Just as Sasuke pulled out his right hand, coated in warm blood, and prepared to deliver the finishing blow to Gaara inside the sand sphere...
Something suddenly changed.
The already overcast sky abruptly grew even darker.
Whoosh-
A chilly gust of wind swirled in through the enormous circular dome.
Mixed into the wind were white feathers, fluttering everywhere.
The feathers were incredibly light and soft.
They drifted slowly down.
"What the hell? Is it snowing?"
Naruto leaned against the iron railing of the stands, wriggling his big toe through the hole in his battered shoe.
He stretched out his filthy palm to catch the falling feathers.
A feather landed in his hand.
It didn't melt.
Instead, it gave off a strange scent, cloyingly sweet and faintly reminiscent of rotting flowers and grass.
"Boss... why am I... suddenly so sleepy..."
Naruto's head tilted to one side.
He was still clutching the half-eaten red bean cake, which had already started to dry out.
Thud.
There was a dull impact.
The red bean cake dropped from Naruto's hand and landed on the ground, becoming coated in lime dust.
His entire body went limp, like a boneless lump of rotten meat.
He toppled straight onto the wooden bench covered in black mold.
"Naruto? What's wrong..."
Sakura rubbed her eyes and started to help him up.
But her own eyelids felt as though they had been filled with lead, too heavy to keep open.
"Sasuke-kun... wait for me..."
Sakura murmured those words.
Then she, too, landed on her backside with a thump, collapsing into a mess of dirty clothes and muddy water.
It was like a line of toppling dominoes.
Thump.
Thud.
Clatter.
Throughout the enormous circular stands...
The thousands of spectators who had been shouting excitedly moments before...
At that instant, they fell like