For the past two days, Hinata Haruki and the old man—whom Haruki called "Elder Munen"—had stayed inside the cave. Over time, the two of them grew more familiar with each other.
Haruki spent most of his time eating whatever he could to restore his strength, though his injuries healed only slowly. Sometimes, Elder Munen would venture outside to bring back food.
Haruki treated the elder with deep respect—not only because the man had saved his life, but because, despite being blind, Elder Munen seemed able to sense everything around him. In this cave, he moved as freely as if he could see, his steps more precise and confident than those of most sighted people.
Just how long has this old man been living here? Haruki often wondered to himself.
Sure enough, Elder Munen returned again from outside, carrying a generous amount of food. His steps were steady as he crossed the uneven cave floor, avoiding every jagged rock and sharp stalactite and stalagmite. Not only did he avoid being cut, but his robe wasn't even wrinkled.
"Elder Munen, how can you move so easily through this cave?" Haruki finally couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"Well," the elder replied, clearly expecting the question, "first, I know the layout here like the back of my hand. Second, I have a strong chakra-sensing ability. And… I use sound."
"Sound? Elder, do you mean you can tell how far away the stone columns are by listening?" Haruki asked in surprise.
"Something like that. I'm just an old blind man, so I rely entirely on my ears. From sound alone, I can tell many things. If you make the slightest noise, I know exactly where you are. If a drop of water falls from a stalactite, I can pinpoint its location." Elder Munen nodded toward Haruki.
This is like sensing the world through sound! My eyes are useless now—this is exactly the kind of skill I need! Haruki's heart leapt. "Elder Munen, can you teach me? I can't see anything right now…"
"Hm? Well…" The elder hesitated. Haruki looked at him with open expectation.
"Alright then." Elder Munen nodded in agreement. Haruki's joy was immediate and unrestrained—so much so that he didn't notice the faint, almost hidden smile on the old man's face.
Elder Munen fetched a small stone stool and placed it beside a shallow underground pool. Then he grabbed Haruki by the clothes, easily lifting the boy's small, injured frame, and set him on the stool.
"Whoa! Elder, careful!" Haruki winced—his wounds still hurt.
"Haruki, can you see the cracks in the ceiling up there, where water drips through?" Elder Munen pointed to the fissures above.
Haruki stared for a long while. The cracks were damp, and from time to time, droplets would fall into the pool below. Over the years, these drops had slowly formed the pool itself. The timing of the drips was irregular. Through the blur in his vision, Haruki could make out just a little.
"I can… barely see them," Haruki admitted.
"Good. Now, use your fingertip to tap the exact spot where each drop hits the pool—right after it lands. Only your fingertip," Elder Munen said sternly.
"This…" Haruki hesitated. Normally, it wouldn't be hard, but now he couldn't track the droplets' fall with his eyes.
"Hm?!" Elder Munen's expression darkened instantly, making him look almost frightening in the dim cave light.
"Yes! Yes, I'll try!" Even though Haruki couldn't see clearly, he could feel how terrifying that expression was. He had no choice but to follow instructions.
At first, he couldn't hit a single drop. They fell too quickly—either his finger was too slow, the droplet landed on his hand instead, or he was far off the mark. Without the fine coordination of sight, it was far harder than he'd imagined. Hours passed without a single success.
"Don't rely on your eyes anymore. Use other senses to guide your hand," Elder Munen instructed.
"Other senses? My ears?" Haruki immediately focused on his hearing. After so many days in this pitch-black cave, his hearing had indeed grown sharper. The dripping sounds were clear.
滴答… 滴答…—drip… drip…
In his mind, Haruki pictured the shape of the pool. Then he overlaid the sound of the drops, mapping the impact points. He aimed his finger toward the sound while using the faint scraps of vision he had left.
滴答! — Haruki's finger landed just a moment too late.
滴答! — pa! He missed by an inch.
滴答! — His hand was slow again, and the drop landed on his finger.
滴答! — pa! Finally, after half an hour, his fingertip hit the exact point of impact without the slightest error.
