The Crystal Serpent [Naruto X Oc] |Book 1

Chapter 94: The Echo of Shadows

The menacing howl echoed through the trees, sending a shiver down the spines of Kaito, Akira, and Kenji as Kei narrowed her eyes, scanning her surroundings for the source of the howl. The kitten in Kei's arms trembled, its tiny body pressing against her chest as if sensing the danger. The group stood still, their senses heightened as the eerie sound faded into the thick forest.

"What do you think it is?" Kenji whispered, his voice barely audible, but the fear was cleared.

"It could be a wild animal," Kei replied, furrowing her brow. Or it could be a summoning animal, so we should stay on alert."

Kaito shifted Akira slightly on his back, ensuring she was comfortable and secure. "Whatever it is, we're not in any shape to fight right now," he said, his tone grim but steady. "Akira's still hurt, and we've used up a lot of chakra from the last fight."

Akira, still pale from the loss of blood clenched and fist in frustration."I'm not completely useless," Her voice shaky but filled with resolve."If it comes down to it I can still fight, I can still hold my own."

Kei shot her a glance, "Nobody is calling you useless, Akira your strength and confidence have improved since the Chunin Exams," She replied."However we need to think about this logically, we can't take unnecessary risk, not now in our condition."

The tension in the air was palpable as they stood close together, the kitten clinging tightly to Kei while in her arms. Kaito took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself."what if we try to sneak away quietly? If we can avoid a confrontation, we should take that option," He suggested, his voice low.

"Good idea," Kei nodded in agreement."Let's move slowly and keep our senses shared. We can't let our guard down, especially in this condition we don't know what's out there."

As they began to move cautiously, the forest seemed to close in around them. The underbrush crunched softly beneath their feet, and the distant rustling of leaves felt ominous. Akira focused on her breathing, trying to push through the pain as Kaito moved with care, ensuring she was steady on his back.

"Kenji stay in the middle, I will watch the rear and keep my senses on high," Kei instructed as she made sure the client was safely in the middle as her eyes scanned for signs of the howling animal."We can't afford to let anything else interfere with the mission."

Just as they reached a narrow clearing, a flicker of movement caught Kei's eyes."Stop," She whispered urgently. The group froze in place, their hearts pounding in unison.

"What is it?" Kaito whispered, his breath hitching.

"Over there," Kei pointed discreetly toward a dense thicket."I saw something move. We should stay low and keep quiet."

Suddenly, the sound of low growling echoed through the forest, sending a chill down their spines. Kenji's eyes widened as he peered into the darkness of the narrowed clearing."It feels like we're being watched could this animal belong to the rouge trio?" He breathed.

"I feel it might be someone else they didn't seem like a tracking unit or as if they had the strength to summon," Kei stated."However they could have been hiding some of their skills, but let's not focus on that let's move and keep low and find safety before it gets closer."

They crouched lower and moved through the clearing as the growling got fainter the farther away they got. Kei's eyes darted to the treeline, but she remained calm sensing for the creature to see if it was still hunting them. They soon came across a rock den as they barely made it out of the narrow clearing.

"I think we can safely rest here," Kei said, looking down at the kitten, who finally calmed down in her arms.

They huddled down inside the den, exchanging anxious glances. Kaito set Akira down gently, her shoulder bandaged and blood-dried up as it was no longer bleeding.

"We need to tend to that shoulder better before it gets worse," Kaito said his voice laced with concern.

Akira shook her head, a faint smile crossing her lips."I'll be fine. Kenji patched me up as best he could in our situation. I just need a minute," she reassured him.

Kei nodded, placing the kitten on the ground. It began to purr softly, nuzzling against Kei's leg."I will keep watch," her voice steady. We can't afford guard to be down even in this den."

As they settled into a tense silence, the atmosphere grew thick with unspoken fears. Akira felt her eyelids grow heavy, the exhaustion finally taking hold."Kaito..." she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" he asked glancing at her.

"Promise me...if anything happens you'll protect Kei and Kenji."

"Yes of course," Kaito said his expression serious."I'd never let anything happen to everyone were a team and Kenji is the client."

"Let's take a moment to recover before we continue to Kurokiri," Kei stated as he looked out the den for signs of approaching danger.

As they huddled in the relative safety of the rock den, Akira leaned against the cool stone wall, grateful for the respite. She closed her eyes feeling the rhythm of her heartbeat slow by the soft purr of the small kitten as well as the soft rustleing of the leaves.

"Do you think we'll be safe here?" Kaito asked worried.

Kei nodded her gaze fixed on the entrance."For now at least. But we must remain vigilant. Whatever is out there, it could still find us."

A low echoed once more, sending a shiver down their spines. Kaito tensed preparing for action."We can't stay here forever. We need to move."

"Agreed but I can sense the animal charka still safely away," Kei replied."Let's take a few more to recharge and move out."

"Right hopefully we get to Kurokiri without having to face that animal while Akira is injured," Kaito said examining Akira's shoulder.

Kei's eyes widened as suddenly felt a powerful charka sending a shiver down her spine. Suddenly the ground rumbled and Kei's hands moved in a rapid blur."Earth Style: Mud wall!" She said mentally placing her hands on the ground as a thick wall of earth blocked the den's entrance.

The sound of claws scraping against the mud echoed outside followed by a menacing growl, but the wall held firm.

"Looks like we're not getting out of here easily," Kaito muttered.

"There someone else out there with this creature and felt a more sinister charka earlier," Kei stated."We have to be smart about this get ready now!" She commanded just a deep voice inhuman voice was heard.

"Lighting style: Thunderstorm Paws!"

Hey, lovely reader here we have chapter 94 of The Crystal Serpent. In this chapter, Kei and her team continue their journey toward Kurokiri, but tensions rise as they hear a menacing howl, indicating a potential threat nearby. The character's dynamics deepen with Kaito's protective nature over Akira, while Kei remains a strategic leader ensuring everyone's safety. However they now have to prepare for dangerous threats as they are attacked by a Lighting style just from this mysterious summoning animal, but with someone else that was sense with the creature. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the final mission arc soon this arc will come to an end there are about one or two chapters left for this mission.

Thanks for reading!

Question of the chapter: Who do you think they are about to face?

word count: 1,311