The Black Panther

Approaching the stone, Hyuuga Nen finally made out the shape of the dark shadow under the moonlight; it was a black panther that looked incredibly agile.

Seeing Hyuuga Nen and Taro approach, the panther leaped down from the large rock and walked slowly toward them.

The panther raised its head to look at Hyuuga Nen, opened its mouth, and said, "You've come. Years have passed, and you've grown so much. You don't look like your father; you take more after your mother."

"Who are you?" Hyuuga Nen asked, looking at the panther in confusion.

"Aren't you surprised to see me speak?" The panther looked at Hyuuga Nen with a hint of suspicion in its eyes.

"Uh..."

Realizing he had made a mistake by not playing along, Hyuuga Nen adjusted his expression and said, "Right, why can you talk?"

Seeing Hyuuga Nen's stiff demeanor, the panther curled its lip. "Forget it. I am your father's summoning animal, entrusted by him to bring you what you need."

"Summoning animal? What is that? And my father? Who exactly is he?"

"A summoning animal is a ninja beast that has signed a summoning contract with a ninja. As for your father, he was a ninja. Have you heard of ninjas?"

Hyuuga Nen nodded. "I have. I heard they are people who possess great power, just like samurai."

The panther shook its head at this. "Ninjas are even more powerful than samurai. You'll understand once you become one yourself." With that, the panther pressed its two front paws together, and with a "poof," a scroll appeared between them.

Is this a hand-seal-less jutsu!? Hyuuga Nen thought, staring at the panther's movements in astonishment.

Observing Hyuuga Nen's reaction, the panther nodded with satisfaction. "See? This is the power of a ninja, and there is far more to it than just this."

After hearing the panther, Hyuuga Nen realized it had misunderstood his surprise, but he didn't explain, instead following its lead. "Can I also master this kind of powerful strength?"

As he said this, Hyuuga Nen felt his performance beginning to hit its stride.

"You can, because you possess the same bloodline as your father."

"The same bloodline as my father? Who exactly is my father?" Hearing the panther mention his father again, Hyuuga Nen pressed for more.

"You don't need to know that right now." The panther shook its head and held the scroll out slightly with its front paws.

Seeing the panther's movement, Hyuuga Nen reached out excitedly, but just as he was about to take the scroll, the panther pulled it back.

Hyuuga Nen looked at the panther in confusion. "This..."

"Before that, I must give you a solemn warning." The panther stared intently at Hyuuga Nen. "You must not let anyone other than your mother know that you are becoming a ninja, nor can you let anyone know your father's identity. If others find out, you will very likely die. Do you understand?"

Hearing the panther's words, Hyuuga Nen clearly realized the gravity of the situation and said with a serious expression, "I understand!"

Only then did the panther hand over the scroll. Hyuuga Nen looked at it with excitement and slowly opened it, only to find it covered in various seals, with nothing else inside.

"How do I use this scroll?" Hyuuga Nen asked the panther.

"You have no way to open this scroll until you become a ninja." The panther turned its head to look at Taro. "However, you can have Taro help you open it."

Hyuuga Nen looked at Taro and asked the panther, "Is Taro also my father's summoning animal? Can it talk?"

"Taro is not a summoning animal, though it has mastered the power of chakra. It cannot speak. Besides, it is my little brother," the panther said, looking at Taro.

"Chakra?"

"Chakra is the power that ninjas master. Until you master chakra, you can only have Taro help you open the scroll."

"I see," Hyuuga Nen nodded.

"Alright, you've been out long enough; it's time to go back. Do you have any final questions?"

"What is your name, and how can I contact you?"

"You don't need to contact me; I will contact you. As for my name, we'll talk about that after you become a ninja."

"What will happen after the scroll is opened?" Hyuuga Nen asked again.

"Once opened, you will see the methods for becoming a ninja, as well as some supplies and living expenses for you and your mother."

Hyuuga Nen nodded. He had many questions, but he didn't know where to start or if they would even be answered, so he fell silent for a moment.

In the silence, Hyuuga Nen heard the panther's voice again. "Almost forgot, your father wrote a letter to your mother. You should give it to her." As it spoke, the panther produced a letter.

Hyuuga Nen took the envelope.

"Very well, I have said all that needs to be said. I am leaving." The panther looked at Taro again. "Taro, I leave them to you."

Taro looked at the panther, nodded, and let out a low "woof."

With that, the panther glanced at Hyuuga Nen, said nothing more, and rose to run out of the woods.

After the panther left, Hyuuga Nen stood in the woods, lost in thought. After a while, he turned to Taro and said, "Let's go back too, Taro." He then walked toward home with Taro.

Back home, he slipped into his room and, by the moonlight filtering through the window, looked quietly at the scroll in his hands.

"I'll look at it when it's light."

Suppressing the urge to have Taro open the scroll right then and there, Hyuuga Nen looked around the room for a place to hide it.

"There's nowhere to hide anything; I'll just have to put it in the cabinet for now." Hyuuga Nen walked to a wooden cabinet by the bed, placed the scroll and the envelope inside, and then said to Taro, "Taro, can you sleep in my room tonight?"

Taro nodded and curled up by the bed. Seeing this, Hyuuga Nen felt a little more at ease, took one last look at the cabinet, and lay down on the bed.

Lying there, Hyuuga Nen couldn't sleep, his mind racing with thoughts of the scroll and the future. Tomorrow, I'll give the letter to Mother, and I have to find a way to hide the scroll in a safe place, or it might be discovered.

After thinking about the letter and the scroll, he turned his thoughts to himself. After waiting so long, I can finally become a ninja. Thinking of how he had lived on edge all these years, terrified of his identity being discovered, Hyuuga Nen felt a wave of emotion.

As he pondered, he suddenly understood the feelings of the Hyuuga branch family. Although he didn't have the Caged Bird seal, his situation was somewhat similar—his fate was in the hands of others, much like a bird living in a cage.

But I am lucky in one regard: I haven't been branded with the Caged Bird seal yet, and I will not allow it to happen. My fate is mine to decide!

Caught between exhaustion and excitement, Hyuuga Nen eventually drifted off into a hazy sleep...