Difficult survival and subtle turning points
Time at the bottom of the cliff seemed frozen in dampness and cold, each second stretching inordinately long. Uchiha Aoi huddled in a rocky depression a few steps from Senju Tobirama. The cold stone poked at her body, but it was nothing compared to the bone-chilling chill deep within her heart. She buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly, not entirely from the cold, but more from a vast, consuming fear and self-doubt. The murderous intent she had felt in that moment was so real, so real that her fingertips could still feel the cold touch of the hairpin and the chilling determination she'd felt as she aimed for his carotid artery. Why hadn't she stabbed him? Was it fear? Was it an inexplicable... gratitude for him jumping off the cliff to save her? Or was it some deeper weakness, one she wouldn't even admit?
A whirlwind of thoughts tangled in her heart like venomous snakes, making it difficult for her to breathe. Tears flowed uncontrollably, mixing with the wet rain and mud stains on her face, leaving a shabby mark. She didn't dare raise her head, didn't dare look in the man's direction, as if by not looking, she could temporarily escape this despairing reality.
At this moment, an extremely slight sound of fabric rubbing against each other and a suppressed, almost imperceptible groan broke the dead silence.
Uchiha Aoi shuddered like a frightened rabbit, quickly raising her head and frantically wiping away the tears and stains on her face with the back of her hand, revealing a pair of eyes slightly red and swollen from crying and fear. She saw the man, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, had, with an astonishing willpower, used his elbows to support himself and, extremely slowly but with remarkable determination, tried to sit up!
Every movement he made strained the severe injury on his back. His forehead instantly covered in fine beads of sweat, his face as pale as rain-soaked paper. His lips were pressed into a rigid line, suppressing the cry of pain that threatened to escape. But he didn't stop. Even through the weakness and weakness of his injuries, his piercing red eyes maintained a heart-wrenching calm and focus.
He finally managed to sit down against the cold, damp rock behind him, breathing slightly. The brief movement seemed to have exhausted the little strength he had just gathered. Then, he made a move that shocked Aoi even more. He seemed to completely ignore her existence and began to treat the terrible wound on his back, which was still slowly bleeding.
With somewhat slow and stiff movements, he pulled a small, sealed oilcloth bag from the inside of a seemingly ordinary, yet clearly waterproof, ninja bag at his waist. Untying the straps, he revealed the essential emergency supplies for a ninja, organized into categories: a small bottle of clear wound spray, several rolls of pristine white bandages, and even a few pills for emergency stamina. As one of the top elite ninjas of the Senju clan, he was always thoroughly prepared, maintaining even the most basic self-control in the most dire of situations.
He turned sideways, exposing the wound as much as possible. This action made the veins on his forehead bulge with severe pain. He picked up the bottle of medicine, bit open the cork with his teeth, and then, with a backhand and almost cruel precision and stability, sprayed the cold liquid on the hideous wound. The stinging pain of the liquid on his flesh caused his body to spasm slightly, but he didn't even frown, as if the body was not his own. Then, he picked up the bandage and began to try to wrap it with difficulty. Because the wound was on his back, the action was extremely awkward and laborious. He had to constantly adjust the angle of his arm, and the bandage almost slipped off several times. His movements were clumsy due to the injury and the angle, but each step was honed with an unquestionable precision.
Throughout, he clenched his teeth, his jawline as hard as rock. Sweat trickled down his pale cheeks, dripping onto the cold rock, instantly creating a small, dark stain. From beginning to end, he didn't glance in Aoi's direction, not even glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He completely treated her as air, as an insignificant rock at the bottom of the cliff.
This complete, icy disregard, more than direct rebuke or threat, sent a chill and panic deep into Uchiha Aoi's bones. He knew! He must have sensed his own instantaneous murderous intent! Otherwise, with his cautious and suspicious nature, how could he have treated his wounds so unguardedly in front of someone who had just tried to kill him? This was essentially a silent warning and contempt—he knew she wouldn't dare, or perhaps, he simply didn't care whether she dared or not!
This realization made Aoi's heart beat wildly, almost bursting through her chest. Fear quickly wrapped around her like a vine, strangling her breath. What would he do? Killing her now would be easy! With the style of Senju Tobirama, there was no way he would leave an Uchiha who wanted to kill him alive!
