"Why did you betray Takimura and your clan?" Kaoru asked, staring at Sako with eyes completely devoid of emotion, as they walked through the thinning forest. Sako marched in silence ahead of him, arms bound tightly behind his back, chakra suppression seal placed on his abdomen. He hadn't said a word since his capture, and Kaoru asking him something was not going to change that. Even when Shin handed him the questions, not once had he offered a response.
Kaoru's patience was wearing thin. He drew a quiet breath, about to speak again when Shin suddenly stopped walking.
"Activate your eyes," Shin said without turning. "Let me know if anyone enters your range."
Kaoru's gaze sharpened. A soft cyan glow bloomed over his irises as his Suijingan awakened, and his awareness rippled outward across the terrain. His steps slowed, but his attention remained anchored to the vast forest around them.
Shin turned toward Sako and pulled the man roughly to a seated position on the ground.
"You must've known I wasn't going to hand you over to Konoha without answers," he said, crouching down in front of the man. His voice was flat. Detached. "So what's it going to be? The easy way, or the hard one?"
Sako snorted.
That was it.
Not a word. Not even the courtesy of a proper insult.
Kaoru narrowed his eyes. 'It would've been easier with Uta's help… but sensei probably doesn't want Uchiha hearing whatever Sako is about to reveal.' That was the only explanation. Uta's genjutsu could have pulled what they needed, but Shin wanted control.
Shin didn't hesitate. He pulled a kunai from his pouch and made a swift cut across Sako's shirt, tearing the fabric down the front. With calm, practiced motions, he shoved a folded cloth into Sako's mouth and wrapped another around his jaw, knotting it tight behind his head to muffle any sound.
The entire process took less than ten seconds. Every movement was smooth, exact, and disturbingly calm.
Kaoru tensed.
He hadn't realized it at first, but something about Shin's silence sent a chill down his spine. Just for a moment, he imagined what it would feel like to be in Sako's place. To be the one bound, gagged, staring up at Shin as he prepared to extract the truth by any means necessary.
'Whether he's a traitor or not… he's got guts.' Kaoru had to admit that much. Sako hadn't flinched. No fear in his eyes. No tremble in his hands. The Noda clan were known for stealth and infiltration. Their elites were trained to endure pain, resist interrogation, and vanish without a trace. That much was expected.
But even so, Kaoru found himself wondering what fueled this man's silence. Conviction? Duty? Or was it just fear?
He believed that when a person suffered to protect someone else, when they endured pain for the sake of a loved one, it gave them a deeper, unshakable strength. Far stronger than the cold instinct of self-preservation. That kind of resolve wasn't taught. It was forged.
"Uuugh…"
A low, muffled groan snapped Kaoru out of his thoughts.
He glanced sideways, just as a flicker of black flame danced across Sako's chest. The fabric began to burn, not with ordinary fire, but something darker. The flame didn't spread like normal, nor did it release any smoke. It clung to his skin like ink, hissing without heat.
'Is that… Sensei's new technique?'
Kaoru leaned forward slightly, trying to get a closer look, intrigued. But before he could take a step, he registered three chakra signatures from the corner of his eyes.
"Sensei," he called, "we've got company. Three shinobi are approaching fast. All of them are at least jonin level."
Shin didn't look up. His gaze remained on Sako, his hand still gripping the kunai embedded in Noda's body, twisting it.
Kaoru didn't move either. His body remained relaxed, his pulse steady.
The old him might've flinched or tensed at the thought of enemy jonin approaching. But now, after months of brutal training under Iseki and Ogashi, after constant battles against the two monstrously strong creatures - Kaoru no longer felt that cold spike of fear. He simply adjusted his grip and waited.
'I've changed more than I realized…'
He didn't smile. But deep down, he welcomed the test.
Those chunins he fought earlier hadn't even been a proper warm-up. The three chakra signatures approaching now, however… they felt promising.
Kaoru straightened, his eyes narrowing slightly as the masked figures landed in front of them. Their movements were sharp, but not aggressive. Each wore the trademark attire of Konoha's ANBU - black vests, white animal masks, and weapons kept just out of sight but always within reach.
"Lord Shin," the one with the fox mask said calmly, bowing ever so slightly. "Please don't kill the criminal."
Kaoru tilted his head, examining them closely. He scanned their builds, hair, even the way they stood. The fox mask immediately drew his attention, but the man beneath it didn't have white hair, which made Kaoru dismiss the possibility of him being Kakashi - unless, of course, he was using a Transformation Jutsu, which wasn't out of the question.
The other two masks, cat and dog, offered no additional clues. Their movements were quiet, their hands relaxed at their sides. None of them took an aggressive stance. If anything, their posture was almost diplomatic.
Kaoru didn't lower his guard.
"Why should I spare him?" Shin asked flatly, his tone devoid of threat or warmth. He reached down, untied the cloth gagging Sako's mouth, then rose to his full height, the bloodied kunai still dangling from his fingers like an afterthought. "He betrayed my village, betrayed his own clan too. That's reason enough."
"I've not betrayed anyone!" Sako's voice tore through the tension, hoarse and sudden as he surged upright, eyes wide with rage.
But he didn't get any further.
Before Shin, or even Kaoru, could react, one of the ANBU moved.
With a sharp flick of the wrist, a dart hissed through the air and struck Sako cleanly in the neck.
His breath caught.
