The trek inland into the Land of Snow was brutal.
The sky darkened within hours of leaving the docks, the grey clouds swallowing the sun entirely. The wind howled like a dying animal, kicking up a blinding wall of white.
"Blizzard!" Kakashi yelled over the roaring wind, his voice barely audible. "We can't keep moving in this! The crew will freeze to death!"
Director Sandayu was already turning blue, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. Yukie Fujikaze was wrapped in three layers of fur, but she was still trembling.
Kakashi led the chaotic procession off the main trail, navigating by Memory and Sharingan until he found a massive, natural ice cave carved into the side of a glacier.
"Everyone inside!" Kakashi ordered.
Team 7 and the film crew piled into the cavern. It offered shelter from the biting wind, but the temperature inside was still well below freezing. The ice walls radiated a deep, bone-aching chill.
Kakashi and Sasuke used minor Fire Style jutsus to start a small campfire with some dry wood the crew had brought, but it wasn't enough to warm the massive cavern.
Naruto, powered by the Nine-Tails' latent vitality, was shivering but fine. He sat near the fire, rubbing his hands together.
Sakura Haruno was not fine.
Her civilian background and precise, but shallow, chakra reserves offered zero protection against the extreme environment. Her lips were tinted a dangerous shade of blue. She wrapped her arms around her knees, her teeth chattering so hard they clicked.
She looked across the fire at Sasuke.
Sasuke-kun... Sakura thought miserably. Maybe he'll offer me his jacket... or let me sit closer to him...
Sasuke sat cross-legged, his eyes closed. He was entirely focused on circulating his chakra to keep his core temperature stable. He didn't even glance in Sakura's direction. His mind was completely consumed by Kenji's words from the dock. Beat me. That's the only real way you prove your clan isn't a joke.
Sakura let out a shaky, pathetic breath, her heart sinking.
Heavy footsteps crunched on the ice floor.
Kenji walked over from the back of the cave. He wasn't shivering. His Uzumaki vitality burned like an internal furnace. He pulled a massive, high-quality thermal blanket from his system inventory.
He didn't sit by the fire. He walked right up to Sakura and sat down directly beside her.
Before she could even ask what he was doing, Kenji threw the heavy blanket over both of his shoulders, creating a dark, enclosed tent. He reached out, grabbed Sakura by her slender waist, and dragged her flush against his side.
Sakura gasped. "W-What are you doing?!"
She immediately tried to push him away, her hands planting flat against his chest. "Let go of me, you pervert! Everyone is right here!"
Kenji didn't budge. His arm remained locked around her waist like an iron band.
"Quiet down, flat-chest," Kenji muttered, his voice a low rumble. He pulled the thick blanket completely over their heads, trapping her inside the dark, enclosed space with him. "Your lips are blue. You're entering the early stages of hypothermia. If you want to freeze to death out of stubborn pride, go sit over there."
He loosened his grip just a fraction, giving her the physical option to leave.
Sakura hesitated.
Outside the blanket, the cave was freezing. Inside the blanket, pressed directly against Kenji's broad chest, it was incredibly hot. His body radiated an overwhelming, suffocating amount of heat.
I should push him away, Sakura's mind screamed. I love Sasuke-kun! What is Sasuke-kun sees us like this?! I can't let Kenji hold me like this!
But the cold was biting through her bones. And Kenji was so incredibly warm.
Sakura’s resistance crumbled. She stopped pushing.
With a frustrated, humiliating whimper, she gave in. She slumped against him, reluctantly burying her freezing face right into the crook of his neck. Her trembling hands slid off his chest and wrapped hesitantly around his waist to siphon as much body heat as possible.
"That's a good girl," Kenji smirked in the dark.
He didn't just hold her. He took advantage of the situation. He slid his large hand down her back, resting it heavily on the swell of her ass beneath her winter gear. He pulled her hips tight against his own, ensuring every inch of their bodies was pressed together.
Sakura felt his heavy hand on her ass. She felt the hard, masculine ridge of his body pressing against her thighs.
Her face burned red-hot in the darkness. She hated him. She hated how arrogant he was. But most of all, she hated the twisted, undeniable fact that she felt completely safe and incredibly warm wrapped in his aggressive grip.
Her touch-starved body soaked up his dominance like a sponge.
Across the flickering campfire, Sasuke opened his eyes.
He looked over and saw Kenji and Sakura huddled together under the heavy blanket. He could see Kenji's arm wrapped securely around her waist, and he could see Sakura's face buried intimately in Kenji's neck.
Sasuke’s jaw clenched. His fingernails dug into his knees.
Why is she with him? Sasuke thought, a dark, irrational flare of territorial jealousy burning in his chest. I don't care about her. But why does it feel like something belonging to me is being stolen.
He didn’t know why but whenever he saw Kenji and Sakura together, a sense of emptiness fills him. He can’t point what’s wrong, but there was definitely something wrong. And that only fuelled his anger.
He thinks he's better than me, Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life for a split second in the dark cave. He thinks he can just take whatever he wants. I'll show him. I'll get stronger, and I'll break his arrogant face.
[System Notification: Corruption Progress - Sakura Haruno's psychological resistance is crumbling. Touch dependency established.]
Under the thick blanket, Kenji smiled. The storm outside was raging, but the real storm was brewing perfectly right here in the cave.