The stench of smoke and blood lingered in the ruined village as the cries of the wounded filled the night. The once peaceful Hidden Leaf was now a battlefield. Craters littered the ground where the Nine-Tailed Fox had rampaged, its massive tails flattening houses like paper.
Arin stood in the middle of the chaos, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His legs shook, not from fatigue but from the sheer terror of what he had witnessed. The monstrous fox's roar still echoed in his bones. Even with his system screen still glowing faintly before him, he could barely process what had happened.
> [System Detected.
User: Arin Uzuhara.
Synchronization Rate: 4%.
Class Initialization: Pending.]
The words hovered before his eyes like fireflies, surreal and incomprehensible. His trembling fingers reached forward, as if touching them would make them more real, but the screen dissolved into sparks that scattered in the air.
"I… I wasn't imagining it." His voice cracked, barely audible above the sounds of battle. "This… this power is real."
Another explosion rocked the village, forcing him to stagger back against a broken wall. His hand brushed against something wet. When he looked down, his stomach churned — it was blood. Not his, but from a villager lying motionless beside him.
He wanted to vomit. He wanted to close his eyes and pretend this was a nightmare. But deep down, he knew the truth: the world he had been born into was cruel, and tonight, it had revealed its true face.
"Move, boy!"
Arin snapped his head up. A chunin, his flak jacket torn and scorched, shoved him aside just as a burning piece of debris crashed where he had been standing. The man glanced at him, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing just standing there? Run! Get to the shelters!"
"I—" Arin's words failed him. He wasn't like the others. He couldn't just hide underground and wait for everything to end. Not anymore.
He swallowed hard, forcing his voice to steady. "I want to fight."
The chunin blinked at him, stunned. Then his expression twisted into anger. "Fight? Are you insane?! You'll be killed before you can even pick up a kunai!"
Arin bit his lip. Maybe the man was right. He was weak, untrained. Just another civilian. But the system's screen flickered again, as if answering his doubt.
> [Quest Unlocked: Prove Your Resolve.]
Objective: Survive the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Reward: Synchronization Rate +10%.
His breath caught in his throat. Survive… That was the only requirement. Not slay the beast, not defeat an enemy, just live.
And yet, even that felt impossible.
"Go!" The chunin shoved him again before leaping toward the battlefield where shinobi were rallying against the beast. His silhouette disappeared into the chaos, leaving Arin alone with his thoughts.
Survive the night…
He clenched his fists. "Then I'll survive. No matter what."
---
The streets were littered with rubble and flame as Arin moved cautiously through the wreckage. His system had gone silent, but its faint glow in the back of his mind gave him an odd sense of direction, like an unseen compass guiding his steps. He avoided open roads, ducking into alleys and slipping past collapsed walls.
Everywhere he looked, he saw despair. Families huddled together, shinobi carrying the wounded, children crying for parents who would never answer.
And yet, despite the horror, Arin's focus sharpened. Every second alive meant progress toward his quest. Every heartbeat carried weight.
Suddenly, a chilling growl froze him in place.
From the shadows of a ruined shop, a beast slinked forward — not the Nine-Tails, but a stray summon fragment, a creature of pure chakra residue. Its form was twisted, half-fox, half-wraith, its glowing eyes fixed on Arin.
His body refused to move. He had no weapon, no jutsu, nothing. The monster lunged, claws slicing through the air.
"Move, damn it!" he screamed at himself, diving aside just as the claws tore through the wall behind him. Dust and splinters filled the air.
His hands scrambled over the ground until they found a broken spear shaft buried under debris. It was splintered and barely usable, but it was something. He gripped it tight, knuckles white.
The chakra beast snarled and leapt again. Arin thrust the spear desperately, the point grazing its form. To his shock, the beast recoiled, screeching as the chakra flickered unstable where he had struck.
His heart pounded. It worked?!
The system's voice rang in his ears:
> [Combat Initiated.
Improvised Weapon Detected.
Strike Efficiency: 12%.]
The beast circled him, slower this time, wary. Sweat dripped down his temple. He had no training, no technique. But he had resolve. And that, perhaps, was enough.
When it lunged again, Arin sidestepped, slamming the spear into its flank. The weapon vibrated in his hands, nearly shattering, but the beast shrieked and collapsed into shards of dissipating chakra.
Breathing heavily, Arin dropped to his knees. His arms ached, his lungs burned, but he was alive.
The system chimed:
> [Quest Progress: 12% Complete.
Reward Pending.]
A smile tugged at his lips despite the blood and smoke. "I… I can do this."
---
Hours crawled by as the night stretched on. Arin fought not against shinobi enemies, but against hunger, fear, and exhaustion. He scavenged weapons from fallen ninja, sometimes too heavy for his young body, but better than nothing. Every small skirmish with chakra beasts pushed his limits further.
By the time the moon hung high, he had survived three encounters. Each victory left him trembling, but the system continued to reward him.
> [Synchronization Rate: 9%.
Passive Skill Unlocked: Instinct.]
He didn't know what Instinct truly meant, but already he felt his reactions sharpen, his steps quicker, his awareness clearer. The system was shaping him, slowly but surely.
Still, doubt gnawed at his heart. He wasn't strong. He wasn't special. He was just a boy who had been unlucky enough to live through the worst night in Konoha's history.
But maybe… that was enough to change everything.
---
The ground trembled again. Arin turned toward the center of the village, where the Nine-Tails loomed, its tails smashing against the barrier that the Fourth Hokage had erected. Each impact shook the entire village, sending waves of chakra through the air.
Arin staggered, clutching his chest as the oppressive pressure pressed down on him. It was like the air itself wanted to crush him into dust.
And then he saw it — a shadow moving not far from him. A masked figure, walking calmly through the chaos, as if the destruction didn't touch him at all.
The man stopped, turning slightly. Through the swirl-pattern mask, a single red eye gleamed.
Arin's breath caught. He didn't know who this man was, but every instinct screamed danger. His body froze, his mind racing. Should he run? Hide? Attack?
The system's voice whispered:
> [Hidden Event Triggered.
Encounter: ???
Danger Level: S-Rank.]
His heart nearly stopped. S-Rank?!
The masked man tilted his head, as though sensing Arin's presence. The red eye seemed to pierce straight into his soul. For a moment, neither moved. Then, with a dismissive turn, the man vanished into the smoke, as if he had never been there.
Arin collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath. Cold sweat drenched his body. He didn't know who that was, but some part of him understood: his survival wasn't just about the Nine-Tails. Bigger forces were moving tonight.
And he had been seen.
The system's screen flickered again:
> [Quest Update: Unknown forces have taken notice of you.
Survive until dawn.]
Arin clenched his fists, fear and determination burning together in his chest. "Fine… then I'll survive. I'll survive no matter what it takes."
The night was far from over.
⚡ End of Chapter 2 ⚡