Shin-getsu said, "Don't you want to know what backup plan Black Zetsu left for Gato?"
Zabuza's gaze turned cold.
"Haku."
Haku nodded.
"I'll go to the bridge with Shin-getsu."
Zabuza glanced at Haku.
"Don't die."
Haku replied softly, "Yes."
Naruto immediately said, "I'm going to the bridge too!"
Shin-getsu looked at him.
"You're staying here."
Naruto grew anxious. "Why?!"
Shin-getsu pointed at the villagers in the courtyard.
"Gato's been captured, but his thugs aren't fully under control yet."
"If anyone fights back, Tsunami and Inari will die."
Naruto's body stiffened.
He instinctively looked at Inari.
Inari was looking at him too.
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"I understand."
For the first time, he did not clamor to rush out.
Shin-getsu nodded.
"Sasuke."
Sasuke looked up.
"You're coming with me."
Naruto's eyes instantly widened.
"Why does Sasuke get to go?!"
Shin-getsu said flatly, "Because you already hit Gato earlier."
Naruto froze.
Shin-getsu continued, "It's his turn to see blood."
Sasuke's body trembled slightly.
Naruto fell silent as well.
He understood.
This was not favoritism.
It was a mission.
Sasuke tightened his grip on his kunai and walked to Shin-getsu's side.
"I'm ready."
Shin-getsu glanced at him.
"Don't say that."
"Someone who is truly ready won't say it beforehand."
Sasuke's expression stiffened.
Haku chuckled softly.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead.
"Let's go."
The bridge.
The fog was so thick that one could barely see ten steps ahead.
The bridge had not been completed yet. Wooden planks and steel frames crisscrossed one another.
The sea wind passed through the gaps with a mournful howl.
Shin-getsu, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Haku landed on the bridge deck.
There was a smell of gunpowder in the air.
Faint.
But definitely there.
Sasuke's nose twitched.
"Explosives?"
Kakashi crouched to inspect the bridge pillar.
"There are Explosive Tags here."
Haku walked