The Hunt Begins!

Deep within the unfathomable Forest of Death, Hayato stood silently upon the branch of a towering ancient tree, as sharp and alert as a panther.

He tapped the branch beneath his feet lightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Sturdy enough."

All around, the Forest of Death was permeated by a chilling, eerie stillness, as if even the sound of the wind had been swallowed by the woods, leaving only a deathly silence.

This quiet, akin to a graveyard, sent a shiver down one's spine.

Hayato's gaze was like a torch, sweeping across every inch of the terrain.

In this vast, boundless forest, trying to find a hidden opponent was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Yet, he knew well that wherever people moved, they would inevitably leave traces. Thus, he observed patiently, attempting to capture the trail of his opponent from the slightest clues.

I remember five people running in this direction. How is it that I haven't seen a single trace of them after all this time? Hayato pondered to himself.

He recalled that when he first entered the forest, he had deliberately stayed behind specifically to record the routes taken by the others.

However, at this moment, he felt as if he were trapped in a fog, unable to locate his targets.

Just as he was searching with total concentration, a dangerous aura quietly approached.

In the dense woods fifty meters away, a ninja with two inverted triangular markings on his face—Inuzuka Kaku—was staring intently at Hayato's position alongside his ninja dog partner, Jiro.

The man and the dog were both glaring fixedly at Hayato's location.

"Good luck, it's just a brat." A cold sneer curled Inuzuka Kaku's lips, his eyes flashing with greed.

He carefully closed the distance between himself and Hayato, preparing to launch a surprise attack.

Finally, when he reached a patch of dense forest ten meters from Hayato, he quickly formed hand seals and activated his Beast Mimicry Ninja Art.

In an instant, his ninja dog partner, Jiro, transformed into a human, and together with Inuzuka Kaku, they launched a fierce assault on Hayato.

"Passing Fang!"

Two attacks, resembling tornadoes, surged toward Hayato like lightning and thunder.

However, at the very moment the attack was about to land, Hayato moved like a phantom, activating the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade Inuzuka Kaku's strike entirely.

With a flash, Hayato appeared a short distance away, his brows slightly raised and a calm smile on his face. "A ninja of the Inuzuka Clan, eh? Interesting."

Inuzuka Kaku, his ambush failed, steadied himself on all fours, both versions of Inuzuka Kaku staring daggers at Hayato.

"Such fast reflexes. Was that a Body Flicker Technique? Or something else?"

But he did not show fear; instead, he charged directly at Hayato, intent on a fair two-on-one fight.

Inuzuka Kaku brandished his claws, attacking Hayato with the speed of a raging storm.

Hayato nimbly blocked the first wave of attacks with a kunai. But soon, the Inuzuka Kaku transformed from the ninja dog joined the fray, and the man and dog coordinated seamlessly, putting Hayato under some pressure.

"This is getting troublesome." Hayato muttered to himself, but he remained unruffled, relying on his superior reflexes to nimbly dodge their attacks.

He performed a triple-backflip to create distance from Inuzuka Kaku, drawing three shuriken in mid-air and launching them at his opponent.

Seeing this, Inuzuka Kaku quickly stepped back, dodging the shuriken.

However, Hayato did not stop there; he moved his hands and performed a jutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Three fire dragons surged toward Inuzuka Kaku like raging waves, instantly engulfing the surroundings in flames.

Amidst the surging fire dragons, Inuzuka Kaku used his agility to skillfully evade the encroaching flames.

The fire exploded all around, billowing thick smoke. He took the opportunity to say to Jiro beside him, "Jiro, you can find his position, right?"

Jiro, transformed into Inuzuka Kaku, nodded.

"Good. This smoke can serve as our cover. Let's use that move next."

Inuzuka Kaku and Jiro transformed into a single, two-headed, brown-gray giant wolf.

"Inuzuka Style: Human-Beast Combination Transformation—Two-Headed Wolf!"

"Fang Wolf Fang!"

After locking onto Hayato's position with dynamic tracking in mid-air, the two-headed wolf spun rapidly, forming a massive tornado that cleared away the black mist created by the fire, rushing toward Hayato at high speed.

"Good grief, they don't even get dizzy? Their sense of balance is truly something," Hayato remarked to himself upon noticing their attack.

But he did not panic; he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique once more, dodging their attack entirely.

When it came to speed, he was not afraid of anyone.

"Damn it, failed again! How is this guy so fast?" Inuzuka Kaku couldn't help but feel discouraged. "No choice, if that's the case, we'll retreat."

Knowing they couldn't take him down and still pressing the attack was not a wise choice.

The two-headed wolf turned and fled, moving far away from Hayato.

"Thinking of running just because you can't win? It's not that easy." A cold sneer appeared on Hayato's face.

His figure flashed as he gave chase.

The two-headed wolf ran ahead, with Hayato in hot pursuit.

"What! How is he so fast?"

Hayato quickly caught up to Inuzuka Kaku, blocking his path.

Inuzuka Kaku attempted to negotiate with Hayato: "There's no need for you to chase me so relentlessly. I can't take you down, and you can't do anything to me either. Why not spend your time somewhere more appropriate?"

Truth be told, he was starting to regret targeting Hayato; he couldn't win the fight, and he couldn't escape either.

"Can't take me down? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding?" A faint smile curled at the corner of Hayato's mouth. With a light flick of his finger, a kunai shot toward Inuzuka Kaku like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Facing the incoming kunai, the Two-Headed Wolf didn't hesitate to raise its right claw, attempting to swat it away.

In that split second, Hayato's figure appeared eerily beside the kunai, followed immediately by a leap into the air.

"What!" The Two-Headed Wolf's four eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief and terror.

"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage!"

"Rasengan!"

The blue-and-white sphere of chakra slammed directly into the back of the Two-Headed Wolf. The immense impact made it feel as if the wolf were carrying a mountain; its entire body buckled downward, nearly pressing against the ground.

At the same time, the Rasengan disrupted the Two-Headed Wolf's chakra flow. With a poof, a cloud of smoke dissipated.

The Two-Headed Wolf had reverted to the original forms of Inuzuka Kaku and Jiro. They collapsed powerlessly to the ground, falling into a deep unconsciousness.

After landing steadily, Hayato walked slowly to the side of Inuzuka Kaku and Jiro.

He began to search Inuzuka Kaku carefully, and before long, he pulled a scroll from his pack.

"Luck isn't bad; it's the Wind Scroll." A smile graced Hayato's face.

But in truth, for Hayato, this scroll was not his ultimate goal.

He glanced at Jiro lying on the ground, pondered for a moment, then hoisted Jiro onto his shoulder and vanished from the spot like a bolt of lightning.

Taking everything he could get.

Inuzuka Kaku slowly regained consciousness. He rubbed his aching head, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

However, when he realized Jiro was no longer by his side, he panicked instantly: "Jiro!"

Meanwhile, in another dense forest, Jiro also began to wake from his stupor.

He slowly opened his heavy eyelids, looking around in a daze.

When he realized that the person standing before him was not Inuzuka Kaku but Hayato, he instantly bared his fangs, glaring at Hayato with a ferocious expression.

"Finally awake." Hayato watched Jiro wake up with a smile, then, in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh!

"Sharingan!"

A look of human-like shock appeared on Jiro's face.

Immediately after, his own eyes changed, transforming into the pattern of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Hayato rose slowly, a faint smile on his face. "The hunt begins!"