Blooming Like a Rose

At the sight of Uchiha Chiba, Weeper immediately realized that Raven, the most seasoned of them, was probably already dead. Smiley, the pervert, was likely not far behind. And this kid had somehow managed to subdue Blank, who specialized in strength. She quickly made her decision.

Take a hostage!

"You! Let Blank go!" Weeper said, her gaze fixed on Uchiha Chiba.

"Let him go?" Uchiha Chiba planted a foot on Blank's chest. The tremendous force made the man spit out a large mouthful of blood.

Then

Uchiha Chiba kicked Blank, now missing both arms, into the bushes.

THUD!!!!

Blank's tower-like body slid through the dirt, leaving a trail of blood, and came to a stop beneath a tree. There was no emotion in his eyes. At the stumps of his arms, chakra was slowly beginning to gather. But Uchiha Chiba didn't notice. Wounded, Katsuzuki had no attention to spare for anything but fighting off the poison.

Weeper was skilled at sensing, and immediately knew what Blank was trying to do in the corner: activate his Kekkei Genkai—Spirit Soul Power.

"If you want those girls to live, do as I say and give me the map you're carrying!" Weeper said. Naturally, she hadn't forgotten her mission.

It was only a useless map.

He might as well give it to her.

Then Uchiha Chiba pulled out the leather map and said slowly, "Let's trade."

Weeper didn't hesitate. She pointed to Katsuzuki of the Salamander beside her and replied, "I'll throw her over, and you throw me the map."

Uchiha Chiba nodded.

Then

Weeper abruptly threw Katsuzuki of the Salamander, who was missing an arm, while Chiba tossed her the map. A moment later, Weeper caught it, and Chiba caught the wounded Katsuzuki.

"Sorry..." Katsuzuki spat out a mouthful of black blood, forcing the poison out of her body. After losing her right arm, she had spent a great deal of chakra stopping the bleeding. Once poisoned, she had then done everything she could to stop it from spreading. Her condition was dire. She could probably use Forbidden Technique: Surge once more. After that, her legs would be crippled—or close to it.

"It's okay, Sister Katsuzuki. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I'm so sorry." Uchiha Chiba lowered his head, his voice betraying no emotion.

And Konan, too.

Then

Chiba looked at Konan.

Konan forced a smile. "Brother Chiba, forget about me. Sister Katsuzuki's injuries look like they need to be treated right away. I... I'm just an ordinary kid. Don't worry about me, brother."

"What are you talking about? Neither of you is going to die!" A thick aura of bloodshed rolled off Uchiha Chiba. He looked at Weeper and said coldly, "Let her go. I'll count to three. When I reach three, if you let go, I'll smash your head before she hits the ground. If you don't let go, the same goes—I'll make sure you wish you were dead."

His crimson eyes blazed with fury.

"Don't be hasty. We're just ordinary people, too. We only did this because Lord Danzo gave us orders..." Weeper paused. She could sense that Blank, in the bushes, would soon regenerate an arm and launch a surprise attack. After all, the show-off kid in front of her didn't have much chakra left.

"Stop stalling. Three." Uchiha Chiba gripped his sickle and walked toward Weeper.

"Can't we talk this out? Aren't you afraid I'll just let go? In your current state, you can't catch her hand~" Weeper loosened the rope, making Konan, already pale, even more frightened.

"Two."

Uchiha Chiba was less than five meters from Weeper.

"One."

The next second

BOOM!!!!!!

A tremendous explosion rang out behind Uchiha Chiba!

"Die!!!"

He only vaguely heard someone shout, "No!"

Uchiha Chiba made a snap decision: kill this woman first!

Were those reinforcements? Damn it!

Uchiha Chiba swung his sickle. Weeper's head flew off, and the rope in her hand snapped. In the same instant, Uchiha Chiba leaped forward and caught Konan by the arm.

"Sister Katsuzuki! She's in danger!" Little Konan couldn't think about anything else. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had seen everything that happened behind Chiba, but she was only a child and hadn't had time to react.

Only now did Uchiha Chiba realize that something was wrong: the chakra from Blank's death hadn't entered his body. That meant Blank wasn't dead?!

Chiba pulled Konan up and turned around.

"No!!!!!" His pupils trembled violently, and blood flowed from his eye sockets. The last trace of contempt Uchiha Chiba had felt for this world vanished completely. He had always thought this world was nothing more than an anime, and that as a transmigrator, he surely wouldn't die. He hadn't cared whether anyone else lived or died.

But the moment he saw Blank's fist pierce Katsuzuki of the Salamander's chest, blood streaming down her body, something inside Chiba shattered. A shackle or an emotion—he couldn't tell anymore.

"L-Little... Chiba... this time... you owe me..." Katsuzuki of the Salamander's organs had been crushed by Blank's punch. His arm was lodged deep in her body. Blank was clearly dead. His Kekkei Genkai must have been the kind that inflicted immense damage on its user.

Drip!

A tear.

Uchiha Chiba came to Katsuzuki's side, his voice trembling. "Katsuzuki, I'll take you home right now. We'll go home, back to Amegakure. You'll get better soon. Then we'll go to the front lines together. We..."

He took Katsuzuki's hand.

"Little... Chiba... I've always... wanted to... tell you..." Katsuzuki of the Salamander's eyes closed. She no longer had the strength to open them. Her body felt heavy, as if it could no longer bear the weight of her soul and was about to break apart.

"I'm here... I'm right here," Uchiha Chiba said, trembling.

"I've... always... loved you. Live... well, Little... Chiba."

Thud!!!!

Katsuzuki of the Salamander's body went limp in Uchiha Chiba's arms. Her dying confession struck his heart like a heavy blow. Regret, resentment, sorrow—countless negative emotions surged up from within him.

Nearby, Konan was sobbing uncontrollably.

Katsuzuki had treated them very well. She was just a tsundere, always saying things like they were useless, while secretly sending people to fix up Konan and the others' home. She would bring them food from time to time, and she had even killed the thugs who caused trouble for them.

After a long while

Uchiha Chiba let the rain wash over him.

"Brother Chiba, don't be too sad. I'm sure Sister Katsuzuki would want you to be okay... Let's take Sister Katsuzuki home," Konan said, her eyes red, as she came to Chiba's side.

Uchiha Chiba's tears kept falling.

He looked slightly toward Konan.

His hoarse voice rang out.

"It's raining again, Konan. Just like that day..."

Chiba hugged Konan. Whether it was tears or rain that soaked her clothes, he couldn't tell...