Gaara slowly descended beside the cushion of sand. He looked down at Yeto, unconscious and bleeding from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, her breathing faint. A rare flicker of confusion crossed his cold eyes.
"Why don't I want to kill her?" he murmured, as though questioning himself—or some rule he could not understand.
But the strange feeling soon faded.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter."
He shook his head. His gaze turned cold and resolute once more as he looked toward where Boruto and the others had disappeared. "What matters now is the Uchiha's weapon of war."
Leaving Yeto where she lay, he rode a stream of sand after Shikadai and the others!
Meanwhile, in the real world, at the banquet hall of Sunagakure's Kazekage Building—
Yeto lay asleep in a cold chair. Beneath her closed eyelids, her eyes trembled violently.
Without warning, bright red blood began to seep from her eyes, ears, nostrils, and the corners of her mouth.
Her body twitched faintly and unnaturally. Her brows drew tight, as though she were in terrible pain.
Beside her, the equally unconscious Gaara frowned slightly, as if he had sensed something in the dream.
Deep in the forest, Boruto and the others finally shook off Gaara's likely pursuit and found a secluded rock crevice where they could catch their breath.
They were all nearly spent. Leaning against the cold stone, they gasped for air and tended to their scrapes and bruises.
Only Shinki stood apart, his back to the others and his face toward the rock wall. His eyes were shut, and his body trembled slightly.
He tried desperately to hold himself together, but his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Tears glimmered at the corners of his eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall. They betrayed the