By the time they returned to the village, it was almost completely dark, and the streets were far more chaotic than they had been that morning.
It was not the chaos of people hurrying about in a panic. Everyone was running wildly-some ducked into shelters, some rushed toward the village gates, and others ran blindly in the opposite direction, utterly disoriented. Cries and screams filled the air, a bedlam that made one's head ache.
Shuo stopped, slipped his hands into his pockets, and stood there languidly, Lightspeed Thinking activating instinctively.
Hundreds of people ran past him every minute, all wearing the same expression of terror-not the fear of facing Iwagakure Ninja, but the bone-deep terror of seeing a monster, enough to make them forget even how to flee properly.
"What happened?" Sai caught up and asked softly, a trace of gravity in his voice. He felt it too: the panic in the air was stronger than it had ever been.
Shuo said nothing. He merely raised his head slowly and looked deeper into the village, toward Hokage Rock. The sky there was red-not the gentle orange-red of sunset, but the scarlet of raging flames. An enormous blaze soared into the air, staining half the sky.
And... an absurdly vast surge of chakra drifted toward him on the wind, greater than that of any ninja or Ninja Beast he had ever seen. It was as thick as an impenetrable fog, weighing down on people until they could barely breathe.
"You guys head back first."
Shuo spoke with his usual languor, but there was an unquestionable firmness in his voice.
Sai looked at him, his eyes full of worry, but did not press him. He only asked quietly, "What about you? Where are you going?"
Shuo did not answer or even glance