Chapter 9
Under the cold night sky, two predators watched each other in silence.
Neither moved first.
Neither lowered their guard.
The old wolf stood several meters away, its gray fur swaying slightly with the wind. Its body looked thin, old, and worn down by time, yet its eyes still carried the sharpness of a hunter.
Opposite to it—
Ryo stood calmly with a devilish smile on his face.
That smile…
made the wolf uneasy.
Because predators understood predators.
And right now—
that weak-looking human felt far more dangerous than he should.
But while the wolf was feeling uneasy—
Ryo was thinking about something completely different.
How do I kill this thing while wasting the least amount of energy?
His eyes calmly observed the wolf's body.
Wolves usually move in packs.
An average pack has four categories.
The Alpha.
The females and pups.
The warrior wolves.
And finally… the burdens.
Ryo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Old wolves. Injured wolves. Wolves too weak to properly hunt.
They eat last.
And when danger appears they become bait or sacrifice to save the whole pack.
His gaze slowly traveled across the old wolf's body.
Despite being thin, its bones were still thick. Its muscles hadn't completely deteriorated either. It's size is also not small.
There were scars.
Old ones.
But no visible fatal injury.
Interesting.
Judging by its body size… this thing was probably once an Alpha.
Then age weakened it.
Maybe injury too.
Eventually a new Alpha took over.
Ryo's smile widened slightly.
And rather than staying behind as a burden…
it left the pack.
His eyes sharpened.
Prideful old beast.
Meanwhile—
the wolf was also thinking.
Once—it had ruled a pack.
The strongest hunter of the pack.
The leader.
The Alpha.
But strength fades.
Time weakens all things.
And weakness—is a sin among beasts.
When the younger Alpha challenged it, the old wolf understood the outcome before the fight even began.
So it left.
Its pride refused to become dead weight for the pack.
But survival alone was cruel.
Its old injuries slowed it down.
Its stamina was poor.
For the past two weeks, it had survived on rabbits, rats, and fish.
Pathetic meals for a former Alpha.
Humans occasionally appeared nearby but always in groups. They also have weapons.
Too risky to hunt.
Too troublesome to escape if noticed.
Then tonight—
fortune finally smiled upon it.
A weak human had wandered into its territory.
Alone.
Hungry.
Weak.
Barely able to stand.
And after walking some time, the human fell down.
Easy prey.
But then—
something changed.
The moment the human stood up…
the atmosphere changed completely.
The wolf's instincts screamed.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
That look— those purple spiralled eyes felt different & familiar.
those eyes—
they reminded it of a tiger it had once seen years ago.
A wounded tiger surrounded by hunters.
Even while bleeding…
that tiger had looked at everything around it like prey.
And now—
this human had the same eyes.
The old wolf hesitated.
Its instincts told it to retreat.
But its pride…
its hunger…
its desperation…
pushed it forward.
Back on Ryo's side—
he had already finished calculating.
Current physical condition: terrible.
Chakra reserves: zero.
Body condition: starving.
Ryo clicked his tongue mentally.
Without chakra, he couldn't use ninjutsu.
Couldn't use most Kekkei Genkai either.
Even abilities like Dead Bone Pulse or wood style were impossible right now.
What he currently possessed—
was only his Rinnegan.
And a tiny amount of ocular power.
Then—
he remembered something.
A Rinnegan ability he had barely used.
Only four or five times in his entire life.
Mostly just to confirm it actually even worked or not.
The Asura Path.
The wind suddenly blew harder.
Dust rose slightly from the ground.
And at that exact moment—
the wolf lunged.
Fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
Even old—
it was still a predator, a alpha, a prideful hunter.
But Ryo's expression didn't change.
Not even slightly.
His Rinnegan glowed faintly.
The next second—
his right arm twisted unnaturally.
Metal spread over flesh.
Bones shifted into iron.
Mechanisms formed.
The starving scholar's arm transformed into a small cannon-like pistol.
The wolf's instincts screamed but too late.
BANG!
The explosion echoed through the night.
Blood scattered across the dirt road.
The wolf's body rolled several times before collapsing heavily.
Its head—
was gone.
Silence returned.
Ryo looked at his mechanical arm.
"…Huh."
A small pause.
"…Still works."
The system immediately spoke up.
"Host, you just used a god-eye ability to shoot an old starving wolf."
Ryo shrugged.
"Efficiency matters."
"That was not efficiency."
"That was overkill."
"Dead is dead."
"…I now understand how you are this strong minded."
Ryo ignored the comment.
Instead, he looked at the wolf's corpse thoughtfully.
"…At least dinner problem solved itself."
About one and a half hours later—
only bones remained beside the fire.
Not even scraps of meat were left.
The old Alpha wolf that once ruled a pack…
had officially become nutrition.
Ryo sat cross-legged near the fire while refining chakra.
This body didn't had any chakra pathways. So Ryo created them but they were terrible compared to his original body.
Everything felt slow.
Crude.
Inefficient.
Still—
after some effort—
he finally opened his eyes.
"Hah…"
He stretched slightly.
"After eating properly and refining chakra…"
"…I finally have enough chakra for around five C-rank jutsu."
The system immediately replied:
"Congratulations, Host."
"You have officially evolved from 'starving corpse' to 'barely functional civilian.'"
Ryo's eye twitched.
"…You've gotten bolder."
"I learned from my Host."
"…Fair enough."
As dawn slowly rose—
Ryo cleaned the area completely.
The fire disappeared.
The blood vanished.
Even the burned leaves were removed.
Nothing remained.
No evidence.
No corpse.
No signs of battle.
Only empty silence.
As if neither man nor wolf had ever been there.
And under the morning sunlight—
Ryo finally began walking toward Imperial capital.
After all—
the Imperial Examination was waiting unfortunately.
Chapter End