"Annoying." Sasuke muttered, wiping a bit of cabbage from his yukata.
Meanwhile, a few yards away, Neji was having a much less graceful morning. Since he was the first to dive from the fifth floor, the impact had been... significant.
He was currently face-down in a massive, fluffy snowbank. His long, dark hair was fanned out like a wet mop, and his traditional yukata was bunched up around his waist.
A group of elderly village women, wrapped in thick wool shawls, quickly surrounded him.
They leaned in close, their wrinkled faces full of gossip and concern.
"Oh, that poor dear!" one whispered, poking Neji's shoulder with her walking stick. "Is he dead? Or just very, very tired?"
"Look at those fancy clothes.. " another whispered, her eyes narrowing. "Do you think he was trying to commit suicide over a broken heart? Such a handsome boy, what a waste of a good yukata."
"Maybe he's being targeted by debt collectors!" a third suggested, nodding wisely. "They always fall from the sky in Tetsu no Kuni this time of year."
Neji's eyes snapped open beneath the snow. His face was beet-red—not from the cold, but from pure, complete embarrassment. He couldn't stand the whispering for another second.
With a sudden explosion of snow, he got up to his feet, scattering the old women like startled pigeons.
Without looking back, and without even checking where he was going, Neji bolted. He ran in a completely blind direction, his yukata fluttering in the wind as he tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and the 'suicide' rumors.
While the boys were busy with vegetable vendors and gossiping grandmothers, the girls were dealing with the painful reality of a five-story drop.
The snowy ground might have looked soft, but underneath the powder was the rock-hard, frozen ice of Tetsu no Kuni.
Sakura sat on the ground, her teeth clenched and her face pale. She had landed hard on her side, and a nasty, purple bruise was already blooming across her leg where she hit a patch of solid ice.
She tried to stand, but her leg buckled, sending a sharp sting of pain through her body.
"Stay down, Sakura!" Ino shouted, running across the snow to reach her friend's side. Ino didn't even stop to brush the snow off her own clothes. Her hands immediately began to glow with a soft, steady green light as she hovered them over Sakura's bruised leg.
"I'm fine, Ino... we need to move," Sakura whispered, though her eyes were watering from the ache.
"You're not moving anywhere until I heal this up," Ino replied, her voice firm despite the panic in her eyes.
"That was a five-story jump, not a hop over a fence!" She focused entirely on numbing the sharp sting and reducing the swelling so Sakura could at least stand.
"I'm just going to dull the pain for now, okay? We have to get out of here before those guards reach the street!"
A few feet away, Karin was on her hands and knees, desperately patting the snow like a panicked kitten. "My glasses! Where are they?! I can't sense a single chakra signature because I am distracted!" she wailed.
Her fingers brushed against something cold and metallic buried in a drift. With a cry of relief, she pulled her glasses out.
They were slightly bent and covered in slush, but they weren't broken. She wiped them quickly on her sleeve and jammed them onto her face.
The world snapped back into focus—and the first thing she saw was the glowing green light of Ino's medical ninjutsu. Karin rushed over to join them, her boots crunching loudly on the ice.
"Ino-san, is she alright?" Karin asked urgently, her voice full of genuine worry as she hovered nearby. "I can feel the Samurais' chakra closing in. We don't have much longer!"
"She'll be able to move, but she shouldn't put too much weight on it," Ino replied, wiping sweat from her forehead despite the freezing air. She helped Sakura up, letting her lean on her shoulder for a moment.
Sakura tested her leg, wincing slightly as she looked from Ino to Karin, a small, tired smile touching her lips despite the danger. "Thanks, guys," she whispered.
The market remained a whirlwind of noise and confusion. The heavy silence that usually gripped the frozen city was gone, replaced by the loud, whistling wind that whipped through the stalls and the angry shouting of the locals.
"Look at the mess!" a woman yelled, pointing at the shattered wood and scattered greens. People were coming out of their shops, pointing at the shattered cartons and the strange group of youngsters who had just rained down from the heavens.
