Chapter 43: The Sparring of the Severed
The mess hall was not a place for nourishment; it was a cathedral of deprivation. It was a wide, sterile room where the air was colder than the hallways, smelling of lye and old stone. There were no chairs, only long, waist-high stone slabs that served as tables. The recruits stood while they drank, their shadows stretching long and thin against the floor under the flickering glow of the overhead crystals.
At the end of the hall, an operative stood behind a metal basin, ladling lukewarm water into wooden bowls. There was no conversation. The only sound was the rhythmic clink of wood on stone and the steady drip of water from a leaky pipe in the corner.
Naruto stood at the end of a slab, his bowl of water untouched. Beside him, Ro was hunched over, his hands shaking so violently that the surface of his water was a constant blur of ripples. The boy looked like he was on the verge of a total collapse. His skin was sallow, and the way he leaned against the stone table suggested his legs were finally giving out.
"Drink," Naruto said, his voice a low murmur that barely carried past Ro's ear.
"I can't," Ro whispered, his voice cracking. "My stomach hurts too much. If I drink, I'll be sick, and if I'm sick, they'll see."
Naruto glanced toward the corners of the room. Two instructors were stationed near the exits, their arms crossed, their gazes sweeping over the children like vultures. They were looking for any sign of weakness, any deviation from the mandated silence.
Naruto moved slightly, shifting his body to create a narrow blind spot between himself and the nearest guard. With a practiced, fluid motion, he reached into the hidden pocket of his tunic. He felt the small, wax-paper bundle Yugao had pressed into his hand before he left the Hatake estate.
Inside were three pieces of high-calorie dried fruit, dense and sticky.
"Hand under the table," Naruto commanded softly.
Ro hesitated, his eyes wide with terror. "We'll be killed."
"Only if you're slow. Do it."
Ro slid his hand beneath the stone ledge. Naruto dropped a single piece of the fruit into the boy's palm. The sugar hit Ro's senses before he even tasted it; his pupils dilated, and he nearly dropped his bowl in surprise.
"Eat it in small bites," Naruto instructed, his eyes never leaving the guards. "Wash it down with the water. If they look at you, keep your mouth shut and swallow."
Ro didn't need to be told twice. He moved with the desperation of a starving animal, his movements jerky but hidden by the shadow of the table. As the sugar hit his system, a ghost of color returned to his cheeks. He looked at Naruto with an expression that was halfway between worship and pure, unadulterated fear.
"Why?" Ro breathed after he had swallowed the last bit. "If they caught you, you'd be the one getting the 'Correction.' "
"Because a broken tool is useless to me," Naruto lied, his voice regaining that cold, clinical edge he used to shield himself. "And you're my partner for the month. I don't intend to let your weakness drag me down."
It was the kind of logic the Foundation would respect, but the lie felt heavy on his tongue.
A shadow fell over the table.
Naruto didn't flinch. He slowly lifted his bowl and took a measured sip of the metallic water. Standing directly across from them was the pale boy with the ink-stained fingers.
Sai didn't have a bowl. He simply stood there, watching them with those empty, bottomless eyes. He had seen everything. He had seen the fruit, the hand-off, and the way Naruto had guarded the frail boy.
For a long moment, nobody moved. The tension was a physical cord stretched tight between them. Naruto prepared himself to move, his mind calculating the distance to the pale boy's throat if he tried to call for an instructor.
Instead of shouting, Sai reached into the pouch at his waist. He pulled out a small, charcoal-stained rag and began to wipe his fingers, his gaze never leaving Naruto's face. He didn't smile. He didn't scowl. He just watched, as if he were trying to memorize the way Naruto's muscles moved.
Then, Sai did something unexpected. He tapped the stone table three times in a rhythmic pattern, a signal that was used in the deeper levels of the facility to indicate 'Clear.'
He wasn't going to tell.
Sai turned and walked away, his movements as silent as a ghost. He rejoined his older brother, Shin, who was standing a few tables away. Shin looked at the younger boy with a questioning glance, but Sai simply shook his head, returning to his state of catatonic stillness.
