Sudden Change

Facing the wolf pack's assault, there was not a trace of emotion on Veigar's face; his cold gaze fixed on the Wolf King at the rear.

In two or three seconds, the ninja sword Veigar wielded was already stained red by the boiling wolf blood, leaving only the isolated Wolf King among the seventeen wild wolves before him.

Seeing the wolves lying around Veigar, the Wolf King, merely an ordinary beast, understood what that signified.

In past hunts of other animals, it had happened many times—wolves that fell never rose again.

"Awooooo..."

At that moment, the Wolf King sensed immense danger from Veigar and instinctively howled once more at the moon, as if calling for companions or wailing in grief.

"I'll use you to test my new ninjutsu."

Veigar lowered the ninja sword stained with wolf blood, and as he thought of testing the Rasengan, a pale blue Chakra sphere appeared in the palm of his right hand.

Behind Veigar, Kakashi Hatake and Takeuchi Joji—who had just scrambled up after hearing the Wolf King's first howl—were both staring at Veigar in shock.

What stunned Takeuchi Joji was that someone as young as Veigar could single-handedly kill over a dozen wolves without a scratch, stirring in him for the first time a desire for the power a ninja possessed.

Kakashi Hatake, meanwhile, was astonished by the ninjutsu Veigar was now using; he hadn't expected Veigar to have fully mastered Minato Namikaze's signature technique—the Rasengan—without him noticing.

Since Veigar hadn't yet trained the Rasengan to proficiency and was still in the comprehension stage, it took him a little time to form it.

Just as he assumed the Wolf King would attack after its howl, he didn't anticipate the beast turning tail and fleeing, nimbly vanishing into the dark forest.

"Hey, hey, you're the Wolf King!"

"You just run like that???"

"Bad review!"

If he had the time, Veigar would have mocked the Wolf King, but unfortunately, he was still in battle.

Seeing the Wolf King flee, Veigar chased after it without a second thought, eager to test the power of the Rasengan in his hand.

The Wolf King, which hadn't fled far, was instantly struck on the head by Veigar's descending Rasengan and died on the spot.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

The instant the Wolf King was killed, Veigar's body, which hadn't yet landed safely, went out of control, freezing stiff and causing him to fall clumsily to the ground.

In that moment, Veigar suddenly felt something inside him burrowing toward the palm of his right hand.

The next second, the Superior Evil Power icon, which he could only "see" with his eyes closed in meditation, appeared within the Rasengan in his hand, glowing brightly.

It was then that Veigar regained control of his body and his mobility, and the glow from the Superior Evil Power icon vanished.

Also disappearing was the Source of Life from the Wolf King, which should have gradually dissipated.

At the nearby camp, Kakashi Hatake, protecting Takeuchi Joji, also caught a glimpse of the fleeting dark green light. Worried about Veigar's safety but unable to leave, he shouted anxiously, "Veigar, are you alright?"

Hearing Kakashi Hatake's call from the forest, Veigar quickly replied loudly, "I'm fine, I'm coming back now."

Without time to ponder what had happened to his body or why the Wolf King's Source of Life had vanished instantly, Veigar grabbed the Wolf King's corpse and hurried away.

Returning to the area lit by the flickering firelight, Kakashi Hatake saw Veigar's clothes dirty from the fall and asked worriedly, "Veigar, what was that green light just now?"

"Why are you so dirty?"

Veigar knew Kakashi Hatake must have seen the light that had radiated out, or he wouldn't be asking now.

He nodded and secretly made a ninja hand signal meaning "talk later," then replied, "I'm fine, I just tripped and fell."

Kakashi Hatake understood Veigar's intent—Veigar had something to say but didn't want Takeuchi Joji to know.

So Kakashi Hatake nodded and responded, "Good to hear you're fine."

Throwing the Wolf King's corpse into the pile of dead wolves, Veigar saw that the Source of Life from all the wolves had already dissipated, then walked to the center and picked up the ninja sword he had set down.

At the same time, he thought about how to come up with a reasonable explanation for Kakashi Hatake.

Using the handkerchief he usually used to wipe his ninja sword, he cleaned off the bloodstains, then sheathed the sword back into the scabbard on his back.

He also thought of an excuse.

After fully confirming that the surroundings were safe, Kakashi Hatake walked over to Veigar, standing among the dozen wolf corpses, and Takeuchi Joji followed.

Looking at the wolf corpses, Takeuchi Joji, now fully awake and no longer sleepy, said, "Thank you for saving me. Without you, I might have died here."

No one wants to die if they can live, and Takeuchi Joji was no exception.

He was also grateful that Veigar and Kakashi Hatake hadn't left despite his earlier plea, or he would have definitely ended up in a wolf's stomach.

Veigar and Kakashi Hatake both shook their heads at Takeuchi Joji to indicate no thanks were needed, then Veigar said, "Mr. Jōji, protecting your safety is our mission. You don't need to thank us for that."

Takeuchi Joji nodded in understanding but kept the debt of gratitude to Veigar and Kakashi Hatake in his heart.

Then, Takeuchi Joji volunteered, "These wolf pelts should fetch a good price, and such intact pelts are rare."

"Especially this Wolf King's pelt—even without the head, it won't affect the sale price."

"How about it? Do you need my help skinning them all?"

Veigar and Kakashi Hatake exchanged a glance, then Veigar quickly replied, "Mr. Jōji knows how to skin wolves?"

Takeuchi Joji laughed heartily and said proudly, "Don't underestimate me. In my youth, I was the top hunter in our village."

Since Takeuchi Joji was willing to help, Veigar was quite pleased, and he smiled at Takeuchi Joji, saying, "Then, Mr. Jōji, we'll leave it to you."