Naruto: Stormbreaker

Chapter 117: Chapter 117

I limped my way back to the village gate, wincing with every step even though I was already walking slowly. Eventually, I made it back to find Sena chatting with the gate guards and a couple of academy instructors. They were all smiling and laughing, clearly enjoying the conversation. I sighed, pausing just long enough to envy her luck before dragging myself forward again.

After a quick check from the guards and confirmation with the academy instructors, I finally limped through the gate. Sena lowered her shoulder slightly, silently offering support. I didn’t hesitate, I leaned on her right away. I don’t like pain. I’m not into that sort of thing. I know my past might say otherwise, but I swear I’m not.

Sena glanced at me. ”Well, I didn’t expect you to be in such bad shape.”

I exhaled slowly. ”The plan needed me to burn too much chakra on traps and Shadow Clones. So here I am.”

She shook her head, disappointed. ”You should’ve stuck with my plan. Keep running, draw him away, avoid direct confrontation. It was simple.”

”I know,” I muttered. ”But real men don’t...”

She immediately smacked the back of my head with her palm, making me wince.

”Real men follow the damn plan,” she shot back, annoyed. ”Following my plan is the reason we nailed that test mission, isn’t it?”

I rubbed the spot she hit, groaning. ”Yeah, yeah, your plan worked.”

She rolled her eyes. ”Men and their imaginary rules and codes. Just follow my plan next time. We won, didn’t we?”

I lowered my head. ”Yeah. We did. But still...”

My voice grew quieter, more serious.

”Once you go after my friends, that’s a line I won’t forgive. I might let things slide when they come at me, if it’s fair. But not my friends.”

Sena’s smile flickered. A real one this time. She sighed, then said, ”Whatever. Now you’ll just have to deal with the consequences.”

She intentionally skipped a step, forcing me to put weight on my already aching legs. A sharp pulse of pain shot up through them, and I hissed under my breath. ”You’re evil.”

She just laughed and kept walking, dragging me along toward the academy.

By the time we arrived, I collapsed onto a wooden bench under the shade of a wide tree near the academy courtyard. Cool air moved softly through the leaves above, carrying a faint smell of dust and spring. Sakura petals drifted lazily in the air. It made the whole scene feel otherworldly, like we’d stepped into someone’s painting.

A few students were already done with their mission exams. Most were scattered across the courtyard, stealing glances at me and Sena sitting together. I guess it wasn’t common to see someone looking half-dead casually leaning on Konoha’s picture-perfect model student.

”Where are Genta and Shizuru?” I asked.

Sena scanned the area. ”I’ll go check on them.”

She stood up, then paused halfway through her turn. Glancing back, her voice rose just enough for nearby ears to catch, light and casual on the surface.

”Don’t move.”

To anyone watching, it probably sounded like concern. Like she was worried I’d hurt myself if I stood. But I knew her well enough to catch the sarcasm hidden underneath.

I squinted. ”Thank you for caring.”

She laughed gently and walked off, but I noticed more students watching us now. Her voice had drawn attention on purpose. I could already imagine the stories forming in their heads. Probably something romantic and overly dramatic. I facepalmed internally.

”Well played,” I muttered, lying back on the bench and letting the cool shade swallow me. My body practically melted into the wood.

I closed my eyes, pressing both palms over them to try and muffle the throbbing in my skull. Stormdrive with low chakra was a terrible idea. Noted. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but Genta’s voice eventually pulled me out of my daze.

”Wow. You look dead.”

I opened one eye, barely managing to lift my head. Genta stood in front of me. Shizuru wasn’t with him.

”Where’s Shizuru?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

His expression tightened. ”She’s with the medical-nin.”

I sat upright, ignoring the pain that shot through my body. ”Is she okay?”

”She’s fine,” he said quickly, then paused. ”She had some injuries, but nothing too serious.”

He didn’t sound relieved. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. His voice dropped.

”But it’s not her injuries I’m worried about.”

He stopped talking. I waited. It felt like he wasn’t sure how to explain it.

