The smoke over Rōran Plaza had yet to fully clear. Stone fragments kept crumbling from the shattered walls of the tower palace, and the air was thick with the dry heat left by scorched chakra.
The aftermath of the battle had left the entire area in ruins.
Cracks covered the plaza, broken paving stones lay everywhere, and a tense, oppressive atmosphere hung over the whole Rōran Ancient City.
Dragging his injured body along, Miki Yūya slowly descended through the chakra elevator that still remained in the tower.
The instant he stepped out of the elevator and onto the plaza, a crazed, mournful roar exploded from the top of the tower. It echoed clearly over all of Rōran, piercing the clouds of dust and crashing into everyone's ears.
"Hahaha!!! Want my treasure? You can have it all if you want it! Go find it! I left all my riches there!"
The sudden shout instantly shattered the plaza's stillness.
On the tower's stone platform, Sunagakure ninja held Mukade firmly restrained. His face was buried entirely in shadow. Sunlight shone down from above, yet his features remained hidden. He was nothing more than a prisoner at their mercy.
Hearing Mukade's words, the Sunagakure ninja surrounding him exchanged glances, their faces full of confusion.
Everyone had heard him clearly, but at the final moment, Mukade had actually left them with such a vague tease.
His treasure was there?
Where?
They could not understand what this puppeteer was playing at. He had already been captured, his life and death rested in Rasa's hands, and yet he still dared to act mysterious and stall for time.
But without question, everyone's attention was now fixed firmly on Mukade atop the platform.
At that very moment, a dark figure stood silently on a tower at the outermost edge