Blade in the Dark Night

Inside the Land of Fire, beside a fairly wide river.

Five robust gray wolves crouched here, the leader of the pack exceptionally large—easily a full size bigger than the other four, its fur brighter and glossier.

"How strange? I've been here more than once, and I'm pretty familiar with the surrounding area." Uchiha Kai's voice came from the treetop nearby.

"Wild wolves—and such fierce ones at that—how could they leave no trace at all? Why have I never seen them before?" Watching the pack drinking and resting by the river, the boy looked puzzled.

As a reserve ninja who had studied at the Ninja Academy for several years, Uchiha Kai naturally knew plenty about wilderness survival, including how to scout for beast habitats.

In the boy's view, this place had nothing to do with a wolf den. These wolves seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Strange.

"Forget it, no time to dwell on this. That wolf's sense of smell is too sharp—if I drag this out any longer, I'll be found out." The boy pushed aside his doubts, steadied his gaze, and focused entirely on the pack before him.

And just as the boy had anticipated, the towering gray wolf leading the pack seemed to sense something, twitching its nose, its savage beast eyes scanning the area, ears swiveling.

"Grrr—"

The Alpha Wolf suddenly let out a low growl, clearly detecting an anomaly, about to warn its companions.

"Swish-swish—!"

Too late. Faint sounds cut through the night—the proof of sharp weapons tearing through air.

"Yowl..." "Ow..."

Black Shurikens arced through the moonlight. Two gray wolves couldn't dodge in time, taking direct hits and letting out pained howls.

"Heh, not a bad haul."

Moonlight fell, casting most of Uchiha Kai's body in shadow, making him look rather menacing.

"Grrr—Awooo! (Enemy! Surround him!)"

Facing the Uninvited Guest before it, the enraged Alpha Wolf roared, its bloody maw opening wide, a strange, sweetish stench spreading through the air.

The two uninjured gray wolves reacted swiftly, flanking the Alpha Wolf in a pincer formation, trying to encircle the boy.

But Uchiha Kai wasn't a mindless beast like them. His gaze swept across, completely ignoring the three wolves' encirclement.

Instead, he quickly sidestepped, drew his Short Sword, and charged toward the two wounded wolves.

"Awoo! (Stop the hairless monkey!)" The Alpha Wolf barked orders, trying to prevent the boy from picking them off one by one.

"Roar!" "Roar!" The two wolves lunged at Uchiha Kai, abandoning any formation, now only focused on slowing the boy down.

To be fair, these wolves' physical abilities were terrifying. Despite being a step behind, they closed the gap with explosive speed, landing just a step away from Uchiha Kai's back.

Fangs and claws pressed in, danger at his back. A sense of crisis climbed up the boy's spine, his scalp tingling.

In the blink of an eye, the boy twisted his body, miraculously slipping through the gap between the two wolves' attack. As they brushed past, the gray wolves' faces showed a human-like shock.

"Too bad."

The boy sneered, drawing his Short Sword and sliding it across the wounded gray wolf's neck.

"Shlick—"

Blood sprayed from the cut. Already injured, the wolf went limp from the blow, collapsing onto the grass and staining it red.

"Gurgle..." Its throat severed, blood flooding back, the gray wolf could only choke out a wet gurgle—clearly not long for this world.

Having landed his hit, the boy fled instantly, not greedy for more. With a flicker, he leaped into a tree.

"Whoa, what's the deal with these wolves? How are they this tough? It's not just that Shurikens can't seriously hurt them." The boy steadied himself on the branch, flicking blood off his blade in confusion.

"This ninja sword of mine almost couldn't cut through its neck. That's ridiculous."

It wasn't that Uchiha Kai was easily startled—these wolves were just too bizarre. The Short Sword in his hand was one of the few keepsakes left by his parents.

It wasn't made of Chakra metal, but it was forged from top-grade steel. It could slice through a thick wooden post in one swing, yet it had nearly failed on a wild wolf...

"Can't let my guard down..." A grin curled at the corner of the boy's mouth.

He reached into his Ninja Tool Pouch, grabbed a few more Shurikens, and threw them in rapid succession.

But this time, the element of surprise was gone. The gray wolves were on alert, dodging with their brute physicality. Only the already wounded wolf failed to fully evade, taking a gash on its left leg.

Seeing his subordinate injured again, the Alpha Wolf grew desperate. With a roar, it lunged forward, moving like a gust of wind.

"Awoo! (You two hold the line, I'll kill him!)"

Before the sound faded, the Alpha Wolf's massive body had already closed in. With a shoulder check, the tree Uchiha Kai stood on shook violently.

"Hmph." With a cold snort, he tapped his toes and leaped to another tree, flicking his wrist.

Three more Shurikens flew out, aimed straight at the two wolves guarding the wounded one.

Caught off guard by the sudden shift in target, the two wolves reacted a beat too slow. Unable to dodge fully, both ended up with fresh wounds.

"Awooo—!!"

Having been toyed with repeatedly, the Alpha Wolf was now frantic. It had clearly realized the gravity of the situation.

This hairless monkey before it was utterly bizarre. Though small and frail, it had invisible claws that, with a flick, wounded its companions. The Alpha Wolf felt its worldview crumbling.

It couldn't drag this out any longer. As the pack leader, it understood this situation all too well—it was exactly how they hunted.

Using agility to keep inflicting wounds, piling on both physical and mental pressure on the prey.

They waited for time to slowly drain the prey's life, then enjoyed the spoils without effort, taking no excessive risk.

But at this moment, the roles of enemy and ally, prey and hunter, had been swapped.

Thinking this, the Alpha Wolf's eyes rolled, his small brain beginning to churn.

The next moment, like a mindless beast, he once again started ramming the tree pointlessly—only, perhaps... a little slower?

Thump! Another dull impact rang out, the tree shaking once more, and Uchiha Kai nimbly rose to leap toward a neighboring tree.

Just then, the Alpha Wolf halted mid-motion, spun around abruptly, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

With a push of his hind legs, immense force kicked up a cloud of dust. The wolf leaped, closing in at terrifying speed on Uchiha Kai, who was midair and unable to turn.

His blood-red maw gaped open, eager to bite down. The reeking wind stirred the boy's eyelids, making them flutter—was there no escape?

Thump!

In the dust cloud, iron fangs snapped shut, brutally severing whatever was in his mouth in two.

But unfortunately, it wasn't the boy's corpse.

It was a dead branch—a branch that landed behind the pack of wolves.

The blade stabbed roughly into the throat. The struck Gray Wolf's pupils dilated; he felt a violent churning at his neck, then his eyes rolled back as he died in agony.

!

The Alpha Wolf turned back in terror, staring at the fearsome figure that had suddenly appeared behind his companion. An unknown dread climbed into his heart, an icy chill spreading across his spine.

Yes, mere beasts—even with a bit of cunning—how could they match human intelligence? How could they understand...

What ninjutsu was?

Drawing the blade smoothly and rising, the boy swept his gaze across both sides, even finding the leisure to mutter to himself.

"Good thing I trained the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques the most. Simple, practical life-saving skills like that—the more, the better..." As he spoke, he lashed out with a whip kick.

It struck the belly of a Gray Wolf lunging at him, drawing a pitiful howl.

"If I'd been bitten by that just now... I'd probably only have to pay half price for meals from now on..."