Hinata Haruki lay sprawled on the cold, damp ground, not far from an underground river. His body was caked in mud and dust, and his flak jacket was shredded beyond recognition. His clothes were soaked through, torn in several places, leaving him in an utterly disheveled state.
Around him, darkness pressed in—pitch black and suffocating. He couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. The only sounds were the occasional drip of water or the dull splash of the underground current striking stone.
He had no idea how long he'd been there—maybe a day, maybe two—when his body twitched slightly. A few groans escaped his lips as he slowly regained consciousness.
"Ugh…? Where… am I? Ah! It hurts… my leg! Aah—huff… huff…!" Haruki felt as if his body was about to fall apart, the pain in his internal organs twisting like a wrung cloth. Gritting his teeth, he tried to push himself up with both hands, only to be stabbed by a piercing pain in his leg. He collapsed back down, gasping heavily.
A quick self-check of his injuries brought the memories rushing back.
I… fell into some kind of huge hole… there was an underground river… was I swept here? Just my luck. Looks like I broke my leg when I fell. Great—on top of everything else, my injuries are even worse now.
It's so dark… is it my eyes, or is there really no light in this cave?
Haruki pulled out a small medical flashlight from his pouch. The faint beam gave him a blurry view of his surroundings:
He had fallen into a deep cavern—how deep, he couldn't say. He'd been swept a long way by the underground river before washing up here. His leg was broken, his body scraped and bruised, his clothes torn and drenched. Part of his flak jacket was missing. Thankfully, his scrolls and ninja tools were still with him.
He lay on a patch of damp soil beside the underground river. Above were jagged stalactites, while stone pillars and rough cave walls surrounded him.
Dragging himself forward a few meters, he found a slightly drier patch of ground, where he splinted his leg with bandages and a makeshift brace before applying some healing salve.
At least my head's not hurting much anymore—brain's probably still intact. But my internal injuries are bad, my eyes are nearly useless, I'm covered in bruises, and my leg's broken. Alone in a pitch-black cave, not knowing how long I've been out… this is a nightmare. Kami, if you're planning to send me to my next life, there's no need to rush it!
His lips were parched. If I'm this thirsty, I must have been unconscious at least five hours. Will they come for me? Has Sister Mizuki been rescued?
He took a sip from his canteen, then gathered what clean water he could. Strapping the flashlight to his forehead protector, he began crawling toward higher ground, hoping to find an exit.
"Haruki! Haruki! Hinata Haruki!"
Voices echoed through the forest.
The temporary search team had been looking for a full day and night, but still no sign of Haruki. Hundreds of shinobi had already returned to camp to rest, but Tsunade and her group refused to stop searching. Standing atop a rock, her eyes—tinged with exhaustion and worry—swept over the vast forest below, where calls for Haruki occasionally rose.
A shinobi appeared, kneeling before her. "Tsunade-sama!"
Her gaze sharpened. "Any word from Sunagakure?"
"Tsunade-sama, there's no report of Hinata Haruki being captured or of the Byakugan falling into Suna's hands. However, that Suna jōnin escaped back to their fortress. Our pursuit unit failed to intercept him."
"What? Then check every shinobi who entered their fortress yesterday and today—whether they were prisoners or their own people. Especially children!" Tsunade ordered sharply.
"Yes!" The shinobi sped off. It would be no easy task to investigate enemy fortress movements, even with surveillance teams watching and Konoha spies within Suna.
If they really didn't catch Haruki… or are they just hiding it well? If Suna truly captured my 'student,' that would be bad… Tsunade thought grimly.
"Haruki… please be safe."
Back at the Konoha encampment, many rested only briefly before joining the next search party. Even Kato Dan, if he weren't still bedridden, would have gone looking.
The next morning, nearly a thousand shinobi pushed deeper into the forest, expanding the search area again.
Haruki had no idea how long he'd been crawling. The cave stretched endlessly into darkness. He'd hit several dead ends and been forced to turn back. The place was a maze of tunnels, stalactites, and stone columns, stretching on without end.
His pants were worn through, his arms scraped in multiple places, and his knees bled freely. His whole body ached, and his flashlight battery was nearly dead. Getting lost here in total darkness would be the end.
If only I still had my Byakugan… a few seconds and I'd know exactly where I am.
