Chapter 51: A Grim Homecoming
The air in the Konoha hallway felt heavy and still, thick with unspoken dread. Sakura's knuckles were white where she gripped Naruto's jacket, her eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.
"Tell me!" she pleaded, her voice a desperate, hushed whisper as she shook him. "Did you see him? Did you see Sasuke-kun?"
"S-Sakura-chan, take it easy! You're gonna stretch out the fabric!" Naruto yelped, trying to gently pry her fingers loose.
"Sasuke was gone long before we arrived," Neji interjected, his voice a calm, level counterpoint to Sakura's rising panic. "We never saw him. Now, release him."
The fight seemed to drain out of her all at once. Her hands fell away, and she took a stumbling step back, her face a mask of crushed disappointment. "Oh… I see…"
Naruto let out a quiet sigh of relief, rubbing his sore arms. The reprieve was short-lived.
Sakura's head snapped up, a new, terrifying resolve hardening her features. She lunged forward again, this time seizing his shoulders. "Then what's this about an S-rank bounty?! What do you know?! Tell me everything! Now!"
"I—I get it! I'll talk! Just stop shaking me!" Naruto cried out, thoroughly manhandled.
Sakura finally released him, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. "I'm… I'm sorry, Naruto. I just… I lost my head for a second. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he mumbled, straightening his jumpsuit. The group moved to a quieter spot on a training ground bench, away from prying ears. There, with Neji delivering the grim facts in a detached monotone and Naruto interjecting with furious objections, they laid out the entire story—the destroyed village, the stolen star, the leader's identification, the witness's terrifying account of the Chidori and the colossal spectral warrior, and finally, Tsunade's drastic, chilling reaction.
"...and that's it," Neji finished, his voice flat. "The Hokage issued the order. There's nothing more to discuss."
Sakura listened in horrified silence, her hands pressed over her mouth. When Neji was done, she shook her head violently, her pink hair whipping around her face. "No. No, that's not right. It can't be. There has to be a mistake. Sasuke-kun would never… he couldn't…" Her voice broke. "I have to go talk to Lady Tsunade myself! I'll make her see—"
"It's useless, Sakura," Neji cut her off, not unkindly but with finality. "Naruto already tried. She won't listen. She won't even look at you. This isn't about justice; it's about something else. Something she's afraid of. Going to her now will only get you thrown out."
Sakura's shoulders slumped, the fight leaving her. She looked utterly lost. "Then… what are we supposed to do?"
"There's nothing we *can* do," Neji stated, the words cold and hard. "It's an order from the Hokage. Our duty is to obey."
"Damn it…" Sakura whispered, her fists clenching in her lap. The group dissolved into a miserable, helpless silence, each retreating into their own worried thoughts before finally parting ways, the weight of the day pressing down on them.
***
Meanwhile, far from the stifling politics of Konoha, Ren was trudging through the wilderness, his new goal burning in his mind: find the Tailed Beasts. The Land of Wind, home to the One-Tail, was his first destination.
He held the map up to the sun, turning it sideways, then upside down. The crudely drawn lines and symbols might as well have been a child's scribbles for all the sense they made to him.
"Did I take a wrong turn?" he grumbled to himself, kicking a pebble in frustration. "I've been walking for days." He glared at the parchment. "I knew I should've bartered that innkeeper down further."
He scanned the endless, rolling hills around him. Nothing but scrub grass and the occasional stubborn tree. With a dramatic sigh, he folded the useless map and stuffed it back into his pack.
"Forget it. I've come too far to turn back now. I just need to find a road. A real bed, a hot meal that isn't trail rations, and a bath that doesn't involve a freezing cold stream… that's the dream. I'm sick of sleeping on the ground."
His persistence paid off. After another hour, his feet found the packed, well-trodden earth of a proper main road. "Finally! A real road means people. People mean directions."
Sure enough, he soon spotted a group of travelers resting in the shade of a large rock formation. They were civilians, a mix of ages—a few families with children, an elderly couple. They watched his approach with curious, wary eyes. A lone traveler, especially one who moved with the easy grace of a shinobi, was always a subject of curiosity and slight fear out here.
Ren put on his most harmless, friendly smile as he approached a middle-aged man who seemed to be the group's leader. "Excuse me, sir? Hello."
The man looked him up and down, his expression cautious. "Hello, son. You're traveling alone? Where are you headed?"
"I'm trying to get to the Land of Wind," Ren said, his tone polite. "Could you tell me if I'm on the right road? And how much farther it is?"
"The Land of Wind?" The man nodded. "Aye, this is the right road. We just came from there. You'll hit the border in about two hours if you keep a good pace. But, son…" he lowered his voice, leaning in slightly. "...you'd be better off not taking this road."
Ren blinked. "Not take it? Why?"
An old man from the group, his face a roadmap of wrinkles, hobbled over. "Danger, young man. There's danger up ahead," he croaked, his eyes wide with genuine fear. "Two mighty bandits have set up in the mountains along this pass. They rob everyone who comes through. They don't just take your money… they kill, or they take captives for their… their twisted pleasures." He shuddered. "They're shinobi, they say. Powerful ones."
Ren's interest was piqued. "Shinobi bandits?"
"Aye. One's a hulking brute they call the Mountain King. The other is a sly, cruel one named Viper. And they have… a particular taste." The old man leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "They've no interest in women. They kill any they find. But men… handsome young men like yourself… they take them up to their mountain stronghold. It's… unnatural. A disgrace. I heard they were run out of their own village for it."
Ren's eyebrows shot up. He understood the implication perfectly. "I see," he said, offering the men a grateful smile. "Thank you for the warning. I'll be very careful."
"You remember now, boy!" the old man called after him as he continued down the main road. "Don't go the wrong way! It's a fate worse than death!"
Ren waved a hand in acknowledgment without looking back. As soon as he was out of sight, his polite smile vanished, replaced by a look of utter contempt.
*Take a four-hour detour? Not a chance. I want a real roof over my head tonight.* He glanced toward the foreboding mountain pass. *So there are a couple of deviant shinobi bandits up there. They'd better have the good sense to stay hidden. If they jump out and try anything with me, I'll turn their hideout into their funeral pyre.*
His decision made, he strode confidently down the empty official road. It was eerily quiet, all other traffic clearly scared onto the safer, longer path. He was utterly alone.
For about an hour.
Then, his finely tuned senses prickled. Up ahead, tucked into the rocks on either side of the road, four presences lay in wait. He focused his chakra sensing. Two of them had the solid, controlled energy of shinobi—Elite Chunin level, perhaps. The other two were mere civilians, their life forces flickering weakly. Probably previous captives.
*A two-man operation. This must be them.*
He didn't break his stride. A slow, predatory smirk spread across his face. This was about to be more interesting than he'd thought.
From the rocks above, a high, reedy voice echoed down, full of gleeful anticipation.
"Oho-ho! Brother! Look what the road brought us! Such a fine-looking young man! What a prize!"
Ren stopped walking. He looked up toward the source of the voice, his smirk never fading.
"Alright," he said, his voice calm and laced with a dark promise. "Let's get this over with."
𝗚𝗨𝗬𝗦, 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠 𝗔𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗛𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪9