THE DIVIDING FALL

"EVERYONE! MOVE TOWARDS THE CORNER!"

It was Sasuke, his voice laced with desperation.

Neji's eyes snapped open, glowing with the familiar, intricate patterns of his Byakugan. He looked up, his vision piercing the darkness high above. The moment his Byakugan focused, his face went utterly white with horror.

High above Sasuke, a massive, jagged BOULDER was tumbling down. It was huge, big enough to crush them all, and it was heading straight for Sasuke!

"Naruto!" Neji shouted, his voice cracking with urgency. "Remove your clones!"

Naruto blinked, still confused. "But why...? What's the matter?" he yelled back, not understanding the sudden alarm.

"Quickly! Hurry up!" Neji screamed, his eyes wide with fear, ignoring Naruto's questions.

Naruto didn't hesitate. He quickly performed a hand sign, and with a final, whooshing burst of smoke, the last of his clones vanished.

Just as they disappeared, Sasuke came flying down from the very top of the cavern, having lost his climbing ladder he was coming more fast for the rough ground beneath him.

When all the clones vanished a terrified gasp escaped Karin. Her face was contorted in sheer horror, her eyes wide. "I sense a huge amount of chakra up there!" she cried out, her voice trembling. "It's like people are gathered in a huge group on one side! It's horrifying!"

Tenten, startled by Karin's outburst, turned to her. "You're a sensory shinobi...?" she asked, surprised by this new information about Karin. But Karin didn't even seem to hear her, completely overwhelmed by her terrifying sense.

"What in the world.....is that....?!" Ino shrieked, her eyes now fixed on the monstrous shadow hurtling down from above.

"Everyone! Towards the corner!!!" Neji bellowed again, his voice cracking with desperation, pointing frantically.

Now, everyone saw it clearly – the giant boulder, tearing down through the darkness.

A wave of frantic fear and frustration washed over the group. They scrambled, tripping over each other in their panic, desperately trying to move to safety.

Hinata, reacting purely on instinct, grabbed Mini Sasuke's hand. "This way!" she cried, pulling him quickly towards a side of the cavern. But that was her mistake.

Sasuke hit the ground with a loud thud, his body twisting. A sharp cry of pain escaped him as his ankle twisted beneath him. He clenched his teeth, "Damn it!!" but in an instant, he regained his balance.

Despite the pain, his eyes locked onto his younger self who was with Hinata. He pushed through the searing pain in his ankle, moving as fast as he could towards them.

The group was instantly divided. Sasuke, Mini Sasuke, and Hinata were now scrambling towards one side of the cavern, separated from the rest of their friends. Naruto, Sakura, Lee, Ino, Neji, Tenten, and Karin were all towards the other.

"Sasuke! Come this side!" Naruto screamed, his voice strained as he stretched out an arm, trying to pull his friend towards their group. 'Just come on, Sasuke! Hurry! We're all here! It's safer if we are together!'

But Sasuke, his eyes locked on Hinata and Mini Sasuke, shook his head stubbornly. His voice, usually so calm, was raw with urgency. "No! You come!" 'They're too slow,' he thought, a cold dread twisting his gut while he looked at Hinata and his younger self.

'Even if I will be able to make it, they won't be able to make it to the other side in time. The boulder is too fast. I along with Hinata and my younger self would be crushed under it!'

"Hinata-sama! Please, this side!" Neji yelled, his own voice tight with sheer panic, pointing frantically to where he knew safety was. He watched in horror as Hinata hesitated, caught between the two calls. 'Why isn't she moving?Of course it's the only way! Or is she waiting for Sasuke to move?'

Lee, his face etched with desperation, screamed, "Sasuke-kun! There are more of us this side! It will take time for us to get to you!" 'Why isn't he listening?!' Lee's mind shrieked.

'He's on the wrong side!'

"Hurry up, Sasuke-kun!" Ino shrieked, her voice thin with pure terror, her hand instinctively reaching out as if to physically pull him.

"Hurry up, Hinata-sama!" Neji's plea became a desperate cry, his eyes wide, fixed solely on her.

Sasuke decided to make his move. Hinata held Mini Sasuke's hand tightly and ready to react according to how Sasuke would. Then suddenly Sasuke held Hinata's hand tightly and dashed forward, making a run for the other side where everyone were.

