𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑲.𝑰𝑵𝒁𝑼𝑲𝑨

|I{•------» [40] «------•}I|

 It was early morning, the day of the final test. Asuma woke up with a heavy feeling weighing on his heart, a feeling he despised the most. Something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Ruka?" he called out, making his way to her bedroom. As he entered, he noticed her bed was tidy, as if no one had slept in it. His eyebrows furrowed, and he started searching for her throughout the house.

"Konohamaru, have you seen your sister?" Asuma asked, panic creeping into his voice as he entered the kitchen. His father and nephew looked at him with confusion. "The last time I saw her was when she put me to bed."

Asuma's anxiety grew as he looked at his father. "I can't find Ruka."

"Perhaps she went out early? You know how important today is for her," Hiruzen tried to ease his son's worry, but Asuma clenched his jaw in frustration. "Of course, you think there's nothing wrong."

Konohamaru looked up at the older Sarutobi with concern in his eyes. "Will Nee-chan be okay?"

Asuma's hardened gaze softened as he saw the genuine worry in his nephew's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to give a reassuring answer. Deep down, he didn't know if Ruka would be okay.

---

With an intense pain pulsating through her head, Ruka slowly regained consciousness. The beeping sound in the background made her think she was in a hospital, but the foul smell in the air told her otherwise.

Struggling, she opened her blue eyes, squinting to focus in the dim surroundings. Instead of the expected white hospital room, she found herself lying on an examination bed in a dark environment. Her body felt incredibly fatigued for some unknown reason.

Her attention was immediately drawn to a transparent bag hanging above her, containing green liquid that dripped slowly into a tube connected to a needle in her forearm. Multiple intravenous needles pierced her skin, sending a shiver of horror through her.

Her eyes widened in terror as she tried to move her arms and legs, only to find them restrained by metallic shackles. She gasped, panic rising as she struggled against the restraints, but her efforts were in vain. The beeping of her heart rate monitor increased in intensity as she wriggled her wrists and ankles.

"Now, now. Calm down, there's no need to panic," a familiar voice spoke.

Ruka turned her head to the left and saw Kabuto, manipulating buttons on a system above her. Three monitoring screens displayed her ECG rhythm, and wires emerged from the second screen, converging into two small metallic discs attached to her temples.

Confusion filled her as she realized she hadn't sensed Kabuto's presence earlier. "Why... why couldn't I sense you?"

"In the forest, Orochimaru managed to numb your abilities with his venom," Kabuto replied, sparing her a brief glance. "Relax, don't strain yourself."

Ruka became aware of the nasal cannula in her nostrils, providing respiratory assistance, with the tubing secured behind her ears and under her chin.

The sound of the door opening made her head snap in that direction, but the darkness prevented her from seeing anything beyond the focused light on the examination bed.

"Oh, look who's awake. The Princess of Konoha," a chilling voice spoke.

Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized the voice. Orochimaru emerged from the darkness and stood beside her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice disturbingly calm, eliciting a snap of anger from Ruka. "Why don't you come closer

, and I'll show you how I feel," she hissed, her voice dripping with defiance.

"Feisty as ever, like a cat," Orochimaru smirked, his golden eyes fixated on the girl. "Kabuto, I'd like to take care of her on my own. You may leave."

"As you wish, sir."

Ruka's blue eyes remained locked with Orochimaru's, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Today is the day of the final exams," he began, his voice trailing off, while she maintained her silence. "And it is also the day we destroy Konoha."

Horror washed over her, causing her eyes to widen before hardening with determination. "Let me go!" she growled, struggling against the chains. "I'm going to kill you all!"

Orochimaru stared at her, slightly taken aback, before his smirk widened and he licked his lips. "Do you know why you're here?"

"The Fourth Kazekage and I planned this a while ago," he continued. "To get rid of you first, the girl who upset the balance of the world, the one every shinobi fears. And then, we will release the One-Tail before invading the village."

"Hmph, you won't interfere with our plans, especially now that I've managed to keep your beast in a deep sleep," he taunted, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear as he leaned in closer. Ruka turned her face away in anger.

"But let's see how much longer you can hold on with the mercury inside you."