He tried activating it, but the only result was a stabbing pain. The curse mark had damaged his optic nerves beyond use.
Am I really going to die here? Alone, in a place no one will ever find me… my body turning to nothing but bones…
Then he shook his head sharply. Tch! Enough of that crap. I'm not dead yet! It's not like I haven't died before.
I still want yakiniku… haven't even tried Ichiraku Ramen yet… haven't opened my own clinic… haven't put Konoha Hospital out of business… haven't become a billionaire… haven't found a beautiful wife… haven't climbed the career ladder to the top…
Fueling himself with stubborn determination, he crawled on.
The flashlight finally flickered and died.
"So what if it's dead? I'll just feel my way along!"
Sharp rocks tore his hands open, blood dripping freely, but he ignored the pain.
He crawled when he could, rested when he couldn't, always moving forward. Over time, he memorized the layout of countless branching tunnels, mapping a mental image of the labyrinth.
His food and water were long gone. His body was so weak he could barely mold chakra. His hands were shredded, nails broken or missing. At first the pain was searing, but now his limbs felt numb, as if they weren't his.
Is this… where it ends again?
Darkness surrounded him like the cold void he'd felt lying on an operating table before, swallowing everything. He longed desperately for light.
Exhaustion swept over him. His eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted into visions of blue skies, white clouds, sunlit meadows, forests, rivers… until there was only endless black.
Tsunade's team kept searching. Another day passed, and hope began to fade.
A jōnin appeared before her. "Report, Tsunade-sama! We found traces of Hinata Haruki on a steep slope to the north!"
"What? Take me there!"
They rushed to the spot. The jōnin pointed down the slope. "Here, here, and there—we found scraps of his clothing, small traces of blood, and several broken branches. We think he fell from here."
"Was he knocked down during a Suna pursuit, or did he fall while fleeing?" Tsunade wondered aloud. "Did you search below?"
"Below is a sheer cliff leading into a valley with many boulders and deep caves. We're searching now, but haven't found him yet."
The jōnin hesitated. "If Haruki fell from here… with his injuries… I'm afraid…"
"I know. Even if we can't find him alive, we must recover his body…" Tsunade clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. She didn't want anyone to see the helpless grief on her face.
A child of the village… and I let him die. What kind of 'Sannin' am I? What right do I have to protect Grandfather's village? What kind of teacher am I?
"Tell everyone—we focus our search on this area!"
"Yes!"
Soon, over a hundred shinobi were combing the slope and valley below.
Haruki lay in the pitch-black cave, mind hazy. Hunger was no longer a burning pain—it had dulled into emptiness. His strength was gone. Even pain seemed distant.
He was so tired… but feared that if he closed his eyes again, he might never open them.
"So sleepy… Kami said, 'Let there be light!' And I say, 'Hey! Kami! Give me some light already!'" he muttered, mocking his own desperation.
He opened his eyes out of habit—and froze.
A faint glimmer.
Am I imagining this?
He squinted. No… it was real. Light.
Suddenly, strength surged through him. He clawed his way toward it. The glow came from around a bend, and when he turned the corner, he saw it—embedded in the stalactites above were small stones glowing faintly green.
Some kind of luminescent stone?
The same stones lined the nearby cave walls and pillars. They weren't naturally embedded—someone had forced them into place. He could even sense a faint trickle of chakra from them.
Good thing my flashlight died, or I wouldn't have noticed… Wait… does this mean… someone lives here?
Someone had put these here as light sources.
Crawling further, Haruki found an opening to the right. Inside was a stone bed, a stone table, and stools.
Someone… or someone once… lived here.
His pulse quickened, but he forced himself to move cautiously inside.
Running his hand over one of the stools, he felt only a thin layer of dust.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" His voice echoed.
"I'm injured… can you help me?"
No answer.
Sigh… Well, at least there's light. Let's see what I can use.
He searched the space. No food, but he did find some clean water, which he drank eagerly. Then he decided to pry loose a few of the glowing stones to use as makeshift lamps.
As his kunai popped one from the wall, a sound came from outside.
"What was that?"
In answer, the faint, steady sound of footsteps approached—tap… tap… tap—growing closer.
Haruki froze.
There's… someone here.