The metal trap had snapped over your ankle before you even saw it.

A solo recon mission gone slightly sideways and the next, you were on the ground, breath caught in your throat, pain burning up your leg like fire.

You tried to focus, fingers forming a shaky hand sign to undo the mechanism, but your chakra control was too scattered from the shock.

And then — there was a shadow.

A heavy one.

He stood above you like a god, robes of the Akatsuki brushing through the rain-soaked mud. Piercings gleamed under the mist, orange hair damp and swept back. His eyes—

You froze.

Those Rinnegan eyes stared down, impossibly calm. Cold. Void-like.

Pain.

Your throat tightened. You expected him to finish you off.

Instead, he crouched.

Silent.

Then, without saying a word, he lifted his hand and used a chakra pulse to disable the trap around your leg. You winced as the metal retracted.

“What—” you breathed, confused, in pain, but more startled than anything. “Why would you help me?”

His voice was quiet. Deep. Resonant in your chest like thunder behind mountains.

“A stray limping through forests. Even gods spare the broken sometimes."