I stuffed the strips torn from my coat farther inside it.
The wind howled outside the carriage window, driving thick clouds of dust and mud straight into the cabin.
I hadn't expected the Wood Dragon Carriage to fly so high, or jolt so much that my head started spinning.
"Sen, you don't look so good. Didn't get enough sleep last night?"
The ANBU girl sitting beside me leaned over, her voice beneath the mask tinged with worry.
I tugged at my ragged collar and waved a hand in irritation.
"Not enough sleep? I didn't close my damn eyes all night."
"That white-haired Kakashi is a real cheapskate. The rations he gave me are like shoe soles."
I dug a piece of blackened jerky out of my bundle, tossed it into my mouth, and chewed for all I was worth.
My teeth ground against the hard jerky with a grating squeak that made me nauseous.
"Dragged me out at the crack of dawn for hard labor, and wouldn't even give me a bowl of noodles."
"When we get back to the village, I'm ripping every last roof tile off the Hokage Building."
While I was still cursing, the Black Wooden Box covered in seals inside my coat suddenly trembled.
The heavy, icy Rinnegan chakra inside the box gave off an extremely faint resonance.
It wasn't just the box.
Even the Divine Tree's roots underground gave a faint shudder at that moment.
That pulse came from far to the west, hot and reeking of blood.
"Sen, look ahead! It's daylight, but there's a red cloud over there!"
The ANBU girl pulled back the Wooden Cart's curtain and pointed northwest in horror.
I leaned out too and peered through the gap by the window, my eye twitching.
Beneath the bright morning sky, along