Naruto: Snow Cold

Somewhere else...

Chew.

"We sure had quite the haul today." one of the bandits said through a mouthful of beef jerky. He leaned back lazily, his sheathed dagger clanking against the log he used as a seat. Around him, the rest of his crew laughed and jeered, their stolen treasures scattered carelessly across the camp.

"Too bad he didn't have any alcohol, though. Woulda been real nice. What's the point of having jewelry if we can't even sell it? These ninjas would obliterate us the moment we stepped into any of their villages."

"Shut the fuck up and stop whinin', Daichi. What matters is that we've got food, shelter, and most importantly, a good life, unrestrained by anything else," barked the captain, his scarred face twisted into a sneer. He leaned forward, jabbing a finger at Daichi. "We ain't fancy merchants or some shinobi clan. We're free. No laws, no village leaders breathin' down our necks. So quit your yappin' and enjoy the spoils."

The rest of the bandits chuckled, raising their makeshift cups of water in a mock toast. The air around the campfire was thick with the smell of smoke, charred meat, and greed, their laughter echoing into the forest.

Daichi shrugged, gnawing on another strip of jerky. "Yeah, yeah. Guess you're right, boss." He gestured lazily toward the pile of stolen goods. "Still, it'd be nice to—"

"—Hey, is it just me, or is it getting warmer all of a sudden?" Another bandit interrupted, glancing uneasily around the camp.

Daichi frowned. "What are you talking about? It's a fire, idiot. Of course it's warm."

"One of you go check outside. I'm not gettin' up after all of that."

The bandit grumbled as he stood, brushing off his worn cloak. "Fine, I'll check. But if it's nothing, you're cleaning my boots tomorrow."

The others laughed, their jeers filling the camp as the reluctant man trudged toward the edge of their clearing, muttering curses under his breath.

He pushed aside a low-hanging branch, squinting into the forest beyond.

The image didn't need to clear for him. The heat hit him first, suffocating and intense, and his eyes shot wide open. His breath caught in his throat as the acrid stench of burning wood filled his nostrils. This had caused him to take a step back, panic growing in his chest.

"F-Fire..."

"There's a fucking fire! The forest is burning do-"

Yet, before he could finish his sentence, he heard a voice. One that seemingly belonged to a young girl.

"You know, you shouldn't curse. Especially in front of a child."

She had bright, golden blonde hair tied up in pigtails, with striking crimson eyes and dressed in simple ragged white and black clothes. She looked no less than seven, no, eight years old.

"W-Who the hell... Are you one of those ninjas?"

"Hm... A ninja?" She tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a small smirk. "I don't think I owe you that answer." Without another word, she swiftly moved her hands in front of her, fingers flying through a series of hand seals.

"HEY! What the fuck is taking you so long, Kuz—"

He gasped, his voice dying in his throat as he saw what was happening. No one would have expected half the forest to go up in flames, especially not so close to their camp.

Not even a moment later, a surge of flames erupted from the girls open mouth, aimed directly towards the bandits and moving rapidly.

"A-AAAHHHHH!!"

The bandits screamed in panic, tearing at their burning clothes as they desperately tried to flee the flames. The camp quickly succumbed to the fire as well, and the air was filled with the deafening sound of crackling wood and the rising volume of their desperate cries.

As the chaos unfolded, the girl's eyes widened with a sudden realization. "Oh, crap! I hope the loot is okay."

Once the shrieks and cries were reduced to nothing but silence, she reluctantly formed the seals for a Water Release Jutsu—one she had 'borrowed' during one of her past raids—and released a torrent of water that quickly doused the flames. Although it was necessary, she was disappointed. It was beautiful to see the fires blaze and crackle in her eyes.

With a sigh, she entered the camp. "Three, four, five, six... That makes sixty-seven. No matter how much times I do this, I can't seem to get used to the stench of burnt meat."

She looked at one of the crisp bodies in disdain, seeing how its eye sockets were empty, likely because their eyes had popped due to the flames, their head completely bald, and their charred skin a grim reminder of what she had just unleashed.

Thankfully, the flames hadn't reached the rations or the stolen treasures, which were neatly tucked away in a corner, untouched by the inferno. It was too bad, though, that most of the actual good loot had been reduced to ash, scattered carelessly around the camp. Stupid bandits.

"How many months has it been since I've been exiled from that village? I have barely been improving, and all I've managed was to increase the size of my chakra pool and the temperature of my flames by a slight amount. I really need a place to settle in, so that I can brainstorm any new methods to increase the ferocity of my flames."

Scarlet hadn't even realized it, but she had gone solo for so long, that she started speaking her thoughts out loud.

"Perhaps next time I should play with my food a little."

She had hesitated, the very first time she tried attacking actual people. How many had started banditry because they had nothing to feed their families with? How many had done it because they had no choice? How many... How many did it because they didn't want to die like a dog?

Scarlet didn't care about that, though. Not anymore.

They were killers. They were thieves.

Just like her.

The merchant's lifeless body and the wreckage of his caravan were proof enough. He hadn't been spared. Why should they? If you're gonna kill someone, then be prepared to be killed yourself.

She took out a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, and unfolded it. It was a map.

Tattered at the edges and smudged with dirt, it had seen better days, but the markings were still legible.

"Judging by the ambient and how far I've been travelling, I must be in the Land of Hot Water." She traced her fingers along the faded ink lines, eyes narrowing as she calculated her next move.

"I should stay here for a while longer, and wait until I'm stronger. I have no idea if I'll encounter anyone dangerous in the Land of Fire, or if the general threat level is higher. I should be thankful to the lord above that I haven't encountered any rogue shinobi yet."

She didn't know how, but she hadn't encountered a single shinobi during her travels. Okay, maybe she had seen some people with headbands on their foreheads, but she always avoided them. The strongest enemy she had ever encountered was a rogue genin—if he could even be called that. He barely even knew how to perform E-Ranked jutsus.

The graduation requisites from their village musn't have been very strict, compared to a power like Kumogakure or Konohagakure.

"Anyway, time to store everything. It really is too bad that all they have is beef jerky and fruit bread, along with some useless jewelry."

She crouched down and rummaged through the supplies, stuffing whatever seemed remotely useful into a worn-out satchel. Most of the jewelry was gaudy and cheap-looking—probably stolen from merchants who weren't worth the effort of hiring shinobi escorts.

She clicked her tongue. "No jutsu at all this time, either... What a waste of time."

Still, food was helpful. It was probably one of the reasons she was still sane despite being alone for so long.

As she tied the bag shut, a rustling sound came from the treeline. This had caused for her to turn around.

"I thought I killed you all."

Scarlet's eyes narrowed as she spotted a shaky man a few meters away from her. His hands trembled as he held a crude dagger, pointing it at her with all the conviction of a man who knew he was about to die. To say that his clothes looked like crap would be an understatement.

"...Give them back." His voice quivered with anger and desperation. "Give Daichi and the others back."

'Why do you have to make this so hard for me? Just drop and die with them. I don't want to take in this foul smell any longer.' she thought, her patience thinning by the second. 'If you wanted me dead that badly, then you should've just sneaked up on me and stabbed me from behind.'

Too bad he messed up by brushing against those leaves.

In silence, she backed away. Despite her looks and having no equipment to train with, she was quite agile and dexterous due to constant movement and daily physical training. She couldn't afford to exhaust herself to the limit, though, and therefore couldn't absorb most of the benefits, so it wasn't as helpful as it should be.

Doing that, she went through several hand seals once more.

'Here we go again.'