"Gato will come tonight."
Shin-getsu said.
"You can hide inside."
"Or you can keep your eyes open and watch."
"See clearly whether Gato truly cannot be resisted."
With that, he turned and walked into the courtyard.
Inari stood where he was, tears welling in his eyes.
But this time, he did not cry out loud.
Evening.
The mist pressed lower.
Inside Tazuna's house, the atmosphere was heavy.
Tsunami had prepared dinner.
Naruto ate quickly.
As he shoveled food into his mouth, he kept staring out the window.
Sasuke sat on the other side, a kunai at hand.
Haku did not eat much. He merely quietly helped Tsunami clear the dishes.
That surprised Tsunami somewhat.
She had originally thought all shinobi were cold and emotionless.
But Haku was very gentle.
Gentle enough that he did not seem like someone who could kill.
Kakashi leaned against the wall, appearing lazy while actually keeping watch on everything around them.
Shin-getsu sat at the doorway.
His eyes were closed.
Three-Tomoe had not been activated.
But he could sense the changes in the air.
Footsteps.
A great many footsteps.
They were coming from the coast.
Not shinobi.
Thugs.
Blades, clubs, crossbows, torches.
And several rogue shinobi with very weak chakra signatures.
Gato had come.
Even sooner than Shin-getsu had expected.
A clamor suddenly rose outside the courtyard.
"Tazuna!"
"Get out here!"
"You old bastard, you're pretty damn hard to kill!"
Torchlight streamed through the windows and into the house.
Tsunami went pale and immediately pulled Inari into her arms.
Tazuna rose to his feet, his fingers trembling.
Naruto abruptly stood up.
"They're here!"
Shin-getsu opened his eyes.
"Naruto, Sasuke."
"Do as we discussed."
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Got it."
Sasuke said nothing. He simply stepped in front of Tsunami and Inari.
Inari stared at his