"Phew… finally, a hit!" Haruki exhaled in relief. Elder Munen nodded with quiet satisfaction.
"Continue," the elder ordered sharply. Haruki quickly resumed, his strikes becoming faster and more accurate. Slowly, his success rate climbed, and he felt he could hear the droplets more clearly than before.
"Not bad, this boy," Elder Munen murmured, though his smile—paired with his stern face—still looked a bit grim.
When Haruki wasn't resting and tending his wounds, he practiced tapping the water. After several days, he could hit every drop without fail.
滴答! 滴答! 滴答!—Three droplets fell almost at the same time. Even without using chakra, Haruki's finger struck three times in rapid succession—pa! pa! pa!—and even hit the tiny splash-backs with perfect precision.
"Heh! I've mastered it!" Haruki was thrilled. His hearing had sharpened greatly—just from sound alone, he could now judge positions with surprising accuracy.
"Who said you've mastered it?" Elder Munen's voice cut in, his face stern. "From now on, close your eyes. Practice blind."
"Huh?" Haruki froze.
"Hm?!" That eyeless, hollow gaze again—chilling enough to make his skin crawl.
Haruki broke into a cold sweat and immediately closed his eyes, only to find himself clumsy all over again…
Elsewhere, standing alone on a boulder above the black maw of the cave, Mizuki stared downward in a daze. Her eyes were red—she had clearly been crying.
Days of attempts had failed; the cave was simply too deep. The search party couldn't descend safely to the bottom. Several shinobi were injured trying. Even shadow clones disappeared when they struck the sharp stone protrusions on the cave walls.
In desperation, Shibi Aburame had sent swarms of kikaichū insects deep into the cavern. They crawled for kilometers, but the twisting passages split into countless branches, with rushing underground rivers snaking through—a massive, natural labyrinth. No matter what methods they used, they found nothing.
Anyone falling from such a height into such depths would almost certainly die—struck by jagged rock outcroppings or killed on impact.
Even if Haruki, small as he was, had landed in an underground river and somehow survived, days had passed. In this maze-like darkness without food, he would have died from his injuries or starvation.
There was no hope left.
In the end, Tsunade had no choice but to order the search to end. The team prepared to withdraw.
"Mizuki? Time to go," Tsunade called gently.
Mizuki blinked and wiped her eyes. "Lady Tsunade… could we wait a little longer?"
Tsunade sighed. "…Alright. We'll sit a while more." She settled onto the boulder beside her.
They remained there until dusk, then slowly returned to camp. By the cave's mouth, Haichi Hyuga placed a bouquet of wild white flowers, their petals trembling in the breeze, glowing gold in the sunset.
Back in the Konoha camp, Tsunade parted from the others and entered her tent alone. The worry in her eyes did not fade. She wondered how to tell her old teacher, the Third Hokage.
Two weeks of search, and the result—Hinata Haruki had fallen into a bottomless cavern and died, his body unrecovered.
The Third had entrusted Haruki to her care. She had driven him away… and failed to protect him.
And those responsible—Sunagakure shinobi, and certain members of the Hyuga Main House—they would pay.
Tsunade thought of that stubborn back, that confident smile, that fearless determination, that small chunin flak jacket.
She stared at the blank sheet of paper, lips pressed tight, the brush creaking in her grip. After a long moment, she exhaled deeply and began to write.
Haruki had been exhausted from the training and his injuries, so whenever he felt drowsy, he slept deeply.
This time, Elder Munen shook him awake. "Child, time to eat."
The elder's smile, framed by the hollow, deformed sockets where eyes once were, was unsettling. He handed Haruki a plate of mushrooms and two apples.
"Oh, Elder Munen," Haruki said as he munched on a mushroom, "you never told me—who exactly are you? And why are you here?"
The elder thought for a moment, then said, "Child, let me tell you a story."
"Sure, sure!" Haruki replied eagerly, thinking, This man definitely has a past worth hearing.
Elder Munen began without preamble. "Have you ever heard of the Sage of Six Paths?"