Chapter 18 Part 2
"You'll stay here — watch the woman and the kids. We're going ahead." Sasuko said it to me and Sakurai.
"Sasuko-chan — I can help too!" The boy protested.
"Someone's gotta guard them." Uchiha dismissed it. "You know he's no fighter."
"Hmph... They really don't think much of me." I muttered under my breath. Almost genuinely hurt. Good grief...
"We'll make it quick!" Naruko grinned, carefree. "Deal with those bastards — be right back! Just wait a little!"
"Come on — I'll show you the way." And Shibuki led them off.
"Be careful," I said after them. Then — quiet — hand covering my mouth: "Horo, Hora. Keep an eye on them."
"Haaaaai! / On it-suu!" The spirits answered together — and followed the girls.
"What d'you think, Kaoru-san — is it gonna be okay?" Sakurai asked, a while later.
"I know it will." I answered, finishing the woman's bandages with a light heart. She got lucky: the blade stuck in soft tissue — didn't go deep. Damaged almost nothing. A little medicine, a little medical chakra — and she's already fine. "Sasuko and Naruko are strong. They won't lose — not to second-rate enemies like these. And if something unexpected happens? We'll bail them out. Right?"
I was confident: Hora and Horo would watch over the girls — and let me know if anything went wrong.
"Mh... Heh — maybe you're right." Sakurai relaxed a bit, smiling.
"Shibuki-sama'll figure something out! Definitely!" The girl added — tears in her eyes, but absolutely convinced. "She's our Village's hero! Right?!"
"Yeah — of course she'll think of something." Haruno agreed, stroking her head. Still — I'm sure he didn't believe it deep down. Neither did I: unfortunately, Shibuki didn't look heroic even in the rosiest scenarios. But only a real jerk would crush a kid's hope like that.
"Geh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heee! There you are!" Suddenly — breathing became dangerous. A strong hand grabbed my wrist — twisted it. Cold kunai against my throat.
"Kaoru-san!" Sakurai leapt up — weapon drawn — but didn't dare attack.
"Stay put — unless you want your pal to get a new breathing hole." Someone growled in my left ear. Cold metal pressed harder.
"Gh — you bastard! Let him go!" Haruno shouted.
"Keh. Low-rank garbage like you should keep quiet. Weaklings should know their place. Now — drop the weapon. Be a good boy. Maybe — just maybe — no one gets hurt."
Heart slamming in my chest. Mortal danger. D-dammit! I got careless! Forgot to set a barrier — didn't even put up a perimeter alarm. This is my own damn fault!
"Lesson learned," I thought, furious at myself. Still — not hopeless.
"Mmaa... Maybe you could let me go, shinobi-san? I'm kinda uncomfortable." Plaintive voice. Trying to squint at my captor. Awkward swallow. Ooh — sharp!
"Shut up!" Ah-ta-ta! The twisted arm got yanked up — a whole bouquet of pain. Still — objective achieved: spiritual force flowing down the arm. Concentrating in the palm.
"Now — that's just rude. Ow-ow-ow!.." Just a little more! Build up enough power—! "But th-thank you! Oww!!"
"What?!" Heh — ready!
"Byakurai."
The enemy jerked — convulsing — a blast to the solar plexus. He'd locked my arm — couldn't see the glow. Let me charge in peace. Shoved the twitching body back — fell onto my hands — gasping. Ugh... risky. He still cut my neck. Not deep — not in a dangerous spot. Lucky. Double lucky: the bastard's blade wasn't poisoned.
"Kaoru-san — you okay?!" Sakurai rushed over.
"Well... Could've been a little worse." I muttered, smearing blood on my hand. Dangerous! Dangerous-dangerous-dangerous! Ugh... I'm no shinobi. But that excuse sounds pretty weak.
"Ghaahh! You little shit!" Rasped the lightning-fried shinobi we'd somehow forgotten. Sakurai instantly shielded me — kunai ready. "Now you die—!.. GHA?!"
He tried to leap for the trees — twitched — hopped — staggered backward — fell flat.
"Oh? — did you hurt yourself, shinobi-san?" Every drop of fear and rage condensed into the sweetest, most poisonous voice I could manage. His shocked, bulging eyes — balm for the soul. "Something wrong?"
"You... little bastard — what did you DO?!" He wobbled upright, trying to sound threatening. Hah — adorable.
"Counter-question: what's left of a shinobi when you take away their chakra?" I closed in — dodged a wild swing — and punched him in the chest. Byakurai-charged fist.
"Gghhaaa!" — pain, white sparks.
"Answer: just a regular—" Chakra-reinforced blow straight to the face. "—HUMAN!"
His shock — I get it. Couldn't reinforce his body. Chakra'd left him. Dazed. Stunned. That's why my hits landed so easily — he was reeling. One more — crushed him. He hit the ground.
