Dawn broke.
Shuo opened his eyes and lay there without moving.
Lightspeed Thinking ran instinctively. Those two figures were still lying on the roof.
They had lain there all night without budging.
Their breathing was as steady as stone, their body temperatures suppressed extremely low, and their chakra concealed so thoroughly it was almost impossible to detect-they really were professional spies.
But it was useless.
The spot they had chosen faced straight toward the rising sun.
Sunlight shone from behind them, casting two long shadows on the ground. Like targets, they could hardly have stood out more.
Shuo stared at those two shadows for three seconds, then slowly sat up.
Sai woke up too and rubbed his eyes. "Still there?"
"Yeah."
Shuo answered, threw back the covers, and got out of bed. "Let's go."
The two went downstairs. Shizune was already waiting at the inn's entrance, clutching three rice balls that were still steaming.
"I bought these at the village entrance this morning."
She handed over the rice balls, her tone a little more relaxed than yesterday. "Eat them while they're hot. They'll get cold soon."
Shuo took one and bit off a big mouthful-it had a plum filling, sour enough to make him squint. He chewed slowly without a word.
The streets were a little livelier than yesterday.
The villagers of Sunagakure had started getting busy. Some carried stones to repair houses, some set up small stalls, and older women carried baskets as they shopped for vegetables, chattering away.
People were bringing water and food to the wounded by the roadside too. It wasn't so desolate anymore.
Five days had passed since the war. The dead had been buried, and the living had to carry on.
Shuo chewed his sour rice ball as he headed toward Kazekage Tower, his