A temporary shelter had been put up amid Konoha's ruins, not to treat the wounded, but to hold a meeting.
Tsunade sat in the middle, her face as black as if she had eaten a dead child, without a trace of her usual fiery spirit.
Minato, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin sat beside her. Gaara, who had just rushed over from Sunagakure, stood in a corner, a faint haze of sand wrapped around him.
Shuo leaned in another corner, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, bandages wound around him layer after layer. Just looking at him hurt.
Sai stood beside him with a piece of candy in his hand, saying nothing, simply keeping him quiet company.
Not one person in the shelter made a sound. They were all digesting the news that had just hit them-Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Progenitor of Chakra, was alive.
After a long while, Tsunade finally spoke, her voice so hoarse it barely sounded like her own. "Are you sure? You didn't mistake her?"
Shuo lifted his eyes slightly, his tone flat. "She touched me. I can't forget that feeling. It wasn't an illusion."
Minato frowned and leaned forward a little. "What did she say to you?"
Shuo thought for a moment, then said slowly, "She said my light belonged to her. She was letting me borrow it for now, and she'd take it back when she returned."
The shelter instantly fell silent, deathly silent. Even the wind brushing the canvas could be heard with perfect clarity.
Jiraiya took out his tobacco pouch, lit a smoke, and took a deep drag. Smoke rings drifted slowly upward. "Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. I've seen her mentioned in ancient texts on Mount Myōboku. She's the true form of the Ten-Tails, the ancestor of chakra. The Sage of Six Paths sealed her away