A man in a thick, fur-lined coat stood over a pile of crushed cabbages, his face twisted in suspicion. "Look at them!" he shouted to his neighbors. "There are no ninjas in Tetsu no Kuni—but only Samurai.
They must be travelers in disguise! Their only motive is to destroy our peaceful environment with this reckless behavior!"
A second man, leaning out of a nearby window, narrowed his eyes at Sakura and Ino. "Don't tell me..." his voice trailed off into a low, fearful whisper.
"Don't tell me they are the children about whom the rumors were speaking... the ones from Ko..?"
"Children?" a third man cut, crossing his arms and glaring at the group with pure hatred.
"Children these days are nothing but demons in small skin. Look at the destruction they've caused without a second thought!"
In the middle of this rising heat, Karin didn't let the insults distract her. She looked at Sakura's bruised leg and then at the crowd that was slowly circling them.
"Ino-san, stop," she said firmly. She pulled up her sleeve. "Sakura-san, bite my arm. It's the fastest way to get you moving properly."
Sakura didn't hesitate. She knew they couldn't stay in the middle of this scene much longer. She bit into Karin's arm, and a sudden, hot surge of chakra flooded her system. It felt like a spark of lightning hitting her injury.
Almost instantly, the dark bruise on her leg dissolved into nothing. The skin returned to its healthy color, and the sharp pain was replaced by a feeling of total strength.
Sakura stood up and took a firm step. Her leg felt perfect—not a single trace of the fall remained. "Thanks, Karin," she said, her voice steady.
"Let's hurry now," Karin replied, quickly pulling her sleeve down and readjusting her glasses as she scanned the chaotic market.
The locals continued to shout and point, their voices rising over the howling wind. Even without the sound of Samurai, the market felt like a trap that was slowly closing in on them.
The market was already a mess of shouting people and flying cabbage, but things were about to get much more ridiculous.
Sakura, Ino, and Karin started to move away from the crowd, trying to keep a low profile.
Above them, the 'Frozen Crane' hotel loomed tall, its roof covered in a thick layer of ice.
Suddenly, the snow on the roof shifted. Two Samurai in full, heavy armor vaulted over the ledge, their metal suits gleaming dully against the grey sky as they crashed towards the street.
A small child standing by a nearby stall tugged on his mother's sleeve, pointing up with wide, shimmering eyes. "Mommy, look! Flying birds! I want to fly just like them!" The mother didn't have time to answer before a roar echoed through the market.
"SAKURA! MOVE!" Sasuke shouted, his voice cutting through the wind like a blade.
The girls reacted instinctively. The place where they stood was narrow, forced between a stone wall and the open street.
They had to leap away just to avoid being crushed. One Samurai came down like a falling boulder.
He landed exactly where the girls had been standing a second before, but the weight of his heavy metal helmet hit the frozen, rock-hard snow with a sickening CLANG.
The impact was so great that the warrior went instantly limp, knocked unconscious by his own armor.
The second Samurai wasn't much luckier. He hit a patch of slick ice, his boots sliding out from under him. He didn't just land; he became a ball.
He rolled and flipped across the street, gaining speed until he crashed—once again—directly into the poor shopkeeper's ruined stall.
The wood splintered, and the remaining cabbages flew into the air like green confetti.
The shopkeeper, who had just started to wake up, looked at the armored man sitting in his lap and let out a sound that was half-scream, half-sob.
In the chaos of the 'flying birds' landing, the girls had been separated. Ino and Karin had tumbled toward the center of the street, but Sakura had dived into a dark, narrow corner behind a stone pillar.
She lay there, perfectly still, hidden from the main view of the market while she tried to catch her breath.
The wind whistled through the ruined stalls, and the small child looked disappointed. "Mommy... the birds broke."
For the first time since jumping from the Pavilion, Sakura finally found herself alone. She pressed her back against the freezing stone pillar, trying to quiet her breathing. The rush from the five-story drop was completely gone now.
It left behind a heavy, throbbing ache all along her back. She tried to shift her weight, but she gasped as a sharp pain hit her spine.
