The burning settlement crackled behind the monstrous wolf formed Akira.
Flames devoured the wooden houses while thick smoke rolled into the blue sky. The corpses of shinobi and villagers lay scattered across the ruined streets, blood mixing with ash and dirt.
The creature stood in the center of it all, its massive chest rising and falling slowly.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Disciplined.
Eight figures landed on the rooftops surrounding the street almost at the same time.
More Konoha jōnin.
They had been sweeping the outer area of the settlement when the explosion of flames and screams reached them.
Now they stared down at the creature below.
One of them spoke first.
"What the hell is that…"
Another crouched lower, studying the battlefield.
"Everyone here is dead… Maku's team too."
Their eyes moved across the bodies—many brutally torn apart.
"This thing did all of that?
"
The beast slowly turned its head upward.
Red eyes met theirs.
A low growl rolled through the street.
One of the jōnin formed hand seals immediately.
"Don't let it move!"
"Earth Style: Rock Prison!"
The ground erupted around the creature as massive stone walls shot upward, attempting to trap it inside a dome of hardened earth.
For a brief second, the monster vanished behind the rising stone.
Then—
CRACK.
The dome exploded outward.
Chunks of rock blasted across the street as the creature burst through it like a cannonball.
It landed on a rooftop.
Directly in front of one of the jōnin.
The man barely had time to widen his eyes.
A clawed hand smashed into his chest.
The impact caved in his ribs and launched him off the roof. His body crashed into the burning street below with a sickening crunch.
"Spread out!" another jōnin shouted.
Shuriken and kunai rained down toward the creature.
The demon wolf moved like a blur.
Its claws deflected steel midair as it leapt again, landing among two more shinobi.
One attacked with lightning chakra blazing across his blade.
The weapon struck the creature's side.
Blood splashed across the rooftop.
The beast roared.
Then its jaws snapped forward.
Its fangs closed around the man's shoulder.
With a violent twist, the creature ripped the arm clean off and flung the screaming shinobi off the roof.
Another jōnin slammed a wind-style blade across the creature's back.
The fur split.
Blood flowed.
But the monster didn't slow.
Its tail whipped around like a steel cable.
The impact smashed the shinobi through the roof of the building beneath them.
Five remained.
They regrouped instantly.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
"Wind Style: Gale Cutter!"
The combined jutsu roared toward the creature in a massive inferno.
The wolf inhaled deeply.
Then unleashed its own flames.
"Fire Style: Great flame Destruction!"
Dozens of blazing fireballs collided with the incoming attack.
The street erupted in an explosion of fire.
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then a shadow burst through the smoke.
The creature crashed into another jōnin midair.
Both slammed into the ground.
The beast's claws drove straight through the shinobi's chest, pinning him to the dirt.
The remaining four shinobi attacked together now.
Lightning.
Earth.
Wind.
Jutsu exploded across the street.
One earth spear pierced the creature's thigh.
Another lightning blade slashed across its arm.
The monster staggered back.
For the first time in the battle, it looked wounded.
The jōnin sensed it.
"Now!"
They charged together.
But the creature's red eyes burned brighter.
It roared.
And rushed forward to meet them.
Flames from the destroyed houses reflected in its crimson eyes, giving the creature an almost demonic glow.
The shinobi had realized something important.
This thing was wounded.
Blood ran down its arm and thigh where their jutsu had landed. Its breathing had grown heavier, deeper.
One of the jōnin spoke sharply.
"It's injured! Don't give it time to recover!"
They attacked together.
Lightning chakra surged across one man's blade as he dashed forward at blinding speed, aiming for the creature's neck. At the same time, another shinobi slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Rising Pillars!"
Stone spikes erupted upward around the beast, limiting its movement.
A third jōnin unleashed a wind blade meant to slice straight through its torso.
For a moment, it looked like the monster had been trapped.
Then it moved.
The creature twisted its body unnaturally, allowing the lightning blade to skim across its fur instead of its throat. At the same instant, its claws slammed into the ground.
The stone pillar beside it shattered from the force.
The wolf lunged forward.
The first jōnin barely raised his sword before a claw smashed across his face. The blow shattered his jaw and spun him through the air. Before he could even hit the ground, the beast grabbed his leg mid-flight.
With terrifying strength, it swung the man like a weapon.
His body slammed into the second shinobi with a bone-crushing impact. Both crashed into the rubble of a collapsed house.
Two down.
The third jōnin leapt back, forming seals quickly.
"Wind Style—!"
The monster was already moving.
It closed the distance in a single leap.
Its jaws clamped around the shinobi's shoulder, crushing bone instantly. The man screamed as the creature lifted him completely off the ground.
Then it slammed him head-first into the dirt.
Once.
Twice.
On the third impact the skull cracked open like a smashed fruit.
The body went limp.
Only one jōnin remained.
The last shinobi stared in horror at the
carnage surrounding him.
Bodies torn apart.
Burning buildings.
Blood everywhere.
His hands trembled as he forced chakra into his blade.
"Stay back!"
The beast stepped forward slowly.
Heavy claws crushed broken tiles beneath its feet.
The jōnin roared and charged in desperation, lightning exploding around him as he thrust his blade toward the creature's heart.
The monster caught the weapon between its claws.
The lightning crackled wildly.
Then the claws closed.
The blade shattered.
Before the shinobi could react, the creature grabbed his face with one massive hand.
The man struggled violently, trying to pry the grip loose.
It didn't move.
The beast slowly forced his head downward.
His knees slammed into the ground.
Then the creature's other hand grabbed his jaw.
For a brief second the shinobi realized what was about to happen.
He screamed.
The monster pulled.
The man's jaw tore free from his skull with a sickening rip, blood spraying across the dirt as his body collapsed lifelessly at the creature's feet.
Silence returned to the ruined settlement.
The demon wolf stood alone among burning houses and scattered corpses, its chest rising slowly as smoke drifted into the sky above the devastated village.