Sakura and her team were racing across the snowy plains. Kiba carried Yugito Nii on his back, Sakura carried Sasuke, and Shino used his insects to sense any danger in the surroundings.
But it was obvious—
Kumogakure had gone mad.
The Two-Tails Jinchūriki had disappeared after the battle. Not a single enemy corpse was left behind. Anyone with half a brain could guess what had happened.
Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' perfect Jinchūriki, had been captured!
Originally, the plan was to use the logistical base and the intelligence gap to bait a big fish. Well, they did catch a fish—
A great white shark, no less!
Even Yugito, the perfect Jinchūriki, had fallen into enemy hands!
---
In the Kumogakure Central Command Tent
Darui knelt with cold sweat dripping down his face, carefully reporting the events of the operation to the man before him.
There was good news, and bad news.
The good news: the bait logistics base was safe.
The bad news: the perfect Jinchūriki had been taken.
"NANI?!"
The man slammed his fist down hard on the desk in front of him. With a loud crack, the solid wooden table shattered under the force of his blow.
At this moment, even Dodai, who was originally the one in charge of this war, could only stand silently to the side in front of this man.
Because this man was none other than the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure—A!
Compared to logistics, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki held far more long-term importance. Logistics could be replenished. But a Jinchūriki like Yugito Nii was irreplaceable.
That's why Raikage-sama was furious.
Back then, the Two-Tails was bought with real money from Hashirama Senju!
"The Two-Tails was something Kumogakure bought. How dare Konoha try to take it back?!"
The Raikage didn't care about right or wrong. In his eyes,
What's mine is mine. What's yours… is also mine!
"Do we know where that group went?"
The Raikage's tiger-like eyes locked onto Dodai, his voice cold now that his rage had calmed slightly.
"Konoha's squad has strong sensory abilities. We can only roughly determine that they're moving along the border of the Land of Frost, heading in the direction of Konoha's main force," Dodai replied calmly.
"Send out the main force to surround and annihilate them!"
The Raikage responded without hesitation.
"No!"
Dodai immediately spoke up to stop him.
"Hm?"
The Raikage turned his glare toward the middle-aged man, clearly suppressing his growing fury.
"We're currently in a standoff with Konoha. The recent commotion has already made them more alert."
"If we mobilize our main force, the large-scale movement won't go unnoticed."
"Konoha could use this chance to launch a direct assault on our weakened frontlines—or worse, they might send reinforcements to intercept us."
"Either way, it's far too risky."
"And the enemy defeated Yugito while she was in her Tailed Beast Mode. Just think about what kind of power that requires."
"Even if we threw people at them until the ground was soaked in blood, how many would it take?"
As Dodai listed the dangers, the Raikage could no longer sit still. With a furious snarl, he stood up from his seat, his muscular body tense with rage.
"Then I'll go myself!"
"Cee! Darui!"
"We move out!"
Without waiting for a reply, the Raikage strode out of the tent.
"Uh—Dodai-ojisan, I'll be going too, then," said Cee sheepishly, flashing an apologetic smile before hurrying after the Raikage.
Even Darui, still half-kneeling, scrambled to his feet and followed.
Dodai silently watched the three of them leave. His expression didn't change at all.
This was exactly what he had wanted.
With the main force unable to move, the only option was to send elite units.
But who could possibly be strong enough to take down an enemy capable of defeating a Tailed Beast head-on?
There were only two people in all of Kumogakure.
One was Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
The other—was the Raikage himself.
However, as a subordinate, Dodai couldn't suggest outright that his superior should personally act. So he did the next best thing—
He manipulated the Raikage's explosive temper into doing it for him.
---
Snow was falling heavily again.
Just moments ago, the long-absent sun had peeked through the clouds, but now the sky was grey once more.
Sakura was starting to really hate this place.
The four of them trudged across the vast, bleak snowy plains. The endless snowfall weighed down their hearts, casting a gloom over the entire group.
"Sakura…"
A weak voice came from the person on her back—Sasuke.
"I'm listening," Sakura replied, tightening her grip on him to make sure he didn't slip.
She had already treated his wounds. The bleeding had stopped. That meant he was no longer on death's door—for now.
But even so, without proper medical attention soon, he wouldn't last two more days.
Darui's sword strike had nearly pierced Sasuke's lungs. If Sakura's medical skills weren't on par with Tsunade's, Sasuke would have already gone to the Pure Land to meet his mother, Uchiha Mikoto.
Perhaps that's why Darui hadn't bothered to finish him off—
He probably assumed Sasuke was already doomed.
But he hadn't expected this Konoha squad to have a medical-nin who could rival the Fifth Hokage.
"Leave me here,"
Sasuke said, his voice quiet.
"I'm just a burden…"
Sasuke wasn't stupid. Right now, he was the biggest liability to the team.
If they abandoned him here, they could move much faster.
They were still in enemy territory.
At their current pace, they were in constant danger.
"Are you kidding me?"
Sakura's tone flared with anger.
For the love of all that was holy, she had worked her tail off to keep this guy alive. And now he wanted her to just throw him away?
All the energy, care, and effort she had poured into him—was that supposed to mean nothing?
Even the Sage of Six Paths would probably crawl out of the Pure Land just to strangle her if she agreed to this.
Sasuke fell silent.
Again.
Once again, he hated his own weakness. Hated his own powerlessness.
Back when he faced Itachi, he could excuse his failure. After all, he was just six years old.
But seven years had passed since then.
And now—he had lost to a nameless ninja from the Hidden Cloud. Not only that, he had dragged his entire team into danger.
At this moment, Sasuke longed for power.
Power strong enough to protect everyone.
A single tear slid down his cheek.
But it was quickly swept away by the bitter wind.
"Don't overthink it. Think about the future,"
Sakura said softly.
"You're the one who's going to revive the Uchiha clan."
"If you die here, then the Uchiha really are finished."
Sakura felt the silence behind her. Sasuke didn't respond.
Then, suddenly—
"Sakura…"
Sasuke's voice reached her ears again.
But Sakura didn't respond immediately. Instead, she stopped walking and came to a halt.
"What is it…?" Sasuke began, but Sakura cut him off gently.
"Sasuke, let Shino carry you now, okay?"
"I think I might need to take care of something ahead."
Her voice was calm, gentle—even soothing, like speaking to a child.
Up ahead, something had caught her attention.
A presence. A threat. A new enemy, perhaps.
And Sakura would be the one to meet it head-on.
(End of Chapter)
---
more chapter available in p@tréøñ(Atoki_29)..