Crow Ghost

It is night.

A heavy snowfall blankets the entire Konoha, and within two hours, the whole village is wrapped in silver. There are few pedestrians on the roads, and the dim streetlights shiver in the cold wind, flickering as if they might go out at any moment.

In a small grove, the snow has already reached ankle-depth, yet Houka and Guy are still training hard.

Bang, bang-bang!

Under the dim moonlight, in front of a thick wooden post, Houka uses all his strength to train his left kicks. The bandages on his feet shatter into shreds from the intense, repeated impacts, quickly stained red by blood before freezing solid in the ice and snow.

Beside him, Guy is practicing straight punches. His fists slam into the wooden post again and again, emitting dull thuds. One can see blood congealing between the knuckles of Guy's fists, but beneath his thick, bushy eyebrows lies a gaze that refuses to waver!

Might Duy stands behind the two, watching them train in silence.

"Hmm?"

Might Duy's thick brows arch; he seems to sense something unusual, and the contours of his ears twitch slightly.

The night wind picks up, swirling countless snowflakes that densely slice the dim moonlight into jagged fragments, plunging the small grove into darkness.

"What's going on?" Houka and Guy look up at the sky, only to see countless snowflakes dancing chaotically at an impossibly fast speed!

"Be careful!" Might Duy clenches his fists and looks around. "There are enemies!"

Whoosh!

The night wind grows more piercing. The snow in the grove is swept into mid-air, then falls with the wind, scattering so thickly that one cannot open their eyes.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!!!"

Might Duy leaps into mid-air and kicks fiercely toward the sky.

A crescent-shaped gust of wind, sharp as a blade, cuts through the air and kicks the snowflakes away in an instant.

But the next moment, that empty space is filled by even more snow.

"Father, are they spies from an enemy nation?" Guy shouts excitedly.

Might Duy frowns, as he cannot be sure either.

Houka's brow twitches; he suddenly has an intuition that the opponent is coming specifically for him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom!

Suddenly, from the bushes on the left, a massive fireball two meters in diameter comes whistling toward them, its scorching heat evaporating all the nearby snow!

"Ahhh!"

Might Duy rushes over immediately.

Great Fireball Technique... could it be someone from the Uchiha clan?

Might Duy does not hesitate to open the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, and Gate of Pain!

In an instant, Might Duy's speed and strength skyrocket. He arrives before the rolling, massive fireball as if teleporting.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

Might Duy ignores all logic, stepping on the air to ascend, and uses a single Leaf Great Whirlwind to kick the massive fireball until it explodes.

The waves of fire formed by the explosion ripple outward, slowly dissipating into the night wind.

Might Duy lands with a graceful pigeon-turn and immediately closes the four gates to prevent the rapid circulation of Chakra from putting excessive pressure on his body.

"Might Duy, your strength truly surprises me!" A man wearing a Cyan Crow Mask and wrapped in a black ninja outfit suddenly descends from the sky, landing on a tree.

"Who are you?" Might Duy wears a grave expression. Wearing a Cyan Crow Mask—could he be from the Anbu?

But the head of the Anbu is the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, and based on Might Duy's understanding of him, he would never send someone like this to test him.

"Me? You have no right to know my identity." A curve forms at the corner of the mouth beneath the Crow Ghost mask. He slowly closes his eyes, then snaps them open. A pair of black pupils have transformed into blood-red, ominous Three-Tomoe Sharingan, with three tomoe slowly rotating around the pupils, staring directly at Might Duy and Guy.

The next moment, Guy's eyes roll back, and he collapses to the ground in a deep sleep.

A genjutsu cast by a Three-Tomoe Sharingan is not something an ordinary ninja can resist!

Might Duy nearly falls for it too, but the Chakra within his body circulates at high speed, resisting the urge to fall asleep flooding his brain.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan... the opponent is a Jonin from the Uchiha clan! Damn it, his target is Houka!

"What a tenacious will, hehehe."

Amidst the cold laughter, Crow Ghost has already leaped to the side and grabbed Houka.

"Bastard! Fifth Gate, open!"

Might Duy shouts, but the alert Crow Ghost has already kicked him in the back of the head, and under the heavy blow, he finally loses consciousness.

Although Houka is nervous and worried, his expression remains unchanged: "Your goal shouldn't be to kill, right?"

"Of course, they are still alive." Crow Ghost chuckles. "You don't seem surprised at all."

With a few leaps, Crow Ghost carries Houka to the edge of the grove. He releases Houka and jumps back to a distance.

Houka narrows his eyes and asks: "Half a year ago, when I returned home and was confused by a genjutsu within the clan, that was you, wasn't it!"

Crow Ghost snorts: "So what if it was? Kid, your current situation is not good; you'd better not ask these irrelevant questions."

Houka was certain it was him, and given the mask he wore, there was no need to guess—he was definitely from Danzo's Root!

He must be trying to recruit me into Root.

Houka didn't know whether to laugh or cry; on the same day, the two biggest bosses of Konoha, both in the light and in the shadows, had come to recruit him. He was truly flattered.

"I have come under the orders of a great figure, and I need you to do one thing!" Crow Ghost spoke up.

"What thing?"

"As long as you agree, you will know immediately." Crow Ghost's Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated, exuding a heavy sense of oppression. Houka's pupils twitched; seemingly influenced by the same type of energy, he almost activated his own Sharingan.

Houka clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. The sharp pain kept his mind clear, suppressing the urge to activate his eyes.

"Sorry, I cannot agree to a request from an unknown source!" Houka said.

"Have you thought clearly about the consequences of refusing?" Crow Ghost sneered, a faint killing intent spilling from his Sharingan.

"Kill me?" Houka frowned. He remained silent on the surface, but inside, he wanted to cry. Might Duy, that guy, was really dropping the ball at a critical moment, wasn't he?

Didn't he say that opening the Eight Gates could take down four Ninja Blade users? How could a single Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan take him down? That was too embarrassing!

"How is your consideration coming along?" Crow Ghost tilted his head, his pair of Sharingan staring fixedly at Houka. "My patience is limited, and you don't have much time!"

"Can I go home and think about it for two days?" Houka decided to stall with awkward small talk.

"..." Sure enough, Crow Ghost's Sharingan twitched, as if he had been choked by Houka's words.

"Kid, you cannot afford the consequences of angering me!"

"Then, I would like to discuss it with my guardian!" Houka continued the awkward small talk.

"You are an orphan!!" Crow Ghost suppressed his anger.

"Don't expose the harsh reality!" Houka said.

"Bastard!" Crow Ghost gritted his teeth, raising his hand to give Houka a lesson.

"ROAR!!!"

Suddenly, a furious roar erupted from the small woods, and then a terrifying aura rose into the sky like a pillar of smoke, locking onto Crow Ghost in an instant.

"Nani?!" Crow Ghost's entire body stiffened. He turned his head in shock, only to see a figure approaching at a terrifying speed in the air—a speed that even his Three-Tomoe Sharingan struggled to track.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"