But as she looked back at Sasuke's rigid face, her thoughts shifted. She watched the way his jaw was set, the way he refused to look back.
'He must be hurting too.' She told herself.
'Deep down, he would have never wanted it to turn out like this. He's just doing what he thinks is right for everyone. He's broken, too.'
She took a small, hesitant step toward him, her lips parting to offer a word of comfort, a small sign that she didn't blame him. But before she could speak, Sasuke abruptly moved away. He didn't even notice her reach out.
He walked towards Neji and Tenten, his voice sharp. "Have you located Ino and Karin yet?"
Neji shook his head. "No. There is no trace of them."
Tenten let out an irritated huff, crossing her arms. "They probably just went to Naruto and the others. After all, Ino is Sakura's best friend. If Sakura chose to stay with the Naruto, then of course Ino would follow her."
Neji shot Tenten a sharp, warning glare, gesturing for her to be quiet. Tenten jumped, realizing too late that her words had hit a nerve regarding the split in the team. She tried to stammer out a cover-up, "I mean... I just meant they're close, so—"
"I don't care." Sasuke interrupted, his voice cold and final. "It doesn't matter if there is anyone standing with me or not. I'm moving forward regardless."
He looked at the towering gate once more. "We've wasted enough time looking for them. If they want to stay behind, that is their choice. We're exiting the village now."
Sasuke began to walk, his cloak blowing in the wind. Hinata quickly hurried to keep pace beside him, while Neji and Tenten followed silently behind.
"Sasuke-kun...?" Hinata asked, her voice so soft it was almost swallowed by the gale. "Are you... are you sure we should leave like this?"
Sasuke stopped, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "What? I can't hear you."
Hinata flinched, her shoulders bending. The coldness in his tone terrified her. "N-nothing!" she lied quickly, looking down at the snow. "I just... I just meant that the weather is turning very cold."
Sasuke stared at her for a second, then looked back at the gray sky. "Yeah," he said shortly. "It is."
Without another word, the team stepped towards of the Exit Gate, leaving the shadows of the Tetsu no Kuni behind them.
The grand pavilion, once a place of safety, now crawled with the heavy, rhythmic clanking of armor. Inside the room where the group had spent their final, tense hours, the air was stale and smelled of candles.
A wooden cabinet stood swung open, its contents messed up. Piles of thrown out woolens, refreshments and coins were scattered across the floor. Amidst the mess lay a black T-shirt, sized for a young teenager.
It hadn't been folded; it was messy on the floor like a piece of waste. On the back, the
bright red-and-white fan of the Uchiha crest shown up—a symbol of a clan that was supposed to be a memory. On a nearby shelf, a few discarded bandages and two pairs of black sunglasses lay abandoned.
Two Samurai stood by the window, their hands resting on the handles of their katanas.
"Strange," one whispered, kicking a random boot. "The staff usually watches us quickly. Why didn't the manager report these intruders sooner?"
The second Samurai leaned in, his voice dropping. "I heard a rumor from the guard downstairs. The manager was found confused in the basement room. They say he was under a Genjutsu the whole time. That's why the report was delayed."
A third Samurai was busy secretly sliding a few gold coins into his glove, his eyes glowing with greed. "Rich brats, weren't they? Who cares about the Genjutsu? I want to know what happens to all this leftover gold."
"Quiet."
The word was a low, chilling command. The Samurai instantly stiffened, the sound of the coins clinking together suddenly feeling like a death sentence.
The young man standing by the closet was the same 'Elite' the village of Tetsu no Kuni had been buzzing about since his arrival.
Though he looked no older than fifteen, he carried the stillness of an experienced ninja.
This was Hatake Kakashi, a prodigy of Konohagakure whose reputation for cold-blooded efficiency preceded him even in these frozen lands. Sent personally by the Hokage to handle the recent disturbances, he was a shadow of Konoha's true power, a 'Friend-Killer' whose calm looks masked a terrifying deadliness.
He turned slowly to face them. His navy-blue cloth mask covered his face up to the bridge of his nose but unlike his official appearance earlier' he was not wearing his ANBU mask.
His spiky white hair swept over his forehead, leaving both of his eyes exposed. His right eye was a calm, dark grey, while his left eye— marked by a rough vertical scar—held the glowing red Sharingan.
He turned slowly to face them. "Based on the crest on this shirt." he said, his voice flat."It is confirmed. These children were not from Kirigakure."
One of the Samurai let out a rough, mocking laugh. "Konoha, then? Typical. Those
bastards think they can go wherever they want without paying the toll. They're probably crying for their mothers by now."
The young ANBU—Kakashi—didn't say a word. He simply turned his gaze towards the man. The laughter died instantly, replaced by a cold sweat that ran down the Samurai's spine.
"Can we get serious now?" Kakashi asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
The Samurai cleared his throat nervously, looking away. "Yes... of course."
Kakashi reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a piece of metal. It was a forehead protector, the metal plate scratched and dulled by the cold, but the carved Konoha symbol was unmistakable.
"There was more than just the shirt to confirm their origin." he murmured, turning the protector over in his gloved hand. He looked back at the guards. "Describe them again. All ten."
"We don't remember every face." the lead Samurai stammered. "But there was one... a boy. Blonde hair, with strange whiskers on his cheeks."
Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly behind the mask. 'Whiskers?' he wondered. 'Is it even possible for someone to look like that? It sounds too unreal.'
"Go on," Kakashi commanded.
"One girl had hair as pink as a cherry blossom." the second Samurai added. "And another with hair as red as blood. Both were kunoichi."
Kakashi listened closely, his mind filing away the descriptions like list.
"And two of them had those pale eyes," the greedy Samurai spoke up, forgetting his coins for a moment. "The Byakugan. A boy and a girl."
Kakashi nodded slowly. He looked down at the forehead protector again, his thumb tracing the Leaf symbol. 'Blonde, pink, and red...'
"What an unrealistic color palette for a group of runaways," Kakashi muttered to himself, a dry, hollow sound escaping his mask—not quite a laugh, but a mocking breath. "I certainly won't forget that combo."
He tucked the forehead protector away and covered his face by the ANBU mask. The investigation was over; the hunt was beginning.
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A MESSAGE TO THE READERS !!📢
Author's Note:
Hey everyone!!
First of all… 135 chapters. We actually made it this far 😭✨Thank you so much for sticking with Naruto: A Change in Timeline. Seriously, your support means everything.
Now, quick update!
I'll be taking a short break from the fanfic for the month of April (don't worry, it's not disappearing 😤). Volume 3 will start in May, and I promise I'll come back with full energy!
BUTTTT 👀
During this break, I'm finally going to start publishing something I've been working on behind the scenes for a while now…
The Divine Whorl.
Some of you might remember an old story I posted before — The Whorl Within the Cloud 👀 yeah… that one.
So here's the thing… this is NOT just that story continued.It's more like I took the core idea, tore it apart, rebuilt it, gave it actual depth, better pacing, and a much clearer direction.
Basically… the version it was always supposed to be.
I've grown a lot as a writer since then (you can probably tell just from the recent chapters), and I really wanted to do justice to this concept.
So yeah… new story, new energy, slightly more pain for the characters 😌✨
I really hope you guys will give The Divine Whorl a chance and join me on this new journey too!
And don't worry — we'll be back to Konoha chaos in May 🔥
As always, thank you for reading, for commenting, and for just being here. You guys are the reason I keep writing.
Now tell me…
Are you ready for something a little darker? 👀
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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