"You shinobi keep forgetting — with all these powers..." I stood over him. He didn't even try to get up. "You're still mortals. Walking the earth."
Turns out — Byakurai works great on shinobi too. Still no physical damage — just like with regular people. But on top of the shock and pain — it can destabilize the Core. The chakra source. Physically safe. The effect's short-lived. You can resist it — if you focus chakra at the impact point, it basically scatters. But if you're not ready? Your chakra goes haywire. Total loss of control. Naruko proved it can be fought — she adapted fast, barely even notices the shock now. Still — doesn't make this little trick any less effective. Just gotta hit when no one's expecting it.
"And now — thoroughly DISrespected Rain shinobi-san." I smiled, looming. His hitai-ate — four vertical lines — made his affiliation perfectly clear. Why am I smiling? Oh — just anticipation. "Care to share anything interesting?"
Sasuko lifted her head from the water and scanned carefully: no one. Through the cave — swimming through the grotto — they'd reached a GIGANTIC tree. Its crown hid an enormous cavern. On the shore of this cliff-bound lake, tucked under the titanic Tree — the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. Shibuki wasn't lying about it being small. She actually made it sound bigger: Sasuko counted barely two dozen buildings. No wonder she was so paranoid about the location — a squad of halfway-decent shinobi could take this place. As a vivid example — that was exactly what was happening right now.
Sasuko grimaced internally. How does a Village this weak even exist? It felt like a joke. A disgusting one.
"Whoa! Gorgeous!" Uzumaki surfaced, loud-whispering — looking around. Carefree as always.
"Too quiet." Uchiha scowled. Every instinct screamed trap. Sure — these enemies were low-grade trash. But you still shouldn't underestimate them. A direct attack failed? Obviously they'll try an ambush. Suddenly — danger screamed through her senses. "There!"
"Hey — what're you doing?!" Naruko shouted as Uchiha launched herself onto the shore.
"I'll handle them! You hide Shibuki and protect her!"
"Oh COME ON — you're hogging everything again!.. Huh?! Where—?! Hey — Shibuki? SHIBUKI?!"
"Tch... Find that—!.." Uchiha snarled. "NOW!!!"
"I KNOW! Don't order me around!!!" Naruko snapped — and dove.
Sasuko leapt back — dodged one shinobi — launched herself into the air to avoid a flank attack.
Katon seal. Deep breath. A wide stream of flame surged toward the shinobi who'd stumbled too close. They screamed — swallowed by fire. A moment later — a third scream joined them: a comrade rushing to help.
"Weaklings." Uchiha's thoughts dripped contempt. Three with one attack — her opinion of the enemy dropped even further. Just a pack of weaklings. Stung a little — at this rate, she'd never grow stronger. No benefit in fighting trash.
"You're a quick little thing!" Sasuko heard — and two water ropes coiled around her shoulders and chest.
"Did you forget about ME?! Advantage's MINE now, huh?!" The kunoichi from before — sneering — yanked the rope tighter.
Sasuko choked back a scream. They looked thin and flexible — but they squeezed like steel cables.
"Didn't— notice her?! HOW?!" Her mind reeled. "They hid from me! These two... they're actually strong!"
"Well, well — what should we do with you?"
"Let's crush her!"
Both enemies pulled — opposite directions. Sasuko couldn't move.
"B-bastards!" Uchiha rasped, fighting the pressure with everything she had. For a second — it felt like her ribs were creaking.
And then — the grip just... gave.
"WHAT THE—?!" One of them yelled — his "rope" snapping in the middle.
Sasuko wasn't wasting this. She rode the momentum — let the kunoichi pull her in — and drove her knee straight into her nose.
"Gshahh!" The woman howled — blood spraying from the break.
No pause. Sasuko bolted.
"STOP!" The shinobi lunged — but a woman in plain clothes intercepted him.
"Leave it."
"But, Suie-sama!"
"Doesn't matter." Suie jerked her chin. "She's just a genin. Long as we've got the villagers hostage — they won't do anything."
"Keh — that so?" A knowing smirk spread across the shinobi's face.
"Gahh! Where?! Where's that BITCH?! I'll KILL her!" The kunoichi raged.
"Enough. You got yourself exposed — your own fault." The man grimaced.
"If you'd held the rope, you one-armed BASTARD!"
"I WAS holding it!!!"
"Shut UP!" Suie snapped. "Round up the villagers in the center. When our people get here with the brats and the other Leaf — put them there too. Let's see how brave they are with their friends' lives in our hands."
"But that little—"
"Obviously. Soon as we get the Hero's Water." Suie tilted her head — dangerous. "We don't need witnesses."
"Oh, dear — such troublesome people~~" Hora sighed sadly. He'd been the one to subtly "bite through" that water rope. "Master-sama didn't send us after them for nothing. So much trouble~"
A flick of the tail — and the carp spirit went after his charge. Honestly — these clumsy mortals need constant babysitting...