The night was silent—but not empty.
Kiyoshi moved carefully through the thick underbrush of the Forest of Death, each step light, barely brushing the forest floor. The presence he had sensed the night before hadn't left—it had grown stronger. Pulsing with erratic chakra, like a heartbeat out of rhythm.
He stopped near a ravine. The air was thick. Not just with chakra—with bloodlust.
"It's waiting," he thought, fingers tightening around a kunai.
He peered through the trees, Ketsuryugan glowing faintly red in the dark. And then—movement.
Something large brushed past a tree trunk—its silhouette barely visible. Long limbs. Ragged fur. Six legs. Its chakra… was wrong. Warped. Mutated.
"What is that?"
The creature stepped into the moonlight. A grotesque fusion of a panther and lizard, its eyes glowing blue, its body oozing a mist-like chakra. Its claws left searing marks in the earth. A jagged tag—possibly a cursed seal—hung embedded in its shoulder.
Kiyoshi didn't hesitate. He launched a kunai laced with wire, wrapping it around a branch and slinging himself to higher ground.
The beast's head snapped upward, eyes locking onto him instantly. And it moved—fast.
It vanished, reappearing mid-air with a burst of unnatural speed.
Claws swiped—Kiyoshi ducked.
The tree behind him shattered into splinters.
He backflipped to a nearby ledge, heart pounding. "It's too fast..."
The creature lunged again, and this time, Kiyoshi formed a one-handed seal.
"Genjutsu: Red Haze."
The Ketsuryugan flared, sending a wave of illusion into the beast's mind.
For a moment, it staggered—then roared, chakra violently surging outward, breaking the genjutsu.
"It resisted that? It must be half-insane already... that chakra's not stable."
Kiyoshi leapt away as the creature charged again, this time dragging its claws through the ground, kicking up stone and soil.
He threw three exploding tags, detonating them midair to force distance.
Boom—Boom—Boom.
Smoke filled the trees. Kiyoshi breathed hard, crouched behind a root.
"I need to disable it. It's not just a beast—it's a failed experiment."
But before he could plan his next move, the smoke cleared—
And the creature stood in the center of the crater, barely scratched, eyes burning brighter than before.
Its mouth opened wide—
And from its throat came a guttural voice.
"Frrreeee… meee..."
Kiyoshi's eyes widened. "It can speak?"
His stomach turned. This wasn't just a monster.
It had once been human.
"No… someone did this to it."
The beast pounced again—too fast to dodge. Kiyoshi crossed his arms to guard—
Impact.
He was flung into a tree with a crack of bark and bone.
Blood dripped from his lip. His left arm stung.
"I can't keep dodging. I need to end this. But not kill it… not yet."
As the beast approached again, Kiyoshi whispered to himself, hand on his pouch.
"Time to try that technique..."
[End of Chapter 6]