Sasuke, slightly out of breath from the exertion, slowly exhaled. Once he had steadied his breathing, he lowered Sakura from his back.
His movements were gentle, taking some care with Sakura's current condition.
Sakura had suffered quite a bit along the way. Not only was her pink hair standing on end, but the electric shocks had nearly numbed her into unconsciousness. With pain, exhaustion, and paralysis all tormenting her, Sasuke could imagine how hard it had been for her to endure.
After all, he had noticed partway through that the girl on his back had been crying from the pain the whole time. Yet she hadn't said a word, afraid of disturbing him.
Sasuke didn't know Sakura had hypnotized herself. Feeling a little apologetic, he laid her flat on the ground, only to see her lift a hand that trembled from the paralysis as tears continued to fall. "We need to go over there... wait for a boat..."
"We don't need a boat. You... get some rest."
Sasuke tried to soften his tone a little, but only a little.
He needed to recover his strength as quickly as possible, so he offered no further explanation.
Sasuke sat cross-legged on the spot, working to replenish his chakra while silently keeping track of the time.
About three minutes later, right as the previous ten-minute interval elapsed, Naruto appeared beside Sasuke.
Sasuke immediately looked out over the sea.
"...The bridge over there."
Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze and understood at once.
He walked over, placed a hand on Sakura, and looked up at Sasuke. "I'll take her back to the village first. Be careful out there."
"I, I can still help..."
Sakura murmured, her eyes still instinctively fixed on the sea.
But Sasuke had already stood up. Now that Naruto was here, he had