Return to the Main Camp

A cold sense of despair washed over Shaye like a tide. He knelt beside Lukado's body as it gradually lost its warmth, the faint green glow of Healing Technique in his hands futilely illuminating that twisted neck and lifeless face. Captain Jing Liang struggled to check Lukado's carotid pulse with his uninjured left hand, then let it fall weakly. He closed his eyes, every wrinkle on his face etched with pain and helplessness. Xu had long since broken down in tears, clamping a hand tightly over her mouth to keep her sobs from drawing more enemies.

Death—the most commonplace word in the ninja world—had now materialized before them in such an abrupt, cruel fashion.

It was not as though Shaye had never fought or seen death. He had been ambushed by a Hidden Rock Village Jonin, fought Sasori in a heart-stopping battle to the death, and only recently escaped alive from the encirclement of four elite Uchiha Sharingan users. He had long grown accustomed to injury, slaughter, and dancing along a blade's edge.

But this time was different.

Lukado's death had not come at the height of a fierce confrontation. It had come from an apparently ordinary encounter, from a teammate's momentary distraction after being gravely wounded, and from the enemy's merciless, precise finishing blow. It had happened so quickly, so "easily," carrying even the cold indifference so common on the battlefield. There had been nothing heroic about this death—only endless frustration and icy despair, making life's fragility and uncertainty all the more apparent.

For the first time, Shaye felt death so close, so real. It was not merely a fallen comrade, but a cold warning: no matter how gifted one was or how powerful the abilities one possessed, in this war that was like a meat grinder, death could