III

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Arc III Chapter 4

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The sun set and night replaced day. The pale light of the moon shone upon the frozen earth.

Every available ANBU assembled in a single room. They gathered around a wooden table and discussed their current situation. The discussion was heated.

“You fucking bitch, are you crazy?” Akahito raged.

“Do you understand what you are saying? You want to abandon our wounded comrades. You want them to die, don't you?” Akahito shot Asami a furious glare. Pure undiluted disgust dominated his eyes

Asami stood her ground. “Akahito, I would recommend you to mind your tongue in the future.“

“Don’t you dare lecture me. I am fully aware of the implications. Some of you might call my actions despicable, but we have no other choice.“

Akahito clenched his fists. “Didn't you say we would never capitulate? Didn't you say we would go down with honour? Were all these just empty words?”

”They were, but to be fair, my options were limited. We couldn’t allow ourselves to appear weak to the enemy. We had to maintain a strong facade, a convincing facade.”

“I never meant to say we should fight to the last man. I don't want to soak the soil with our blood. I don't want this village to be our grave.”

“Everyone knows, we will all die if we stay here. We are surrounded. Nobody will come to relieve us.“

“We are on our own, alone. The enemy outnumbers us by a significant margin. They even received reinforcements.“

“This won’t be an honourable battle, Akahito. This will be a massacre. They will crush us. Nobody will survive.“

“We have to break out of the encirclement, or at least die trying.” Asami didn't display a hint of emotion. Her face was hard like granite, her eyes cold like ice.

Everyone fell silent.

Koichi voiced his concerns, “ To succeed with a breakout, we have to leave behind the wounded.”

Asami nodded. ”I know, but we have to do what is necessary. These are desperate times, and desperate times require desperate measures.”

Akahito hit the table. “I was right all along, you, Asami, are a heartless monster, a soulless demon pretending to be human.“

“I will never betray my comrades no matter what, no matter when, no matter where. Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash, every Konoha ninja knows that.”

Akahito's stubbornness annoyed Asami. “Akahito, this is not the time for sentimentalities. Whether we fight or not doesn’t matter. Your noble sacrifice will only serve to satisfy your desire for hollow heroism.”

“If we fight, we will all die. If we abandon them, ten of us will survive. Who are you to deny them this right, Akahito? Aren't four lives a small price to pay?“

“We don’t need to kill them, just leave them behind. In fact, if we allow them to be captured, they might even survive. Kiri-nin are no savage brutes. They might spare them without a fight.“

The room fell silent. Nobody dared to disturb the heavy silence.

“How can you be so cold, Asami? Do their lives mean so little to you?” Konosuke pitied her, but she didn’t need his pity.

Asami glared. “Cold? You have the impudence to call me cold, Konosuke?“

“I am the one here who has the courage to speak the truth, the truth you refuse to accept, life is not a fairy tale.“

“I try to save your sorry asses, but how do you thank me? I am willing to make the decisions you fear, decisions that are neither pleasant nor easy. Even if the entire village will consider me trash.” Asami allowed her words to sink in.

”Everyone who supports me should now raise their hand.”

Her eyes swept through the room, but not a single hand was raised. Akahito glared at her in open contempt, while Konosuke, Ino, Koichi chose silence. They didn’t have the courage to speak their minds openly.

After all, they were Konoha ninja and there was no greater sin than to abandon your comrades.

Asami clenched her fists and stormed out of the room.

These fools and their Will of Fire. They ran into their own demise with blind fatalism. She expected little from these dogmatic morons and reality proved her right.

She tried to solve this matter peacefully, but her efforts failed. When nobody was willing to do what was necessary, she had to do it on her own.

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Asami strolled through the village. Norinaga still guarded the village entrance, watching the surrounding area. He was perfect. He was the eyewitness, the alibi she needed.

Norinaga noticed her, finally. “Asami, what are you doing here?”

“I am taking a little stroll. Needed some fresh air.”

Asami surveyed the lifeless forest. The trees were silent. ” How are our Kiri friends doing?”

Norinaga shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know. They lie low for the time being. We haven’t seen anything of them aside from a few scouts.”

“Really?”

"Yes, and I don't understand why."

"What do you mean?" Asami tilted her head, hiding her smirk.

She found her targets. She sensed four chakra signatures. They coincided with the location of the field hospital. The coordinates were set.

"I don't understand why they don't attack. We are weak. They could easily crush us with their numbers, but they hesitate. They even called for reinforcements. It is as if they are scared of us, but I have no idea what could instil so much fear in them.“

"Who knows, the world is a strange place with countless mysteries." Asami smiled. They were afraid of her, weren't they? She felt flattered.

"Good night, Norinaga."

"Good night.“ They parted ways.

Asami focused her mangekyou on the field hospital, an old wooden house, worn down by the tooth of time.

Asami didn’t take risks. She summoned her chakra and her flames obeyed. A purple orb manifested, floating above the house, willing to heed her call.

"Good night, Asami ..."

A massive explosion shook the ground. The blast hit them with full force. An expanding red fireball illuminated the night. The explosion shredded the building, incinerating everything in its vicinity.

"What the fuck was that?" Norinaga held his breath, shock written across his face.

Asami smiled in secret. "I have no idea."

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