The Lone Wolf

Chapter 3: The Lone Wolf

All around him stretched endless white.

Fang Xiu stood on a low slope covered in snow and ice. The cold wind lashed at him like a knife, but Chakra flowed steadily through his body, counteracting the low temperature and making him the only odd one out at the whaling station.

At that very moment, experts from various fields braved the wind and snow to collect samples in the surrounding area, while the engineering team waited by the ice cave entrance, preparing to make use of the mysterious passage.

As for the security team? They patrolled in pairs, keeping watch from the abandoned whaling station's lookout tower and every corner, on guard against uninvited guests from other factions—even if that possibility existed only in theory.

But in reality...

Space, near-Earth orbit.

Inside a cloaked spaceship.

"This human... is strange."

"He looks very strong. He doesn't need any tools; the energy in his body alone is enough to withstand this harsh environment. I'd like to collect his skull."

In the floating three-dimensional image, a young man stood atop a high point. The red glow representing his body heat was remarkably intense, like a small boiler running.

On either side of the image stood three masked figures, each over two meters tall and clad in strange armor.

As if sensing something, Fang Xiu raised his head and gazed up at the sky.

"Yautja. With their long-range surveillance capabilities... they should have spotted me."

They were a fascinating race, deeply devoted to primitive hunting traditions yet advanced enough to develop a high-tech civilization. They could pilot spaceships and wage war against all kinds of bizarre creatures.

"Perhaps, when I have the chance and become stronger, I can try to make contact with the Yautja Civilization, trade for useful equipment, and open up the worlds connected to them."

"For now... I should focus on passing the trial."

He gathered his thoughts and quickly formed Hand Seals, following the hints from his memory fragments—

Goat.

In an instant, his conspicuous shinobi outfit vanished, replaced by an utterly ordinary arctic parka.

In the Naruto World, ninjas formed Hand Seals before launching attacks so they could transform the Chakra in their bodies into techniques.

Most techniques required both hands to form Hand Seals, though there were occasional exceptions. A very small number of exceptionally gifted elite Jonin—and even Kage Level powerhouses—could form them with one hand.

Senju Hashirama, the man who founded Konoha and used Senjutsu and Wood Release to summon giant constructs for battle, often didn't even need Hand Seals. He could summon whatever he called for.

The Transformation Technique Fang Xiu had just used did exactly what its name suggested: it changed his appearance to deceive others!

It was useful in all kinds of situations, such as combat, espionage, or luring enemies into a trap, allowing someone to gain the greatest advantage by taking on another person's appearance.

Now, with nothing about him appearing out of the ordinary, Fang Xiu had reached the entrance and joined up with the characters from the story.

"The steel cable support is ready. Should we send down the experts' scientific instruments first, or have the security team scout ahead? I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Get the lights installed along the way. It's pitch-black in there, like the gaping maw of an abyss. Doesn't it give you the creeps?"

"Then get the generator running..."

The construction site around the ice cave was in an uproar.

Amid the noisy chatter, Fang Xiu walked over to a corner and quietly placed a hand on a man's shoulder. "Hey, could you tell me how to write the current date in Aztec on the Mayan calendar?"

Professor Sebastian, who had been lost in thought, jumped in fright. After collecting himself, he turned to Fang Xiu and said helplessly, "Buddy, are you a ghost? You didn't make a sound when you walked up."

"..." Fang Xiu answered with silence and a pair of Sharingan.

Three dark Tomoe spun in each eye.

The Genjutsu granted by his bloodline took hold.

It barely cost any Chakra, since his target was only an ordinary human. The next moment, the expert in ancient civilizations pulled out the paper and pen he carried with him and began to write.

It had been a long time, and many details of the story had grown hazy in Fang Xiu's memory, but he could still recall the key points.

The equipment room containing the Plasma Shoulder Cannon lay directly beneath the main sacrificial chamber. To reach the latter, all one had to do was follow the pyramid's central axis!

The main question was how to get the equipment.

The symbols written on the paper were the key.

"Use Aztec to set the time on the Mayan calendar to the current date, October 10, 2004, and you'll get..."

As he took the paper, Fang Xiu let out a long breath, withdrew the Genjutsu, and watched his eyes return to normal.

In truth, anyone with Uchiha Clan blood could easily use their eyes to control ordinary creatures, even without being particularly skilled in Genjutsu.

And if they advanced further and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, they could even control giant Tailed Beasts.

At that moment, Professor Sebastian stared blankly at Fang Xiu's back, still dazed. Even when his companions soon roused him, he wouldn't remember what he had just done.

At the entrance.

The engineers setting up the steel cables saw Fang Xiu approaching and were about to greet him when a shadow flashed before their eyes.

When they looked again, Fang Xiu was nowhere to be seen!

"D-did he jump down?"

"No way... I'm pretty sure he's on the security team."

Whoosh! With the key written in the ancient language in hand, Fang Xiu had no intention of using the steel cable. He slid straight down into the depths of the ice cave.

A short while later.

A Kunai stabbed into the ice at a thirty-degree angle, shedding most of his momentum. Then, with a dull thud, Fang Xiu landed upright like a javelin and looked ahead—

A pyramid loomed before him.

It was magnificently grand. The archway at its front alone stood thirty meters tall.

At the same time.

The Reincarnators who had remained on the surface made their way to the entrance, trembling. They had no choice.

The latest update on their Main God Watches showed that anyone who failed to enter the ice cave within ten minutes would be killed!

"That veteran is way too heartless. He's so strong, yet he won't look after us newbies."

"Yeah. Without a strong person to protect us, all we have are pistols... We can't kill a Xenomorph, let alone a Facehugger."

"What kind of bullshit Main God is this? Damn it! It gives everyone a new life, then cruelly takes it away again. It must be a sicko!"

"I finally got a new life. I don't want to die, I don't want to die! It was so painful!"

"Xenomorphs burst out of your chest..."

"Wait, hurry down! Hurry down! I know why that guy was in such a rush to leave. He's going to take the Yautja's weapons and improve his chances of survival!"

As the last of the humans entered the ice cave, three missile-shaped craft launched from the cloaked spaceship hovering in outer space.

They raced toward the Antarctic trial site at incredible speed, leaving no exhaust trails. Their stealth technology was beyond anything humans could imagine.

The hunt was about to begin!