"NO, WAIT!"
Ino waved her hand from denial of Tenten's plan.
"Not bandages," she corrected herself, looking at the rough terrain. "If we wrap their eyes completely, they'll actually be blind out here, and we can't afford you both tripping over rocks and falling off a cliff."
She pointed toward the distant, hazy gates. "The samurai are still far away. We can just tell them that your both eyes are cloudy because of a disease or an injury.... "
"As long as you keep your eyelids lowered—just squinting enough to see the ground in front of you—they won't be able to see the details of the Byakugan from a distance."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Oh! I get it! Like you're barely hanging on! You just look down at the snow and act like you can barely see where you're going. Since their eyes are already naturally pale, the samurai will just think they're damaged or milky from being sick."
Sakura leaned back against the rock, his sharp green eyes scanning the two Hyuga. "It could work. If you keep your heads down and let the rest of us do the talking, they won't get a close enough look to notice the specific patterns of your bloodline."
"To a samurai who has never seen a Hyuga up close, 'milky white eyes' just looks like a tragedy, not a Konoha ninja."
Neji tried it out, narrowing his eyes until they were just thin slits, looking down at the white powder at his feet. From a few feet away, it was almost impossible to tell he had the Byakugan; he just looked like a weary, injured traveler.
"It's better than nothing," Neji muttered, his voice muffled by the wind. "We can walk without help this way, and we only have to play the part once we get within their line of sight."
Karin let out a sigh of relief, though her heart was still thumping against her ribs. "Okay, so we're a bunch of orphans, and two of us are half-blind. This story is getting sadder by the minute. If those samurai have a heart at all, they'll have to let us in."
The group began their slow descent toward the massive stone arch, their boots crunching rhythmically in the deep, crusty snow. Neji and Hinata both lowered their eyelids, squinting just enough to see the heels of the person in front of them while maintaining that 'cloudy, sightless' look.
As they trudged along, Hinata stumbled slightly on a hidden rock. She quickly regained her balance, but a worried look crossed her face.
"Um, if Neji Ni-san and I are supposed to be blind," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly from the cold, "shouldn't... shouldn't someone be holding our hands? It might look a bit suspicious if we're 'blind' but still walking perfectly straight through a mountain pass."
Sakura glanced back and realized Hinata was right. Acting blind meant acting helpless. She stepped out of line and moved to Hinata's side, gently taking her arm and tucking it under her own.
"Don't worry, Hinata," Sakura said with a playful glint in her eyes despite the freezing wind. "Just follow my lead. If I walk into a tree, you walk into a tree. We're in this together!"
Hinata blinked, then let out a soft, genuine giggle that puffed into a little cloud of steam. "I hope we don't walk into any trees, Sakura-chan."
"Hey, if we do, we'll just tell the samurai the trees jumped out at us," Sakura joked, leaning into Hinata to share some warmth.
Both girls started laughing, their lighthearted voices echoing softly against the jagged rocks, momentarily breaking the heavy, serious mood of the mission.
Sasuke, walking a few paces ahead, didn't turn around, but he let out a tiny, barely audible "Hn."
Even he seemed a bit less tense hearing them laugh, though he was probably still busy calculating the exact distance to the first samurai guard.
Naruto was trudging through the snow, his face turning blue from the cold, while Mini-Sasuke sat perched on his back like a little king.
The boy adjusted his grip on Naruto's collar and leaned his forehead against Naruto's shoulder, his breath coming in short, shaky puffs from the fever. Even though he felt weak, his pride was still very much alive.
"Stop shaking," Mini-Sasuke whispered, his voice small but sharp. "If you drop me, I'm taking you down with me."
Naruto's head snapped back, his blue eyes wide with annoyance. "Listen, you little brat! Be grateful! Everyone else is half-dead from exhaustion. I'm the only one with enough energy to carry your heavy head through this blizzard! If it wasn't for me, you'd be walking through this snow all by yourself!"
Mini-Sasuke didn't have the energy for a long comeback, so he just narrowed his eyes. With a sudden movement, he brought his small hand down and thwacked Naruto right on the back of his head.
"Ow! Hey!" Naruto yelped, nearly slipping on a patch of ice.
"Too loud," Mini-Sasuke muttered, closing his eyes again. "Less talking, more walking... Usurantokachi."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Agsin Usurantokachi?! I'm a future Hokage, not an idiot!"
Karin watched them, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the guilt in her heart. Even sick, Mini Sasuke had a way of getting under Naruto's skin that was exactly like the Sasuke.
Watching Naruto carry Mini-Sasuke gave Lee a 'brilliant' idea. His eyes began to sparkle with a fiery passion that usually meant trouble for everyone else's sanity. He skipped over to Neji, clasping his hands together in a dramatic prayer.
"Neji! Please!" Lee begged, his voice booming with excitement.
"Look at the teamwork between Naruto-kun and Mini Sasuke-kun! It is a beautiful display of youthful friendship! Please, just once, allow me to carry you on my back in a piggyback ride of youth!"
Neji, who was already struggling to walk with his eyes half-closed for the 'blind' act, stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head toward Lee, his expression looking like he had just swallowed a lemon.
"Absolutely not," Neji said, his voice flat and colder than the blizzard. "Your delusions are not my burden, Lee. I am supposed to be a 'blind orphan,' not a circus performer."
"But Neji!" Lee cried, tears of youth streaming down his face.
"It would be so much more convincing! A blind boy being carried by his devoted brother! It will touch the hearts of the samurai!"
Sasuke walked past them, not even slowing down. "If you do that, Neji, I'm telling the samurai I don't know either of you," he remarked savagely without looking back.
