Chase

"Awooo! (Hold him back!)" The Alpha Wolf had just broken free of its fear when it let out a sharp howl.

Watching its packmates die one after another, the two remaining Gray Wolves' eyes turned completely red. They knew that if they did not fight desperately now, they would be next.

"Wooo!!"

The Gray Wolf Uchiha Kai had kicked away moments ago charged at him again, eyes bloodshot.

The boy neither dodged nor retreated. He bent forward and stepped in, flicking his Short Sword upward in a diagonal slash.

"Grrk—"

The strike landed squarely across the Gray Wolf's chest, cutting deep into flesh and bone. Pain made it whimper instinctively, yet it did not back down, continuing to bear down on the boy.

"So now you remember how to fight for your life..."

Facing the fearless Gray Wolf, the boy showed no fear. He drew back his blade as he twisted his upper body aside.

"Whoosh—"

A howling gust swept past his ear, the iron claws barely missing his head.

Uchiha Kai turned, raised his knee, and drove it hard into the ambushing wolf's belly.

"Urgh—!"

Its weak point struck hard, the Gray Wolf's body curled up and stiffened for a moment, leaving its defenses wide open.

Naturally, the boy would not miss such a fine opportunity. His left hand reached into his Ninja Tool Pouch and pulled out a Kunai.

"Squelch—" The sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh reached the Alpha Wolf's ears as it arrived belatedly.

In the Alpha Wolf's dim vision, the frail boy viciously plunged the Kunai into the Gray Wolf's eye socket, twisted it twice, then withdrew and leaped away again.

This time, the Gray Wolf did not even have the strength to cry out before it collapsed, falling at the feet of the late-arriving Alpha Wolf.

The Kunai the boy had not retrieved remained lodged in its eye socket. Even after collapsing, its body twitched faintly, its lower abdomen contracting without stop. It looked utterly miserable.

"Awooo!!!"

Another companion had fallen before its eyes. The proud Wolf King could no longer endure such humiliation and fell completely into a berserk rage.

"Thump!"

After a simple burst of power, it sprang forward violently, kicking up a vicious wind. Its speed made Uchiha Kai's eye twitch.

This is bad...

As he flew backward, the boy inwardly cried out and hurriedly raised his Short Sword across his chest.

"Bang!"

The moment their weapons met, an unimaginably powerful force traveled through the blade into the boy's body. Unable to withstand it, he was sent flying.

"Thump!"

Driven by the immense force, Uchiha Kai flew backward and slammed into a distant tree before slowly sliding down to the ground.

"Cough—cough cough cough!"

A burning pain surged through his chest. Grimacing, the boy coughed several times and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. His vision swayed slightly, and his ears rang incessantly.

The towering Alpha Wolf stalked over from afar, its scarlet eyes fixed firmly on the enemy before it. Even now, it did not let down its guard.

It was a predator's innate instinct. No matter how weak its prey appeared, it could not afford to be careless. That was a lesson written in blood.

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

Several sharp whistles cut through the air as Uchiha Kai threw his last few Shuriken.

"Heh heh heh~"

The Alpha Wolf let out a mocking sound and twisted its body aside, easily dodging the feeble attacks.

It's over. I've won, thought the Alpha Wolf with its limited mind.

The next moment, the prey it had sentenced to death moved once more.

What is this? Has this monkey gone mad?

In the Alpha Wolf's vision, Uchiha Kai's hands began moving up and down, constantly forming strange gestures.

"Sigh... I didn't want to make a commotion."

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Horse—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

The boy rapidly formed hand seals. At the end, he held his hand before his mouth and forcefully exhaled.

"Rumble—"

An invisible heat wave surged forth at once, condensing into a massive fireball that rolled forward, curling even the hair at the corners of his eyes.

"!"

The Wolf King, which had looked so proud just moments before, was instantly dumbfounded. It had no time to dodge or howl.

The enormous fireball surged forward, swallowing the Alpha Wolf's towering body—and its tiny brain.

"Whoosh, whoosh~"

The flames did not last long. Once the boy stopped supplying Chakra, they quickly died out.

"Plop—"

As the smoke and dust dispersed, a charred, coal-black remnant of a body collapsed onto the ground, filling the air with the stench of burnt flesh.

"In the end, it was only a beast. Cunning enough, but lacking in intelligence. Faced with an attack beyond its understanding, it could only meet its end here."

