Time to End This

"Don't talk, Aoba. Save your strength."

Nara Shikaku's voice was low and calm. His shadow technique flowed slowly across the ground like a black river, ready to respond to an ambush at any moment.

Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Maintaining the technique while staying on high alert was clearly consuming enormous amounts of his chakra.

"Shikaku..."

Aoba finally forced out a sound, so faint it was almost lost in the wind. "Shinku... where did he go?"

Shikaku frowned and glanced toward the dense forest in the distance, his tone heavy. "He withdrew with his squad. We don't know which direction.

Our first priority now is keeping you alive. Everything else... can wait until we're back in the village."

The light faded from Aoba's eyes. Shikaku was right, but the pain in his chest and the bitterness in his heart were like two knives, relentlessly tearing at his resolve.

He closed his eyes, trying to slip into a brief rest and conserve his strength.

Yet Yuhi Shinku's image refused to leave his mind—the long hair as red as fire, the eyes as cold as ice, and that knowing sneer.

Meanwhile, Yuhi Shinku and his squad had already moved deep into the forest, far from the center of the battle.

His clone had long since dispersed, leaving only him and two teammates racing through the trees.

Shinku's steps were light and swift, as though he had become one with the shadows around him.

His long red hair fluttered in the wind like flames dancing through the forest.

The two teammates followed close behind, their faces tense and weary.

"Lord Shinku, what do we do next?"

One teammate asked quietly, a trace of unease in his voice. "The people from Konoha won't let this go, especially Kawaki Aoba... If he isn't