Chapter 117: Blade in the Snow
A snowy night. Wind that cut to the bone. Snow falling without end.
Sakura's group had taken shelter in a mountain cave. No fire. Even in a blizzard they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
The wind howled at the entrance. Sakura was curled up near the mouth of the cave, keeping watch — even for her, conditions this bad during a mission were rare.
The cave was pitch black, but all four of them had enough sensory ability that the darkness didn't blind them. Even Kiba, who was usually incapable of sitting still, was quiet now, making the most of the rest.
Time passed.
The dark-haired boy slowly rose and came to Sakura's side, tapping her shoulder lightly.
Your turn to rest.
The girl uncurled without a word and moved to take his place — and then a faint sound cut through the wind.
A soft crunch.
Even muffled by the blizzard, it hit Sakura like a thunderclap.
That wasn't wind. That was snow compacting underfoot. They'd heard enough of it over the past two days to know it instantly.
Sasuke heard it too. His expression changed.
Both of them moved silently back into the cave.
Kiba and Shino were already awake when they got there, eyes open, ready.
Sakura made a sharp gesture. Silence. The four of them found cover and went still.
The footsteps grew closer. Clearer.
Three, four figures in heavy cloaks stepped into the cave entrance.
"What miserable weather. Who pulls patrol duty at this hour."
"Don't remind me. There's junk all over in here — build a fire first, warm up a bit."
A lighter clicked. Flame caught on dry branches, and the darkness broke open. Warmth began to push back the cold at the edges of the cave.
Sakura risked one eye past her cover.
Three people. White and grey ninja gear, Kumogakure headbands, snow cloaks.
A patrol team. Out working in weather like this. Dedicated of them.
She looked back at the other three, all eyes already on her, and gave a slow shake of her head.
No engagement.
A few patrol ninja — they weren't a threat. But if this team went missing, someone would come looking. And in wartime, a lost patrol meant exactly one thing to the people doing the searching.
Best case was they warmed up and left without poking around.
That hope died quickly. One of them had barely sat down before he got up and started wandering deeper into the cave.
Sasuke's hand moved to his sword grip. Slow. Quiet.
If he finds us, I take the first one.
The footsteps drew closer. Sasuke's eyes went cold.
"Hey, what's so interesting back there? Get over here and warm up."
"I'm checking if there are any mushrooms or something back here. Free food."
The man scratched his head and started back toward his companions —
— and a small sound came from somewhere in the dark.
Every head turned.
It was Akamaru, sitting on Kiba's lap.
"A dog?"
"There's a dog in here?"
The man blinked. Then smiled, in the particular way of someone calculating how many meals a medium-sized animal might provide.
"A dog? Is it a Husky?"
His companions were suddenly interested.
Dogs weren't unusual in snowbound country — on the contrary, they were essential. Sled dogs had been working this kind of terrain for generations: Huskies, Samoyeds, Alaskans, the classic three of the snow.
At the mention of Husky, Akamaru seized on the idea. He flopped his tongue out and pulled his best impression of a dopey, vacant-eyed sled dog.
Please work. Please work.
"Ah... not quite..."
The Kumo ninja's expression shifted.
Sakura closed her eyes briefly.
Of course.
Sasuke's eyes went flat. His blade came out.
Shing.
One clean draw — the steel caught the firelight and threw it in every direction, colder than the wind outside. The strike came out of the shadow like a predator that had been waiting the whole time.
"Tamai!"
His companion's shout. The Kumo ninja dropped.
"Konoha brats —!"
They didn't have time to finish the sentence. Kiba and Shino were already moving.
"Fang over Fang!"
"Insect Sphere!"
A black swarm flooded the cave. A spinning human drill of wind and chakra tore through it alongside. The two remaining Kumo chūnin were down before they could mount any resistance.
Sakura wasn't surprised. Kiba and Shino were heirs to the Inuzuka and Aburame clans — the secret arts they carried were beyond what ordinary ninja spent a lifetime learning. Three chūnin had never been the problem.
But her expression didn't ease.
Even Sasuke, who rarely let anything show, had gone visibly dark.
He was staring at Akamaru in Kiba's arms. Something in his eyes made the dog begin to tremble.
"A-Akamaru didn't mean to..."
Kiba knew Akamaru had messed up. But he'd been attached to that dog since they were both small, and he couldn't stop himself from trying to say something.
"Do you understand what follows from three dead patrol members?"
Sasuke looked at Kiba. The darkness in his eyes was something close to fury.
"But—"
Kiba's mouth shut. He knew he had no ground to stand on.
Shino watched everything in silence. Words weren't his strength at the best of times.
"Enough."
Sakura stepped between them.
"At that distance, we were likely to be found regardless. Assigning blame right now is the least useful thing we can do."
She looked at Sasuke, held his gaze until he stepped back, then turned to Kiba and softened her tone — slightly.
"We need to move faster. This patrol is dead. Kumogakure will notice something's wrong before long."
"We get to the target as fast as possible."
"Internal conflict is not an option. Whatever grievances you have, you bring them back to the village. Not here."
Shino, collar drawn up, let the tension in his shoulders release just a little.
(Chapter End)
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