The atmosphere near the market was a chaotic mess of freezing air.
Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata were hidden behind a pile of empty wooden boxes, breathing heavily.
The sounds of the crowd's excitement over the 'Elite Shinobi' were echoing down the street, making the situation feel dangerously high.
"Did you hear that, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto whispered, his blue eyes wide with a mix of panic and excitement. "They said an 'Elite' is coming! If we get caught by a super-strong ninja before we find the others, we're totally toast! Dattebayo!"
Sakura was biting her lip, her green eyes scanning the corners. "Quiet, Naruto! We're already in enough trouble!" She turned her attention to Hinata, who was trembling slightly, her distinct pale eyes darting around. 'If anyone sees those eyes, they'll know exactly who we are!' Sakura thought.
"Hinata, stay low," Sakura commanded. "We need to cover you up. Those eyes are like a giant neon sign saying 'I'm from Konoha!'"
Naruto began frantically patting his pockets. "I got it! I got it!" He pulled out a crumpled, bright orange scarf that was covered in ramen stains. "Here! Wrap this around her head! It'll hide everything, dattebayo!"
Sakura's face turned red with rage. She punched Naruto on the head with a swift fist.
"Are you an idiot?! Orange?! You want to hide her by dressing her like a giant carrot?! We're trying to be invisible, Naruto!"
"Ouch! Okay, okay! Dattebayo, you didn't have to hit so hard!" Naruto rubbed his head, pouting.
Sakura ignored him and quickly unfastened her own thick, cream-colored winter scarf. "Here, Hinata. Lean forward."
Sakura began wrapping the scarf around Hinata's face with intense speed. She wrapped it once, twice, three times—until Hinata's entire head looked like a massive, fluffy marshmallow. Only a tiny, horizontal gap was left for her to see through.
"U-um... Sakura-chan..." Hinata's voice came out muffled and tiny from deep within the wool. "I... I can't really breathe very well... and it's very itchy..."
"Just endure it for a second!" Sakura whispered, then pulled a oversized knitted cap out of her pack and shoved it down over Hinata's forehead. Now, Hinata looked less like a ninja and more like a very round, very confused snowman.
"Perfect!" Sakura whispered, a triumphant spark in her eye. 'I did it! She's totally hidden! Shannaro!'
"She looks like a giant onion," Naruto muttered, trying not to laugh.
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura hissed.
Suddenly, a group of three Samurai walked past their alleyway, their metal armor clanking in the cold. One of them stopped and looked toward the crates. Naruto froze, his hand moving toward his kunai pouch. Hinata held her breath, her heart drumming against her ribs.
The Samurai looked at the 'marshmallow' figure of Hinata. "What's that?"
"It's just... uh... my sister!" Naruto suddenly yelled, grabbing Hinata by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth. "She has a very, very bad cold! Her head is swollen from all the sneezing! Don't come close, it's super contagious! Dattebayo!"
The Samurai stepped back, disgusted. "Ugh, keep your germs away from the Gate. Move along!"
As the guards walked away, Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief, while Hinata nearly tripped over from Naruto's aggressive shaking.
"Naruto! Stop shaking her!" Sakura yelled in a whisper. "We need to move. If that 'Elite' is as good as they say, he'll see through this 'onion' disguise in a heartbeat."
"Right!" Naruto nodded, his face turning serious. "We gotta hurry up towards the exit. Let's go, dattebayo!"
The wind whistled through the narrow alley, biting at their skin. Sakura looked up at the towering, snow-covered stone buildings that lined the path.
"We need a better view point," Sakura whispered, her green eyes sharp. "If we stay on the ground, we're just waiting to be spotted by those Samurai. We should take the rooftops. From there, we can find the exit much faster."
Naruto punched his palm, a grin breaking across his face. "Good thinking, Sakura-chan! Let's head up, dattebayo!"
But Hinata hesitated, her fingers twisting the thick fabric of the cream-colored scarf that already muffled her voice. "B-but... Sakura-chan... if I go up there like this, I won't be able to see where I'm stepping. And if I take the scarf off... the guards will see my eyes. Everyone will suspect us."
Naruto turned to her, his expression softening into that classic, confident look. "Don't you worry about a thing, Hinata! Just stay calm and leave it to me!"
Before Hinata could even ask what he meant, Naruto moved. In one quick motion, he slipped his arms under her knees and back, lifting her up in a firm bridal carry.
"See? Problem solved, dattebayo!" Naruto laughed, adjusting his grip as if she weighed nothing at all.
Hinata's entire world seemed to stop. Naruto was holding her. Actually holding her. She could feel the warmth of his chest through his orange sweater, and his face was so close she could see the light in his blue eyes.
