The group stood in the cold, the steam from the pipes swirling around them. After Ino and Karin had started to walk away, the rest of the team remained: Sakura, Tenten, Hinata, Neji, Naruto, Sasuke, Lee, and Mini-Sasuke.
Sasuke looked at the girls. "You three should go to the bathhouse now," he said, but Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata didn't move an inch.
They stayed right where they were, eavesdropping on the rest of the plan.
Sasuke sighed, knowing they were listening anyway. "Fine. Lee and I will go look for a place to stay. We need a hotel or a house that isn't too close to the main guard towers. Neji, Naruto, and my younger self... you three go find something to eat. Keep your ears open for any news while you're at the food stalls."
"Okkkk!" Naruto cheered, his eyes brightening at the thought of food. "Now that sounds like fun! I'm starving! dattebayo."
Even Mini-Sasuke looked a little less grumpy at the mention of a meal. The plan was set. Everyone was ready to move in different directions.
But they only took two steps before a loud, angry screaming came from down the street.
"HEYYYYY!!!"
Ino came sprinting back toward them, her face red and her hair flying wild behind her. She looked like a whirlwind of fury as she forced herself to a stop in front of the group.
"Where is the money?!" she yelled, holding out her empty hands.
The entire group froze.
Naruto stopped mid-cheer. Sasuke blinked in silence. Neji stared at her blankly. In the rush to plan their survival, their fake identities, and their shopping lists, everyone had completely forgotten the most important part of any mission.
They were in a foreign land, and they had no money to give the 'shoppers' a single coin.
The silence was hilarious. For a group of elite ninjas who had just tricked a Samurai Unit Leader, they looked incredibly stupid standing there with empty pockets.
Naruto, being the idiot of the group, suddenly jumped and slapped his hand against his pant pocket. He had a look on his face like he had just remembered he left a stove on.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a terrifying glare. He stared at Naruto's hand as if he were trying to set the orange pants on fire with his mind.
Naruto caught Sasuke's eyes and flinched. "What... why are you looking at me like that, Teme?"
Sasuke let out a cold, annoyed sigh.
"Seriously... I wonder how much money you actually earned on our regular missions if you still have coins left inside that useless frog."
"It's not useless!" Naruto yelled, his face turning red with offense. He pulled out the green, bulging coin purse.
"It's my Gama-chan dattebayo! And he's been working very hard to save this for a rainy day! It's not my fault I'm good with money!"
As Naruto hugged the frog purse to his chest, he felt proud for a second and let his guard down. He was too busy defending Gama-chan's honor to notice Sasuke's hand moving like a blur.
In a split second, Sasuke reached out and snatched the frog right out of Naruto's hands.
"Hey! Give it back dattebayo!" Naruto screamed, reaching into the air, but Sasuke was already tossing the heavy purse to Ino.
"Use this," Sasuke said to Ino, completely ignoring Naruto's loud crying. "Buy the clothes and the glasses. And don't spend it all on expensive hair ribbons."
Ino caught the frog with a smirk, feeling much better now that she had the power of the purse. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun! See ya, Naruto!"
She turned and ran back toward the market before Naruto could tackle her. Naruto stood there, his arms empty, looking like his best friend had just been kidnapped.
The boys were finally organized, but the girls were still standing in the cold, watching Ino run off with Naruto's crying frog purse.
Sakura crossed her arms and looked at Sasuke with an annoyed expression. "And what about us?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You gave the 'shopping team' all of Naruto's money. Are we supposed to pay for a hot bath with snowballs and hopes?"
Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, her face turning a soft shade of pink. She reached into her hidden pouch and pulled out a small, very cute purse. It looked well-kept and surprisingly heavy.
"I... I also have some," Hinata whispered, holding it out shyly. "We can... I mean, we all can manage the bath with this. It should be enough for all nine of us."
Tenten leaned in, her eyes widening at the sight of the purse. She looked from the money to Hinata's blushing face.
"Hinata..." Tenten said, narrowing her eyes playfully. "If you had that much money on you, why didn't you take it out earlier when we were at that cloak shop near the border? We were practically begging for a discount!"
Hinata's blush deepened until her face was almost the color of a tomato. She looked at her boots, her voice getting even smaller.
"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata stuttered, her fingers twiddling nervously.
"I was... I was keeping it as emergency money! I thought if we got caught or if we were starving, I could use it to buy us a way out..."
"I didn't want to spend it on cloaks because I was afraid we would run out of money before we reached the city! It felt too important to spend on just... clothes."
Sakura softened, patting Hinata on the shoulder. "It's okay, Hinata. Actually, it was smart to keep a secret saving. At least now we don't have to beg the Samurai or any shopkeeper for a bar of soap."
Naruto, still standing nearby and looking depressed about his stolen frog, let out a loud groan. "Everyone has a secret purse?! Am I the only one who got robbed?!"
The girls finally disappeared into the mist of the city, leaving the boys standing by the steam pipes. Naruto and Mini-Sasuke both turned their heads slowly, staring at Sasuke with identical looks of pure disbelief.
Sasuke looked back at them, his face like a wall of ice. "What?"
"YOU IDIOT!"
Naruto and Mini-Sasuke screamed at the same time.
The combined volume of their voices was so loud that it echoed off the metal buildings. Neji, who had been standing perfectly still with his eyes shut to act blind, was so startled that his eyes snapped open for a split second.