The boy rubbed his chest and used his Short Sword to brace himself as he rose to his feet, gazing at the unrecognizable Alpha Wolf with a sigh.

"Then again, wasn't I just a slightly larger beast myself..."

Uchiha Kai shifted his gaze toward the only Gray Wolf left on the field—the one whose chest he had slashed open earlier, leaving it unable to move.

"Awo... awo... howl!"

Under Uchiha Kai's astonished gaze, the Gray Wolf kicked its legs, let out a mournful cry, and then... kicked the bucket?

"Scared to death?"

Already severely wounded and bleeding nonstop, the Gray Wolf had witnessed Uchiha Kai casually summon flames. Then it recalled his ghostlike movements from before.

Under that pressure, the fuse in its mind finally snapped, and it simply died.

At first, Uchiha Kai suspected a trick, thinking the Gray Wolf was playing dead in preparation for a sneak attack.

Then, the next second, a cold mechanical voice rang out beside his ear.

[Mission: Departure has been completed perfectly]

[Reward: Constitution ×0.1. Issued to the panel and may be used at any time]

[Based on your evaluation, you have been granted one special reward]

[To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools: You may strengthen one Ninja Tool once]

"A special reward like this? That came at just the right time..."

Looking at the information displayed on the panel, the boy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then he raised the Short Sword in his hand and inspected the tiny chips along its blade under the moonlight.

Those were marks left behind from his usual training. He had maintained the weapon well enough that it had never suffered any serious damage, but this battle against such hard-boned opponents had taken its toll.

"Perfect timing. This sword was nearly done for, and I was wondering what to do about it. Weapons in the ninja world aren't cheap..."

As he spoke, the boy silently asked in his mind.

"How do I use the strengthening function?"

[Hold the target that requires strengthening in your hand and issue the command mentally]

The cold voice sounded again, answering Uchiha Kai's question.

The boy no longer hesitated. Eager to witness the system's power, he immediately gave the command.

"Strengthen the Short Sword in my hand."

The next instant, a mysterious light visible only to him wrapped around the weapon, and an invisible transformation began.

About five seconds later, the light faded. The strengthened Short Sword appeared unchanged at first glance, but upon closer inspection, every scratch and chip on its blade had vanished.

In their place was a dazzling cold gleam. Even from afar, one could feel its sharpness and edge.

[Target strengthened. Toughness greatly increased. Sharpness slightly increased. Granted minor Chakra conduction ability]

[Due to the mission's perfect completion, this strengthening has received an additional bonus]

[Special attribute "Chase" added: Withered grass sharpens the hawk's eye; melted snow lightens the horse's hooves. When pursuing a target while wielding this blade, you will receive a minor speed boost, making your movements lighter and swifter; your attacks will more easily inflict negative statuses upon targets, such as: severe bleeding, puncture wounds, and so on.]

After reading all the information on the panel, Uchiha Kai let out a long breath and felt utterly refreshed.

"Good."

He held the Short Sword in one hand and gently stroked its blade with the other, feeling the icy touch beneath his fingertips. A sense of reassurance rose within him.

"Good. Very good." Having gained such a fine blade, the boy was overjoyed, repeating his praise several times.

"Those hits weren't for nothing."

"I'll call you Zhulu."

With that thought, Uchiha Kai gave the Short Sword a few swings before sheathing it again.

"Time to clean up the mess again..."

The boy scratched his forehead, and the sight of the battlefield's wreckage immediately gave him a headache.

"What a pain..." Though he complained, his hands did not stop moving. He quickly went to the bodies of several Gray Wolves, pulling out the Shuriken embedded in them, then gathering the scattered Shuriken nearby as well as the Kunai lodged in an eye socket.

He fetched some water from the river, gave them a quick rinse and wipe, then put them away in his Ninja Tool Pouch.

"Hmm—these three wolf corpses are still fairly intact. Their pelts should fetch a decent price."

With that, the boy picked up his Short Sword and skillfully began processing the corpses.

"As for the meat... forget it. I'm not that short on money anymore, and bringing all this meat back would be a hassle."

After a long while, he had skinned three intact wolf pelts and folded them neatly together. The remaining bones and flesh were burned clean with a Great Fireball, and he diverted some river water to roughly wash away the scene.

After all that work, the boy was exhausted. After all, this body was still in its developmental years, so running out of stamina was only natural.

Once everything was done, Uchiha Kai dragged his weary body back to his familiar little nest.

Without even bathing, he fell asleep reeking of sweat.