"He... he saw," Ro whimpered, his breath hitching.
"He did," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Sai's retreating back. "But he didn't speak. Remember that, Ro. Even in the dark, not everyone is an enemy."
"Water ration concluded!" the stone-faced instructor shouted, his staff hitting the floor with a booming thud that made half the recruits jump. "Deposit your bowls. Formation for the afternoon sparring. Group Four, you are in Pit Three. Move!"
The march to Pit Three was faster this time. The instructors were pushing the pace, deliberately trying to exhaust the children's cardiovascular systems before the physical combat began.
Pit Three was a sunken hexagon of packed earth, the walls lined with various wooden weapons and blunted practice knives. The air here was thicker, smelling of sweat and the copper tang of blood from previous sessions.
The instructor stood on the raised walkway above the pit, looking down at the children with a gaze of pure iron.
"The afternoon session is the Sparring of the Severed," he announced. "The rules are absolute. You will be paired. One partner will have their primary hand tied behind their back. The other will defend. If the defender is hit three times, the attacker wins. If the attacker cannot land a hit within two minutes, the defender wins."
The man's eyes locked onto Naruto and Ro.
"Zero. Since you are so confident in your 'efficiency,' you will be the first attacker. Your right hand will be bound. Your partner, Twenty-seven, will be your target. If you do not land three strikes within the time limit, Twenty-seven will be removed for 'Standard Reconditioning.' "
Ro turned white. 'Standard Reconditioning' was a euphemism for the isolation cells, where recruits were left in total darkness for days without food or water. For a boy as frail as Ro, it was a death sentence.
The instructor leaned over the railing, a cruel glint in his grey eyes. "And to ensure you don't 'hold back' for your new friend... for every strike you miss, the guard at the door will strike Twenty-seven with a rattan cane. Do you understand the stakes, Zero?"
Naruto felt the heat of the Nine-Tails' chakra flicker deep in his gut, a low growl of rage that he quickly suppressed. This was Danzō's game. They wanted to see if he would break Ro's spirit to save himself, or if he would let Ro suffer to keep his own hands clean.
An operative stepped into the pit and pulled Naruto's right arm behind his back, securing it with a thick, coarse rope that bit into his skin.
Naruto looked at Ro. The boy was shaking, standing in a clumsy defensive stance he had likely been taught weeks ago and never mastered. His eyes were pleading, filled with a terror so deep it was heartbreaking.
"Don't look at them, 27," Naruto said, his voice dropping to a cold, steady frequency. "Look at me. Only at me."
"I'm sorry," Ro sobbed quietly. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Naruto said, stepping forward. "Be ready."
The instructor raised his wooden staff. "Begin!"
Naruto exploded into motion. Even with one arm bound, his speed was a blur. He lunged toward Ro, his left hand shaped like a spear, but he wasn't aiming for the boy's chest or throat.
He was aiming for the space just above Ro's shoulder.
Whack!
The guard at the edge of the pit swung his cane, catching Ro across the thigh. The boy screamed, collapsing to one knee.
"Strike one missed!" the instructor shouted, his voice full of dark amusement. "That's one for the guard. Two more, Zero, or your partner belongs to the hole."
Naruto stood over the fallen boy, his expression unreadable. He could hear the other recruits watching, their silent judgment weighing on the air. He could see Sai standing at the edge of the pit, his ink-black eyes tracking every movement.
Naruto leaned down, his face inches from Ro's.
"Listen to me," Naruto whispered, so low the instructors couldn't hear. "The next one is going to look real. When I move, you're going to drop. Do you hear me? Drop."
Naruto backed away, resetting his stance. He didn't look like a four-year-old anymore. He looked like a predator closing in for the kill.
He lunged again.
**********A/N**********
PLEASE SUPPORT THE STORY WITH POWESTONES. FOR EVERY INCREMENT OF 30 POWER STONES, I WILL RELEASE 1 EXTRA CHAPTER.