Kunai in hand, Itachi turned around with a fierce momentum, shaking up the dirt beneath his feet.
However, he nearly took a momentary step back.
Before him stood a large, ferocious beast. Its deep emerald eyes were piercing, sharp as daggers. Just a few seconds under its gaze would paralyze the average mortal, leaving them helpless for slaughter.
It had the shape of a large wolf, its paws alone the size of an average adult's head.
At nearly 6 feet tall, Itachi was nearly eye level with it. The creature's muscular frame bulged beneath the fur that looked like an iron fortress, a dark green coat that let it blend effortlessly into the jungle plains.
Itachi wanted to catch it off guard but didn't expect the beast before him to be so ferocious. He started to doubt whether the kunai could even pierce the creature's skin.
"So this is the emerald-eyed wolf that's been following me since my resurrection. Running is not an option. I'll test its strength first and see if I can find any weaknesses."
The wolf continued to watch him, almost curious. It felt no threat from the figure before it, only fascination... and a creeping hunger. It unconsciously salivated, wondering what this strange prey would taste like.
Seeing this, Itachi's guard became even more cautious.
For a beast, strength and intelligence were linked. The more powerful, the sharper the mind.
The air turned cold, tension crackling. Itachi made the first move, gripping his kunai tight as he lunged with incredible speed and precision.
Slash!
Itachi slashed at the wolf's deep green fur.
With a ding sound, the kunai directly flew out of his hand!
Amused, the wolf didn't even bother dodging; it knew the person before him couldn't hurt it.
Itachi's eyes widened in shock!
Quickly somersaulting towards the kunai on the ground, he picked it up and retreated a fair distance at lightning speed.
The kunai from the system couldn't even damage its fur! And this was only a lower-tier creature from the outskirts of the barren lands.
Itachi didn't even want to imagine how strong the beasts were deeper inside.
Facing the first deadly crisis since his rebirth, Itachi quickly calmed himself and once again entered a deep state of contemplation. He had to find a weakness, and fast!
However, the wolf didn't give Itachi this luxury. It was growing impatient and, after a day of waiting, wanted to try out this new delicacy. Furthermore, it wasn't the only one in this territory. It wanted to kill the human before the other beasts found a trace.
Baring its sharp fangs, the emerald-eyed wolf crouched low, its muscles in its legs tightened, and like a cannonball firing off, it charged towards Itachi's neck!
Boom!
Itachi's long hair flew back in the wind. He managed to block the creature's crushing bite with his kunai at the last second but was sent flying 20 meters.
With dust and soil intermixing, he felt like his arms had broken.
That strike just now held immense power.
One more strike like that, and he feared he would definitely die.
But Itachi didn't come away empty-handed from that strike. In the brief moment the wolf opened its jaw, Itachi secretly touched below the wolf's jaw before being blasted away.
And as he expected, he found the area to be considerably soft. It was about 2mm in diameter, just enough for his kunai to do damage.
If he could time a counterattack, he would be able to pierce the soft tissue. Though a single mistake and he would lose his very life.
Furrowing his brows, Itachi shot up into the air and watched the emerald wolf once again make a lethal strike.
This time, however, the wolf deployed extreme speed. This time aiming for Itachi's abdomen.
Whoosh!
A sharp claw slashed at Itachi's abdomen. Itachi timely stepped back and allowed the wolf to carry out its attacks.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A storm of soil and dust kicked off with the movements of the wolf. Itachi kept dodging like a shadow.
The wolf was shocked at how tricky the human moved; it seemed as if with every move it made, the person before it would move away even before the attack reached him!
Frustration gnawed at the emerald wolf, and it was losing its patience. With a large growl, it closed the gap on Itachi and this time aimed to rip his whole head off.
Itachi's back was against a large thick tree. It seemed like he was trapped, but this was all within his plans. He had baited the wolf to this location near the river.
The wolf, noticing Itachi had nowhere to run, finally unleashed its attack! Aiming for Itachi's head. Mouth wide open, it charged!
Boom!
The emerald-eyed wolf had confusion written all over its face; instead of the expected head within its mouth, it found itself biting into a large tree trunk.
Itachi had ducked under the blow!
With its fangs wedged into the wood, the wolf struggled to move. Its eyes darted around in confusion until they found him crouched below.
STAB!
Itachi forced out every ounce of his strength and struck the weak point he had discovered.
The kunai swiftly entered the soft tissue below the jaw, like a knife going through butter.
The emerald-eyed wolf's eyes bulged in agony, seemingly shocked that the human it found to be no threat had pierced its thick hide!
In a panic, it bit harder into the tree, desperately trying to free itself.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Itachi didn't wait for the wolf. He viciously stabbed at the weak point. Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Ignoring the pained cries of the wolf, Itachi blasted open a large wound below the jaw. The kunai wreaked utter havoc, and the blood sprayed out so much that Itachi had to squint his eyes!
But he didn't stop; he couldn't stop!
STAB! Itachi, still ducking below the wolf's jaw, became painted with scarlet red. The smell of blood permeated the air.
For a minute, the riverbank was filled with the sound of a dying beast's cries, growing weaker and weaker until they ceased altogether. Only the sound of metal slicing through flesh remained.
The wolf had long become limp; it died with its eyes wide open, still wondering what happened.
But Itachi still didn't stop stabbing his kunai, his face expressionless and devoid of any emotion.
STAB!...STAB!...STAB!
Any human watching this would be horrified and instantly think the person before them was a demonic cultivator possessed by a demon!
Minutes past but Itachi still didnt break out of his trance, infact the speed of his stabbing motion became faster and even more ferocious. Any longer and his mind would probably break down!
...
"Elder brother… you can stop now, please. We're all worried for you," the soft voice of a child whispered in Itachi's ears, breaking him out of his trance.
Waking up, Itachi looked around his surroundings in confusion. The voice he heard just now was his dear little brother Sasuke's…
He noticed a stream of tears had trickled down his face, mixed with the scarlet blood of the beast above.
"Sigh…"
Itachi exhaled in bitterness. He had lost himself just now. If it wasn't for Sasuke's voice, who knew how long he would be in this state for.
His past weighed heavily on him. Even after he had been alone for so long since that tragic day, he deeply wished he could feel the affection of his family again.
He had cried himself to sleep numerous times back in the shinobi world; eventually, even his tears had dried up. Kisame had seen him standing in the rain every few days, staring off into nothingness. Using the rain as his only comfort, he hid his tears with the raindrops...
But his partner Kisame saw everything.
Alone and powerless in this new world, his deep and hidden emotions were surfacing again.
Tightening his fists, Itachi buried these thoughts once again and finally let go of the kunai.
-
[Ding! Host has completed the mission! Congratulations! Issuing the rewards now.
+50 Attribute points have been allocated.
+1000 exp have been allocated.
+1 Skill {hawk Eye} Has been allocated ( Please check the system interferace for more details) ]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to level 2! 5 attribute points have been added!
Ding! Host has leveled up to lvl 3! 5 attribute points have been added!
…
Current level: 7 | Exp: 300/3300 ( After reaching level 100, host may upgrade the system )