The calm in the cave was a lie, disguised by the roar of the water.
Outside, the waterfall was a roaring giant, a deafening, white curtain of power that erased the world and isolated them in their temporary sanctuary. Its sound, so constant, had become a form of silence. Inside, however, the stillness was different: a sharp tension where every incidental sound was an intrusion. The rustle of Kiba’s leather armor as he shifted his weight, the almost subsonic hum of Shino’s kikaichū under his clothes, the rhythmic dripping of condensation on the rocks. Every noise was a reminder that they were waiting.
Kiba Inuzuka was not a man made for waiting.
He kicked a small stone with the tip of his sandal; a dry click that was immediately devoured by the roar outside. The gesture was useless, a small act of rebellion against an inaction that gnawed at his nerves. Akamaru, curled at his feet, let out a low, mournful whine, an echo of his partner's frustration.
"This is complete and utter stupidity," Kiba growled, his voice a furious whisper not aimed at anyone in particular. He stood up and began to pace in the confined space like a caged wolf. "We've been sitting here for hours. Hours! I can smell blood and sweat for miles. There are teams out there fighting, getting scrolls, advancing! And us? Hiding in a damp hole like rats!"
"Rats survive, Kiba. Lions often die for their pride." Shino's voice emanated from the deepest gloom of the cave, so calm and analytical it was irritating. He was sitting with his back straight against the rock wall, his insects forming a second skin of living shadows over him. "The logic of this strategy is irrefutable. Expending energy in premature combat is a tactical error. Inaction, in this context, is the most efficient form of defensive action. We are conserving chakra while others waste it."
"I don't give a damn about logic and efficiency!" Kiba snapped, turning to face the shadow that was his teammate. "We're ninja! We're supposed to fight, to hunt, to bite! Not have a picnic in the dark!"
"I see no food," Shino murmured, an attempt at humor so dry it was lost in the damp air.
Sakura said nothing. Sitting cross-legged in the center of the cave with her eyes closed, she seemed the very picture of serenity. But beneath her skin, she was a storm. The power Naruto had transferred to her wasn't a passive reserve of chakra, but a living entity, an electric current of agony and strength thrumming in her bones. It was an energy that demanded release, and every second of inactivity felt like an insult to her friend's sacrifice. To control it, to keep from going mad from the sensation, she had extended her chakra, materializing it into a web of nearly invisible threads that spread throughout the perimeter of the cave and beyond the waterfall. They were her extended senses. Through them, she felt the forest: the frightened heartbeat of a rabbit in its burrow, the slow crawl of a centipede under a damp leaf, the flight pattern of a nocturnal moth. She felt the symphony of life and used it as a focus point so as not to drown in the borrowed power.
Sasuke stood apart at the mouth of the cave, a silhouette cut against the veil of water. His silence was heavier than Kiba's shouts. It wasn't patience, but a cold, contained fury. A fury directed at the weakness he perceived in depending on others. The damp air clung to his skin, a constant reminder of their stagnation. He had watched Sakura and Hinata. He had seen their change, the aura of power that now surrounded them. And a part of him, a dark, competitive part, resented it. While they were growing, he was here, waiting.
It was then that a new thread of information reached Sakura's web. A vibration. Unique, solitary. Not an animal. It was the step of a human, strangely light and erratic. Akamaru lifted his head, his ears twitched, and a low, confused growl rumbled in his throat.
"Quiet," Kiba hissed, instantly crouching, his frustration replaced by a hunter's instinct. "Akamaru, what is it?"
Before the dog could answer, a figure stumbled through the curtain of water, collapsing to his knees at the cave's entrance with a pitiful gasp.
It was a ninja. His forehead protector bore the symbol of the Hidden Grass Village. He was soaked, his clothes torn in several places, and he clutched his arm, where a shallow but bloody wound stained his sleeve. His face, framed by straight, brown hair plastered to his skin by the water, was contorted into a mask of panic.
"Please…" he gasped, looking up. His eyes widened as he saw the group. "Help me!"
Kiba tensed, his hand on his kunai pouch. Shino didn't move, but his insects buzzed louder. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his Sharingan ready to activate at the slightest sign of hostility.
The Grass ninja raised his hands in a universal gesture of surrender.
