Yellow sand filled the sky. Among the thousands of troops, no one made a sound.
Only when Kazan vanished beyond the horizon did Baki and Karura rush to Rasa's side.
Karura had barely managed to keep Rasa alive with her sand, but his life force was already dangerously faint.
He lay unconscious, his injuries potentially fatal. He looked dreadful, with nothing left on but a pair of red briefs.
Many of his bones had been crushed. His life as a ninja would never be the same.
Both legs and his right arm would likely need prosthetics.
"No matter what, we have to save him!"
"Yes! I'll do everything I can!"
The medical unit began treatment at once. They had to keep Rasa alive, or they would be choosing another Kage.
Meanwhile.
Kazan had arrived in Rōran.
"You're here."
Sara seemed to have known he was coming. She showed no surprise when she saw him, only a radiant smile.
"You look more like a queen than you did before."
They took their time, strolling toward the Ryumyaku's Sealing site.
Rōran was no longer as prosperous as it once had been, but it felt more alive.
The streets no longer held the false bustle propped up by puppets. Children played everywhere, and happy smiles showed on people's faces.
Amid the ruins, people worked hard, laying solid foundations for buildings that would rise dozens of yards high.
Life flourished everywhere.
"People grow. Pain leaves wounds, but only after we've suffered and learned to fear it do we stop making the same mistakes." Sara waved to the crowd.
She asked, "How... how is Konoha?"
"All right. We just fought a war and took heavy losses. The village was nearly split in two."
Konoha was nearly split in two?
Sara couldn't imagine it.
She