𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑲.𝑰𝑵𝒁𝑼𝑲𝑨

|I{•------» [25] «------•}I|

Ruka Sarutobi remained silent as she took in the form of the orange-clad ninja before her, allowing her gaze to roam over his features. From his yellow, blond hair, brilliant orbs of blue shone with determination. She observed his eyes lacking their usual sparkle, his presence lacking warmth, and his smile absent. Ruka's eyes began to harden.

"Naruto! Where are you? I swear, I'm going to strangle you if it's the last thing I do!"

Sakura crashed through the bushes, disheveled and with leaves in her hair. She seemed fuming, a sight that would usually make Naruto cower by instinct. "You left me behind?!" she seethed, deep lines of irritation forming on her forehead, her left brow twitching in anger. "First, you try to go to the bathroom in front of me, and then you decide to just leave me alone? What if I was killed?"

The orange-clad male shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Told ya, I had to take a leak."

Ruka quickly walked towards them, and within seconds, her fist sailed through the air, connecting with the fake Naruto's cheek. He tumbled backward, crashing into a tree.

"Ruka!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth in shock. "You didn't have to go that far."

"Well, lucky for you, Sakura," Ruka said without glancing at her, "that's not Naruto."

"What?"

"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke questioned, glaring down at the male on the ground, rubbing his cheek.

The fake Naruto glared back, angrily rubbing his sore cheek. "What... are you saying all of a sudden?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "Your shuriken holster is on the left side. Naruto is right-handed."

Ruka hummed her agreement. "This plan wouldn't work on him, especially when he knows his boyfriend really well."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped at her.

The imposter Naruto snickered, dusting himself off and rising from the ground. He winked at them, and a puff of smoke enveloped him, leaving Sakura to shriek and falter back to Ruka's side. The smoke dissipated, revealing a new figure, jumping through it with a kunai in hand, ready for a fight.

In a confident fighting stance stood a spikey-haired male with dull brown hair and dull eyes, visible through the eyeholes of his sash. His features were cast in a darker shadow due to the forehead protector wrapped around his entire forehead. "Unlucky," he muttered. "You figured it out so quickly, not that it matters. I'm still going to take your scroll."

He charged forward without hesitation, heading straight for the Princess of Konoha, with Sakura hovering behind Ruka in panic. "R-Ruka!" Sakura tugged at Ruka's arm, but she didn't budge as she calmly stared at the Rain Ninja.

Ruka pulled back her fiery blue fist and landed a punch on the male's jaw, sending him flying backward until he crashed into a tree. The impact caused the tree to creak, splinter, and crash down to the forest floor with a resounding echo.

There was a moment of silence between them before Sakura broke it. "You're amazing, Ruka!"

"Thanks," Ruka muttered as she placed her finger on the ground, sensing the presence around them. She could detect her classmates and Gaara's team, but no Rain Ninja. She approached the Rain Ninja and began tying him up.

"It's time to get some information." Ruka held two fingers to his

forehead, and they briefly glowed blue. The guy's eyes shot open, and he groaned, wincing in pain as he realized his cheek was slightly burned. "Sorry about the cheek."

"Tell me where your teammates are hiding," Ruka's blue eyes darkened threateningly.

"I don't know where they are!" the ninja spat back with anger. "We split up, and that clearly cost me. It was unlucky, but I'll make up for it. The moment I get down from here, you're all dead."

"Can't wait," Ruka replied sarcastically. She walked back to her teammates, and Sasuke finally woke up. "They're probably not far off and are just biding their time to find the perfect opportunity to attack."

"Forget about that," Ruka told him. "We need to find our dearest Naruto."

"You'll never find him; he's probably dead by now."

Ruka turned around to face him, smirking. "I was about to let you go off in a peaceful way until you made that comment."

"I know what's in your jumpsuit pocket," the rain ninja's eyes widened in surprise as he was taunted by the only female Sarutobi. "What?" Sakura frowned, glancing down at the male's stitched-up jumpsuit. "No way!"

"He really is an idiot," Sasuke scoffed as he strode forward, pulling out the item from the male's pocket to reveal the scroll. "Oh wow," Sakura breathed as he handed her the scroll. "You mean this is it? We don't even have to plot and plan to get it."

But Ruka's eyes remained hardened as she eyed the scroll. "It's too easy to get this scroll, especially coming from a Rain Ninja." She looked up at Sakura with an idea. "Open it."

"What?!" Sakura stared at her in disbelief. "It's against the rules, and she said it was dangerous."

"Open it."

An amused chuckle sounded from behind them. "What's this? Konoha's true prodigy Princess is willing to risk the safety of her teammates to satisfy her curiosity? How cruel."

"Pretty much," Ruka shrugged as if it didn't matter to her. "Open it."

Sakura sighed nervously under the prodigy's gaze. "Ruka, I don't think we should do this."

"Just trust me," Ruka assured her, annoyed. "Either you open it, or I'll burn your wrist and open the scroll."

Hearing the threat, Sakura quickly started unrolling the scroll. Unsure of what to expect, she anticipated an explosion or something similar. However, she hadn't expected the scroll to begin disappearing. "Ruka!" Sakura looked at Ruka, finding the princess and heiress unsurprised. "Of course."

Ruka turned back to the tied-up male, who was scowling at her once again. "Stop scowling at me, or I might fall in love with you."

"Guards up," Ruka warned her team as they heard the sound of rustling bushes and running footsteps drawing closer at a fast pace.

Sasuke stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of the two females with a kunai at the ready. Ruka quickly passed Sakura her own kunai so she could defend herself.

An orange figure crashed through the bushes, a triumphant smile on his face as he offered them all a closed-eyed smile, proudly displaying two pairs of fishes in each hand.

Ruka stared at him in disbelief before letting out a genuine smile. 'That idiot, I can't believe I was worried about him.'

Naruto opened his eyes, revealing blue orbs sparkling with joy. "Look what I just caught! I told you all my shadow clones and I were going to..." His excited ramble faded on the tip of his tongue. "Hey, what happened here? Did you guys go battling for the scrolls without me?"

"Don't worry," Ruka said nonchalantly. "He's just visiting us because he's in love with me."