However, time ticked by, and the anticipated drastic measures never materialized. Tobirama focused on battling his injuries in silence. He struggled to wrap the bandages around his chest and back, attempting to secure them with knots. This simple action proved incredibly difficult for him, and he failed several times due to weakness in his arms. Finally, he employed a more complex but more secure knotting method, using his teeth and a single hand to manage, and finally managed to secure the bandages. After completing this, as if all his strength had been exhausted, he leaned heavily back against the rock wall, closing his eyes to rest, his chest rising and falling weakly and rapidly.
But even with his eyes closed, his body lines remained tense, like a fully drawn bow, revealing a vigilance ready to strike and injure at any moment. This silent oppression suffocated Aoi more than any words could.
The atmosphere grew eerie and oppressive. The two men, mere steps apart, felt separated by an invisible chasm of suspicion, hatred, and cold rationality. The only sound in the dead silence was the relentless roar of the river beneath their feet, and the monotonous "tick-tick" of occasional drops of water hitting the rock face. These were the only background sounds, only making the silence even more unbearable.
Aoi huddled in a corner, hugging her knees, curling herself up as tightly as possible, not daring to move or make any sound. She could only observe the man from the corner of her eye, alert and with a hint of indescribable complex emotions. She noticed that beneath his seemingly calm appearance, his injuries were far more serious than she had imagined. His occasional slight tremors from the movement of his wounds, and his pale, bloodless face, could not deceive anyone. Moreover, the medicine he used, although excellent, was probably only a drop in the bucket for the internal injuries caused by the lightning strike and the fall. At most, it could stop the bleeding and prevent infection, but it could not cure the disease. The blood loss and internal damage were continuously draining his vitality.
Time slipped slowly in the icy silence. The rain had ceased at some point, but the sky didn't clear. Instead, a thicker, leaden-gray cloud gathered, signaling the approach of night. As the last ray of daylight faded into the valley, the cliff floor was plunged into complete darkness. Even more terrifying, the temperature began to plummet. The biting chill of the day became a deadly chill at night. Icy dampness seeped in through the ground, the rock walls, and the air.
Aoi's soaked white wedding dress had long since become cold and heavy, clinging to her skin like a crust of ice, constantly robbing her of the meager warmth she still possessed. She shivered with cold, her teeth chattering uncontrollably, her lips losing all color and turning blue. She rubbed her arms vigorously, but the frictional warmth only created a tiny amount, quickly drowning her in the deeper cold.
She stole a glance at Tobirama; his condition didn't seem much better. The blood loss and severe injuries had reduced his resistance to the cold to its lowest point. Though he remained seated with his eyes closed, his slightly trembling fingertips and paler complexion betrayed his shared suffering. The sweat on his forehead from tending to his wounds had probably turned icy cold.
If this continued, there would be no need for enemies, no need for fighting, both of them would freeze to death at the bottom of this unknown cliff before dawn! This clear and cruel reality, like a heavy hammer, shattered all the hesitation, fear and humiliation in Kui's heart.
The instinct for survival, like a wildfire burning in the darkness, flared up once more, overwhelming everything else! She realized that alone, a frail woman, chakra depleted, exhausted, and completely unfamiliar with the area, could not possibly escape from the steep, slippery, and dangerous cliffside, let alone deal with the wild beasts that might come out to feed at night or other unknown dangers. And the severely injured man before her, though a sworn enemy and the one she had intended to kill only minutes ago, was now her only "companion" in this desperate situation, and perhaps... the only variable that could offer a glimmer of hope.
She had to ask him for help. She had to try... to cooperate.
This realization made her feel incredibly humiliated and difficult, as if countless needles were piercing her heart. Bowing to Senju Tobirama and asking for cooperation was even more painful than killing her. But... she wanted to live! She wanted to see her brother Madara again! She couldn't just die here in silence!
The inner struggle was like a raging storm. Ultimately, the desire to live overcame all pride and hatred. She took a few deep breaths of the icy air, the chill rushing straight into her lungs, bringing her a slight sense of clarity. She tried to suppress the sob in her throat and the pounding of her heart, trying to sound as calm as possible, even deliberately adding a subtle tremor and a weak tone that suited her current frail state. Carefully, as if touching a detonator ready to explode at any moment, she spoke, breaking the suffocating silence:
"...Hey...Senju Tobirama..."
Her voice sounded particularly weak in the empty cliff bottom, with a distinct hoarseness and uncertainty.
Tobirama, leaning against the rock wall, didn't open his eyes or even change his posture. He only moved his eyebrows ever so slightly, a subtle movement that would have been almost imperceptible if Aoi hadn't been staring at him. This subtle reaction showed that he had heard it and was on high alert.
