Battle and Parting

Looking at the black wolf before him, Ye Wuji felt a trace of fear. He hadn't known what Minato's gift would be, but he never expected it to be a real combat trial, something he was sorely lacking. He had been worried Minato might find an actual ninja for him to fight, but he hadn't anticipated being sent to deal with a wolf in this forest.

At first, Ye Wuji thought Minato just wanted him to see some blood. It was only a wolf, after all; he figured he could just hide and throw a few kunai to finish it off.

He held the local specialty in his hand: a kunai. This was the one Minato used frequently. It was entirely black and appeared to be forged from high-quality steel. The handle featured a spiral pattern designed for a firmer grip, and near the hilt, there were tiny pores that seemed intended to absorb sweat, adapting the weapon for a ninja's prolonged combat.

Given Minato's status, this might even be a chakra-infused weapon, capable of channeling chakra to enhance its lethality. The glint on the blade suggested it had claimed many lives. Having been here for a while, he knew that most high-quality weapons were in the hands of ninjas; commoners and bandits usually relied on simple iron or, at best, standard steel. After testing it, Ye Wuji confirmed that he could indeed channel his chakra into it.

Most weapons used by ninjas were forged from a type of black steel that offered superior hardness, elasticity, sharpness, and malleability compared to ordinary steel. A step above black steel were chakra weapons, and above those were specialized custom-made weapons like the Thunder God Sword or the seven great blades of the Mist. Even higher were the legendary artifacts like the Kusanagi Sword or the Yasakani Jewel. Ye Wuji didn't know many of these; if they were the artifacts of ancient China from his past life, he could name a few, but here, he was clueless. While this world resembled Japan, it had many differences, and his past-life knowledge was largely inapplicable.

For instance, Ye Wuji had once asked Minato if there were professions like Onmyoji. Minato had looked at him as if he had never heard the term. It wasn't that the profession had declined; the term simply didn't exist. Given Minato's position in Konoha—though not yet at the top, he was a student of one of the future Sannin and a grand-student of the Third Hokage—he should have had access to Konoha's records, and Onmyoji shouldn't have been a top-secret subject.

That incident had nearly aroused Minato's suspicion. When asked where he had heard of it, Ye Wuji could only claim he had read it in some old books, suggesting it might have been someone's wild speculation, which finally eased Minato's concern.

After that, Ye Wuji had to be extremely careful with his questions, fearing he might slip up again. The world of Naruto was full of strange inconsistencies that Ye Wuji couldn't quite grasp.

For example, Minato could explain the First Shinobi World War and the founding of the Five Great Nations clearly, but he knew very little about the era before the war, referring to it only as the "Warring States Period." He didn't know what the fighting was about, and not a single trace of anyone from that era remained. It was bizarre; even in chaos, there should have been famous figures. Surely later generations would know of people like the First Hokage or Madara? To avoid further suspicion, Ye Wuji stopped asking.

Despite his doubts, Ye Wuji was certain of one thing: humanity in this world seemed to have appeared suddenly, without a clear origin. In his past life on Earth, there were many theories about human evolution, but here, there were none. Everything seemed to have a distinct starting point that severed the past. No one in this world seemed to realize this, which was why Ye Wuji dared not dig deeper. He was too weak right now. Perhaps if he became powerful, he would earn the right to investigate, though he might die long before he ever reached that level.

Ye Wuji shook his head, casting these strange thoughts aside. The priority now was to survive in this world before considering anything else.

Right now, he had to kill this wolf. Although Minato was surely watching from the sidelines and he wouldn't be in any mortal danger, this was his first performance in front of Minato. He couldn't let it end with Minato having to save him; that would be too humiliating.

Initially, Ye Wuji recalled the saying from his past life that wolves had "copper heads, iron bones, and tofu waists," so he aimed for the wolf's midsection. Besides Minato's kunai, he had brought a dozen wooden kunai he'd crafted during training. He had fired three at the wolf's waist, but the wolf had swatted them all away with its tail. Ye Wuji had been terrified, nearly thinking he'd encountered a magical beast—or in this world's terms, a summoning animal—and scrambled to find a new hiding spot. His combat instincts were gradually growing; ninja combat was much like sniping in his past life—shoot and move, or risk death.

Fortunately, after observing, he realized it was just the wolf's instinctual reaction. He hadn't been careful enough, and a wolf's senses were far superior to a human's. In his past life, if a man with only a dagger fought a wolf, the wolf would almost certainly win.

Although people here were physically much stronger than those on Earth, the wolves were clearly much stronger as well, especially in their hearing and vision.

After many attempts, Ye Wuji had only two wooden kunai left, and he had barely managed to inflict a minor wound on the wolf. In the process, he had nearly been bitten several times.