Karin's bite had fixed her leg, but dodging that falling Samurai had shaken her entire upper body.
She felt small and exhausted. Their smart plan in the hotel had turned into a complete mess in just a few minutes.
The team was scattered, heavy Samurai boots were clanking in the next streets, and she felt the heavy weight of failure in her chest.
'Shannaro!' Inner Sakura yelled, punching the air inside her mind. 'Get it together, Sakura! You can't sit here and cry while everyone else is in danger!' She hated looking weak, but her body just wasn't listening to her.
Through the gap next to the pillar, she saw a tall person in a cloak weaving through the panicked crowd.
He didn't run or panic. He moved smoothly and quickly, which instantly made her suspicious. As he got closer, the clean smell of medical antiseptic cut through the smell of snow and crushed cabbages.
Her eyes narrowed. He walked with the perfect balance of a top-level ninja, and she could feel a massive, warm energy hiding under his dark cloak.
Taking a slow, deep breath to stop her voice from shaking, she stepped out to block his path. She didn't shout. Her voice was low and tired, but very serious.
The tall man in the cloak had actually been looking back over his shoulder toward the busy main street, checking to see if any more armored Samurai were rushing down the path.
Because he was so focused on watching behind him for danger, he hadn't even noticed the pink-haired girl sitting from the shadow of the stone pillar.
It was only when he turned his head back around to look forward that his eyes dropped and he saw Sakura standing right in front of him.
Underneath the heavy hood, Namikaze Minato stopped dead in his tracks, completely shocked. His breath caught in his throat, and his shoulders locked up tight as he looked down at the pale face of the pink-haired girl.
"Wait," she said, watching how he stood. "You're a ninja. And you have medicine. I... I need you to check my back. Please."
'Oh, no...' Minato thought, his mind spinning with shock and emotion. 'Of all the alleys in this city, why did she have to choose this one?'
Looking at her right now made his chest tight with memories and sudden panic. This wasn't the strong, brilliant adult Sakura he knew in his own time—the teammate he trusted completely, the one whose sharp mind always kept the group safe.
This was a child.
A young, tired girl who was clearly scared and carrying the weight of a failed mission, but still refusing to break down.
The way she guarded her side, the sharp look in her eyes as she judged if he was an enemy—it was exactly how his older Sakura acted when things were at their worst.
Minato knew he had to keep his identity a total secret from these kids, so he couldn't speak in his real voice.
He just nodded once to comfort her and slowly dropped to one knee in the snow behind her.
He pulled his hood down even lower to hide his face in the shadows, making sure not a single spike of his bright blonde hair could be seen.
Sakura sat down cross-legged, keeping her back to him. Her mind was working super fast. She wasn't just taking help blindly; she was testing him.
By making him use medical jutsu, she could read his chakra flow, check how steady his hands were, and find clues about what village he came from.
'Come on,' she thought, focusing hard. 'Show me your chakra. Let's see who you really are!'
Minato gently placed his hands over her aching back. A soft, very bright green light glowed from his palms.
The moment the energy touched her skin, Sakura froze in surprise. It didn't just dull the pain—it filled her body with a warmth so deep and perfect that her muscles relaxed instantly.
It was an incredibly advanced level of medical control, almost like Senju Tsunade's, but the rhythm of the energy felt totally different.
It felt... strangely nice. It gave her a comforting feeling that she couldn't explain, making her feel safe for no logical reason.
'This... this feels amazing,' her inner voice whispered in awe. 'It's like a warm blanket on a freezing day. Who is this person?'
The chakra felt warm in a way Sakura couldn't explain. Not familiar—she was certain she had never felt chakra like this before—but strangely comforting, like standing near a fire during a snowstorm.
As he healed her, Minato's thoughts were a total mess of panic and affection.
'She's doing it right now,' Minato thought, a cold sweat breaking out under his cloak as he felt her trying to read his chakra.