He blinked in shock at the 'immense duo' before quickly squeezing his eyes shut again, rubbing his temples.
Mini-Sasuke pointed a small, shaking finger at Sasuke. "You gave Usurantokachi's useless frog to Ino! She's going to spend it all on ribbons and hairpins! We're going to starve because you're a show-off!"
Smack!
Naruto brought his fist down on Mini-Sasuke's head. "Don't call the 'honorable Gama-chan' 'useless', you brat! But he's right about one thing!" Naruto turned his fury back to Sasuke.
"You gave all the money to that witch Ino! How are we supposed to eat now? Are we supposed to chew on these iron pipes for dinner? dattebayo"
Mini-Sasuke clutched his head and started to cry, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Lee immediately dropped to his knees, patting the boy's shoulder with a look of deep tragedy.
"There, there, little Sasuke-kun! Do not weep! Your tears are likeacid on my soul! We shall find a way to nourish our youth!"
"Shut up, Lee..Gejimayu!" Naruto and Sasuke yelled together.
Sasuke crossed his arms, looking down his nose at Naruto. "I gave her the money because she has to buy clothes for nine people. If I let you keep it, you would have spent the entire 'emergency fund' on a bowl of ramen with extra pork. You have the self-control of a puppy."
"A puppy?!" Naruto's face turned redder than a tomato. "At least a puppy knows you need food to stay alive! You're so busy acting cool that you forgot our stomachs exist! You're just a 'Cool-Guy' who's about to faint from hunger!"
"I'm not the one who carries my life savings in a green stuffed toy," Sasuke countered savagely. "Maybe if you didn't dress like a bright orange target, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Neji let out a long, exhausted groan, his shoulders sagging. He looked like he wanted to walk into the freezing lake and never come back.
"I am so done with all of you," Neji muttered to himself, his voice full of pain.
"We are in the most dangerous city in the world, surrounded by Samurai who want to kill us, and I am stuck with a loudmouth, a brooding teenager, and a crying child. This wasn't in the mission briefing."
Neji stood there, his face buried in his hand as the chaos continued. Finally, he looked up and sighed, his white eyes looking very tired.
"Naruto," Neji said, his voice flat. "Come with me. Now!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. In his head, he jumped to a very wrong conclusion. He thought Neji was suggesting they go and beg the shopkeepers for free food since they had no money.
"NO!" Naruto shouted, crossing his arms and looking very stubborn. "I don't care how hungry I am, Neji! I will not beg anyone for food!..."
---
🗣️ TALK TO ME!
I am actually gasping for air. This was the most 'High-Stakes Financial Crisis' I have ever seen. One minute they are elite refugees from Kiri, and the next they are just a group of broke teenagers standing in the snow realizing they forgot to bring their wallets! 👇
The Heist of the Century! 🐸🧤
Sasuke is absolutely ruthless! He didn't even say "please." He just snatched Gama-chan mid-air like a predatory hawk. Poor Naruto didn't even have time to say goodbye to his froggy friend! The way Naruto hugged that purse like his own child before it was stolen? Pure tragedy! 🎭😭
Hinata: The Secret Millionaire! 👛💎
Can we talk about how Hinata is the only person in this entire squad who understands how the world works? While the boys are stealing from each other and Ino is ready to commit bankruptcy for hair ribbons, Hinata is just standing there with a heavy, well-kept purse like, "I have enough money for nine people." She really is the "Emergency Fund" of the group. She was ready to buy their way out of a war zone while Naruto was busy buying ramen! 🍜🪙
The "Sasuke vs. Sasuke" Scream! 👦💢
I have never seen a more legendary duo than Naruto and Mini-Sasuke teaming up to yell at "Big" Sasuke. They finally found common ground! When they screamed "YOU IDIOT!" at the same time, Neji probably felt his soul leave his body. It's official: Big Sasuke is so "cool" and "broody" that he actually forgot people need to eat food to stay alive. He's out here using his brain on an empty stomach! ♟️🥯
Neji's Infinite Patience! 🧘♂️🌀
Neji rubbing his temples is the most relatable thing in the world. He is a genius, a strategist, and a master of the Byakugan, and he is stuck with a "brooding teenager, a loudmouth, and a crying child." When he grabbed Naruto to go find food, and Naruto thought they were going to go begging? I can't. Neji isn't a beggar, Naruto! He probably has a plan, but with this group, a plan usually just leads to more screaming! 📢💀
📜 TEASER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
The steam rises thick in the halls of stone, 🧖♀️🌫️
As the Mist-born girls find a world of their own.
Away from the boys and the 'Frog Heist' despair, 🐸
They trade the cold ice for the warmth of the air. ♨️
But the Healer and the Weapon-Mistress aren't there to just soak, 🌸⚔️
Then comes the battle that the Samurai don't see, ⚔️🛍️
The Fashionista unleashing her true strategy!
Armed with 'borrowed' copper and a look of pure steel,
She's hunting for prices that are practically a steal. 🪙💎
It's the Legendary Bargaining, a war without blades, 🧤📈
Where the 'orphans' show off their deadliest trades.
By the time she is finished, the market will know—
Never mess with a girl who has nowhere to go! 👗🔥
SNEAK PEAK LINES💬
"I literally never said the word 'beg'."
"Try it, ponytail!"
---
—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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