'N-Naruto-kun is... he's...'
A massive wave of heat rushed to her face, turning her skin a dark, vivid red that was visible even in the dim light of the alley. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a drum.
"N-Naruto-kun! P-please... put me down!" she squeaked, her voice trembling with pure panic.
"Hold on tight, Hinata! We're going up!"
Naruto ignored her plea, thinking he was just being a good teammate.
The tension was too much. The combination of the cold air, the high stakes, and Naruto's sudden closeness caused Hinata's brain to simply shut down. Her eyes rolled back, and poof—she went completely limp in his arms, her head falling back against his shoulder.
Naruto blinked, looking down at the fainted girl. "Uh... Hinata? Hey, Hinata! Wake up, dattebayo!" He shook her slightly, but she was out cold. "What happened? Did I drop her? I didn't drop her, right?!"
Sakura let out a long, tired sigh, hitting her palm against her forehead. "Honestly, Naruto... you're so dense. She probably just passed out from exhaustion. All that running must have finally caught up to her."
'Or maybe it's because you're an idiot who doesn't understand girls,' Sakura thought to herself with a frown.
"Exhausted? But we just started!" Naruto grumbled, but he didn't put her down. He shifted her weight, making sure she was secure. "Well, I guess I'll just have to carry her the whole way. Let's move, Sakura-chan!"
With a powerful jump, Sakura caught the edge of a wooden balcony and pulled herself up toward the roof. Naruto followed right behind her, balancing the unconscious Hinata with surprising care as they scrambled up the frozen stone.
They reached the top and crouched low in the thick, powdery snow. The view was incredible—the entire city of Tetsu no Kuni lay before them, a maze of black iron and white frost.
"There," Sakura whispered, pointing toward a distant street near the market. "Look! Someone is moving fast."
Naruto squinted, his eyes scanning the distance. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Wait... that green suit... that bowl cut... It's Gejimayu! He's running like a maniac, dattebayo!"
The wind howled across the grey rooftops, kicking up fine plumes of snow that stung Naruto's eyes. He adjusted his grip on the fainted, marshmallow-wrapped Hinata, her weight pulling at his shoulders as he crouched low beside Sakura.
Down below, a flash of green moved through the shadows of an alleyway.
"Look at him," Naruto grumbled, his voice trembling with a sharp, bitter edge. "Just look at him, Sakura-chan. That's Gejimayu down there, isn't it? Walking around like he hasn't got a care in the world, dattebayo!"
Sakura looked through the haze of falling snow. "Naruto, keep your voice down! We don't know what he's doing. He might be trying to find us."
"Find us? Yeah, right!" Naruto let out a hollow, mocking huff of air. 'They're all the same,' he thought, his chest tightening with the memory of Sasuke's disappearing shadow and Neji's cold back in the market. 'Sasuke, Neji... and now Gejimayu. They just run off and leave the rest of us to figure it out.'
He looked down at Hinata's pale, peaceful face peeking out from the scarf. His grip tightened instinctively. "He's probably just having a nice, leisurely jog while we're up here freezing and trying not to get caught by some 'Elite' ninja. It's just like the others. No plan, no teamwork... just looking out for number one, dattebayo!"
"Naruto, stop it," Sakura whispered, her voice firm but filled with her own exhaustion. She reached out, placing a hand on his orange sweater's sleeve to calm him. "Lee-san isn't like that. Don't do anything reckless. We need to stay hidden and think."
Naruto's jaw tightened. The 'reckless' comment poked at the raw wound in his heart. 'I'm the only one being a real teammate here,' he thought bitterly. 'I'm the one who didn't run away. I'm the one holding this group together while they all scatter like leaves.'
"I'm not being reckless, Sakura-chan! I'm being the only one who cares about the team!" He started to shift, his boots sliding slightly on the icy stuck. He ignored the dizzying drop to the street below. "While he's down there playing hero or whatever, we're stuck! I'm gonna go down there and tell him exactly what I think of people who leave their comrades behind, dattebayo!"
"Naruto! Stay put!" Sakura gasped, grabbing his collar.
But Naruto wasn't in the mood to listen. The hot, stinging anger from the market was bubbling up again. He felt like a fool for ever thinking they were a solid team. He looked at Lee's distant figure, and for a second, he didn't see a friend—he saw another person who had turned their back when things got real.
"Shame on him," Naruto muttered, his voice dropping into that low, lonely whisper. "Shame on all of them."
He began to edge toward the lip of the roof, the fainted Hinata shifting dangerously in his arms.
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📊 BATTLE REPORT: 70-IRON 📊
LOSER: Hyuga Hinata 🤍☯️
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"I... I wasn't... I was just..."
"WE'RE GONNA FA—"
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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