'She's profiling me! Even at this age, she's analyzing my medical jutsu to figure out my identity. She really is terrifyingly smart. She has Kushina's stubborn spirit and that exact same sharp gaze that looks right through you.'
Suddenly, as Minato's medical energy pushed deeper to fix a stubborn, twisted muscle near her shoulder blade, Sakura's breath caught.
The sudden pressure made her flinch sharply, her shoulders jerking forward as a small gasp of pain escaped her lips.
The moment she flinched, Minato's brain completely short-circuited.
Years of hardwired squad leader habits and deep teammate instincts instantly overrode his logic. Before he could think, before he could stop himself, he leaned forward.
"Sakura, hold still—"
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A MESSAGE TO THE READERS !! 📢✨
╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗
✦ AUTHOR'S NOTE. ✦
╚═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╝
First of all…
MINATO YOU ABSOLUTE DISASTER 😭😭😭
Bro survived wars ✔️
Handled Kurama ✔️
Mastered Flying Raijin ✔️
Feared across nations ✔️
But one injured pink-haired child looked at him for 0.2 seconds and this man immediately started internally screaming for Sasuke to come save him 💀💀💀
Also YES 😭
Some of you noticed that Sakura technically spoke TWICE when she blocked Minato's path…
BUT WE NEVER HEARD THE FIRST THING SHE SAID 👀
Why?
Because this golden-haired pookie was too busy looking BEHIND HIM like a paranoid squirrel checking for Samurai 😭⚔️
The scene was intentionally written from Minato's perspective at that moment, so the readers only hear Sakura once HE finally notices her standing in front of him ✨
Which honestly makes it funnier because my man literally turned around and got jumpscared by Sakura herself 💀🌸
AND NOW…
let us discuss the REAL tragedy of this chapter:
Minato accidentally using his normal voice 😭😭😭
BRO FORGOT:
❄️ the timeline
❄️ the mission
❄️ the secrecy
❄️ basic survival instincts
The moment Sakura flinched, this man instantly switched from:
🕵️ mysterious cloaked stranger
to:
👨⚕️ worried squad leader mode
WITHOUT THINKING 💀
Also…
the reason Minato panics THIS MUCH around Sakura is…
✨ CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ✨
But let us just say:
in another timeline,
this pink-haired menace is NOT just "some kid from Konoha" 👀
She is:
⚡ terrifyingly intelligent
⚡ bossy beyond human understanding
⚡ emotionally dangerous
⚡ and capable of making even legendary shinobi question their life choices 😭
So yes.
Minato seeing child Sakura while remembering another version of her absolutely short-circuited his brain 🫠
ALSO PLEASE PRAY FOR:
🥬 the vegetable vendor
🥬 his destroyed business
🥬 his shattered cabbages
🥬 and his remaining mental stability
Because these ninjas have now turned his stall into a battlefield THREE TIMES 😭😭😭
And finally…
Thank you for reading this chaotic snowstorm of:
❄️ Samurai
❄️ flying people
❄️ emotional damage
❄️ suspicious chakra
❄️ broken vegetables
❄️ and Minato's collapsing mental health ✨
See you all in the next chapter 😭⚡
— Your exhausted author,
currently being hunted by: 🥬 angry vegetable vendors, ⏳ timeline violations, and 🌸 one terrifying pink-haired kunoichi.
⚡ NEXT CHAPTER ⚡
Scattered across the frozen streets of Tetsu no Kuni, the young shinobi are forced to survive on their own for the first time.
As Naruto struggles with a painful feeling he thought he had left behind, a certain Hyūga heiress finds herself cornered by enemies with nowhere left to run.
But in the heart of the blizzard, a mysterious shadow descends from the sky.
Friend or foe?
Savior or disaster?
And why does his presence make even the Samurai hesitate?
👉 Chapter 23: Scattered Leaves, Anchored Souls
"When the leaves are scattered by the storm, the bonds between them are truly tested..." ⚔️✨
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"How... how do you know my name?"
'...To disappear that fast without a single hand sign or a flicker of chakra... who on earth was that?'
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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