My hand froze halfway through pulling up my coat collar.
All around me, vast swathes of green light kept spilling into the sky.
Those glowing souls vanished completely, like a great flock of birds.
Tsunade splashed through the mud toward me, her old face twitching.
"What the hell are you yelling about? Look up first!"
I rolled my eyes hard and rubbed my aching neck.
"Look up, my ass. My brand-new coat's been shredded."
"You lot never let up, even first thing in the morning. I need to catch up on sleep."
Tsunade grabbed the torn sleeve of my coat in a death grip.
"All the pressure on Jiraiya and the others is gone!"
"What exactly did you do to Kabuto in that mud pit?"
I brushed the yellow mud off my shoulder in disgust.
"Nothing much. I made him behave and do as he was told."
"He undid that reincarnation thing himself."
"That four-eyed bastard's planted in the ground like a scallion now."
Kakashi arrived just in time to hear that and sucked in a sharp breath.
"He undid it? You forced him to undo Impure World Reincarnation?"
The kunai in his hand fell into the broken tiles with a clatter.
His dead-fish eye filled with the terror of someone staring at a monster.
"Sen, your methods really are beyond all reason."
"That was Kabuto. Even Orochimaru couldn't guard against him."
I leaned casually against a thick, charred stump.
"Reason or no reason, it's all useless in the face of a fist."
"Just try shortchanging me on those tens of thousands of ryo for the greening fee."
I picked my ear and flicked away a black lump of earwax.
Tsunade laughed through her tears and slapped my shoulder hard.
"You little brat! You'll get every last bit! You're getting