The day had begun as a bright morning. At the heart of the forest, the waterfall roared, a steady, powerful sound that filled the air.
The water crashed down into the river below, sending a constant, cool mist into the air. Behind the great curtain of falling water, a dark, hidden opening led to a secret shelter.
The sound was so loud that it would easily hide any noise from inside the cave.
Hours passed. The sun, which had been high and bright, casting harsh, straight rays that made the water sparkle, now began its slow journey down the sky.
The light softened, turning a gentle golden color. Long shadows began to stretch across the forest floor, reaching through the trees like long, dark fingers. The bright, sharp light of the morning had been replaced by a quiet, warm glow that made the air feel peaceful.
All was still. The only constant was the endless roar of the water, a massive voice that spoke only of time passing.
The mist from the waterfall hung in the air, a cool blanket that made the plants and rocks around the entrance to the cave feel damp and alive.
The afternoon was now a slow, gentle hum, waiting.
The air inside the cave was heavy and damp. Three figures were huddled together, drenched and exhausted, their bodies shaking from the cold and the fear of the chase. The loud roar of the waterfall outside was a constant, deafening sound.
The first figure leaned against a cold, wet rock. His dark hair, slick with water, was stuck to his pale face. His breathing was heavy and ragged, but his eyes were wide open, staring into the darkness.
There was a tired, thoughtful look in them, and his face was relaxed, showing a deep sense of relief. He was still, the tension gone from his body, his mind now calm and at peace.
The second figure was a little to the side, huddled into a ball. Her blue-black hair hung in front of her face, dripping water onto the ground. She was shaking, her body trembling from the terror of what had just happened.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was trying to calm her racing heart. She looked like a small, lost bird, trying to make herself invisible in the dark.
The third figure was the smallest of the group. He was sitting on the ground, his knees pulled up to his chest. His little body was trembling with exhaustion, and his eyes were wide with fear.
His black hair was plastered to his forehead. He was staring at the figure next to him, as if seeking some kind of comfort, but he stayed quiet.
After a long minute, a soft whisper broke the silence. The first figure looked away from the darkness, his gaze landing on the girl huddled in a ball.
"...quiet! they are everywhere and will get us"
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice low and raspy from the run.
The girl's eyes snapped open in shock. She slowly looked up at him, unable to believe what she had just heard. It was not anger in his eyes, but a tired concern.
The girl's eyes snapped open in shock. She slowly looked up at Sasuke, unable to believe what she had just heard. It was not anger in his eyes, but a tired concern.
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She expected a cold glare, a shoutedcommand, anything but this.
"Well?" Sasuke's voice was still raspy, the sound of his concern gone, replaced by his usual impatience. "Are you going to answer?"
Hinata flinched at the sharpness in his tone, her body tensing up. 'He's angry again. Why did I freeze?' She looked down at the ground.
"I... I'm fine, Sasuke-kun."
His eyes shifted to the young boy sitting a few feet away. "Are you okay, too?" The boy looked at Sasuke's calm face and then at Hinata's scared one. He slowly shook his head. "I-I am scared! Will they come again? " he whispered.
A sigh of frustration escaped Sasuke's lips.
'Great. The one I have to protect is scared, and the other one is acting like she's still in shock.' He took a deep breath. 'Did I say something wrong that they both are looking at each other then me? '
Then rebuilding his words again he said, "The point is we have to get our strength back. The sound of the waterfall is loud enough to hide our voices. We'll wait here."
He looked at Hinata, his expression calm but serious and spoke, "But we have to be ready to move again if we have to. We need a plan."
Hinata slowly nodded, but her mind was still racing. 'A plan... with me? After everything I did with him and after what he said to me before? What is happening?'
"My legs they are paining..... Are they gone? "
The boy's words hung in the air, a simple plea that seemed to cut through the roar of the waterfall.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, 'Great..! I carried him with my own two hands and the one who's legs are hurting is his. Kids these days. '
"Not yet," he said, his voice flat and cold. His eyes flickered up, scanning the dark mouth of the cave. "But they're not getting in here."
Hinata's heart ached at the boy's words. She forgot her own pain for a second, her gaze fixed on the small, trembling figure.