The small forms racing against the rapidly growing shadow that swallowed the cavern's ceiling. The sound of the falling boulder was a monstrous roar now, filling the air, vibrating in their very bones. It was a race against death.

"Watch out!!!" Sakura screamed, her voice tearing, her eyes fixed on the inevitable. It was too late.

BOOM!!

The sound was deafening, a monstrous sound that shook the entire cave. The ground bucked violently. A blinding cloud of dust, smoke, and shattered rock exploded outwards, filling the cavern, swallowing everything in its choking, dark embrace. The air itself felt thick and heavy with pulverized stone.

When the dust began to settle, slowly, agonizingly, a monstrous, jagged wall of rock stood where the clear cavern floor had been. It had fallen right in the middle, splitting the cavern – and their group – in two.

"Sasuke.....!" Naruto's voice was a choked gasp, a desperate cry of his best friend's name, barely a whisper in the echoing silence that followed the crash. His eyes were wide, fixed on the new rock wall.

"Hinata-sama...!" Neji whispered, his voice trembling, his face pale with utter dread.

Tears streamed down Sakura's dust-streaked cheeks as she stumbled forward, reaching a hand towards the impassable boulder. "Sasuke-kun.....!" she sobbed, a heartbroken wail.

Naruto's face hardened, a raw, furious pain twisting his features. He clenched his fist so tight his knuckles turned white, then he slammed it into the rough surface of the newly fallen boulder in front of him.

"Darn it!" he roared, his voice thick with frustration and despair. "We're separated!"

As he stood there, breathing heavily, Naruto faintly heard Neji's voice, a raw, broken whisper, from where he had slumped to the ground, his body shaking with helplessness.

"...Why in the world did I call you here...?" Neji choked out, his voice barely audible, filled with crushing guilt. "...If I had just told you to remain there... then you would at least be alive.... Hinata-sama... It's all my fault."

His hand clenched into a tight fist, and he slammed it repeatedly onto the hard ground beside him, the dull thuds echoing his despair.

Naruto heard every word. The shock hit him like a physical blow.

'Wait... does that mean Sasuke...?' His mind reeled, trying to grasp the horrible, unspoken thought. 'Sasuke is... No! No, this can't be possible! I just thought that we were separated! But him not surviving... how is that possible?!'

A cold dread, sharp and sickening, pierced through him. 'It's my fault... it's my fault. Damn it!'

Tears blurred his vision as they streamed down his face. His head hung low, heavy with guilt. Then, with a sudden, powerful surge of raw emotion, he looked up, straight at the monstrous rock that stood between them.

Then a voice tearing from his very soul, a desperate, heartbroken scream that echoed through the now divided cavern held the name.

"SASUKEEEE!!!"

The air on the other side of the cavern was thick, heavy, and choking. A suffocating cloud of dust and pulverized rock hung everywhere, making it almost impossible to see or breathe.

The raw, booming sound of the boulder's impact still vibrated deep within the chests of the people in this side, leaving a ringing silence in its wake, broken only by the frantic beat of their own hearts.

The ground was uneven, littered with fresh, sharp pieces of broken stone from the massive fall. It felt like being trapped inside a choking, grey nightmare.

Through the swirling, hazy dust, two forms lay completely still on the rough, broken ground. They were sprawled awkwardly amidst the loose pebbles and shattered stone, covered in a fine layer of grey powder.

There was no sound, no movement, no sign of life from either of them. The dust settled slowly, like a morbid blanket, making it even harder to tell if they were just unconscious, or something far worse. A chilling silence held the air, heavy with unspoken fear.

One of the still figures was Sasuke, lying unmoving, his body twisted at an odd angle. A few feet away, the other figure was Hinata, lying on the side, her hair and clothes completely covered in the fine grey dust.

They remained utterly still, their fate unknown.

Then, from somewhere very close by, a small, fragile sound cut through the oppressive stillness.

It was a soft whimper.

Then, a tiny, heartbroken sob.

And then, clear and pure, the sound of someone quietly weeping. It was a choked, hiccuping cry, small and desperate, pulling at the very soul.

Through the slowly settling dust, a tiny figure slowly became visible. It was Mini Sasuke. He was sitting on the ground, his small body trembling.