Neji's eyebrow twitched with pure irritation. "Lee, if you touch me, I will use the Eight Trigrams to shut down every single one of your chakra points before we reach that gate. Does that answer your question?"
Lee slumped his shoulders, looking completely defeated. "So... is that a 'maybe' for later?"
"It's a 'never' for eternity," Neji snapped, turning back to follow Sakura and Hinata.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed behind Neji. Before the Hyuga genius could react, a pair of strong arms reached out.
Sasuke—the older, brooding version—stepped in from behind. With a smooth, almost arrogant motion, he grabbed Neji's arm, draped it firmly over his own shoulder, and gripped Neji's back to hoist him upward.
Neji froze, his pale eyes widening in genuine shock as he found himself suddenly being propped up by the very person he had been arguing with. He looked at Sasuke's side-profile, stunned by the sudden 'help.'
"Fine," Neji muttered, recovering his composure with a heavy layer of sarcasm. "If you insist on carrying me, I suppose I can endure it."
Sasuke didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead, his expression as cold and flawless as a diamond. He let out a soft, mocking "Hn" that sounded like a strike of a whip.
"Don't flatter yourself, Neji," Sasuke remarked, his voice smooth and dripping with a diva's effortless sting.
"I'm only holding you up so you don't trip over your own ego and blow our cover. If it were up to me, I'd leave you facedown in a snowbank where your self-importance can keep you warm."
Neji's jaw tightened, a vein nearly throbbing at his temple. He was a genius, a prodigy of the most prestigious clan in Konoha, and here he was being treated like a clumsy accessory. He let out a breath that hissed through his teeth, his eyes remaining narrowed in that 'blind' squint.
"Your 'generosity' is noted, Sasuke," Neji replied, his voice laced with a thin, icy layer of sarcasm.
"I suppose I should be grateful...you've found a use for those arms besides crossing them and looking moody."
"Now shut up and act helpless. It's the only thing you're actually doing right now."
Ino, watching from a few steps back, suppressed a shudder. 'Even in the middle of a frozen wasteland, surrounded by iron-clad killers, these two are still competing for who can be the most insufferable. It's almost impressive.'
The Great Arch loomed over them like the mouth of a stone giant, casting a long, oppressive shadow across the crimson-stained snow.
Just as the group crossed the threshold, the silence of the blizzard was shattered by the sharp clank of metal.
From the swirling white mist, seven samurai emerged, their heavy iron armor interlocking as they formed a semi-circle around the group.
They didn't draw their blades yet, but their hands rested firmly on the hilts of their katanas, their breath escaping their helmets in rhythmic, intimidating puffs of steam.
Sasuke stood his ground, still playing the role of the 'burdened older brother' with Neji draped over his shoulder, but his black eyes weren't looking at the seven men in front of him.
Sasuke thought 'Amateurs. You think seven men is enough to contain us? I can see the ripples in the snow... three more hiding in the pines to the left.'
He felt a cold thrill of superiority. He had spotted the three hidden guards the moment their chakra signatures flickered behind the frost-covered trunks.
To anyone else, it looked like they were just surrounded by a small patrol, but Sasuke knew exactly where every single blade was positioned.
One of the samurai in the center stepped forward, his voice muffled by his iron mask.
"...HALT!... "
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✍️ AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Author's Note- Seven Shadows, Nine Killers 🛡️❄️
This chapter masterfully blends the humor of the group's 'piggyback' dynamics with the cold reality of their infiltration. Watching Sasuke and Neji trade biting insults while physically supporting each other highlights their competitive bond—even when forced to cooperate, their pride remains as sharp as ever. 🏔️🤝
The shift from bandages to the "cloudy eye" act raises the stakes. Neji and Hinata must now play a dangerous game of vulnerability, using their most powerful trait as their greatest weakness.
As they reach the Great Arch, Sasuke's silent count of the nine hidden samurai reminds us that beneath the 'orphan' act, he is still a lethal predator analyzing the field. The stage is set: the performance must be perfect, or the mission ends here. 🏯⚔️
🗣️ TALK TO ME!
This chapter was such a wild ride—I went from laughing at the 'piggyback ride of youth' to feeling the chill of those iron masks at the gate. Let's break it down: 👇
The Sasuke-Neji 'Teamwork'! 🤝 Watching Sasuke hoist Neji up just to tell him "don't trip over your own ego" was pure gold. Ino was right—they are both absolutely insufferable, but in the best way possible. Do you think Neji will actually stay 'helpless' on Sasuke's back, or will his pride make him jump down the second a samurai says something insulting? 🏔️💢
Naruto the Pack-Usurantokachi! 🎒 Poor Naruto is freezing blue while carrying a 'Mini-King' who is hitting him on the head. The dynamic between him and the sick Mini-Sasuke is so nostalgic yet fresh. Do you think Mini-Sasuke is hitting him because he's annoyed, or is he secretly just trying to keep Naruto awake and focused in the blizzard? 🍎👊
The Seven vs. Nine! 🏯 The cliffhanger with the samurai is intense. Sasuke's internal monologue calling them "amateurs" shows his confidence, but they are still deep in enemy territory. Since the samurai just shouted "HALT!", do you think Sasuke will do the talking, or will he let one of the 'girls' play the lead to make the orphan story more believable? 🗣️🛡️
📜 TEASER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
The iron masks draw close and cold, 🛡️
To test the tragic tale they've told. 🎭
One slip of tongue, one upward glance, ⚪
Could end their desperate, deadly dance. ❄️
The shadow-ninjas, small and weak, 🎒
Must hide the power that they seek. 🌑
But as the steel begins to rise, ⚔️
Can they survive the Samurai's eyes? 🏯
SNEAK PEAK LINES 💬
" We aren't looking for a fight."
'Wait... he counted us that fast?
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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