In the valley, the darkness that had blotted out the sky was gone. It was as though the Four Red Yang Formation had never risen, but the shattered mountains beyond the valley, and the fact that they were still alive, proved that the meteorite catastrophe had been all too real!
With no one else to turn to, the people gathered around their young commander, Shikamaru Nara. Though he was only a chunin, the courage and ingenuity he had shown during Konoha's catastrophe—especially how he had rallied the ninja against the Tailed Beast Bomb, uniting them to overcome the crisis—had earned him widespread recognition.
Now, everyone desperately wanted to know more about the truth behind the Konoha Attack.
A chunin asked sorrowfully, "Shikamaru, Mr. Inoichi is gone, isn't he?"
Shikamaru looked to the side.
Ino hugged her shins, her head buried against her knees as she sobbed quietly.
Turning back, Shikamaru sighed and told everyone, "Given the situation at the time, I was afraid of causing even more panic, so I didn't tell you the circumstances of Mr. Inoichi's death."
"So there was more to it!!! Naruto Uzumaki had an accomplice, didn't he!!!"
Shikamaru's fingers curled slightly. Deep down, he still had many unresolved doubts, but faced with their urgent questions, he could only tell them exactly what he had witnessed.
"When Ino and I entered the Control Room... we saw 'Sasuke' there!!"
"What... Sasuke!! You mean Sasuke Uchiha!!!!"
"Yes. He claimed he'd joined forces with Naruto to take revenge on Konoha for persecuting the Uchiha!!!"
Unaware of the truth, the people seethed with righteous indignation. "Outrageous!! What has Konoha ever done to wrong the Uchiha!!!"
Shikamaru said, "I wanted to know that too, so I asked him right then. But he told me... to ask Konoha's Two Advisors."
"Those two