"I don't want to fight! My team… we were ambushed! A giant snake… it separated us. I ran… I don't know what happened to them… I think I'm alone."
His voice was trembling, convincing. His story, plausible in the brutality of the Forest of Death.
Kiba relaxed his stance slightly. A terrified survivor and, more importantly, a potential scroll.
"What scroll do you have?" he asked, his voice still harsh.
The ninja fumbled clumsily in his vest with his good hand and pulled out a scroll. He tossed it on the ground between them.
"The Heaven scroll. Take it. It's no good to me if I'm dead." His pleading gaze swept over their faces. "Just… let me stay with you. Until this is over. I saw your team run in this direction, you looked strong. I don't want to be out here alone."
The offer was tempting. A free Heaven scroll, no fight. Kiba looked at Sasuke, seeking a decision. Shino remained silent, his logic processing the variables. One more ally, however weak, could be useful as a diversion. The risk seemed low.
But Sakura and Hinata weren't listening to his words. They were feeling his presence.
For Sakura, her chakra threads, which had been monitoring the life of the forest, touched the man and found… nothing. It wasn't a void, it was a falsehood. Like touching a perfectly smooth wall pretending to be a tree. There were no natural fluctuations, no subtle ebb and flow of a living being's chakra. Her Analytical Eye activated on instinct, not seeing the man, but the energy surrounding him, and she perceived a fundamental dissonance, a lie woven into the very essence of his being.
For Hinata, it was even more visceral. She had activated her Byakugan out of sheer caution the moment the stranger appeared. She saw a perfect chakra circulatory system, the tenketsu flowing normally. Nothing wrong on the surface. But beyond the vision of chakra, she felt the man's life force. And it was sick. It was a predatory stillness, an unnatural coldness hiding under a layer of perfectly simulated panic. The forest around him seemed to hold its breath, life itself recoiling from the corruption this being exuded.
They didn't exchange a single word. The connection forged in Naruto's ritual, the shared understanding of the threat he had warned them about, was faster than any plan. They both reached the same terrifying conclusion in the same fraction of a second.
He wasn't a lost sheep. He was the wolf in its skin.
And then, all hell broke loose.
There was no war cry. There was no warning to their teammates. Only cold, absolute execution.
Sakura exploded from her position. In an instant, she channeled the power thrumming under her skin, not through her threads, but directly into her right fist. Her Impact ability converted her formidable energy reserve into pure, devastating physical force. Her only thought was annihilation.
The Grass ninja was still on the ground, his pleading face turned towards Kiba, when the world shattered.
Sakura's fist struck the cave floor inches from his head.
The result wasn't a simple crater; it was a geological event. The solid rock pulverized, erupting upward in a wave of debris and dust. a brutal shockwave ripped through the cave, lifting Kiba off his feet and throwing him against the wall. Shino was violently shaken. The waterfall itself seemed to hesitate from the impact. The blow hadn't just shattered the surface; it had created a deep fracture that spread through the cave, changing the terrain in an instant.
In the same fraction of a second that Sakura struck, Hinata became a lavender blur. Her agility, enhanced by the power she shared with Sakura, propelled her from the back of the cave toward the enemy with a speed that defied sight. Her movements were ethereal and unpredictable, a dance of evasion and attack. She didn't aim for a killing blow; her goal was to exploit the opening.
The Grass ninja, whose panicked expression had evaporated to be replaced by one of genuine surprise, pushed himself back to avoid the rock explosion, but Hinata's speed was almost supernatural. Her fingers, hardened with the chakra of the Gentle Fist, struck with precision: one strike to the nerve in his shoulder to paralyze the arm, another to the knee joint to break his balance, a third to a pressure point on his neck to disrupt the flow of chakra.
It all happened in less than two seconds.
The dust began to settle. Kiba got up, coughing, his ears ringing.
"Sakura! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted, confused and furious. Akamaru barked, disoriented. Shino was getting to his feet, his insects an agitated swarm around him, trying to comprehend the unprovoked attack.
But Sasuke didn't hesitate. Not for a second.
