"Something's wrong!"
Shikamaru tucked the signal flare back into his backpack, his voice low and grim.
The firelight lit up the sky, casting an ominous glow.
There was no need to exaggerate.
"It's not that serious," Hikari shook her head calmly.
With her Byakugan, she wasn't fooled by the seemingly urgent situation in front of them.
She scanned the surroundings.
All of the green-eyed creatures revealed themselves—
A pack of wild, frenzied gray wolves.
Perhaps due to the influence of natural energy in the air, the wildlife of the Shinobi world was significantly larger than anything from their past lives.
These wolves that had surrounded them were massive—most of them at least two meters long. Their swishing tails were thicker than a grown man's thigh.
Facing predators like these without firearms? Even someone like Tyson might struggle.
But unfortunately for the wolves, this was the Shinobi world.
From one glance—
Over twenty wolves surrounded them. Not a single one showed even a flicker of chakra.
Without chakra, no matter how many there were, they were just meat on the chopping block.
"How can you say it's fine? Look how many wolves there are!"
Ino refused to believe Hikari's claim.
From deep within the forest, growls echoed. Green, glowing eyes flickered in the darkness, broadcasting danger at every moment.
With this many gigantic wolves, one or two might be manageable,
But if the whole pack charged, none of them had large-scale jutsu for offense.
Taijutsu wouldn't cut it either—those jaws were wide enough to bite someone clean in half.
"If Hikari says it's fine, then it's fine,"
Before Hikari could speak, Naruto had already taken her side.
Ever since they'd put Yuuta and the others in their place a few days ago, Naruto could feel the change—people no longer looked down on him as much. No one dared call him "dead last" or "monster" like they used to.
Hikari had never lied to him.
All that hatred and contempt… it was just because he wasn't strong enough. As long as he kept growing stronger, absorbing more power, he could change how people saw him.
As his strength grew, so did his trust in Hikari.
He believed in her judgment unconditionally.
"Ugh, there's no talking sense into you,"
Ino muttered in frustration, glancing helplessly at Shikamaru.
"Let's listen to Hikari."
Shikamaru, who understood what jonin-level strength meant, chose to trust Hikari.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Nothing. Just focus on protecting yourselves."
Hikari casually picked up a wild boar's severed head from the ground—dried blood crusted over the rough, jagged wound.
A breeze blew by.
The stench of blood made the already-agitated wolves even more frenzied.
Low growls echoed.
And then—
Three wolves couldn't hold back. With howls, they leapt into the air. Their enormous bodies cast dark shadows that swallowed Hikari's small frame.
Ino's eyes widened in panic, raising her kunai to rush in.
"Don't!"
Naruto grabbed her arm, stopping Chōji and Shikamaru too.
His expression was one of pure excitement.
Before anyone could question him—
Zzzzzzt!Whoooom!
Light flashed.
Invisible waves rippled out from Hikari like water.
In the next instant, under everyone's stunned gaze—
The three wolves froze in mid-air.
And then—
Their heads, claws, and chests burst open with blood—slowly twisting apart like pieces of a puzzle.
Thud!Thud!
Like dumplings dropping into water—
The clean-cut pieces of meat hit the ground. The air itself seemed tinged pink from the blood.
Ino covered her mouth.
The brightly colored organs and gore on the ground made her feel physically sick.
"Wind Release…?"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. Though it sounded like a question, he was nearly certain.
Having trained in Yin Release, his sensitivity to chakra and energy was particularly sharp. The blade-like air around Hikari was so intense, he felt like his skin was being sliced even from afar.
Naruto looked at her—standing in the middle of the corpses, clothes spotless, not a drop of blood on her. His eyes were full of admiration.
"Hikari told me—
This Wind Release technique is something she just developed. Her control isn't perfect yet. If you don't want to end up minced, don't get too close."
The moment he finished—
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio all retreated quickly. They didn't stop until Hikari was barely a speck in the distance.
While they backed off, the wolves didn't.
Barred teeth, dripping with anticipation—
The scent of blood pushed them into a frenzy.
ROAR—
No one could tell which wolf started it.
But the pack surged forward like a wave of suicide soldiers.
What followed was a scene straight out of a slaughterhouse.
Hikari didn't move.
As the wolves charged, they were shredded into pieces with every step they took into her range.
It was as if invisible threads surrounded her. Anyone who crossed that line was instantly torn apart by the formless Wind Release.
Within half a minute—
The final wolf fell apart quietly.
Under the crimson sunset, with Hikari at the center, chunks of meat painted the ground in red.
Only the ground beneath her feet remained clean.
She had killed so fast that the wolves' nervous systems hadn't even caught up—at the clean cuts, you could still see muscle fibers twitching.
Even Chōji, who loved meat, twitched at the sight. The pork he'd eaten earlier churned in his stomach.
Ino bit her lip.
The scent of grilled meat mixed with the stench of blood and guts was enough to make anyone gag.
Thump!
The severed head of a wild boar rolled across the ground, ending up among the wolf corpses.
Ironically, it was the only thing left mostly intact—making it stand out even more among the mangled remains.
Suddenly—
Clear water surged into the air, flowing like a spirit snake to wash Hikari's pale hands clean of the grease from their meal.
None of the wolves had even gotten close enough to splash her with blood. Her Wind Release had cut down even the blood they sprayed when they died.
The water that cleaned her hands also rinsed a path through the gore.
Stepping on the stream—
Hikari gracefully walked out of the blood-soaked circle.
Her white cloak fluttered elegantly behind her.
At that moment, Shikamaru finally understood why his father warned him not to mess with Hikari.
After what he just saw, he didn't even dare get near her.
From now on, he swore to always stay at least three meters away—he didn't want to die so badly that not even his body could be pieced back together.
If even Shikamaru was this intimidated, the others were far worse. Ino and Chōji looked like they might throw up. When Hikari approached, they backed away so fast, they practically fled to the next training field.
Only Naruto remained unfazed, even taking a few steps closer.
"What now?"
"No idea."
Seeing Ino's fear, Hikari kindly stopped moving closer.
She pointed at the wolf corpses. "These animals don't seem to be from Training Field Zero. And something's off about their condition. They look like they were drugged or something—really aggressive."
"You mean someone sent these wolves on purpose?"
Shikamaru immediately caught her meaning.
His brain kicked into overdrive.
"So the target is us—the students. Doesn't matter what their goal is, we can't let them succeed.
I say we abort the exercise and get out of Training Field Zero."
"Agreed." x2
Chōji and Ino nodded. The three of them, along with Naruto, looked to Hikari. Without realizing it, she had already become the de facto leader of this team.
"Alright, let's do that."
Hikari made the call.
She had originally planned to use this as a chance to flush out the enemy, but if they only sent animals and didn't show themselves, there wasn't much she could do for now.
First priority: get everyone out safely.
Caw!
Just as they finalized their plan—
A gust of wind blew above.
"Watch out!"
Ino shouted, looking up.
A massive bird had appeared in the sky—and something was falling from it.
A black package dropped straight toward them.
Everyone scattered.
Boom!
The heavy bundle smashed into the ground with a thunderous crash.
On impact, it burst open—
A cloud of powder and dust engulfed the group.
At the same time—
On the eastern side of Training Field Zero,
A storm of wind and lightning exploded, lighting up the darkening forest like it was midday.