She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, to offer him a gentle touch of reassurance. Her hand began to lift, an instinct to comfort winning over her fear.
Then she remembered the remarks said to her, 'Who told you to do 'good' for me? I never asked you! Then why are you doing this? Why are you always trying to be good?!'
Her hand froze, hovering in the air. 'I'll just make things worse if I continue like this.'
Sasuke was about to explain the plan be had thought but he stopped say when he noticed something.
A dark stain was spreading on the side of her light purple jacket. Her fingers were gripping the fabric so tightly they were white.
A thin trail of blood was running down her pale hand.
"Stop that," he commanded, his voice now flat and sharp.
Hinata flinched, instinctively trying to pull her arm away. But Sasuke was already moving, his hand reaching out and gently taking her injured arm.
Her eyes squeezed shut, bracing for his anger. Instead, his dark gaze was fixed on the tear in her jacket sleeve, revealing a red burn mark on her delicate skin. The edges of the burn were already starting to blister.
He carefully turned her arm, his brow furrowing slightly. He then followed the trail of blood to her side. With a hesitant movement, he lifted the edge of her jacket.
Beneath it, on her right side, was a shallow but bleeding cut.
He let go of her arm, his expression unreadable. "You're hurt," he stated, the obviousness of his words hanging in the damp air.
He looked from the burn on her arm to the cut on her side, then back to her closed eyes. He didn't understand why she hadn't said anything.
His gaze softened slightly as he looked at the small, trembling figure of his younger self. It was an attempt to know whether he was also just somewhere or not.
"I-I'm fine.." Mini Sasuke whispered, his voice full of fear.
Sasuke looked back at Hinata, a new emotion flickering in his dark eyes – a hint of concern mixed with something else he couldn't quite name. "We need to take care of that," he said, his voice quieter now.
"It's was from a paper bomb, right?" he asked.
Hinata nodded her eyes squeezed shut.
"Hold still." he said.
He knelt in front of her, scooping up cold water falling from the waterfall with his hand. Hinata gasped as he began to splash it gently over her arm. The cold water made the burn sting even more.
"It... it hurts," she whispered, her voice trembling.
"I know," he said, his voice void of emotion. "It needs to be clean."
He finished with her arm and then carefully followed the trail of blood to her side. With a firm, decisive motion, he lifted the edge of her jacket, revealing a deep, bloody cut.
Hinata closed her eyes, preparing for another shock. Instead, she felt the warm, calloused palm of his hand press against her side.
He was using his hand to stop the bleeding.
"Stay quiet," he ordered. "The blood has to stop."
Mini Sasuke, who had been sitting quietly, saw the blood on his older self's hand. His eyes widened, and he let out a small, scared whimper.
Sasuke glanced at him but didn't say anything. His focus was entirely on the wound. After a long minute, he carefully removed his hand. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle.
"Now for the pain," he murmured. He placed a hand over the burn on her arm and then over the cut on her side.
A strange, warm feeling spread through her body, and she felt the stinging pain begin to fade.
"What… what are you doing?" she asked, her voice a mix of confusion and relief.
"I'm channeling my chakra over the wounded area," he answered, his eyes fixed on her wounds. "It'll keep it cool for sometime."
He let his hands drop. Hinata looked at her arm, then her side. The pain was reduced almost minor. She looked up at him, a simple question in her eyes.
"Why?" she whispered. "After what you said..."
Sasuke's face was unreadable. He turned his head to the side, his jaw tightening slightly. "That's a different matter," he said, his voice flat.
"You're hurt. That's all."
_FEW HOURS AGO_
The sudden ambush had been a nightmare. Shinobi were everywhere, and the group was forced to split. Hinata's heart pounded as she ran, looking for her teammates, but all she saw was Sasuke.
He was holding his younger self in one arm, not running, his gaze fixed on the enemy shinobi as if he was calculating something.
Suddenly, a shinobi from the side screamed, "Got them!"
A kunai with a paper bomb attached flew through the air, heading straight for Hinata. She froze, her body refusing to move.
"HINATA-SAMA!!"
Neji's voice screamed, a frantic sound that was drowned out by the noise of the explosion.
