"Don't tell me you caused that too?" Shikamaru's voice echoed through the silent forest, carrying a barely concealed tremor. Naruto, Neji, and Kiba also stared fixedly at Shengu Xuan, their eyes filled with terror as though they had seen a ghost.
Shengu Xuan stopped and turned to look at the terrified kids, shrugging with utter indifference.
"Yeah, that was me. I was bored, so I casually set off a firework to perk myself up. What, did I scare you?" Shengu Xuan took out a toothpick he carried and stuck it between his teeth, his tone as casual as if he were saying he had just gone to take a piss.
"Casually... set off a firework?!" Naruto's jaw hit the tops of his feet again. Recalling that heavenly lightning, which had lit up the night like daylight and seemed capable of destroying the world, he felt his entire worldview crumble. If that counted as a firework, what was the Rasengan he was so proud of? A snap pop?!
"Captain Shengu, what kind of monster are you...?" Kiba hugged Akamaru tightly, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear. He was now immensely grateful that he had not completely enraged this menace back in the village. Otherwise, he would not even have known how he died.
"Enough. Stop wasting words. Hurry up and carry that poser back to the village so we can report in." Shengu Xuan waved impatiently and took the lead toward Konoha.
Forcing down their shock, the others hoisted the still-unconscious Sasuke and hurried after him.
Morning sunlight fell on Konoha's gates, where the two gate guards were yawning as they changed shifts. Suddenly, they spotted several bedraggled figures slowly approaching from the distant forest's edge.
"That's... Shikamaru and the others! They're back!" Startled, the gate guards