Chapter 77 - Truth in my Hands

Naruto shot up from his seat, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"We didn't take your meat!" Naruto's outburst echoed in the office, his face red with frustration.

Headmaster Arasaka raised an eyebrow but said nothing, allowing Naruto to continue.

"We were minding our own business, gathering supplies when Sasuke and his group attacked us!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke, his eyes wide with indignation. "They started the whole thing! We weren't spying, we weren't stealing—they came at us first!"

Sasuke remained seated, arms crossed, an indifferent look on his face. He wasn't about to argue; he had already said his piece.

Arasaka gave Naruto a cold, measured look. "Calm yourself, Naruto. Now, explain what happened from your perspective—clearly."

Naruto took a deep breath, still glaring at Sasuke, but he complied. "We were by the river, trying to catch some fish..."

...

Naruto crouched by the riverbank alongside Shino and a handful of their classmates, their small woven baskets already heavy with fish they'd caught throughout the evening. The warm glow of the torches they had lit earlier flickered in the soft night breeze, casting long shadows across the water's surface. The night was quiet, save for the crackling of flames and the occasional splash as one of them caught another fish, adding it to their growing haul.

Naruto grinned as he watched the fish flop into the basket. "We're eating well tonight!" he called over to Shino, who gave him a calm nod as he reeled in his own catch.

As Naruto added another fish to his basket, there was a sudden gust of wind. The flames on their torches sputtered before, one by one, they extinguished, leaving the group in darkness.

"Oi, what happened?" one of the unnamed classmates muttered, trying to reignite his torch.

"Stay sharp," Shino's voice came from nearby, calm but low. "We're not alone."

Before anyone could respond, shadows moved in the darkness. They couldn't see their attackers, only hear the shuffle of feet and feel the sudden, sharp pushes as unseen hands shoved them from all sides.

Naruto braced himself just as a figure lunged at him. Without hesitation, he grabbed the assailant's arm and threw them to the ground, but it was too dark to see who they were fighting.

"Students?" Naruto yelled into the night, wrestling with another figure who tried to grab him. They moved too much like them to be anything else, but no one answered.

Nearby, he heard Shino calmly dispatching his own foes. The sound of a body hitting the ground echoed behind Naruto as another unseen opponent was knocked away by the quiet insect user. "I can't see them. Too many shadows," Shino muttered, his voice eerily composed.

"Doesn't matter! Just beat them and we'll figure it out later!" Naruto shouted, knocking another figure into the river.

The attackers suddenly scattered, retreating into the darkness just as quickly as they had appeared. Naruto managed to relight one of the torches, and the flames illuminated the scene. Their baskets lay empty, the fish they had worked so hard to catch, gone.

"Those jerks!" Naruto fumed, grabbing the torch. "They took everything!"

Shino's bugs buzzed quietly in the air, searching. After a few moments, Shino's eyes narrowed behind his dark glasses. "They're heading east. I can track them."

Naruto didn't need more encouragement. "Lead the way!"

They bolted after the thieves, the torchlight casting long, flickering shadows along the path. The ground beneath their feet became rougher as they ran through the woods, following Shino's bugs as they guided them.

Just as they thought they were catching up, something blocked their path—bandits. A rough-looking group stood in the clearing ahead, weapons drawn.

Naruto skidded to a stop, holding the torch out defensively. "More trouble. Great."

The bandits didn't waste time. One rushed Naruto, swinging a rusted sword. Naruto ducked, avoiding the blow, and with a quick move, he drove his fist into the man's stomach. The bandit gasped, his body folding as he dropped to the ground.

Two more charged at Shino, but they didn't stand a chance. His bugs swarmed from his sleeves, enveloping the attackers. With a simple gesture, the insects lifted the bandits into the air, slamming them against the nearest tree. They slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Naruto took a deep breath, glancing around at the fallen bandits. "Is that all of them?"

Shino nodded, his bugs returning to him. "We still need to catch the thieves."

They pressed forward, determined to reclaim what had been stolen. As they continued, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Whoever these thieves are, they're in for it now."

...

"You two," Arasaka's voice was calm but edged with authority, "have made quite the disturbance during the survival training."

Sasuke's eyes remained locked forward, arms crossed. Naruto, on the other hand, was fidgeting in his seat, clenching his fists but trying to hide his discomfort under a brave face.

Arasaka sighed deeply, his fingers tapping lightly against the desk as if thinking carefully about what to say next. "I've already heard both of your accounts of what happened. Frankly, I find the entire situation... disappointing. You were supposed to learn cooperation, survival, not instigate rivalries in the middle of training."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Sasuke shot him a quick glance, cutting him off. The Uchiha boy's expression remained unchanged, stoic as ever.

The headmaster finally leaned forward, folding his hands. "What I care about is discipline. You are shinobi in training. You represent Konoha. Let me be clear—further recklessness will not be tolerated."

His words hung heavy in the air, as both boys felt the weight of his authority pressing down on them.

"Now, leave my office," Arasaka said, his voice carrying finality. "And do not make me summon you here again."

Naruto shot up from his chair but hesitated, glancing at Sasuke before leaving. Sasuke stood calmly, his cold eyes glinting briefly in the low light before he turned and followed Naruto out. The wooden door creaked as it opened, and the two boys stepped into the hallway.