The world went white for a second. The blast threw her off her feet, sending her flying backward. She stumbled, her arms flailing, and landed hard against a solid body. It was Sasuke.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, and her eyes were squeezed shut. She could feel his arm wrap around her waist, his grip firm.
He pulled her close, and for a split second, she looked up. His eyes were wide, but they were not on her. They were on the shinobi behind them.
"Move!" he shouted, his voice filled with urgency.
He didn't let her go. He simply spun and began to run, holding Mini Sasuke close with his other arm. He was incredibly fast, and she was pulled along, her legs struggling to keep up.
"Hey! Don't let them get away!" one of the enemies shouted.
Hinata glanced back, her heart pounding. There were five of them. They were running after them, their hands already moving in the signs for a jutsu.
"They're using Earth Style!" she screamed, her voice barely audible over the wind.
Sasuke didn't look back. "I know! Tell me where they are!"
She activated her Byakugan. Her vision was blurry from the explosion, but she forced it to focus. She could see the enemies clearly now. "One on your right! He's raising a wall!"
With Mini Sasuke still in his arm, he pulled a handful of shuriken from his pouch and threw them, not at the shinobi, but at the rising earth wall.
The shuriken hit, and with a flash of lightening, they created a small explosion that made the wall crumble.
"He's destroying our jutsu!" one of the shinobi yelled.
"Left!" she said, her voice now a frantic command. "They're going to trap us! A pit is forming in front!"
"Useless," he said, his lips curling into a smirk. He threw out two more shuriken, one coated with fire chakra, the other with lightning chakra.
The lightning shuriken struck the ground, making the earth crackle and break apart, and the fireball created a cloud of smoke that covered their escape.
"Where are they?" one of the shinobi yelled, his voice sounding confused.
'He's not fighting them. He's making their jutsu useless,' she thought, her mind reeling in awe. They kept running, jumping over a crumbling earth wall and a shallow pit.
He didn't speak again, and neither did she. Her only job was to stay on her feet as he pulled her through the chaos.
The sound of their shouts and the thud of their jutsu slowly faded. Her legs were screaming, and she could barely breathe. Then, the roar of the waterfall filled the air, louder and louder, until it was all she could hear.
He didn't even slow down; he just turned a corner and disappeared behind the rushing water.
They were here. They were safe. Hinata collapsed against the cold rock, her body shaking with the aftershock of the escape.
'What just happened? How did I end up here?' Her mind was a whirlwind of questions.
'This is impossible. I was supposed to be with Neji-niisan and Lee-san. But now... now I'm here.'
She looked at Mini Sasuke, who was also panting hard, and then at Sasuke. He was staring out into the darkness of the cave, calm as could be, as if he had just been for a walk.
'How did he do that? He wasn't even fighting. He just... made their jutsu disappear.' She thought about the shuriken that had destroyed the earth walls and the flash of lightning that had cracked the ground.
'He's so strong. So fast. But why... why did he grab me? Why didn't he just leave me behind?'
The memories of his angry words, 'Who told you to do 'good' for me!', echoed in her mind.
'And now... I'm not only with him, but he also grabbed me and protected me.' The thought was too confusing to process. 'He was not angry. His eyes were not angry. They were just... focused.'
She was too tired to think anymore. The sound of the waterfall was a soft hum in her ears now, a constant reminder of how far they had come.
'This can't be real. I must have imagined all of this.' But the pain in her arm and side was very real, a constant reminder of the chaos.
_PRESENT TIME: UNDER THE APPLE TREE_
The tense, panicked sounds of the chase were gone. Neji and Lee were sitting under a large apple tree, the afternoon sun filtering through the leaves and casting long, peaceful shadows on the grass.
The ground was soft and clean, not a trace of the frantic battle that had just ended. A few defeated shinobi who were after them laid scattered on the forest floor, a testament to their speed and strength.
Lee, his face a picture of pure joy, took a large, loud bite of a crisp green apple. "Ah, the taste of victory, Neji!" he said, his voice full of energy. "And the taste of a healthy fruit! The youthful energy is returning to my body!"
Neji, however, was not eating his apple. He was holding it, his eyes far away, a worried expression on his face. 'Where is she? Did she get away? Is she safe?' He thought of the paper bomb, of the frantic look on her face, and of her falling into Sasuke's arms.
