The journey to the Land of Valleys had been uneventful. Kaya and her squad had moved at a steady pace, the merchant they were escorting keeping up without issue. Spirits were high, and conversation flowed easily among the four shinobi. Their leader, Kazuma Uchiha, had a rare smile on his face, which always put Kaya at ease.

  Kazuma wasn’t just her team’s chūnin leader—he was her fiancé. They had promised to marry after achieving their goals, after becoming stronger together. His newly awakened Sharingan was a sign of progress, of potential, and she had no doubt that he would one day make jōnin. He was patient, strategic, and, despite his quiet demeanor, he cared deeply for his team.

  Her two other teammates, Daiki and Roshetta, had been with her since the academy. They had trained together, failed together, and grown together. They had an unspoken bond—a trust that had been built through shared hardship and success.

  When their client requested they stay at an inn for the night, Kazuma had agreed. “It’s safer than camping in the open,” he had reasoned. “We’ll move out first thing in the morning.”

  That morning would never come.

  The attack on the vilge came without warning.

  Kaya awoke to screams.

  The sound of steel cshing, of buildings burning, of vilgers crying out for help. She shot up, hand instinctively grabbing her sword, her mind sluggish as she tried to process what was happening. A bandit raid?

  “Kaya! Move!” Kazuma’s voice cut through the noise.

  She turned to see Daiki sprinting into the room, eyes wide with fear. “We have to get the client out of here! Now!”

  Still half-dazed, Kaya followed as they rushed to the merchant’s room. Roshetta was already there, guarding their terrified charge. The sound of battle was closing in on them, the footsteps of multiple attackers echoing through the wooden halls of the inn.

  They made it outside—only to be met with bloodshed.

  The vilge was engulfed in chaos. Homes were burning, corpses littered the streets, and vilgers ran in every direction, trying to escape. Bandits moved through the settlement like a pgue, their weapons fshing in the firelight.

  Kaya gritted her teeth. This wasn’t just some random attack—this was sughter.

  The first death was swift and brutal.

  “We move now,” Kazuma ordered. “Daiki, take the lead. Kaya, cover the rear.”

  They ran through the burning vilge, their merchant client struggling to keep up. The night air was thick with smoke, making it harder to see. Kaya’s grip on her sword tightened as her heart pounded in her chest.

  A blur of movement—

  Steel fshed, blood sprayed.

  Daiki let out a choked gasp, his forward motion suddenly stopping.

  Kaya turned just in time to see a bde protruding from his chest.

  A moment ter, he was ripped away from them, a rogue ninja effortlessly flinging his lifeless body aside.

  Kaya froze. She knew this man wasn’t just a bandit. The way he moved, the way he carried himself—he was a seasoned shinobi. A rogue ninja of at least jōnin level.

  And he was enjoying this.

  With a cruel smirk, he pulled his sword from Daiki’s corpse, flicking the blood onto the dirt road before stepping forward.

  Kaya’s breath hitched. He was pying with them.

  “We have to move,” Kazuma said firmly, his tone betraying none of his emotions. “Now.”

  The rogue ninja forced them into a dead-end alley.

  They ran.

  With the merchant slowing them down, they could only move so fast. The rogue ninja followed at a leisurely pace, herding them toward an alleyway, cutting off their escape routes one by one. He was toying with them.

  By the time they realized what was happening, it was too te.

  Kazuma stepped forward, Sharingan spinning. “Kaya, Roshetta, get him out of here.”

  Kaya grabbed Roshetta’s arm. “Kazuma, don’t—”

  Kazuma didn’t look back. “Go.”

  Then he rushed forward.

  Kaya turned, forcing herself to run. She had to protect the client. She had to trust Kazuma.

  She didn’t look back, but she could hear it—

  The sound of flesh being torn.

  The sound of bones breaking.

  The sound of Kazuma screaming.

  Then it happened.

  They reached the edge of the vilge.

  Then it happened.

  A thud against the ground.

  Something rolled toward them, stopping just in front of Kaya’s feet.

  Her stomach dropped.

  Kazuma’s head stared up at her, his Sharingan dull and lifeless.

  Kaya couldn’t breathe.

  Her entire body trembled as she stared at the face of the man she loved. Roshetta started to let out a roar before she was permanently silenced in a single swing of his sword.

  She didn’t hear the footsteps approaching. She didn’t react as the rogue ninja stepped over Kazuma’s severed head and smiled.

  “You should’ve stayed and died with him.”

  Rage. Pure, unfiltered rage.

  Kaya screamed.

  She lunged forward, her sword aimed at the bastard’s throat.

  He caught her wrist with ease.

  Before she could react, he twisted it painfully, making her drop her weapon. Then, with a single devastating kick, he sent her sprawling into the dirt.

  She coughed, struggling to push herself up. She couldn’t die here.

  The rogue ninja chuckled. “Pathetic.”

  He raised his bde—

  Then froze.

  A deep, inhuman growl rumbled through the clearing.

  A massive wolf with purple-blue fur stepped into the moonlit clearing. Its eyes glowed like embers, filled with a dangerous intelligence.

  The rogue ninja actually took a step back.

  “What—”

  The wolf snarled.

  A blinding bolt of purple lightning shot from its mouth, striking the rogue ninja square in the chest before he could react.

  His body convulsed violently, charred by the energy. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  Silence.

  Kaya y in the dirt, staring at the massive beast.

  It took a slow step forward, its gaze locking onto hers.

  She didn’t move. She couldn’t.

  The wolf sniffed her once before nudging her lightly with its snout.

  She barely registered the motion before her gaze fell back to Kazuma’s head.

  Everything shattered.

  She crawled forward, pulling it into her arms, her entire body wracked with sobs.

  The wolf watched.

  Then, gently, it grabbed the back of her clothing in its teeth.

  Kaya didn’t fight as the wolf turned her. She didn’t resist as it lowered itself and silently urged her to climb on.

  With what little strength she had left, Kaya pulled herself onto the beast’s back.

  Then, with powerful strides, the wolf rushed into the darkened forest, leaving the burning vilge behind.