Once again they made another journey east.
"So ... listen to you squabbling!", Kakashi shouted angrily, but with a smile on his face.
Sasuke let Naruto out of the headlock in a flash and listened carefully to what Kakashi had to say. Naruto, taken into the mangle, rubbed his sore throat.
Her teacher continued: "You have been training hard ... all three," he looked at Sakura, "and we want to put that to the test."

His right hand lifted an overly ornate sculpture.
"The statue of Kothia, very valuable. It was made in ancient Rome and disappeared without a trace. I only hold one of three parts in my hand."
He pointed out the tiny holes on either side.
"Small handles should be attached to both parts. We'll look for them, split up."
A smile flickered over the faces of the two lovers, hoping to be able to spend the next few days alone.
After further explanations and several lists of information for Kakashi:"Naruto and Sasuke, you will look for one part, in the north of Kumo, the heavenly realm. Please pull yourself together and be careful, you two. The Anbu are sneaking around in some of these areas."
This time he showed the photo of a brown-black snake.
"Sakura," she looked up, "come with me.
I rely on you. ", he told the two with a pleading expression and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Then let's go.", Sasuke trotted off stinkingly in the direction of the forest. "Come on, sleepyhead, we don't have forever!" He grumbled.
Naruto ran after him, waving to the other two.

"So, let's get on our socks."
Sakura walked down a narrow path next to Kakashi and they soon reached an intersection.
They turned left and passed a small stream.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

After about 2 hours of silent walking, Naruto made the first sound.
"It's pretty cold here.", He remarked. Not a good topic to talk about, but better than embarrassing silence."You are right.", Sasuke said unusually cooperative. Usually he wasn't good at speaking to Naruto, but this time he seems to be in a good mood.
"Why can't we ..." "Quiet!" Sasuke hissed in between.
They froze as if in unnatural pillars of salt. A scratch. Yes, on a tree.
'What's this? 'Naruto whispered. 'No idea. ", replied Sasuke, who carefully climbed a tree for a better view.

"No! Don't, Sasuke!" Yelled Naruto. The frightened Sasuke immediately dropped from the tree, but came up gently on the ground. A black figure fluttered past exactly the same place and left a deep slit where Sasuke had just crouched.
"Get out of here!", Sasuke shouted and grabbed Naruto by the collar. They hurried through the undergrowth, jumping independently on trees to confuse the figure following them.
Birds fluttered in the air in front of them or clawed their faces in surprise.
They did not feel the pain, as they only fixed what was happening behind them.Like a giant predator, the beast came closer and pawed at them.
Through its haze of fog and cold air, the persecuted could only make out their hunter as a black monster.

"We're going to separate our ways!" Naruto shouted into the icy forest air, so that he could see his breath waving past him. "Yes!" Replied Sasuke and turned around.
He himself ran down a clearing to the right. The snorting creature pursued him.
At the end of his strength, he was no longer paying attention to the path, tripped over the roots of a bush and fell painfully with his head on the almost frozen fern soil.
His cheeks stabbed the sharp stones lying around in the path. They dug deep into his flesh as a result.
His legs could no longer, he had no more strength left in him.
The earth shook, the black thing hurried noisily towards him to trample him to death.
He closed his eyes and just took a distant "fire hiding place!" true...