In the pitch-black mine, several figures hung suspended by ropes, their hands tied high above their heads. A cold wind carried a soft rustling sound, and not far away, piles of bleached bones seemed to tremble slightly.
The ground dissolved into quicksand, and Shane floated up.
"It really is them!"
The people hanging there were indeed the Winchester brothers, Haley, and the others.
Shane looked at the unconscious Winchesters and recalled the plot.
The brothers had come here following the coordinates their father left behind. They coincidentally heard about three boys who went missing while camping in the forest and began investigating. They joined forces with Haley—who was looking for her missing brother—her other brother, and a hunter Haley had hired to go into the mountains.
After entering the mountains, they found the boys' campsite. The tents were destroyed, and blood was everywhere. The Winchesters realized something was wrong, but the hunter, confident in his guns and experience, ignored their warnings. He was then lured out by the Wendigo and killed.
The rest fled. In the original timeline, Dean and Haley were captured by the Wendigo and taken to the mine. Sam and Haley's other brother followed the trail Dean left behind, found the mine, and rescued them. After a dangerous struggle, Dean used a flare gun to shoot the Wendigo, burning it to death.
The Wendigo's weaknesses were fire and Anasazi symbols (ancient Native American protective wards).
Now, the plot happening a day early could be chalked up to the butterfly effect. After all, Shane had warned the Winchesters that the yellow-eyed demon was coming for them, so it was normal for them to speed up their search for Dad. But Shane couldn't figure out how they got wiped out and captured en masse.
The people hanging there—Dean, Sam, Haley, and her two brothers—were all alive. Then there was a man in camouflage, fully armed. He was likely the hunter Haley hired, and he was dead. Beside him hung two bloodied boys, likely the other two campers who went missing with Haley's brother. They were stone cold.
"Is this plot armor in effect? The important characters are all alive, while the irrelevant extras are dead," Shane muttered, walking up to Dean and patting his cheek. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Time for your medicine."
Dean's eyelids fluttered. He opened his eyes and gasped sharply, recoiling at the sight. Those terrifying white eyes—wait. White eyes? Dean instantly snapped awake.
"It's you?!"
Dean recalled the fear of being dominated by those eyes.
"How are you here?" Dean asked in surprise, scanning their surroundings. He quickly spotted his brother and the others. "Sam! Wake up, Sam..."
Shing—
With a flash of cold steel, Dean dropped to the ground with a thud. Shane handed him a kunai. "Get them out first."
"What about you?" Dean took the kunai, stunned for a second, then added, "There's a Wendigo here. It's tough to deal with. I'll cut them down and have Sam lead them out. I'm staying to help you."
"Suit yourself."
Shane didn't refuse. He turned and went to find the Wendigo.
With the Byakugan active, it was like playing PUBG with wall hacks. Environmental factors could be ignored. One glance, and the complex, dim layout of the mine lay bare before him.
A few minutes later, Shane and the Wendigo were at a "love at first sight" distance around a corner. If he wanted to play dirty, he could just camp here, wait for the Wendigo to round the bend, and blast it with Great Fire Annihilation. The creature wouldn't be able to react. If a flare gun was enough to kill it, Great Fire Annihilation was overkill.
Shane felt he needed to adjust his mindset. He seemed to be underestimating his own strength—or overestimating the Wendigo.
Just the Byakugan plus a Great Fire Annihilation ambush should easily solve this. Worst case, a shadow clone could grab some explosive tags, rush in, and play suicide bomber.
After re-evaluating the power balance, Shane decided his safety wasn't really at risk. He would use this opportunity to hone his skills.
Combat experience had to be accumulated, after all.
How did the Winchester brothers' "Where's Dad?" journey work? It was a training trip orchestrated by John Winchester.
Exhaling a long breath, Shane's Byakugan shone with a mix of excitement and nervousness as he stared dead at the spot where the Wendigo would appear.
His hands moved, readying five shuriken.
In the darkness, a tall, gaunt figure emerged from the corner. It was skeletal, completely hairless, with a humanoid shape and features but a face like a demon. Its skin was hard and dry, and its hands were like beast claws with long, razor-sharp nails.
"Shuriken: Throw Everything Jutsu!"
Shane shouted lightly and hurled the shuriken at the Wendigo with all his might.
He swore he aimed for the head.
Eyes: Locked on head.
Hands: Aimed.
Result...
Although the shuriken hit the Wendigo, only one struck its face, and it didn't even break the skin. The others perfectly avoided the vitals, hitting either the creature's body or the nearby mine walls.
Clang, clang, clang. They scattered on the ground.
The Wendigo paused, seemingly surprised that a fish had slipped through the net into its lair—and dared to attack it. It let out a furious roar, its claws glinting in the dark as it charged straight at Shane.
"Jiraiya really is unreliable..." Shane focused his Byakugan's vision on the Wendigo's movements, gripping a kunai he'd withdrawn from the system. When the Wendigo swiped its claws at him, he seized the moment to dodge sideways. The claws grazed past his face, bringing a wave of indescribable, nauseating stench.
Slide step. Turn. Shane gripped the kunai with both hands and stabbed at the Wendigo's back.
Pfft!
The kunai sank half an inch into the Wendigo's back before stopping, unable to go deeper. The backstabbed Wendigo howled, spinning around furiously to slash. In that split second, Shane found himself incredibly calm. He dropped into a squat to dodge the horizontal sweep, and a massive sword suddenly appeared in his hands.
Gripping it tight, he rose and swung upward with full force at the Wendigo's arm.
Executioner's Blade!