Chapter 75: The Price of a Cave
"Ninja!"
Konan's whisper was a prayer and a curse. She stood paralyzed at the cave mouth, her mind rejecting the sight. Their sanctuary, their hidden refuge… how? Why would shinobi come here? The place was remote, worthless. Safety was an illusion.
"Konan? What is it?" Yahiko asked, his voice tinged with concern. Seeing her frozen silhouette, he got up and moved to the entrance.
Then he, too, stopped dead. The blood drained from his face, replaced by a cold, slick sweat.
Ragnar, still seated by the fire, let out a quiet, internal sigh. Of course. He rose smoothly to his feet and joined them at the threshold.
Outside, in the murky twilight and steady rain, stood a squad of seven. Sunagakure ninja. They were arranged in a loose semi-circle, not advancing, just observing the cave and its occupants with the detached scrutiny of soldiers assessing terrain. They had seen Konan and Yahiko, but made no aggressive move yet.
"Captain, they look like local strays. Orphans," one Sand-nin murmured.
"It's three strays," the leader, Sajiro, corrected, his sharp eyes noting Ragnar's appearance behind the other two. He saw a taller, sturdier build, but still a youth. Just three more war-zone refugees their patrol had stumbled upon. Coincidence. A minor detail.
Yahiko's heart hammered against his ribs. His own warnings screamed in his ears. Don't provoke the ninja. They'll kill you. The fear was a physical weight, rooting him to the spot. But he was the leader. He had to act. He had to protect Konan and… and Ragnar, who he'd just dragged into this.
Gritting his teeth until his jaw ached, Yahiko forced his legs to move. He stepped out of the cave, into the open, and walked towards the ring of impassive, masked faces.
"Yahiko, no!" Konan cried out, her voice cracking with fear.
Ragnar watched, his expression unreadable. He knew the unspoken rule. In wartime, on a covert patrol, witnesses were a liability. Loose ends. These Sand-nin wouldn't risk their mission's security for the lives of three anonymous orphans. The calculus was brutal and absolute.
He scanned the squad with a hunter's eye. Seven total. Three chunin-level chakra signatures, four genin. The leader, Sajiro, with the red paint, was the strongest—perhaps a seasoned chunin bordering on special jonin. Manageable. For him.
Swallowing hard, Yahiko stopped a few paces from the nearest Sand-nin. He took a shaky breath, his voice coming out thin but clear. "Honorable shinobi… if you need anything from our cave, please take it. You can have the shelter. We will leave. Right now."
He offered everything they had, hoping to buy their lives with their home. He had no illusion they'd simply let them walk away. He was begging, plain and simple.
The Sand-nin exchanged glances, silent communication passing between them.
"Captain, the cave seems clear. No ambush. What are your orders? Let the children go?" one subordinate asked, his tone suggesting he already knew the answer.
Sajiro didn't even look at him, his eyes fixed on the three figures. "No," he said flatly. "Our position cannot be compromised. It's regrettable, but necessary. Clean and quiet."
A chill colder than the rain settled over the clearing. Yahiko felt it like a physical blow. His hope, fragile as it was, shattered.
"What?!" The word tore from him, half-protest, half-disbelief. Kill us? Just for being here? Rage, hot and bitter, flooded his veins, momentarily overriding the fear. This world… it was broken. It was a monster.
Konan paled, her hands flying to her mouth. The rain plastered her blue hair to her skin, but she didn't notice. Despair, a familiar ghost, wrapped around her heart. Escape? Resistance? Against ninja? It was a fairy tale. In her despair, her eyes found Ragnar. A wave of guilt washed over her. It's our fault. We dragged him here. He should be safe in town…
One of the Sand-nin, a chunin named Yomon, detached from the group. A kunai appeared in his hand, its edge catching the last of the gray light. He walked toward Yahiko with the casual stride of a man performing a mundane chore.
"Damn it!" Yahiko hissed, his body trembling uncontrollably. His mind screamed at him to run, to freeze, to scream. But his eyes flicked to Konan, then to Ragnar at the cave mouth.
