Shuo was woken by a tremor-not the ground shaking like an earthquake, but a muffled boom pressing down from the sky. It shook the entire ramshackle shed, sending dust showering from the edges of the hole in the roof and all over his face.
He opened his eyes but did not move right away. Lightspeed Thinking activated instinctively-the chakra outside was in utter chaos, dense masses of it surging toward the sky in a panic.
But the greatest turmoil was in the sky. That chakra was cold and vicious, its pressure making it hard to breathe.
He slowly sat up. Sai was already standing at the doorway with his back to him, silent, his shoulders taut.
Shuo propped himself up and walked over. Following Sai's gaze outside, he froze for a moment-the moon was gone?
No, the moon had become an enormous gate, standing open, its interior as black as a bottomless pit that could swallow anything.
That face was fully exposed now.
Paper-white skin, pale purple eyes, long hair floating behind her. She stood beside the gate, looking down at the ruined Konoha, at everyone in chaos. Finally, her gaze settled on Shuo.
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. His heart sank a little, but he felt little fear.
Sai turned to him, a hint of urgency in his voice. "You're awake?"
"Yeah," Shuo answered. "How long has she been out?"
"She just came out. Only a minute."
Shuo nodded, instinctively reaching into his pocket for candy, but his fingertips found nothing-the candy was gone. "Got any more candy?"
Sai immediately pulled a piece from his pocket and handed it to him. Shuo took it, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth. As the sweetness spread, the gloom in his heart eased a little.
Chewing the