A cold wave of fear and frustration washed over him.
"Neji, you're not eating your apple!" Lee said, a look of concern on his face. "Are you worried about something?"
Neji's hand clenched around the apple. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Why did you do that, Lee?" he said, his voice low and angry. "Why did you pull me back?"
Lee stopped chewing, a look of confusion on his face. "Pull you back, Neji? What are you talking about?"
"When that shinobi threw the kunai with the paper bomb," Neji said, his voice rising in frustration. "You pulled me back, right as I was about to go to Hinata-sama and get her over here!"
Lee's eyes went wide with understanding. "I did that because you were about to use your Rotation! The paper bomb was going to explode right in your face before you could have only started doing it! I had to save you! The flames of youth would have been extinguished!"
"But I could have protected her!" Neji snapped. "I could have done something! And now she's gone with that... that monster."
He sighed again, the anger draining from his face and being replaced by a a face of worry.
He took a bite of his apple, the sweet flavor doing little to soothe his nerves. "Lee," he said, his voice quiet. "Do you think Hinata-sama went with him of her own will, or did that bastard force her?"
Lee swallowed his apple in one gulp, his usual boisterous energy gone. He stared at Neji, a sudden seriousness in his eyes.
"Neji," he said, his voice a low whisper. "We can worry about that later. But... did you notice something?" Neji looked at him, his brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"The shinobi," Lee said, gesturing at the defeated bodies on the ground. "Their headbands. They're of Iwagakure."
Neji's eyes widened. His expression, which had been full of personal worry, suddenly became cold and calculating.
The thought of Hinata and Sasuke completely left his mind. He looked down at the bodies, his gaze fixed on their forehead protectors.
"Yes," he said, his voice now a low, serious rumble. "You are right. This is..." He gave a pause and spoke again
"NOT A GOOD SIGN."
Then both Lee and Neji saw a huge flock of birds were flying towards there side. Then came a voice....
"U..Z..U..M..A..K..I.. NARUTO 2k Barrage"
----
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Chapter 23 - "The Aftermath of the Shout" ✨
What a chapter! 🤯 We took a step back from the chaos to find a moment of quiet, but the revelations were anything but calm! 🤫
That flashback was a game-changer, wasn't it? It showed us a completely different side of Sasuke—not the enraged boy from the last chapter, but a calculated and fiercely protective shinobi.
His skill at dodging and countering the enemy jutsu was awe-inspiring! 🤩
And then, the glimmer of green. ✨ Sasuke's unexpected act of healing Hinata was a shocking moment of pure compassion, a direct contradiction to his hurtful words. It leaves us with so many questions about his true nature. 🤔
Meanwhile, the tense conversation between Neji and Lee reveals the larger threat at play. They are no longer just lost; they are being hunted by the enemy from the Hidden Stone Village. 😨
This chapter proves that even in the darkest shadows, a glimmer of kindness can be found. What does this reveal about Sasuke's motives? And what does this all mean for our heroes? 💥
TALK TO ME! 🤯
Alright, shinobi! Chapter 23 was full of shocking moments and mind-bending revelations, wasn't it?! My brain is in a jutsu of its own! 🧠
The big question is: what do you think about Sasuke's actions? He went from pushing Hinata away to single-handedly protecting her and his younger self. And then, he healed her wounds! 😳 What do you think is going on in his mind?
And that ending! 😨 The reveal of the Iwagakure headbands changes everything. What do you think the Hidden Stone Village wants with them?
Share your best theories in the comments! 👇
I can't wait to read them! ✨
📜 TEASER FOR NEXT CHAPTER:
When all the scattered paths at last are one, ✨
And every dark escape beneath the sun, ☀️
Will force a truth from shadows they must face, 🤫
A painful secret found in a new space. 💔
Now stripped of lies and all that they have known, 🌪️
A different kind of journey is now shown. 🗺️
Not to a place, but a quest of the soul, 🧘
To find themselves, and finally be whole. ❤️🩹
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
'All that blood... all that effort... for nothing!'
'Red hair girl' you mean Karin-san? "
—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
---