A desperate, crazy plan ignited in his mind. He couldn't win. But maybe… maybe he could buy seconds. Ragnar was strong. Fast. If he could just distract this ninja, create an opening…
"Ragnar! Take Konan and RUN!" Yahiko roared. And then he moved.
He didn't charge the ninja. He dove forward, wrapping his arms around Yomon's legs in a clumsy, desperate tackle, pinning the man in place. "GO!" he screamed over his shoulder, his face pressed into the ninja's muddy trousers.
"Yahiko!" Konan's cry was a raw wound.
Sajiro's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Yomon. Don't play with your food. Finish it."
Sand-nin Yomon looked down at the boy clinging to his legs with a mix of contempt and irritation. "Stupid brat. So eager to die? Fine." He raised the kunai high. "Blame the country you were born in."
The blade started its descent, a silver streak aimed at the back of Yahiko's neck.
Yahiko squeezed his eyes shut. The world narrowed to the sound of the rain and the thud of his own heart. I'm sorry, Konan. I tried.
CLANG!
A sound like a hammer on an anvil, sharp and final, cut through the rain.
A rush of displaced air whipped past Yahiko's ear.
He opened his eyes. The kunai tip hovered a hair's breadth from his skin, trembling. It wasn't moving.
His gaze traveled up the arm holding it. Yomon's wrist was caught in a vise-like grip. The hand belonged to Ragnar, who now stood beside the Sand-nin, having moved from the cave mouth in the time it took Yahiko to blink.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Konan stared, her hand still over her mouth.
Sajiro's eyes widened fractionally. "…How?"
Yomon looked from his immobilized weapon to the calm, young face beside him, his own expression one of utter shock.
"Rag…nar…?" Yahiko breathed, the name a question and an answer. A strange, dawning light sparked in his eyes.
"Let. Go. Brat," Yomon snarled, wrenching his arm. It didn't budge. Enraged, he swung his free fist in a wild hook at Ragnar's head.
"Look out!" Yahiko yelped.
Ragnar didn't move to block. He simply turned his head and looked at Yomon.
His eyes flashed with a deep, crimson light.
WHOOM.
An invisible wave of pure, oppressive Will exploded outward. It had no physical force, but it struck the mind like a physical blow.
Yomon's punching arm went limp. His eyes, wide with fury a second before, glazed over, losing all focus and intelligence. His body went slack as a puppet with cut strings, collapsing bonelessly to the muddy ground. He wasn't dead. He lay there, drooling slightly, staring at the sky with empty, idiot eyes. His spirit, his consciousness, had been scrubbed clean by the Conqueror's Haki.
The remaining six Sand-nin recoiled as one, their disciplined formation breaking. This was no ninjutsu, no genjutsu they recognized. It was something… else.
Sajiro's face hardened into a mask of grim focus. "Shinobi," he stated, the word heavy with new meaning.
Ragnar ignored him. He reached down, his grip gentle now, and pulled Yahiko to his feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice as calm as if he were asking about the weather.
Yahiko took the proffered hand numbly, letting himself be hauled upright. He stared at Ragnar, then at the catatonic Yomon, then back at Ragnar. This moment, this impossible reversal, was etching itself into his soul.
Ragnar finally turned his attention to the Sand-nin squad. He stepped forward, placing himself between them and the cave. The rain slid off an invisible shell around him. His gaze swept over Sajiro and his men, cold and final.
"The killer," he said, his voice carrying clearly over the rain's drumbeat, "is always ready to be killed."
(End of Chapter)
✨If you're enjoying this story, consider supporting me on Patreon —
Patreon.com/TofuChan
💕Patreon members get early access to chapters, bonus content, and voting power on future ideas.💕
Every bit of support helps me write more and faster. Thank you so much for reading! 🥰
Bonus Chapter For Every 100 Power Stones
Lets hit the goal of 150 Patreon Members now for 5 Extra Chapters 💕
We are at 123 members right now.
Donate me Stoness!!!