into someone..."
"That Grass Ninja was killed by him. Right in front of me, he was tortured to death while still alive..."
Hearing Sasuke continue what they thought was nonsense, Naruto and Sakura both froze slightly, recalling the miserable-looking corpse of the Grass Ninja who had died yesterday.
Putting Sasuke's words together with that memory, their faces went pale.
Could it be... Sasuke was telling the truth!?
The scene of his battle with Kidomaru yesterday seemed to replay before Sasuke's eyes. His gaze grew darker, yet it carried a resilient gleam as he calmly said.
"I fought that guy, but..."
"To him, I was probably nothing more than a weakling he could defeat with a casual gesture..."
Hearing that, not only did Sakura find it hard to believe, but even Naruto—who had