Deep within the forest, eight ninja wearing Kumogakure headbands had gathered together. At their feet lay a very familiar-looking young woman, unconscious and tightly bound with rope.
"Captain Troy, we've secured the target. But that beast managed to escape. What should we do?"
"Just a fox, nothing more. Ignore it. Our only priority is bringing this woman back alive."
The speaker was a middle-aged man in his forties with short purple hair and three distinct lower eyelashes beneath each eye. Several scrolls were tucked into his belt. He wore a black tight-fitting tactical suit under the standard white Kumogakure flak jacket, with a bright yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.
This was Troy, a Jōnin of Kumogakure and the commanding officer of this operation.
He was one of the very few who knew the true objective the higher-ups in the village desired. It wasn't just the woman herself; what they truly wanted were the methods used in the Land of Beasts to raise and train ninja beasts, as well as the ancient secret techniques passed down through generations.
Before its destruction, the Land of Beasts was home to four major clans:
- The Tamamo Clan, who specialized in raising and training ninja foxes.
- The Fenglie Clan, masters of ninja boars.
- The Heipi Clan, who commanded the power of ninja bears.
- And the Inuzuka Clan, renowned for their bond with ninja dogs.
The ninja beasts raised and nurtured by these four clans were highly intelligent and capable of complex tactical coordination alongside their masters. More importantly, using their unique secret arts, humans and beasts could merge their powers, drastically increasing their combat potential.
At its peak, although the Land of Beasts wasn't as famous or powerful as the Land of Whirlpools, it was still a country that commanded great respect throughout the shinobi world.
Sadly, it was ultimately a small nation. Despite their incredible skill in raising beasts and producing many capable Chūnin and Jōnin, they had no Kage-level powerhouses to act as the final line of defense. This weakness caught the greedy eyes of their two closest neighbors—Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
Exactly what happened back then remains shrouded in mystery.
All that is known is that after Konohagakure intervened, the entire Inuzuka Clan was safely relocated to the Leaf Village.
Originally, it seemed that the Stone and Cloud Villages intended to divide the four clans peacefully among themselves. But for reasons unknown, the situation took a dark turn.
In a single night, the Land of Beasts was completely wiped out in a joint invasion by Iwa and Kumo.
Ever since that fateful night, news of the remaining three clans had vanished completely.
Naturally, their unique beast-rearing techniques and powerful secret arts were thought to have been lost to history.
If things had simply ended there, perhaps everyone would have accepted the outcome—no one got anything, so there was nothing to argue about.
But the fact that the Inuzuka Clan was taken in entirely by Konoha without a single casualty or battle, while Iwa and Kumo walked away empty-handed, created a massive imbalance and deep resentment.
Later on, as the true potential of the Inuzuka bloodline became more evident, Iwagakure managed to swallow their frustration. Kumogakure, however, grew incredibly envious, almost to the point of obsession.
Everyone in the shinobi world knew that Kumogakure possessed the fewest Kekkei Genkai of all the major villages, let alone powerful ancient clans with inherited techniques.
This shortcoming had become a lingering source of anxiety and frustration for every Raikage throughout history.
Now, based on fragments of documents and records looted from the Land of Beasts long ago, the higher-ups in Cloud were certain: the white fox they had encountered was the legendary Moonlight Fox, a rare breed cultivated exclusively by the Tamamo Clan using secret arts. That made the identity of the young woman painfully obvious.
She was almost certainly one of the survivors secretly smuggled out of the country right before its destruction.
If Kumogakure could extract the knowledge they wanted from her, they could essentially create their very own version of the Inuzuka Clan. This was huge!
Under normal circumstances, the force sent here would have been significantly larger. However, major internal issues within the village had forced the Raikage to lead a large portion of their elite forces elsewhere to deal with a particularly dangerous and powerful Cursed Spirit.
That being said, the leadership back home had clearly overestimated how difficult it would be to capture a survivor.
Troy had tracked the woman down and captured her with surprising ease. The only mishap was the white fox escaping.
"Why haven't we heard anything from Bakai's team yet? And where did Worui go?"
Troy looked up at the sun, furrowing his brows in dissatisfaction.
"Bakai's team has been out of contact for a long time now... it looks like they might have run into trouble."
"We found tracks leading in two different directions earlier, so Worui went to check the opposite path. It's strange... there shouldn't be anyone over there, so he should have been back by now."
Troy frowned thoughtfully.
If it was just Bakai's team going silent, it could potentially be written off as bad luck or coincidence. But now Worui was also missing? That was too much. He needed to be extremely careful.
Suddenly, a small mouse scurried out from the tall grass. It sniffed the air quickly before running straight toward one of the ninja.
The man caught the creature gently and explained, "This is Worui's messenger beast. He only uses it to send urgent updates. Something must have happened to him."
He carefully removed a tiny scroll tied to the mouse's leg. Unrolling it, his face instantly turned pale.
"What does it say?"
"Worui reports... Makai and the others are dead. The enemies are three men and a boy around ten years old... He said he has captured the boy and plans to use him to test the enemy's strength and abilities."
"ABSOLUTELY INSANE!"
Troy erupted in rage.
Knowing full well that three of his comrades were already dead, Worui still dared to split off and act alone? Did he really think his own strength was that invincible? Or was he just an absolute idiot?
Did he honestly believe that capturing a child hostage guaranteed he would walk away unscathed? It was hopelessly naive!
"Which direction did he go?" Troy asked sharply, making his decision instantly.
"That way, sir."
"Bring the woman. No one is to separate from the group. We move together to investigate."
Acting with extreme caution, Troy chose the safest and most logical approach.
With eight highly trained Jōnin under his command, unless they stumbled upon an entire army from another major village, they held the advantage.
They could attack, defend, or retreat as they pleased. If trouble arose, brute force alone was more than enough to crush the opposition.
While his logic was sound, his decision inadvertently saved a certain handsome young man a lot of trouble—he wouldn't have to go searching for them one by one.
They were practically walking right into his hands.
Before long, the group made a grim discovery.
"Captain Troy! Over here... We found Worui..."
The low, heavy tone of his subordinate's voice sent a chill down Troy's spine.
He rushed over, and his worst fears were immediately confirmed.
Worui's body lay on the ground, brutally mutilated. His head had been severed completely from his neck.
"This fool!" Troy cursed inwardly, but the feeling quickly gave way to a burning fury.
No matter who the enemy was... they would pay dearly for this!
"Move out!"
Pressing forward with grim determination, they soon arrived at the exact spot where Shinji and his group had recently rested. Here, they found the bodies of the other three missing ninja.
"Dammit all!"
"The embers are still hot... They haven't gone far! Find them! We'll make them pay in blood!"
"Right! Blood for blood!"
As the group of Cloud ninja shouted their oaths of vengeance, Shinji watched them quietly from the branches of a large tree nearby.
He gently stroked the soft, silky fur of the white fox sitting beside him, a cold, mischievous smile spreading across his face.
The white fox had come searching for help, intelligent enough to realize that this man was the only one capable of saving its mistress.
It crouched obediently, lowering its head submissively, not daring to show the slightest hint of resistance.
Little did these Cloud ninja know, the creature they dismissed as nothing more than a wild beast—the one they hadn't even bothered to chase—was about to lead them straight into the jaws of death.
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