Shikamaru's gaze stayed locked on the enormous gate with its hideous demon face, his nails digging deep into his palms before he realized it.
"Even that... wasn't enough to drive him back completely?"
He clenched his teeth, his voice sounding as though he had forced it through the gaps between them.
"He's so tenacious, almost like... that person in Konoha's history..."
The rest of the sentence caught in his throat.
Everyone turned to look at him.
But Shikamaru only shook his head and said nothing.
That dangerous suspicion kept swelling in his mind-
If it really is "that man"... that name recorded in Konoha's history belongs to a rogue ninja, a monster, someone even Jonin avoid when leafing through the records.
If it really is him, none of us will ever leave this Forest of Death alive.
His gaze shifted to Hayashi.
Here and now, only he could hold that man off.
But-
I absolutely can't leave his side to get help!
Abandoning him alone in front of a monster like this... what kind of teammate would that make me?
...But if this keeps up, everyone will die.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth.
If there's no other choice—let Hayashi escape!
With his speed, maybe he can bring help before we're all killed!
This was their only move, and their last.
"Hayashi!!"
Shikamaru shouted at the red figure with all the strength he had.
"Run!!"
"You're the only one fast enough to get help now!"
"We'll hold this guy off for you!!"
Hayashi heard him.
He turned his head slightly, looking back toward Shikamaru, and suddenly broke into an incredibly radiant smile.
The blood still staining his lips, the loose, torn bandages on his shoulder, the mangled flesh of his left hand-
Every bit of it showed just how brutally he