Chapter 21 – Into the Fog

Kuro awoke to the scent of herbs and fire. Her body trembled with the dull throb of exhaustion, and her eye—her only eye—blurred and then cleared. The sky above was still dark, pierced by the faintest pre-dawn glow. A hand was on her shoulder: warm, steady.

"You're safe now," Kiba said softly.

Kuro shifted her weight, tested her legs. Pain flared through her chest, but she stood. Not firm, but defiant.

"You shouldn't be moving," Shino said from across the fire. "But we need you."

Kiba crouched beside her. "Can you lead us?"

Kuro sniffed the air once, then twice, and turned her head to the northeast.

Kurenai, leaning against a tree, straightened. "She knows where to go."

Within minutes, Team 8 was ready. Their footsteps vanished into the damp, whispering forest.

<<<< o >>>>

The hideout was built into a rise of stone wrapped in tangled roots and creeping moss. From the outside, it looked like an old storehouse lost to time. But Kuro led them with precision, slowing near a low ridge.

"They're inside," Kiba whispered.

Kurenai knelt. "Shino, perimeter?"

"Four inside. Three more in patrol nearby, moving slowly."

Kiba's hands tightened. "I can distract the guards. Draw them to the west ridge."

Shino adjusted his sleeves. "I'll go in through the root network below. It connects to the storeroom floor."

Kurenai nodded. "Do it. I'll disable the guards with genjutsu the moment they break formation."

Kuro let out a low growl.

Kurenai placed her hand on the dog's head. "You stay with me. We'll finish this together."

<<<< o >>>>

Inside the hideout, Hinata stirred. Her body ached, but she could move. Michel's silver threads clung weakly to her limbs, offering support. She wasn't healed. But she was stable.

Takama still lay unconscious beside her.

"He's fading," Michel whispered. "His soul is fractured, corroded by the venom—barely holding together. It's a miracle he's alive at all. His body's vitality must be keeping his spirit tethered."

Hinata pressed her hand to his.

A door creaked.

The youngest of the ninjas entered, as young as Hinata but with eyes that reflected cruelty that the young woman still did not understand.

Ready to prove his worth, he quickly threw a liquid at Takama from a safe distance, which brought him back to consciousness, although not much more. And takes out a scalpel with a smile on his face.

"Last chance," he muttered to Takama. "You talk, or we start taking pieces."

She saw the scalpel first. Then the hand.

She didn't breathe. Not out of fear. But to listen—to herself.

Then she moved.

Hinata stood.

"I won't let you."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You can barely stand. Stay still, I'll play with you later" his cruel smile grew at the thought

"I only need to stand long enough."

She reached for her quarterstaff, discarded and ignored by her captors—an insignificant weapon in their eyes. It had been left beneath a cloth in the corner. Her fingers trembled—but they held.

"Not yet," she told herself. "Just hold on. I can do this."

<<<< o >>>>

Outside, Kiba whistled, loud and sharp.

Two guards turned instantly, blades drawn.

Then Kurenai moved.

The forest twisted around them, trees blending and reforming. A world of red mist and reflection swallowed them whole. Their cries echoed, then faded.

Shino, beneath the floorboards, released a stream of chakra bugs. They crawled silently upward, mapping the walls.

Kiba drew the remaining patrol away with wild howls and motion, vanishing into the mist with Akamaru beside him.

Kurenai stepped forward.

"I'm going in."

Kuro growled beside her, ready.

<<<< o >>>>

The boy lunged for Hinata.

She stepped sideways, letting her staff catch the motion. Wood met wrist with a crack.

He snarled. "Little freak—"

But then the room flickered.

Another Hinata appeared to his right.

Then another.

He struck one—His attack hit nothing, Hinata's illusion vanishing into nothingness..

Another moved.

He turned—but she wasn't there.

She was behind him.

She didn't speak, didn't call out. But deep within, her resolve surged—intent clear, focused. Michel felt it. 'Now.' The silver threads surged.

The boost gave her what he needed, strength and speed, but precision—that was her incredible focus coming into play.

Her staff struck twice, then a third time. Chest. Knee. Chin.

He dropped.

Hinata fell to one knee, panting.

"It's not over", Michel thought, though his words never reached her. Still, he hoped that somehow—on some instinctual level—they might.

A second more mature ninja entered.

But before he could move, his eyes rolled back. He collapsed in place.

Kurenai stepped through the door.

"You've done well," she said.

Behind her, Shino emerged silently. Kiba and Akamaru followed moments later.

Kiba knelt beside Hinata. "You okay?"

Hinata nodded weakly.

Kurenai moved to Takama.

"He's alive," she said. "But barely."

Michel extended the silver threads again, reinforcing Hinata's spine and joints.

"You can walk. Just a little longer."

Hinata stood, wobbled, but stayed upright.

Together, they left the hideout.

The mist rolled over the forest as they vanished into the dawn.

<<<< o >>>>

Back in Mizukusa, Gensai and Ayame awaited their return. Kuro rested beside Hinata's feet, tail twitching.

Takama lay unconscious but breathing.

Kurenai stood by the balcony, arms folded, watching the sunrise.

"Get some rest," she told her team. "You've earned it."

Hinata sat down slowly. Her staff across her knees.

"I don't know why I feel like this… but something's changed," she whispered to no one.

And somewhere in the silver world, her other self smiled.

Not in pride. In recognition.

The girl in the real world was catching up.