As the fight dragged on, Ye Wuji realized that killing the wolf without taking any damage was unrealistic. With Minato watching, he finally drew the black steel kunai and engaged the wolf directly. It was a superior weapon, far sharper than the wooden ones, and he quickly inflicted numerous wounds on the beast. However, he also sustained several claw marks, though he managed to avoid being bitten.

It wasn't until he used the Clone Technique to distract the wolf that he was able to drive the kunai into its eye, killing it. Even then, the wolf's final death throes nearly crippled his right arm.

Only when Ye Wuji had finally killed the wolf after a grueling struggle did Minato, who had been standing on a treetop, nod in satisfaction and flash down to his side.

"Brother Minato," Ye Wuji called out, enduring the pain as Minato approached.

"Well done. Sit down and rest; I'll treat your wounds." Minato began to tend to his injuries, especially the right arm, which had been nearly shredded by the wolf's final counterattack.

Once the treatment was finished, the pain subsided significantly, and his arm was bandaged. Ye Wuji went to the wolf's carcass, pulled the kunai from its eye, and prepared to return it.

When he handed it over, Minato took it and then placed it back into Ye Wuji's tool pouch, clearly intending for him to keep it.

Seeing this, Ye Wuji felt a touch of emotion. He reacted like a child, smiling, "Thank you, Brother Minato."

"Brother Minato, are you leaving now?" Ye Wuji and Minato had left the cabin where they had spent over half a month and were now heading toward the nearest town.

Two days after the wolf fight, Ye Wuji's wounds had almost completely healed without even leaving a scar. Chakra was truly a god-tier tool for healing.

"Yes, I've stayed longer than my teacher expected. I should head back; the war must be reaching its final stages."

"Oh." Ye Wuji knew that the war currently underway was the Second Shinobi World War. He seemed to recall that the war ended after the Sannin fought Hanzo, though they hadn't exactly won—it was more of a stalemate.

"Will we be able to see each other again?" Ye Wuji asked.

"Of course. When you grow up, you can come to Konoha and find me, how about that?" Minato ruffled Ye Wuji's hair.

"Hmph." Ye Wuji swatted Minato's hand away. He hated it when Minato ruffled his hair. He had protested many times to no avail, so he simply swatted the hand away and glared at him in protest.

"Haha!" Unfortunately, it always ended with Minato laughing.

As for going to Konoha, Ye Wuji would definitely go eventually. The "Konoha 12" were all there, and the environment was excellent—perfect for living. It was no wonder so many nations coveted Konoha during every war.

Of the Five Great Nations, Ye Wuji felt Konoha in the Land of Fire was the best; in his past life, it would have been a beautiful tourist destination.

The Land of Wind was too arid, plagued by constant sandstorms—as evidenced by the "Sand Ninja"—and a chronic lack of water. While water wasn't a major issue for ninjas, it didn't appeal to him.

The Land of Water seemed to be on an island, though he hadn't paid much attention. It was too humid and perpetually foggy. It was a good thing this was a world of cultivation, or everyone would suffer from arthritis.

The Land of Earth was mostly desolate cliffs and high mountains; just leaving the house required climbing, which was too exhausting.

The Land of Lightning seemed similar to the Land of Earth, with many mountains, but they lived on the peaks rather than at the base. It was also constantly thundering—how annoying! And if you got struck by lightning, it wouldn't be worth it. Though, he hadn't heard of any ninjas dying from lightning strikes.

It was clear that Konoha was uniquely blessed. Not only were the four seasons distinct, but the forest surrounding the village, said to have been created by the First Hokage, was a perfect place to rest. In his past life, outside of primeval forests, such large woodlands were virtually extinct.

However, Ye Wuji didn't want to go to Konoha just yet. The Third Shinobi World War involved several nations attacking Konoha simultaneously. He didn't know the specifics, but it was dangerous. The Second Hokage seemed to be in charge, and he was a hardliner; someone like Ye Wuji, who knew a bit of ninjutsu, might be sent out as cannon fodder at any moment.

They reached a fork in the road, the place where they would part ways. "Alright, this is where we say goodbye. Remember, after the war ends, come visit me in Konoha!" Minato said with a smile, ruffling Ye Wuji's hair again.

"I will. You be careful, too."

"Don't worry about me. That's something you should be saying to yourself. Are you sure you don't want me to make arrangements for you?"

"Brother Minato, I'm a ninja now, aren't I? Don't worry, I'll find a place in a nearby town. You should get going."

"Alright then, I'll be waiting for you in Konoha." With that, Minato turned and left. Watching his retreating figure, Ye Wuji sighed. I'm on my own now. I can finally start on some of my plans.