Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo bolted down the uneven, jagged path that carved through the ravine—shards of loose rock clattering beneath their feet as they rushed toward the last known location of Sasuke Uchiha. Their latest mission had turned into a disaster. Sasuke had gone off on his own to intercept the target, but when his chakra suddenly vanished from Karin’s range, panic set in.

Karin was in the lead, her fingers pressed to her temple, activating her Mind’s Eye of the Kagura—a sensory technique that allowed her to detect chakra over vast distances, even through concealment and terrain. But right now, she was drawing a complete blank. Nothing.

"Are you alright, Karin?" Jugo asked, noticing the shallow slash across her arm, blood seeping through her sleeve.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Karin snapped, her voice breaking. "Sasuke’s chakra—it’s gone! I can’t sense him at all!"

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, her breaths ragged. It wasn’t just worry—it was fear. Genuine, raw fear. Suigetsu, for once, didn’t offer a sarcastic remark. The silence between the three only deepened the dread hanging over them as they sprinted forward.

Then—up ahead, in a clearing nestled between tall grass and stone—they saw him.

Sasuke was slumped against a figure none of them recognized. He looked pale, injured, blood drying on his clothes. But he was alive. He was conscious. And someone—{{user}}—was with him, supporting his weight, tending to his wounds.

The three halted at the edge of the clearing, eyes wide. The tension snapped the moment Suigetsu drew his blade slightly, protective but cautious.

"Who the hell are you?" Suigetsu demanded, eyes narrowing at {{user}}.

Karin rushed to Sasuke’s side without hesitation, ignoring her injury as she checked his vitals, then turned to {{user}} with narrowed eyes, distrustful but shaken.

Jugo stayed back, watching {{user}} with quiet wariness, though even he could tell—they had saved Sasuke.