"That old man... doesn't know what he's talking about," Naruto muttered under his breath, fists still clenched. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

Sasuke remained quiet, his gaze locked straight ahead. His footsteps were deliberate, calm, contrasting sharply with Naruto's jittery energy. As they reached a more secluded part of the hallway, Sasuke finally stopped. He turned to Naruto, his dark eyes unreadable.

"Don't ever talk about what happened in that forest," Sasuke said in a low, controlled voice.

Naruto blinked, caught off guard by the sudden statement. "What? Why?"

Sasuke took a step closer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You heard what I said. Whatever you think happened, whatever you want to say... it stays between us. Understand?"

Naruto frowned, his frustration flaring. "Why? What's the big deal? We fought off bandits! We should be telling everyone about how we handled it!"

Sasuke's expression hardened, his voice turning colder. "You're an idiot if you think it's that simple. You don't understand who might be listening or what could happen if the wrong people hear it."

Naruto stared at him, confused and annoyed. "Sasuke, what are you talking about? We just—"

Sasuke cut him off, his voice sharp. "If you talk, you'll make things worse for both of us. There's more going on here than you know, Naruto. Just keep your mouth shut."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but saw something in Sasuke's eyes—something serious, darker than the usual rivalry. He hesitated, unsure of what Sasuke was implying but sensing the weight of it. Slowly, he nodded.

"Fine. I won't say anything," Naruto muttered reluctantly.

...

Naruto's team moved swiftly through the forest, the glow of the moon filtering through the leaves. Ahead, they spotted something—chunks of cooked meat and baskets of their stolen fish.

Naruto's eyes widened. "There it is! Our fish!"

Shino was calm as always, but even he seemed a little more alert. "Grab it before they come back."

They hurried forward, each of them snatching their baskets of fish. The smell of the cooked meat tempted them, and Naruto couldn't resist grabbing a chunk.

"Finally," Naruto muttered with his mouth half-full, "something good after all this running around."

But before they could relax, a voice cut through the air. "What do you think you're doing?"

Naruto froze, the piece of meat still in his hand. He turned around and saw Sasuke's team emerging from the trees—Sasuke, Kiba, Kaito, and Kaido. Kiba's face was scrunched in anger.

Kiba pointed at Naruto. "That's our meat!"

Naruto swallowed hard and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Your meat? You mean our fish?"

"You're stealing from us!" Kaito snapped, his voice filled with anger. "And now you're eating it? Are you serious?"

Naruto stepped forward, fists clenched. "No way! If this is your meat, then what's our fish doing here?"

The accusation hung heavy in the air. Both sides glared at each other, the tension building like a storm. Without another word, Sasuke launched himself forward, his hand already forming a fist. Naruto barely had time to dodge.

"Enough!" Naruto shouted, blocking another attack from Kiba.

Shino stepped forward, his bugs buzzing menacingly from beneath his sleeves. "Calm down. This is a misunderstanding."

But it was too late. Sasuke and Kiba had already engaged, with Kaito and Kaido backing them up. The clearing exploded into chaos, fists and jutsu flying. Naruto ducked a punch from Kiba and retaliated with a wild swing of his own. Shino's insects were already swarming the air, but Sasuke expertly dodged them, his movements precise and calculated.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp voice called out, "This is such a drag."

From the shadows, Shikamaru and Choji emerged, Choji with his hands full of food as always, while Shikamaru scratched the back of his head in boredom.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto called, sidestepping another blow. "A little help here?"

Without a word, Shikamaru stepped forward and extended his shadow across the ground, the black tendrils creeping toward both groups. The moment the shadows touched, everyone froze—Sasuke, Naruto, Shino, Kiba, even Choji—all locked in place, unable to move a muscle.

The entire clearing fell silent.

Shikamaru, now completely relaxed, let out a long sigh. "You guys are so troublesome."

His shadow stretched over everyone like a web, holding all of them in place, arms and legs bound by invisible tentacles. He gave a half-hearted glance around the field, shaking his head as he surveyed the mess.

"All right, what's going on here?" he asked, sounding more annoyed than concerned.

"We caught them stealing our meat!" Kiba barked, still struggling against Shikamaru's shadow.

Naruto shot back immediately. "And they've got our fish with their meat! If anyone's stealing here, it's you!"

"We didn't take your stupid fish!" Kaito snarled.

"Then explain why it's sitting with your stuff!" Naruto growled, his voice full of frustration.

Shikamaru's grip tightened. "Enough! I don't care about your meat or fish. You both look like idiots fighting over dinner."

Shino, still bound, managed to speak calmly. "Clearly, someone else is involved. Bandits, perhaps."

"Yeah, we were attacked too," Sasuke admitted begrudgingly, still straining under the hold of Shikamaru's shadow. "But that doesn't mean you didn't take what's ours."

Shikamaru sighed and released his jutsu. The shadows retreated, freeing both teams from his grasp. They all stood there, rubbing their wrists and glaring at each other, but no one made a move.

"Look, we need to stop jumping at each other's throats," Shikamaru said, sounding completely exasperated. "We've all been out here for days, and things are starting to get to everyone."

Kiba crossed his arms, grumbling. "Fine. But we're not leaving without our meat."

"And we're not leaving without our fish," Naruto added defiantly.

Shikamaru glanced between the two groups, rolling his eyes. "How about we sort out who the real thieves are before we start killing each other over dinner?"