His dark clothes were covered in grey dust, and his usually stern little face was now streaked with tears, making clean paths through the grime.

He wasn't yelling, just sitting there, crying silently, big tears rolling down his cheeks, his small shoulders shaking with each heartbroken sob. He looked utterly lost, terrified, and completely alone in the dust-filled silence.

Mini Sasuke sat on the cold, dusty ground, his small body shaking. His quiet sobs, filled with a deep, silent sadness, were the only sounds in the suffocating silence.

Then, from far away, through the thick dust and the ringing in his ears, he heard something faint. Muffled shouts. Desperate cries, barely reaching him.

"SASUKEEEE...!"

"HINATA-SAMA...!"

The names floated like ghostly whispers in the hazy air. He whimpered, clutching his knees tighter. 'Who are they shouting to? Why are they shouting?'

Then, more clearly this time, almost piercing through the dust and the pounding in his head, he heard it again.

"Sasuke...!"

His own name. The sound hit him like a sharp stone. A wave of pure terror, cold and absolute, washed over him. His breath hitched, and his small body stiffened. His quiet sobs exploded into loud, heartbreaking wails.

He cried harder than before, his throat aching, big tears mixing with the dust on his face, making muddy tracks.

His small mind was reeling, spinning in a terrifying circle of guilt and fear. 'Have I... have I just watched myself die?' he thought, his chest hurting with the awful idea.

'How can I be so useless? Is it my fault that these two are lying so still, like this? Is it because I'm just a kid? Because I'm weak?' He choked on a sob, his gaze flicking desperately between the still forms of Sasuke and Hinata.

'Now these two are gone... will I also die here? Stuck, all alone, just like this? Why can't I had been in their place atleast they would have thought something instead of me crying like a baby.'

The thought was too big, too scary for his young mind, and it filled him with unbearable dread.

Lost in his overwhelming fear and sadness, Mini Sasuke buried his head deep onto his knees, pulling his legs tight against his chest.

He just cried and cried, his small body shaking with every tear and every terrified breath.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

This chapter truly threw us into the deep end, didn't it? 🏊‍♂️ The humor from last time? Poof! 💨 Gone like Naruto's clones! We plunged into the raw, heart-wrenching reality of that massive boulder. 🪨💥 It wasn't just a physical divider; it sliced through their group, hopes, and even time itself! ⏳

Naruto's desperate cry, Neji's crushing guilt, and that suffocating silence... 🥺 It paints a grim, immediate aftermath. And then, Mini Sasuke, all alone in the dust, grappling with a terror and guilt that's just too much for his tiny self. 😭 My heart just aches for him! 💔

Sasuke's shocking realization about the "Rokudaime" and those extra Hokage faces? 🤯 That's the real gut-punch! They're not just lost; they're in a different Konoha, a different time. Talk about a bad trip! 🚀🌌

The stakes are sky-high now! What's next for Sasuke, Hinata, and Mini Sasuke on one side, and the heartbroken group on the other? 🗺️ How will they even begin to cope with this sudden, impossible twist? Only time will tell... and maybe, just maybe, the next chapter! 😉

📜 TEASER FOR NEXT CHAPTER:

A chasm divides, a world shifts in the dark. 🌑

One side hears a cry, the other, a chilling mark.

Who stands, who falls, when time itself takes a twist? 🤔

And what forgotten past awaits, through the temporal mist?

🔍 SNEEK PEEK LINE

"But you are the most sensible and responsible person here right now. We should just think about how we survive this. So we don't end up like them."

TALK TO ME! 🤯

Woah, okay, Chapter 16 just dropped a boulder on us, didn't it?! 🪨💥 Talk about literally splitting the team! My heart is currently doing more frantic jutsu than Naruto trying to save Sasuke. 💖😩

So, on a scale of 1 to "Kakashi-sensei's morning reading," how stressed are you about our heroes right now? 😬 Do you think everyone survived that epic fall? And what in the world is Mini Sasuke going to do, all teary-eyed and covered in dust? 🥺😭

This chapter was an emotional punch to the gut, but what moment hit you the hardest? 👇 Spill your theories, your anxieties, and maybe even a few jokes to lighten the mood! Let's get through this temporal chaos together! ✨

—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,

Sakura Shinomiya 💫

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