"...If this goes on...we'll all die..." Aoi's voice trembled slightly from the cold and the fear within. It was incredibly difficult for her to say these words, yet they spoke the stark reality of the situation. "Your injuries...need better care...otherwise, infection or excessive blood loss will occur..." She paused, observing his reaction. Seeing he remained silent, she gritted her teeth and continued, trying to conceal the true fear and hatred within her heart, deliberately projecting a posture of weakness and cooperation. "We...need fire...we need warmth...we need food...and most importantly, we need a way out..."
She paused, her heart beating like a drum, waiting for his response. In the darkness, all they could hear was their muffled breathing and the eternal roar of the river.
After a long time, just when Aoi thought he didn't bother to pay any attention to her and the despair in her heart surged up again like a tide, almost drowning her, Tobirama finally slowly opened his eyes.
Those iconic red eyes, in the near-total darkness, seemed to hold a chilling light, like the pupils of a beast lurking in the abyss, precisely locked onto her. Their gaze was as sharp as two icy kunai, seemingly able to easily penetrate all her disguised weakness and pity, reaching the fear, hatred, and calculations hidden deep within her soul.
His voice was unusually low due to injury, cold, and a long period of silence, but every word carried a sense of alienation and a cold, unquestionable threat, clearly striking Aoi's heart: "Cooperation? Uchiha, don't forget what you were trying to do with the hairpin just now."
These words struck Aoi like a bolt of lightning, causing her body to freeze and her blood to freeze. He knew it all! And he had exposed it without mercy!
Tobirama's voice continued to ring out in a cold voice, devoid of any warmth: "Put away those little thoughts of yours. If you want to see your brother alive, you'd better be content." He paused slightly, his red eyes seeming to flash a deeper chill in the darkness. "My injuries aren't so severe that I can't deal with you."
His words were like ice-hardened daggers, stabbing Aoi's most vulnerable parts, making her feel cold all over. All her courage in trying to pretend collapsed at this moment, leaving only naked fear and the embarrassment of being seen through.
But then, just as Aoi was completely lost in despair and thought that cooperation was hopeless, Tobirama added coldly, his tone still harsh, but in an extremely condescending way, acknowledging the helpless reality before him: "Go find something to burn. Don't try to play tricks."
These brief, commanding words were like a pardon to Aoi. Though his tone was icy cold, filled with distrust and threats, it at least meant that he had temporarily accepted this fragile, forced "cooperation" based solely on the most primal instincts of survival. They had gained a fleeting respite from the threat of nature.
Aoi felt a mixture of emotions, like a spice shop that had been overturned. There was relief at having temporarily escaped immediate death, but also anger and humiliation at being so bluntly threatened and scorned. And finally, a deep sense of helplessness and powerlessness at the mercy of fate. Silently and somewhat staggeringly, she stood up and, dragging her cold, heavy, almost frozen body, began to grope painstakingly in the darkness nearby, searching for dry branches, dead leaves, or anything else that might burn, not completely soaked by the rain.
And Tobirama, who was leaning against the rock wall and closing his eyes again, slowly opened a crack in his sharp red eyes again after she turned around and got busy. He looked at her slender figure who was searching carefully, one step deep and one step shallow at the bottom of the dim cliff. A trace of extremely complex and indistinguishable emotions flashed in his eyes.
Of course, he wouldn't completely trust an Uchiha, especially a woman who had just tried to kill him. His proposal for cooperation was more of a rational assessment of the current harsh environment. The chances of survival were far greater when two people worked together than when they acted alone. And...
His eyes swept imperceptibly across the ground not far away, where the hairpin belonging to Uchiha Aoi gleamed faintly in the dim light. The momentary hesitation and the struggle that flashed in her eyes when she raised it just now did not completely escape his keen perception even though he was seriously injured.
Perhaps, deep down, this Uchiha woman harbored more than just a deep hatred for the Senju. In this life-or-death situation, she displayed not only the paranoia and determination characteristic of the Uchiha, but also something... perhaps something she herself wasn't aware of, something that set her apart from her fanatical clansmen.
This subtle, almost imperceptible difference, like a pebble dropped into an icy lake, caused a barely perceptible ripple in his normally calm and rational mind. But it was too small, quickly drowned out by the worsening injuries, the freezing cold, and the cold calculations of the future. Survival was the only priority right now. As for everything else... wait until he could get off this damn cliff alive.
The night grows darker and colder. Whether this fragile cooperation between the two, built on the ice, can withstand the test of the long night and numerous crises remains unknown.
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