Dark Night Predator

Late at night, only a dim oil lamp burned in Chiba's room.

By its light, he carefully flipped through the stack of materials the Third Hokage had "gifted" him.

On the surface, they were introductions to Konoha's geography, customs, and local life, meant to help him integrate into the village.

In truth, they contained a large amount of recent mission reports and personnel movement information from Konoha's border regions.

The old fox was testing him, wanting to see what he could glean from this jumble of information.

And Chiba played along, treating it as his own hunting list.

His finger paused over an inconspicuous report.

"An Amegakure rogue ninja squad, three members. The leader is a middle-aged man with chunin-level strength, skilled in Water Release. They have recently been raiding merchant caravans along the Land of Fire border..."

Water Release countered Wood Release. That was common knowledge in the ninja world.

But in Chiba's eyes, that made it the perfect whetstone!

Only when pushed into a desperate situation where his attribute was countered could Wood Release be forced to evolve greater adaptability!

Target locked.

Chiba changed into black nightwear suited for movement and slipped out of the Senju Clan Grounds.

The Sage Body's powerful sensory abilities allowed him to clearly hear the breathing and heartbeats of the nearby sentries, letting him evade every watchful eye flawlessly.

His figure darted through the dark forest at high speed, his physical abilities already far beyond those of an ordinary genin.

At the border stood an abandoned outpost.

Beside the campfire, a scar-faced chunin had one foot planted on a bound Konoha scout, grinning viciously as he forced him to reveal intelligence.

His other two companions, who looked like genin, were snoring against the wall.

Chiba hid in the shadowed treetops, his gaze icy.

He had not come to uphold justice.

Whether that scout lived or died had nothing to do with him.

He had come for only one purpose: battle, then evolution!

Whoosh!

Chiba launched his ambush!

Two Poison Vines streaked with purple patterns burst from the ground, accurately wrapping around the necks of the two sleeping genin.

Urgh!

Before they could even cry out, neurotoxin invaded their bodies. They stiffened and fell silent.

Who goes there?!

The chunin captain reacted swiftly. The instant the vines emerged, he abandoned the scout beneath his foot and rapidly formed hand seals!

Water Release: Wild Water Wave!

A surging torrent erupted from his mouth, blasting toward Chiba as he emerged from the shadows.

Chiba immediately manipulated the Poison Vines to block it. Yet the moment the torrent touched the vines, their growth was visibly suppressed, and the purple toxin was washed away completely.

Sure enough, Water Release perfectly countered his current Wood Release!

"A brat? Wood Release?" Once the chunin saw Chiba clearly, he froze for a moment before letting out a disdainful sneer. "What a joke! Before my Water Release, your Wood Release is nothing but a pile of useless rotten wood!"

He formed hand seals again as an even greater amount of chakra gathered.

Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!

Waves several times fiercer than before crashed down from every direction, washing away and tearing apart all of Chiba's Poison Vines!

Chiba was forced back step by step, looking utterly miserable.

Before the enemy's violent Water Release, his Wood Release could not mount an effective attack at all.

[Warning! Host approaching combat limit!]

[Emergency evolution protocol activated! Consume existing evolution points to enhance the toxin resistance of 'Poison Vine Sprout'?]

The system's warning sounded in his mind.

Enhance an existing ability?

No!

A trace of madness flashed through Chiba's eyes!

Not enough! This isn't enough! he roared inwardly. What I want isn't enhancement, but an entirely new evolution! Analyze it! Use the battle data to find a direction that counters Water Release!

[...]

The system fell silent for two seconds.

[Analysis complete. Based on current battle data, a temporary evolution branch has been unlocked.]

[Branch name: Wood Style: Root Water Absorption (grants Wood Release roots extraordinary water absorption, allowing them to absorb enemy Water Release techniques and convert them into nutrients for their own growth).]

[Confirm this evolution direction?]

At last, the corners of Chiba's lips rose.

"Confirm!"

Boom!

Golden-green patterns lit up across his body once more, even more brilliant than before!

Beneath his feet, the remnants of vines washed apart by the torrent suddenly swelled wildly at their roots. Countless dense, dark roots drilled into the earth before bursting back out, forming a massive Root Network!

"Die, brat!"

A savage grin spread across the chunin's face. He had already taken Chiba's struggle for a final, dying counterattack.

He drove the Great Waterfall Technique forward, intending to drown this brat who did not know his place completely!

Yet this time, when the raging water met that strange web of roots on the ground, something utterly unbelievable happened!

The water was absorbed!

Tons of water were frantically devoured by those roots. Not only did they fail to inflict any damage, they instead made the roots surge in size at a visible rate!

"No, impossible! My Water Release..."

The chunin's smile froze instantly, leaving only shock and terror behind.

In just a few breaths, Chiba's Wood Release had swelled from arm-thick vines to terrifying giants as thick as water barrels!

They sprawled across the ground, their roots drinking water and their vines carrying poison, casting the entire camp beneath their shadow!

Chiba stepped across the water-drained ground and slowly approached the pale-faced chunin.

He raised his head, his voice calm.

"Your Water Release is quite good."

He paused, revealing a devilish smile.

"Thanks for the meal."

The moment his words fell, dozens of massive vines shot into the sky, instantly wrapping around and engulfing the chunin.

Under the double torment of lethal poison and crushing constriction, the chunin's screams soon came to an abrupt end.

[Defeated chunin-level target! Evolution points +3!]

[Cell extraction function available. Perform cell extraction on Amegakure chunin Kawaguchi?]

Chiba walked over to the chunin's corpse, which had been bound into a dumpling by massive vines, and pressed a hand against his head.

"Extract."

A faint blue glow was drawn from the chunin's body and merged into Chiba's palm.

[Water Release cell sample extraction successful!]

[New evolution directions unlocked (preview): Wood Style: Deep Sea Branches (enhances Wood Release's underwater combat capabilities and resilience) / Wood Style: Rotting Sea (combines toxin and water attributes to create a large-scale, persistent damage zone).]

[These directions will be available for selection during the next evolution.]

Chiba let out a breath, freed the dumbfounded Konoha scout, tied up the three rogue ninjas, and left them at the outpost. Then he stood beneath the moonlight, examining his newly evolved power.

Poison, water absorption... and an even broader road of evolution ahead.

He gazed toward Konoha's distant lights, his eyes profound.

"Hashirama Senju used Wood Release to establish Konoha."

He murmured to himself.

"Then I will use this ever-evolving Wood Release to build a new era that even the Ōtsutsuki must look up to."