He had seen the absolute certainty in Sakura's eyes and the impossible speed of Hinata. His Sharingan, which had activated the instant of the attack, saw the truth. He saw how the Grass ninja's body contorted to dodge Hinata's strikes with a flexibility that wasn't human. He saw the skin on his arm, scorched by the energy of Sakura's blow, peel away not like burned flesh, but like a snake shedding its skin.
Sasuke knew that those two, as much as it irritated him to admit it, were no longer the useless kunoichi from before. Their judgment, forged in a power he didn't understand, was now faster and sharper than his own. And if they had decided to attack with killing intent, there was a reason.
"Idiot, don't just stand there!" he yelled at Kiba as he unsheathed a kunai and lunged forward. "Attack!"
The Grass ninja landed with an unnatural grace several feet away, outside the cave. The shock on his face had transformed into a wide, mocking smile. Slowly, he brought a hand to his face.
And his face melted.
Like hot wax, the ninja's skin dripped away, revealing what lay beneath: pale skin, almost bone-white, and golden eyes with sharp, vertical pupils that shone with an ancient, malevolent intelligence. The smile widened, revealing a long, forked tongue that slithered over his lips.
The change wasn't just physical. The air itself grew thick, heavy. The vibrant life of the forest that Sakura had been feeling went completely silent, as if a supreme predator had announced its presence. The roar of the waterfall seemed to diminish, choked by an invisible, terrifying pressure.
The voice that came from his lips was a soft, chilling hiss that seemed to freeze the blood in their veins.
"Kukuku… Well, well. What a surprise. I thought my performance was quite convincing." His golden gaze fell on Sakura, then on Hinata, with a spark of genuine scientific curiosity. "But you two… you knew. You didn't see it, you felt it. Fascinating."
Cold, absolute panic finally hit Kiba.
"No… It can't be…"
Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, smiled at them.
"You've learned to bite, little pups. But the question is… do you know who you're biting?"
The battle exploded without further preamble.
Sasuke, already in motion, didn't hesitate.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared toward Orochimaru, illuminating the area with an orange glow.
Orochimaru didn't even bother to dodge. He simply opened his mouth to an impossible width, and from his throat surged a torrent of water that collided with the fire, creating a massive cloud of steam that obscured the battlefield.
"Don't let him breathe!" Sakura shouted, her voice cutting through the confusion. She was already moving, her chakra threads spreading across the altered ground to create a web of invisible traps.
Kiba, overcoming his shock with a surge of adrenaline, whistled.
"Akamaru! Gatsūga!"
Man and dog became a single whirlwind of claws and fangs, launching themselves through the steam toward where they had last seen the Sannin.
Shino acted from the shadows. His insects poured from his body in a black, humming cloud, not as a direct attack, but as a sensory screen to track the enemy in the mist and obstruct his vision.
It was a mess of coordination, but a mess with a purpose. However, they were fighting a ghost.
Kiba's Gatsūga hit empty air. Orochimaru was no longer there.
"Above!" Hinata warned, her Byakugan piercing the steam.
Orochimaru was stuck to the cliff face above them, moving sideways like a lizard. Suddenly, his neck stretched in a grotesque, unnatural way, descending like a viper toward Sasuke.
Sasuke, warned by Hinata, jumped back, but the attack wasn't for him. Orochimaru's mouth opened and shot out dozens of smaller snakes, each with fangs bared.
"Look out!" Sakura yelled.
A chakra thread tightened, lifting a large slab of rock from the shattered ground and placing it in the path of the snakes, which struck the stone with furious hisses.
But it was a distraction. While everyone was looking up, a pale hand erupted from the earth at Kiba's feet and grabbed his ankle.
"What—?!"
Before he could react, he was dragged underground up to his waist.
"Kiba!" Hinata shouted.
"I've got him!" Sakura ran toward him, her fist already charged. She struck the ground next to Kiba, not with her full strength, but with a controlled impact. The earth cracked and loosened enough for him to pull free, but Orochimaru had already vanished again.
"He's too fast," Sasuke hissed, his Sharingan spinning frantically to follow the erratic movements. "We're not fighting a man, it's… something else."
"His fighting style is based on surprise and disorientation," Shino analyzed, as his insects returned to him, transmitting information. "He avoids direct combat and attacks from unpredictable angles. We must limit his mobility."
"Then we'll tear this place apart!" Sakura roared.