His body froze for a second, then collapsed like dead weight, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Limbs slack. Eyes unfocused.
Kaoru stepped forward instinctively, not to help, but to intervene. Whatever this was, it hadn't been agreed upon. But Shin's hand came up without looking back, a single gesture halting him mid-step.
"I apologize," said the ANBU wearing the cat mask, bowing her head slightly. Her voice was unmistakably female - calm, clipped, and not sounding apologetic despite the tone of her words. "I only put him to sleep. He's not dead."
"So you just attacked my hostage," Shin said, his voice low but sharper now, "without my permission." There was no change in his stance. But his chakra flared slightly, just enough for all three ANBU to register the threat.
'Is sensei trying to pick a fight now?' Kaoru had lost track of what Shin was trying to achieve. He was so over-focused on following Shin's plan that at some point, he completely stopped analyzing the matter.
"True," the fox-masked one answered, stepping slightly forward as if to shield the others. "And we apologize. But he killed Konoha shinobi. You gave your word to Lord Asuma that he'd be handed over for judgment. We're here to ensure that happens."
Kaoru glanced between them again, reassessing the air between both sides. 'They're not here to fight…' he thought. 'They're not pressing. Their stances are loose, ready to retreat if necessary. If sensei refuses, I wouldn't be surprised if they back off altogether.'
The silence stretched for a few seconds.
Then Shin spoke.
"…Alright."
Kaoru's brow twitched. The answer caught him off guard.
'What the hell is sensei doing?'
He didn't voice it, of course. He wore the OININ mask for a reason - right now, he had no identity. No authority. No opinion.
But that didn't stop his thoughts from racing.
Was Shin just giving up Sako Noda? The one person who held firsthand knowledge of the stolen secret technique and who was behind all that? Was this all some deeper plan Kaoru wasn't privy to, or was Shin just making it up as he went?
He couldn't tell. And Shin offered no explanation, no signal, not even a look.
Just like that, he stepped forward, gripped Sako by the collar, and began dragging him toward the outpost with steady, unhurried steps.
Kaoru fell in behind him, silent and obedient, but his mind continued to spiral.
'There's no way we're handing him over without a plan. I definitely missed something…'
…
As the five of them entered the outpost, dragging Sako's unconscious body behind them, Asuma stepped out from the tent, Iruka trailing closely at his side.
Kaoru's eyes narrowed.
'Why is Iruka still here? He can't possibly have any meaningful role…' His gaze lingered on the younger version of Naruto's first teacher, scanning for any sign that this version of him had a more powerful presence. But no, he was exactly the same. Just younger, and likely even weaker than Kaoru remembered.
Asuma gave Sako's limp body a single glance. "Is this the criminal you mentioned?"
Shin nodded. "It is. I'd prefer to confirm that before we complete our deal."
Without warning, Shin drove his fist down in a tight jab, landing square on Sako's face. The crack of impact echoed, and Sako jolted upright with a sharp gasp.
'Was he acting? Or did the hit really bring him back?' Kaoru got suspicious. Something about this wasn't right. 'Why isn't he trying harder to escape? If Konoha gets their hands on him, they won't just kill him - they'll extract everything first. Slowly. Painfully. He should've begged to die before capture.'
At first, Kaoru had assumed the earlier resistance was a desperate attempt at suicide-by-opponent. But now, the timing didn't add up. 'Why wait until the ANBU showed up? He already knew we were taking him to Konoha…' His eyes darted toward Shin. 'Why untie him? Why un-gag him? Unless…'
Kaoru didn't get to finish the thought. The moment Shin's fist struck, not only did Sako shoot up in sudden consciousness, but the entire Konoha side reacted too. A ripple of tension cut through the air like lightning. Most flinched. One even reached for a weapon. The only one who remained perfectly still was Asuma. Iruka, on the other hand, looked ready to explode.
"This is the bastard who killed my friends!" he shouted, face flushed and trembling with rage. He took a step forward, fists clenched.
But Asuma's hand moved calmly, stopping him mid-lunge.
"Since we've confirmed the identity of the criminal," Asuma said in a calm and steady voice, "hand him over. You may take your men."
A shinobi nearby moved instantly to retrieve the Noda prisoners. Shin gave a single nod, his eyes drifting to the cage as the captives were escorted out.
Then he turned back to Sako, staring at him for a little while.
"I still don't understand why you did this," he said finally in a low voice. "But I hope it was worth dying like this."
Kaoru's body tensed.
Lightning crackled faintly.
The kunai in Shin's hand flared with blue sparks, and Kaoru instantly realized what was about to happen.
"DON'T…!" Asuma shouted, but it was already over.
The lightning-infused kunai drove into Sako's temple. His body jerked violently as the current surged through his brain, frying nerves and scrambling consciousness in an instant. A dull thud followed as he collapsed to the ground. Yellowish fluid dripped from his nose, pooling at his cheek.
And then the entire outpost shifted in a breath.
Weapons unsheathed. Stances dropped. Konoha shinobi bristled, waiting for the next order.
Asuma's fist trembled at his side.
"What the hell did you just do?" he growled, the thin veneer of diplomacy cracking as the tension hit its peak.
Kaoru's eyes were already glowing cyan, waiting for just a single word from Shin.
'If no one else comes, we can win." Kaoru was confident in his strength. 'What will sensei decide?'
**
The Next Chapter on Tuesday
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