On the third day after the picnic in the Valley of the End, the well at the old Otogakure site collapsed.
It wasn't a cave-in. At 4:11 a.m., the sesame-seed-sized black spot at the rim of the well suddenly swelled to the size of a bowl's mouth, then stopped. There was no suction, no energy leaking out. It was as though someone had pushed a door open a crack from inside, only for it to catch.
Shikamaru's terminal lit up at 4:12. He glanced at the message and ran to the Hokage Building in his slippers, without even putting on a jacket. At five sharp, the Non-Ninjutsu Division held an emergency meeting in the old conference room. Only five people attended: Shikamaru, Sakura, Mitsuki, Kikyo's encrypted projection, and Serina.
"The opening's expansion rate jumped from one-thousandth of a millimeter a day to three centimeters an hour." Shikamaru projected the monitoring data onto the wall. "At this rate, its diameter will exceed two meters within forty-eight hours-enough for a person to walk through."
"What are they doing on the other side?" Serina asked.
"Nothing." Shikamaru shook his head. "No frequency output, no bells, no Echo Pillow. It's just... open."
"Open and waiting," Sakura added softly.
The conference room fell silent for a few seconds. Light from the wall lamp fell on the spiral notebook on the table. The cartoon Ninja Dog on its cover wore a carefree grin.
"I'll go," Serina said.
No one objected. Not because she was in charge, but because this had been hers from the beginning-her watch, her commas, her porridge, her translation. Everyone had helped smooth the road beside her. Now it was time for her to take that step herself.
"When?" Shikamaru asked.
"Tomorrow morning." Serina looked out the window. The eastern sky was already