Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

The morning sun had already risen well past the horizon as I felt my muscles return to normal, but the cool air of the forest offered little relief from the weight of the earlier battle. Minato was unconscious beside me, his breathing steady but shallow. I checked on him, finding the color in his face had improved slightly, though he was far from being out of the woods yet.

But there was no time to waste. Two of the Sand shinobi were still alive, and I needed answers.

I stood, stretching out my stiff limbs, trying to shake off the fatigue that clung to me. The steel wire that bound our captives glinted as I approached them. The leader—Hiroto—was still out cold, his body a twisted mess of broken bones and blood. But the Genin... he was awake now. Barely, but awake. I could see the fear in his eyes as I approached, his face pale and drawn.

He was just another kid like me. Now that I had a better look at him, he probably wasn't any older than fourteen or fifteen, his face still holding the remnants of innocence that hadn't been ground away by the brutal training of the Sand. His breathing quickened when he saw me, his bound hands trembling.

I crouched down in front of him, keeping my voice low and even. "You're the last one left," I said. "And I don't need to tell you what happens to the last man standing, do I?"

His eyes flickered to the ground, and he swallowed hard. "I-I don't know anything. I'm just a Genin. I was following orders."

None of his earlier bravado, that's good to see.

I let the silence stretch between us for a moment, then I leaned in closer. "That may be true. But your sensei? Hiroto? He's still alive. But that could change in a second."

The boy's eyes widened, panic creeping in. "Y-You can't do that! He's... he's my teacher!"

"I'll do what I need to do for intel."

The boy flinched, his body instinctively trying to pull away, but the ropes were too tight. His face contorted with desperation. "I don't know anything! We were just doing our mission, nothing more! Please, I don't know anything else!"

I stared at him, feeling a wave of anger bubble up inside me, though I kept it in check. His fear was genuine, but so was his ignorance. He didn't know what I needed to hear—he only knew what he'd been told. But I had something he cared about, something that would make him talk.

"You don't know anything?" I asked. "What if your precious sensei met the same fate as your friends? Do you still not know anything? And if that still doesn't get you talking, I hope you know I'll take my time getting you to do it after his death..."

The Genin's eyes darted to Hiroto's crumpled form tied to him, and I saw the flicker of doubt in his expression. He realized that this wasn't a bluff.

"Please... please, don't hurt him any more," the boy pleaded, his voice cracking. "I'll tell you anything, just... just don't hurt him any more than you already have..."

Was he really blaming me as if they didn't attack us with the intent to kill? The nerve of this guy…

I nodded slowly. "Alright. You want to save him, then. Good. Now tell me, what were you really doing here in the Rain's territory? What was the mission? And don't lie to me, because I'll know."

The Genin hesitated, his lips trembling as he struggled to find the words. The fear in his eyes had reached a fever pitch now, and I could almost taste his desperation. He wanted to help, wanted to believe that he could save Hiroto by giving me what I wanted.

Finally, his voice came, a tremor in his words. "We... We were sent to root out spies. From the other nations... the Rock, the Leaf... we were watching for new arrivals, tracking anyone who didn't belong. We... we weren't the only ones. Several teams from the Sand are also already in the Rain's territory doing the same task–We've taken out three Rock teams and two Leaf ones."

So, we weren't the first team of Leaf shinobi they went after. I'll have to write this into my report then, if we have missing teams, then that's probably what happened to them.

For now I'll just use their deaths for dramatic effect.

"You guys killed Leaf shinobi? Two teams?" I scoffed. "And yet you beg for my mercy!"

The boy recoiled from my outburst, but I didn't give him a chance to speak. 

"How many more teams are out there, huh? Answer me!"

He shrank back, trembling under my gaze. "I... I'm sorry... I don't know. I don't know where the others are... we were just following orders, I swear!"

I stood up abruptly, pacing a few steps, my mind racing. The information he gave me wasn't enough. I needed more. I needed to find out what else they were planning, who else they'd sent.

I turned back to the boy, my face hard as stone. "Listen carefully, kid. You're going to help me find your other teams. You're going to tell me everything you know about them. And if you want Hiroto to stay alive... you better start talking now."

The Genin's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but it was the mention of Hiroto that kept him from breaking down entirely. Slowly, hesitantly, he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper. "W-we were supposed to stay hidden... to make sure that no one knew what we were doing. The others... they were further out, covering more ground. But we lost contact with them when we came into the Rain's territory. We don't know what happened to them or where they are right now... I swear..."

My eyes narrowed as the Genin's voice trailed off into whispers. I could see the guy's fear, the way his shoulders hunched in anticipation of another outburst, but I was done with games. The silence stretched for a moment, and then I spoke again with a sigh.

"The intelligence gathering team of the Leaf will see to finding out the rest of the information from you later." My words weren't a threat; they were a promise. The boy's eyes widened as the implications hit him. Before he could react further, I struck him in the back of the head with a swift chop, knocking him out cold.

I stood up, brushing the dirt from my knees, my face unreadable as I surveyed the scene. Hiroto was still alive, barely, and the Genin would be unconscious for the time being. There was no need to make it worse, not yet. The boy's fate had already been sealed; his answers, for now, were the only thing of value.

Turning my attention to Minato, I moved quickly, crouching beside him. His breathing was still shallow, but the color had returned to his face. The steady rise and fall of his chest gave me a sense of relief.

But he's still in no condition to walk by himself. We need to move, so I'll just have to carry him.

I picked Minato up on my back and set up to travel for the outpost. The two Sand shinobi were still bound, lying limp where I had left them. The wire glinted in the early light as I pulling them behind me with a grunt. Their bodies dragged along the ground, leaving a trail in the dirt. Minato seemed to have regained some strength as his breath was steady, but he was clearly fighting against the dizziness and exhaustion even in his sleep.

As I trudged through the forest, the weight of the situation didn't feel any lighter. The slow, rhythmic drag of the bodies behind us was a constant reminder of our victory—small and meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but a victory nonetheless. It was the small victories that kept you going in the world we lived in.

I had left my 150 kg weights behind, realizing they had already served their purpose. The extra weight had become second nature to me, but now, with the heavy burden of the Sand shinobi's bodies dragging behind me, it felt unnecessary. I knew I'd outgrown them, and when the time was right, I'd step up to 200 kg weights, a challenge I was ready to meet. But for now, the weight of the situation was enough.

After hours of trudging through dense foliage and thick underbrush, the forest thinned. The trees were fewer, the ground softer beneath our feet. As we emerged from the trees, the Leaf Outpost came into view.

My heart skipped a beat, a feeling I couldn't quite place rising in my chest. The outpost was still standing. No smoke in the air, no signs of destruction. I exhaled, though the relief was short-lived. There was no telling how much longer we had before things went from bad to worse.

Shinobi stood guard, their eyes scanning the horizon, and the walls seemed as sturdy as ever. I nodded to myself, a sense of finality settling in. The journey had been long, and the path ahead wasn't any clearer, but for now, we had arrived.

With a final glance at the outpost, I moved forward, my pace steady and sure. The bodies of the Sand shinobi continued to drag behind me, a silent reminder of the battle that had yet to be won. As we reached the gates, I glanced at Minato, who was still sleeping on my back.

The gate opened with a creak, and the guards stepped aside, their eyes flicking to the unconscious shinobi in tow before nodding in acknowledgment. I nodded back, my expression grim as we entered the safety of the outpost. It was far from over, but at least we had a moment to breathe now.