The sound came from ahead, in the direction of that broken branch. A firm footfall had snapped it.
The mist parted, revealing a man. The same animal-hide cloak, the same scratches on his Forehead Protector.
At the edges of the opening, his two lackeys stayed out of sight.
The man who had withdrawn had circled ahead, taken his position, and waited for them.
Behind them, the way they had come was so quiet they could hear the ringing in their own ears.
The lightness they had gathered along the way drained away, inch by inch, from their feet.
That stretch of path had only been open because he had let them through.
Kiyoshi put his hand on his sword hilt.
Every footstep behind him stopped.
The fingers of the hand holding the bundle strap tightened one by one.
Sasuke ground his heel through a half turn, facing the way they had come.
No one spoke.
Naruto was still the first to move.
He rushed out, his figure branching midway until he was everywhere-front, back, left, and right. The foremost was already upon the man, fist leading.
The man raised a hand. He pressed it onto Naruto's head, his five fingers spread over the crown.
Naruto twisted and struggled. With every struggle, his strength scattered. He gathered it again, and it scattered again.
Strength flowed from his limbs toward that palm, leaking away as it went. He clenched his fist, but there was nothing in it.
The breath in his throat leaked away too.
The extra figures collapsed one after another, dissolving against the ground.
His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. They struck with a dull thud.
The two hands braced against the ground shook uncontrollably.
He clenched his teeth, but could not hold back his curses.