Sasuke pulled the White Fang Short Blade from the last enemy ninja, ignored his wails as he collapsed, flicked the blood off the blade, and sheathed it.
"S-Sasuke-kun."
"If you can't stand the blood, rest off to the side. I'll still need you to guide me later."
Without turning around, Sasuke spoke calmly to Sakura behind him.
Sakura stared blankly at the enemies, all of whom had fallen, then looked back at Sasuke's back. He had defeated them with taijutsu alone, barely using any chakra throughout the fight.
Most of the pursuers here weren't even ninja. Many were merely wandering samurai hired by gangs.
But their sheer numbers had still nearly driven her and Kiba into a corner.
Yet just now, in the blink of an eye, Naruto and Sasuke had seemingly vanished before she even noticed the enemies.
By the time she struggled to catch up, all she saw was Sasuke standing alone amid a mass of fallen enemies. She didn't even know what had happened before she arrived.
"He's really... amazing."
She had thought Shino Aburame of their Team 8 was already incredibly capable. After all, even when their jonin teacher, Kurenai Yuhi, faced powerful enemies, Shino could help ease the pressure on her and hold his own.
But the gap between her and these upperclassmen, who were only a year ahead of her, seemed too vast to measure.
They displayed a familiarity with combat, an effortless mastery of it, that Sakura still couldn't comprehend.
Sasuke surveyed the enemies on the ground and suddenly noticed their forehead protectors.
"Kirigakure... do you know any of them?"
Sasuke suddenly turned and asked the question in Sakura's direction.
"Huh? Me?"
Sakura froze, but quickly realized Sasuke wasn't speaking to her.
"Most of them. They're all people who deserted the village ages