Chapter 5: Evil Uchiha, I'll...
The hunting mission concluded, but Stelle's team did not depart. Instead, they made camp to rest. Elder Takushin had received new orders.
A batch of supplies was scheduled for transport tomorrow. Their new objective was to seize the shipment and, in the process, stir up trouble for the Hagoromo Clan. The supplies were originally destined for the Senju clan grounds. Before nightfall, reinforcements arrived from the main compound, and among them, to Stelle's surprise, was Senju Tobirama.
"Tobirama, what are you doing here?" Stelle asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be at Hashirama's side?"
"Big Brother was worried about you, so he sent me as support." The silver-haired youth shifted his neck, a hint of awkwardness in the movement. His sharp red eyes scanned her from head to toe. "You aren't injured, are you?"
His stiff concern was amusing. "Are you sure it was Hashirama who was worried about me?" she teased.
Whenever war broke out, Senju Hashirama was consumed by a monumental headache, a man who wished he could simply kowtow to both sides until they agreed to stop fighting. Beyond that, he had his duties exchanging flirtatious glances with Uchiha Madara across the battlefield. How could he possibly spare a thought for her, a clan sister assigned to the rear where the danger was minimal?
"Stop talking nonsense." Exposed, the silver-haired youth looked as though his hair might bristle. "Are you injured or not?"
"I am!" Stelle declared with grave finality.
"Where are you hurt? Is it serious?" Senju Tobirama's voice was laced with sudden, sharp anxiety.
Stelle rubbed her stomach, a pitiable expression on her face. "Does being hungry count?"
The realization that he'd been played washed over Tobirama's face, his expression darkening instantly. He turned on his heel and stalked away, only to return a few moments later, thrusting a packet of dry rations into her hands without a word.
As night deepened, the shinobi took turns standing watch.
Stelle proactively requested the latter half of the night shift. Once the camp had fallen into a deep slumber and the Chunin on patrol had moved to the far side of the perimeter, she wove the hand signs for a Wood Clone. Leaving the silent duplicate in her place, her true self slipped away like a shadow, heading toward the distant cliffs.
Uchiha Izuna was already taking refuge in a secluded cave. He was grievously wounded, his leg fractured, and he lacked the stamina for a long-distance escape. His only option was to recover his strength here. His wounds were crudely bandaged, and just as he was contemplating his next move back to the Uchiha compound, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the cave. His eyes snapped open, a kunai already tight in his grip.
Before the figure even came into view, a voice, gentle and disarmingly harmless, drifted into the cavern.
"I would advise you not to move. I'm the one who beat you up, after all. I know exactly how serious your injuries are."
'It's her?'
Uchiha Izuna froze. He knew he couldn't escape. Instead, he palmed an explosive tag, concealing it from view.
Under the pale moonlight, a slender figure slowly approached. A faint, easy smile graced her lips, entirely devoid of the disgust or ruthlessness one would expect from an enemy. It was the kind of smile that made it difficult for anyone to harbor ill will against her.
Stelle knelt before Uchiha Izuna. In a single, fluid motion, she pried open his hand, plucked the hidden explosive tag from his palm, and casually tore it in two.
"I came all this way to find you, and this is my welcome? You were actually going to blow yourself up just to take me with you? How heartless."
As she spoke, her hands reached for the collar of his tunic.
"What are you doing?" Uchiha Izuna's expression shifted from wary to alarmed, and he scrambled backward, hissing in pain as his leg protested.
"Torturing you for information, of course!"
Stelle pressed two fingers together. In an instant, thick branches erupted from the cavern floor, wrapping around Uchiha Izuna's wrists and ankles and pinning him firmly to the ground. He was utterly immobilized.
With a series of sharp rips, his upper garment, already tattered from their battle, was torn to shreds, exposing his torso to the cool night air.
"Don't you dare!"
His face flushed a deep, furious red. He opened his mouth to shout again, but the words died in his throat as a cool, tingling sensation spread across his wounds. Only then did he realize that Senju Stelle was treating his injuries.
She worked with careful care, first disinfecting and cleaning the gashes, then placing her palm over the damaged flesh to channel a gentle healing ninjutsu.
"Sorry," she murmured, her focus entirely on her work. "I'm not very good at medical ninjutsu. If Hashirama were here, this would be much simpler."
There were still stone fragments embedded in his wounds from his own hasty attempt at first aid. Stelle had to lean in close, her brow furrowed in concentration as she carefully tended to each injury. Her warm breath fanned across his chest, sending a strange, unfamiliar sensation through him that made his face burn even hotter.
