The wind finally died down.
That blood-chilling cold, sharp enough to feel like it could slice open a person's throat, vanished completely beneath the golden afterglow filling the sky.
The ruined battlefield, which had looked like hell just moments ago, was now so quiet it made people's hearts pound with unease.
Only a few blasted steel pillars were still swaying with creaks and groans, as though giving a final curtain call to a war that had ended before it ever began.
"Whew..."
Yoru tossed the battered glass jar containing Black Zetsu aside.
The jar hit the ground, and Black Zetsu slammed against its wall with a dull thud.
He tugged at his collar. Several dried clumps of blood and mud clung to it, stiff and rough, rubbing his neck raw and itchy.
He casually scratched at the red marks on his neck, feeling gunpowder residue lodged beneath his fingernails.
"Damn, I'm tired."
Yoru muttered under his breath.
He took out his cigarette pack, stuffed the last crushed cigarette into his mouth, and flicked his lighter several times before it finally caught.
The tobacco carried the musty smell of damp earth, making his throat itch until he coughed out a heavy breath.
"That fight was more exhausting than demolishing buildings at the gates of Leaf Village."
Naruto was carrying that enormous golden sphere, tossing it around like a balloon.
The sphere streaked through the air in trails of golden light, bathing the surrounding patches of snow in a dazzling glow.
His once-pristine chakra cloak was now riddled with several large holes.
The exposed skin beneath was blackened and smeared with grease.
He did not care about the mess. He wiped his face with one hand and smeared soot all over it.
"Uncle Yoru, did we really settle that old hag just