"Call for help?!"
The suggestion came as no surprise to anyone.
But whom should they send?
"Not everyone needs to go back for help."
Shikamaru crouched down again, took out the rough map he had drawn along the way, and tapped it. "We're inside the moon right now. The passage entrance is to the southeast. At full speed, it'll take about four hours one way."
"Eight hours there and back, plus the time needed to relay the intelligence and gather people. We'll have to wait at least twelve hours for reinforcements."
"Twelve hours sounds like a long time."
"But it's really not that bad."
"Toneri only just withdrew. He won't launch another surprise attack anytime soon."
"Whether he spared us out of disdain or for some other reason."
"Since he's already done that, he won't bother coming back!"
Tokuma picked up the thread. "In other words, we have a window of at least a dozen hours, perhaps even longer?"
"At least ten hours!"
Shikamaru corrected him. "So we can't just sit around waiting. We have to send people back for help."
His gaze swept over everyone present before finally settling on two people.
"Kiba, Tokuma."
Both looked at him at once.
"You two are in the best condition, have the lightest injuries, and are the fastest."
"Kiba has Akamaru's help, giving him a keen sense of smell and excellent mobility. Tokuma's Byakugan can spot enemies ahead of time and keep you from being ambushed in the passage."
"You two are the best choice to go back for help."
Tokuma and Kiba exchanged a look. Neither objected.
"You have two tasks!"
Shikamaru held up two fingers, his tone turning exceptionally serious. "First, return to Earth as quickly as possible and report all the relevant intelligence to Lord Hokage."
"Our current condition,