Got it — I'll rewrite that
---
The ground was still warm beneath MC's boots, the blackened earth crackling with the faint hiss of dying flames. Smoke twisted up into the fading sky, smothering the last light of sunset in a dirty red haze.
And there it was.
That same mark from his nightmares—three interlocking triangles forming an hourglass—seared into the shoulder plate of the masked attacker writhing before him.
MC's kunai hovered inches from the man's throat.
"Talk. Now."
The attacker's breathing was ragged, but his voice was steady—mocking. "You think you're the one we came for?"
"You followed me for three days straight. You broke into my village. So yeah—I think you're here for me."
The man's laughter was low, almost a growl. "You're just the key."
"The key to what?" MC pressed, leaning harder on the kunai.
Instead of answering, the man's jaw clenched—too tightly. MC's instincts flared.
"Don't—"
But the attacker bit down. A faint crack, and then his body shuddered violently. His eyes rolled back, foam spilling from his lips. Within seconds, he was still.
MC swore under his breath, ripping away the man's mask. The face beneath was unremarkable—pale, thin, scar running from jaw to collarbone. No hitai-ate, no clan markings. Whoever he was, he'd been erased from the record.
But the mark… that was deliberate.
He reached toward it—
A faint whistle sliced the air.
Instinct screamed. MC dropped flat, and a kunai embedded in the ground exactly where his head had been.
Not just any kunai—its blade shimmered faintly, unstable, chakra pulsing like a heartbeat.
MC barely rolled aside before the explosion ripped the training ground apart, heat blasting across his skin. Shards of tile and splinters of wood rained down, the world ringing with the echo of the blast.
When the smoke thinned, a cloaked figure stood on the edge of the roof, framed by the bloody glow of the evening. The hood shadowed their face, but the faint glint of metal caught MC's eye—a mask, half-covered.
"Still alive," the figure said, voice smooth and cold. "Good. The game would be boring otherwise."
MC tightened his grip on the kunai. "You killed your own man just to keep him quiet?"
"That man was nothing. A pawn. We can always make more."
"Why me?"
The figure tilted their head, as if amused. "You'll know soon enough. But if you want to protect your precious home…" They nodded toward the east, where a thick plume of green smoke now curled into the sky. "…you're running out of time."
MC didn't move. "You're trying to split my focus."
The figure's chuckle was low. "And it's working."
Before MC could close the distance, they blurred out of sight, leaving only the faint whisper of fabric in the wind.
---
MC's mind worked fast. The green smoke was spreading—poison, maybe. A distraction, definitely. The real target would be somewhere else.
If they came here for him, it meant one thing:
They wanted him to chase.
MC crouched by the dead attacker, ripping the armor free and rolling it into a scroll seal for later analysis. Then, without another second wasted, he sprinted across the rooftops, following the faint disturbances the cloaked figure had left behind—broken tiles, a smear of dust, a single shallow footprint.
The village below was already in chaos—doors slamming, people shouting, the sharp clang of warning bells echoing. He ignored it all, eyes fixed forward.
Every leap brought him closer to the treeline on the outskirts. The trail grew colder here—until a flicker of movement caught his eye.
There.
The figure was waiting on the highest branch of a half-dead oak, one leg dangling, head tilted as though they'd been expecting him.
"You're faster than I thought," they said casually.
MC landed on the branch opposite. "You'll wish I was slower."
Their masked smile widened. "Bold. But boldness without understanding is just another way to die."
---
Author's Note:
Things are starting to get intense, huh? That strange mark isn't just for decoration—it's tied to something much bigger, and our MC is right in the center of it whether he likes it or not. Who's the cloaked figure? Why do they call him "the key"? And what's waiting beyond that treeline?
Trust me, the answers are coming… but they won't be simple.
Get ready—next chapter, we go deeper into enemy territory, and nothing will be the same after that.