The battlefield had been forcibly divided into two sharply defined halves.
Ahead was a dark mass of Iwagakure's main force. A rough count put them at no fewer than two hundred, their clustered earth-yellow combat uniforms oppressive to look at; behind lay Konoha's defensive line, where the surviving ninja were hastily regrouping, all wounded, their breathing ragged.
Shuo stood right in the middle, hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against a broken rock. Even his stance radiated nonchalance.
Sai stood beside him, watching the Iwagakure ninja ahead warily, his fingers quietly tightening.
"There are too many. We can't hold them."
Sai spoke softly, a hint of gravity in his voice. He could feel the densely packed Chakra of those Iwagakure ninja, pressing down so hard it was difficult to breathe.
"Yeah, I can see that."
Shuo nodded, his tone as flat as if he were discussing the weather. He did not even lift his eyelids.
"Should we retreat? Fall back first, then counterattack once the main force arrives," Sai asked again, his gaze still fixed on the Iwagakure ranks ahead.
Shuo thought for a moment, then gave a derisive chuckle, his tone casual yet firm. "No retreat. Who'll watch the shop if we leave? Nobody would look after those nine plates."
Sai froze for a moment, surprise flickering in his eyes-even at a moment of life and death, this guy was still thinking about the Confectionery Shop?
But he neither asked nor argued. He simply took two candies from his pocket, offered one to Shuo, and unwrapped the other for himself, putting it in his mouth. The spreading sweetness eased his tension a little.
Shuo took the candy. With a light flick of the light particles at his fingertips, he peeled off the wrapper and casually tossed the candy into