Above the ruins, the smoke had yet to clear.
The thirty members of the Uchiha Barrier Squad were collapsed on the ground.
Every one of them looked as if they had been fished out of a pool of blood. Their black combat uniforms were soaked through, and their faces were covered in dust and wounds. Some of their Sharingan, overdrawn from excessive use of ocular power, were still bleeding tears of blood, making it hard even to open their eyes.
But not a single one of them had withdrawn to the rear to rest.
They still gripped their kunai, backs pressed against one another, warily watching the distant Nine-Tails.
That silent perseverance carried more power than any grand speech.
"Um..."
A timid voice broke the silence.
Inabi Uchiha turned his head. One of his eyes was already swollen shut, so he could only look at the newcomer with the other.
It was a little girl, only five or six years old.
She wore pink pajamas, her feet bare, and clutched a slightly misshapen rice ball tightly in her hand.
It was the only food she had received in the shelter.
"Uncle... eat this."
The little girl held the rice ball out in front of Inabi. Her big eyes were still full of tears, but there was no fear in them.
Inabi froze.
As someone famous in the Police Force for his explosive temper, his reputation in the village was not good. In the past, children her age either cried in fright when they saw him or hid behind adults.
"I'm not hungry..."
Inabi instinctively tried to refuse, his voice hoarse as two sheets of sandpaper scraping together.
"Eat it."
The little girl stubbornly held up the rice ball.
"Mom said you need to eat before you have the strength to