The severed hand lay in the ashes of the ruins, dazzlingly white, exactly like the skin on Kaguya's body.
Its fingers were long and slender, its nails tinged black, stretched out stiffly with its palm facing upward. The pale purple eye embedded in its palm was still open, staring straight at the sky, utterly lifeless yet strangely eerie.
Everyone stood around it more than ten meters away. No one dared take a step forward, and even their breathing was quiet, their eyes full of wariness-after all, it belonged to Kaguya. Even if only a hand remained, no one dared let their guard down.
Half supported and half held up by Sai, Shuo stood at the front of the crowd, still terribly pale and drained of strength. Yet he kept his head up, glancing down at the hand. His brow furrowed, and he muttered a curse. "Fuck. Troublesome little thing."
Tsunade walked over, her gaze falling first on Shuo's palm before shifting to the severed hand. Her voice was grave. "What about your light? Do you have any left?"
Shuo looked down at his own hand. It was bare, with nothing there, not even a trace of lingering warmth. He shrugged. "Gone. It's really gone this time. Not a scrap left."
Tsunade frowned, wanting to ask more, but just as she opened her mouth, the severed hand on the ground suddenly moved-its fingers gave a slight twitch, barely perceptible, yet enough to instantly put everyone around it on edge.
"Back away!"
The Raikage gave a low shout. Everyone instinctively took a step back. Even the Five Kage tightened their grips on their weapons, staring fixedly at the hand.
The hand did not stop. It moved again, a little more this time. Its slender fingers slowly curled into a fist. Then it