People in the ninja world matured early. To be suddenly pinned to the ground in such an embarrassing posture, in such close proximity to a woman from an enemy clan, made Uchiha Izuna's entire body go rigid.
Just as he was lost in a state of flustered confusion, he saw Senju Stelle's hand move downward, reaching toward his pants.
Uchiha Izuna's face contorted in sheer terror.
"What are you doing?!" he choked out.
"Checking your wounds," she replied, her tone puzzled by his extreme reaction. "This part of your thigh was mangled by an explosive tag. If it's not treated quickly, the infection will give you a fever. And if your broken leg isn't set properly, you'll likely end up a cripple."
Stelle was genuinely perplexed. This might be the ninja world, but given the current state of medical arts, a poorly handled fracture was a guaranteed path to a permanent disability. If she was the one who crippled Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Madara would skin her alive, and all her efforts to farm emotional value would be for nothing.
"Let go of me! I'll handle it myself."
"Are you sure you know how?" Stelle's gaze was skeptical.
"Regardless, I will do it myself," Uchiha Izuna insisted through gritted teeth.
"Fine." She looked at him as if he were a petulant child. "I really can't do anything with you."
Stelle released the binding branches. Then, with a speed that defied his perception, she seized his lower leg. Before he could even register her intent, she broke apart the poorly set bone and reset it with brutal, practiced efficiency.
A series of loud, sickening cracks echoed in the cave. Uchiha Izuna's vision went black for a second, and a scream of pure agony was torn from his throat.
Before he could curse her, Senju Stelle had already turned her back to him and was walking toward the cave entrance.
"There. The bone is perfectly reset. The rest is up to you."
Uchiha Izuna had a nagging suspicion she had done that on purpose. He grit his teeth, picked up the medical supplies she'd left, and began to clean his wounds with shaking hands. When he was finished, she returned and used her healing ninjutsu on his leg.
After the ordeal, Uchiha Izuna finally had the strength to push himself into a sitting position. Chewing on a ration pill she'd provided, he finally asked in a low voice, "Why save me? Is it because you're friends with my older brother?"
'Ah, since you asked so nicely, I might as well put on a show.'Stelle adopted a serious expression. "That's part of the reason. But besides that… I don't want to kill. And I don't want anyone to die because of me. It's too cruel."'How stupid,'Izuna thought.'How could anyone be so naive?'
"Acting like that on the battlefield will get you killed," he stated flatly.
Stelle gave him a goofy, Hashirama-style grin. "It won't. I'm very strong. See? You couldn't even beat me."
The statement left Uchiha Izuna momentarily speechless, a deep sense of frustration welling up inside him.
They chatted for a few more moments before the system's voice blared in Stelle's mind, warning her of Senju Tobirama's approach.
Thud.
A cold glint of steel flashed outside the cave. A kunai sliced through the air and embedded itself in the ground between them with a sharp impact. Both shinobi scrambled back, dodging on pure instinct.
The attacker stepped into the cave. With his spiky silver hair and ruby-red eyes, it could only be one person.
Senju Tobirama.
'Holy crap,'Stelle thought,'why isn't he sleeping? Why is he running around in the middle of the night?'
If he found Uchiha Izuna here, it would be a catastrophe. There was no way both of them would walk out of this alive.
Stelle was flustered for a rare moment. "Tobirama, I… you… why are you here?"
"From the moment you refused my offer to stand watch with you, I knew something was wrong." Senju Tobirama's face was a grim mask, his fury plain to see.
Unlike Uchiha Izuna, who had already discovered his own brother was prone to consorting with the enemy, Senju Tobirama had been kept completely in the dark. Stelle and Senju Hashirama had teamed up, using every trick in the book to deceive him. To this day, he had no idea that his older brother and his clan sister frequently met Uchiha Madara by the river.
Now, seeing this, Senju Tobirama was practically vibrating with rage. First his brother, and now Stelle was doing the same thing—and she was treating a mortal enemy on the battlefield, no less. Did she have any idea what she was doing?
It had to be this Uchiha. This evil Uchiha in front of him must have bewitched her, causing her to act so irrationally.
He automatically found an excuse for Stelle's behavior, his mind already made up. Drawing the sword at his waist, he pointed its gleaming tip at Izuna. "Evil Uchiha, I'll now—"
"Run!" Stelle shouted, lunging not at Izuna, but at Tobirama.
The moment she yelled, Uchiha Izuna had already sprung to his feet, dashing for the cave entrance.
But being too familiar with someone had its downsides. The instant she moved, Senju Tobirama saw through her feint. He sidestepped her lunge and shot out of the cave after Izuna, sword in hand and murder in his eyes, all while contributing a massive spike of emotional value to her system.
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