Anomalous activity

The eastern sky glowed red with fire, and the explosions rumbled so loudly that the ground seemed to shake.

Ryuto flung aside his hoe and drew a deep breath.

Run!

This was nothing like his usual travel pace. He ran for his life. Qi blasted from the soles of his feet, launching him forward like a cannonball. The trees on either side blurred into shadows.

"Something's wrong..."

As he ran, he extended his senses outward. His greatest gain from five years of cultivating qi was his exceptionally keen perception, which let him vaguely sense distant energy fluctuations.

He had sensed battles before. They were like little pebbles tossed into water, stirring a few ripples.

Today, it felt as if someone had hurled a boulder into a pond!

No, an entire mountain!

Within his perception, surges of energy, large and small, darted wildly about. Chakra exploded everywhere as though it cost nothing, and it was getting closer and closer to the village.

"Damn!"

Ryuto's heart sank. If the fighting kept advancing at this speed, forget the village-even these hills would be blown apart.

He gritted his teeth and pushed his qi up another notch, running even faster.

On a distant ridge.

Hyūga Tenshu stood there, his Byakugan eyes wide.

"Captain, the main Senju and Uchiha forces seem to have clashed, fifteen li to the northeast," a Hyūga clan member reported.

"I know." Hyūga Tenshu's voice was a little strained. He wasn't watching the battlefield. His gaze was fixed in another direction. "Look at that."

Several teammates followed his gaze. In their Byakugan vision, a pale golden point of light was moving at astonishing speed.

"What is that?"

"It's not the Body Flicker Technique... There's no chakra fluctuation."

"But it's faster than a jōnin's Body Flicker Technique!"

A little sweat beaded on Hyūga Tenshu's forehead. "The energy's color is wrong, and so is the way it flows. Chakra is blue and gentle, and needs the meridian system to guide it. This... is golden and violent. It blasts straight out of his body."

He paused. "Record this: coordinates, sector seven. Target moving at abnormal speed. Energy characteristics unknown. Provisional code name: Golden Flame."

"Yes!"

"Also," Hyūga Tenshu added, "encrypt the observation data and send it back to the main house with our fastest hawk. This thing... might be more important than the war between the Senju and Uchiha."

Ryuto sprinted all the way to the village entrance in one go and almost failed to stop.

Chaos reigned in front of the ancestral hall.

Yamano Tarō stamped his feet in agitation. "Third Grandpa! Second Granny! Please, I'm begging you! If we don't leave now, we really won't make it!"

A white-bearded old man leaned on his cane and stiffened his neck. "Even if I die, I'll die at home!"

An old woman beside him wiped away her tears. "I haven't fed my chickens yet..."

Ryuto walked straight over. "Third Grandpa, ten li east of here, at least a hundred ninja from both sides are blasting away at each other. You can die at home if you want. In another quarter of an hour, I reckon you and your house will both be blown sky-high."

The words were so blunt that the old man's face turned white.

Yamano Tarō hastily tried to smooth things over. "Ryuto! Is that any way to talk?"

"I'm telling the truth." Ryuto looked at the elderly villagers. "If you want to live, leave now. If you want to die, I won't stop you."

The elderly villagers exchanged looks.

Third Grandpa stamped his cane. "Let's... let's go!"

Yamano Tarō breathed a sigh of relief. "Quick! Go home and grab what matters. Meet at the village entrance in half a quarter of an hour!"

The crowd dispersed.

Yamano Tarō wiped away his sweat and looked at Ryuto. "That speed of yours just now... What was that about?"

"We'll talk later." Ryuto looked east. "Let's get out first."

Half a quarter of an hour later, twenty-odd people had gathered at the village entrance, laden with bags and bundles.

Yamano Tarō counted heads. "Everyone's here. Head west into the mountains!"

The group had only just started moving when a tremendous explosion came from the east.

Boom!

It was closer than any of the previous blasts. A shock wave swept toward them, carrying dust.

Ryuto whipped his head around, his pupils contracting.

A streak of fire hurtled erratically toward the village. It was a Fire Release attack that had gone astray!

"Get down!"

Almost without thinking, he thrust his right hand forward.

Pale golden qi gushed from his palm, trailing a long tail.

Bang!

The fireball shattered into a shower of sparks, leaving only a gust of hot wind to sweep past.

The villagers were stunned with terror.

Yamano Tarō was stunned too. He looked at Ryuto, then at the qi that had yet to fully dissipate. "Ryuto, you..."

Ryuto withdrew his hand, and the shield vanished. His palm tingled slightly. He had only practiced this move against rocks before; this was his first time blocking ninjutsu.

"Keep moving." His voice was steady.

The group continued west, but the atmosphere was completely different. Everyone stole glances at Ryuto, their eyes full of shock and uncertainty.

Yamano Tarō walked up beside Ryuto and lowered his voice. "Who exactly are you?"

Ryuto was silent for a few seconds. "Someone who doesn't want to watch you all die."

"That move just now..."

"A way to stay alive." Ryuto looked at him. "Uncle Tarō, you saved me five years ago. Today, I'll protect you all."

Yamano Tarō opened his mouth, but in the end, he gave Ryuto's shoulder a firm pat. "All right!"

On the ridge.

Hyūga Tenshu stood frozen.

He had watched that Fire Release attack fly off course, watched Ryuto raise his hand and, without forming hand seals or producing any chakra fluctuations, unleash an attack strong enough to block B-rank ninjutsu.

"C-Captain?" His teammate's voice trembled. "What technique was that?"

"It wasn't a technique." Hyūga Tenshu's voice was dry. "No hand seals, no gathering chakra... It was as if... as if that power was already stored inside his body, ready to use at any moment."

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his Byakugan fixed on Ryuto's retreating back.

"Record this: Golden Flame possesses offensive capabilities. Apparently able to activate without hand seals. Energy form stable. Strength... at least equivalent to B-rank ninjutsu."

After writing that down, Hyūga Tenshu put away the scroll.

"Withdraw."

"Captain, aren't we going to keep observing?"

"We've seen enough." Hyūga Tenshu turned around. "If we keep watching, we might not be able to leave. Return to the main house immediately. This intelligence... must be delivered to the clan head in person."

He took one last look at the pale golden point of light in the distance, at the rear of the group.

This young man named Ryuto, and that strange power of his...