Chapter 17 – The Ripples of Rest
"Peace is not the absence of war. It's the silence between two storms."
Steam rose lazily from the surface of the hot springs, blurring the moonlight into silver ripples. The forest was calm, the night air heavy with the scent of pine and rain.
For the first time in weeks, Sasuke allowed himself to breathe.He sat half-immersed in the water, his body covered in faint scars, his mind still heavy with the ghosts of recent battles.
Karin sat a few meters away, her red hair damp and untied, floating slightly on the surface. Jūgo, silent as ever, rested his head against a rock, eyes closed, half-asleep.
No one spoke. The silence was strange — almost sacred.
But Sasuke could feel it — the pulse of her chakra. Even at rest, Karin's energy burned like fire. It was enormous, raw, untamed… and alive.He watched her without meaning to. His heart gave an involuntary throb.He remembered her screams, her fury, the terrifying power that had saved him.
A part of him admired her. Another feared her.And then — guilt. Always guilt.Sakura's face came to his mind. Her voice. Her eyes, full of hope and pain.
He clenched his fist beneath the water."I can't…" he whispered under his breath.
"Can't what?" Karin asked suddenly, her tone half-curious, half-bitter.
"Forget," he answered simply.
Karin's expression darkened. She looked away.The ripples between them seemed to widen like a scar.
The silence broke when the water stirred beside Sasuke.
A ripple… then a shimmer… then a grin.
"Well, well," came a familiar drawl. "Looks like Team Taka's reunion party started without me."
Sasuke froze. Karin's eyes widened. Jūgo opened one eye and sighed.
"Suigetsu…"
The man rose from the water like liquid silver, reforming his body with a smirk."You three look terrible," he said cheerfully. "What happened? Lose a fight or a beauty contest?"
Karin groaned. "You're still alive? Great. Just what I needed."
Suigetsu laughed, stretching his neck with a wet crack. "Still charming, I see."
But his smile faltered when his gaze met Sasuke's."Jokes aside," he said, tone dropping, "you should know… the peace you're feeling won't last."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
"There's a group," Suigetsu said. "Old blood. Descendants of the Senju, but not loyal to Konoha. They call themselves the Root of Ashes. They're hunting everyone tied to Orochimaru. Test subjects. Disciples. You, me, Karin, Jūgo… anyone who carries his stain."
The name hung in the steam like a curse.
Jūgo straightened, his calm fading. "So it's not over…"
"Not even close," Suigetsu said. "They're organized, angry, and they want retribution for the desecration of their ancestor — Hashirama's cells."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. The past he had tried to bury was reaching for him again.Orochimaru's legacy — a wound that refused to close.
"Let them come," Sasuke said finally.His voice was cold, but his heart was not. For once, he wasn't thinking of revenge — but of protection.
Karin's gaze lingered on him. The water rippled softly around them.
For the first time that night, Sasuke didn't look away.
Above the forest, the clouds shifted.The moonlight touched the springs, painting the three shadows in silver and red.
The ripples spread.And somewhere in that quiet valley, a new storm began to stir.