She struck the ground again, this time with the intent to create an unstable battlefield. Pillars of rock rose up, the ground sank in other spots. The area around the waterfall became a labyrinth of shattered stone. It was a desperate move, but it worked. Orochimaru, emerging from the ground again, was forced to leap over the uneven terrain, making himself a visible target.
Hinata didn't wait. The power inside her, the Lioness Heart, began to pound as she saw her friends in danger. The safety of her team and her promise to Naruto became a scorching fire. She launched forward, and this time, her speed was even greater. She activated her Dance of the Trembling Willow, a storm of sixty-four strikes aimed not at his tenketsu, but at tearing his flesh.
Orochimaru watched her come, a smile of appreciation on his face.
"That speed… those eyes. A Hyuga from the main branch. What a wonderful specimen."
He didn't face her. His body became soft, malleable. Hinata's strikes sank into his torso as if it were made of wet clay, causing no real damage. With a laugh, his body dissolved into a pile of mud that trapped Hinata's arms.
"Hinata!" Sakura screamed.
From the mud, Orochimaru's head reformed and his neck stretched once more, aiming directly for the trapped Hyuga's face.
But Sasuke was there. He appeared in a flicker, his kunai slicing through the extended neck. However, instead of blood, white snakes erupted from the cut and coiled around his arm. A sharp, burning pain shot through his skin.
Orochimaru's voice echoed from the mass of mud, amused.
"You… you have your brother's eyes. But you completely lack his despair, his power born from pain. I… can give you that gift."
The mention of Itachi was like a red-hot needle in Sasuke's brain. Rage overcame his training.
"Don't you say his name!"
He ignored the snakes biting him and channeled his chakra.
"Chidori!"
The sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air. He thrust his crackling hand into the mass of mud.
The attack was devastating. The mud exploded, freeing Hinata. But at the last second, Orochimaru slithered out of the mud like a snake shedding its skin, unharmed, leaving only an empty husk to receive the attack.
He landed a safe distance away, watching them pant. Kiba had a wound on his leg, Sasuke was pale from the snake venom, and Hinata and Sakura were expending energy at an alarming rate.
"Admirable. Truly admirable," Orochimaru hissed, his gaze now fixed solely on Sasuke. "You've played well, little pups. But the game is over. I've only come for one of you."
With a speed that made them look like statues, he launched himself at Sasuke.
Shino reacted, creating a wall of insects to intercept him. Orochimaru passed through it as if it were smoke, the insects falling to the ground, dead. Kiba and Akamaru attempted a flanking attack but were swatted aside with a simple backhand from the Sannin, sent crashing into the rock wall with insulting ease.
Sakura saw the predatory intent in his eyes.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!"
Her fist, charged with all the power of her Falna, her guilt, and the promise made to her friend, struck the ground for a third time.
It wasn't a tactical shockwave; it was an earthquake of pure emotion. The ground didn't just crack, it liquefied. A house-sized wave of rock and earth rose between Orochimaru and Sasuke. The attack wasn't designed to harm the Sannin, but to separate them, to protect.
Orochimaru was thrown into the air by the blast, his body slithering and twisting unnaturally, but it gave Sasuke a second to breathe.
And that second was all Orochimaru needed.
From the air, while still suspended, his neck stretched out in a nightmarish vision, crossing the distance in an instant. His mouth opened, revealing long, sharp fangs dripping with a purple chakra. His target: Sasuke's neck, to leave his cursed mark.
Hinata saw it. The promise she made to Naruto resonated in her soul, eclipsing fear, pain, and exhaustion. There was no analysis, no strategy. Only one thought, clear and absolute.
Not while I'm here.
In an act of pure will, Hinata interposed herself. Not to take the blow, but to attack. Her body, wrapped in an aura of pale chakra from the activation of her Lioness Heart, moved beyond its limits. Her Dance of the Trembling Willow was unleashed again, not as a flurry, but as a single, concentrated torrent of strikes, each aimed at the exposed flesh of the snake's extended neck to halt its advance at any cost.
The fangs a breath away from Sasuke's skin. Hinata's fingers, trembling from the effort but steady as steel, ready to strike. And in that frozen moment in time, in the heart of the Forest of Death, the promise two kunoichi made to their absent friend was about to demand its terrible price.