Usually, Obito said, and stumbling in, and Sasuke could read between the lines just fine; that he'd fucked up, first by falling into the trap and then by not cleaning up behind himself. But if he'd been caught in a trap like this, even if he'd been unwary on the tail end of a completely peaceful mission, travelling between countries in agreement if not allied ...

Why aren't we taught this? was what he wanted to ask, but the words stuck, his attention diverted by the sudden sight of his own reflection in the calm surface of the lake.

"I wanted to ask exactly how many cases like this happen," he said, still quiet, hating his own cowardice. But there was blood on his face. There was blood on his hands, and he wasn't even sure how to enter the village, and -- "I don't know if I want to know right now."