”Is it about her performance during the exam?” I asked. ”And her decision to join the Standard Combat Corps?”

He nodded.

I glanced around. ”Where’s Sena?”

”She’s still with Shizuru,” he said, lowering himself to sit next to me. ”Trying to cheer her up.”

I looked at him. ”What happened?”

He stared at the ground for a moment, then exhaled.

”It wasn’t a normal match. The other team... they were something else. One of them had Earth Release. Not flashy, just relentless. He kept warping the terrain, raising ridges, shifting the ground under our feet, cutting off escape angles. It was like fighting on a rug someone kept yanking out from under you.”

I said nothing.

”The other one was fast. Not just quick-footed. Sharp with his movements. He slipped out of Shizuru’s shadows like they weren’t even there. And he kept doing it. Over and over.”

A pit opened in my gut.

”They figured us out fast,” Genta continued. ”Too fast. And then they realized... she was the one holding everything together.”

He didn’t say anything more, but I understood.

They went for the weak link. Once they realized Shizuru was the strategist, the one tying their team together, it gave them even more reason to focus her down. Targeting the core wasn’t just efficient. It was cruel but it worked.

”I tried to pull them off her,” he muttered. ”Tried to cut them off, draw attention. But that Earth guy kept walling me off. Every time I got close, he raised a slab or tripped the ground beneath me.”

He let out a dry laugh.

”And the fast one? He was already on her before I could blink.”

I swallowed, silent.

”She held on, though,” Genta added. ”Used traps, slowed them down, fought harder than I’ve ever seen her fight. She bought me enough time to break through and end it.”

”But?” I said.

”But it was already too late.”

I nodded slowly.

”She got hit hard. Knocked into a tree. Dislocated shoulder, cracked ribs. They said there’s no lasting damage. But... it still happened.”

He looked down. His fists trembled slightly on his knees.

There was guilt. Raw and bitter.

”You couldn’t have stopped it,” I said quietly. ”She chose the Standard Combat Corps. That means she knows she can’t rely on others forever. She has to grow on her own terms.”

”I know,” Genta said. ”I know that. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t feel something when I fail to protect her.”

”You feel something because you’re a good friend.”

He looked at me, smiling weakly.

I grunted and gestured toward him. ”Now help me up. Apparently, I’m not done suffering today.”

”You’re worse off than I thought,” he muttered, pulling me up by the arm.

”Yeah. I’m falling apart. Now take me to the med-nin before I pass out.”

I limped alongside Genta toward the Academy’s medical building, each step sending a dull throb through my legs. As we entered, I immediately noticed them. The rest of the students who hadn’t returned to the main courtyard were here, sitting or lying down, being treated by the staff. Some looked shaken, others just quietly exhausted. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the Academy was doing. This wasn’t just a test. This was their way of making sure the lesson sank in. The game was over. From here on out, the real shinobi work would begin, and they wanted us to feel that shift deep in our bones.

Genta guided me through the halls until we reached the recovery room.

Shizuru was lying on a bed, her expression twisted in pain. Her arm hung in a sling, and her torso was bound tightly with white bandages. Sena sat beside her, gently holding her other hand, whispering soft reassurances only Shizuru could hear. Shizuru looked like she was trying hard not to cry, her expression twisted in pain and effort.

Genta dropped me onto the bed beside hers. My legs screamed in relief. Sena looked over at me, then turned to Genta.

”Come on. We need to get a med-nin to check on Noa. And we both need to submit our mission report.”

Genta groaned. ”Why? It’s optional. Do you enjoy more paperwork or something?”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his ear.

”Stop being lazy, this will earn us more points” she said, dragging him out of the room as he flailed and grumbled.

Once the door shut, the room was quiet again.

I turned my head toward Shizuru, who avoided my gaze.

”You won,” I said softly. ”That’s what matters.”

I expected a sharp response. Something defensive or biting.

But instead... she cried.

Tears spilled down her cheeks like a dam had burst. There was no hiding how she felt from me. No walls. No mask.

I stayed silent. The only sound in the room was her breathing, uneven and broken between sobs, echoing softly around us.