The black panther exploded from the branch above.
Muscle.
Fangs.
Pure killing intent. It was too fast for a normal child.
But I had already moved. The panther dropped like a living spear.
Instead of jumping away, I jumped forward. The beast's claws tore through the air where I had been standing.
I twisted mid-air and slashed.
Blue chakra claws screeched across black fur.
The panther twisted unnaturally fast. My attack only grazed its shoulder.
It landed silently on all four paws.
Golden eyes locked onto me. I gave a nervous grin.
"Okay… you're big."
The panther growled.
Low.
Deep.
Hungry.
Then it vanished. I did not see it move, But I felt its chakra shift.
Right side.
I ducked instantly. A blur of black muscle sliced through the air where my head had been.
I rolled across the forest floor, leaves and dirt sticking to my clothes.
"Fast!"
Before I could fully stand, it lunged again. I crossed both chakra claws in front of me.
CLANG!
Chakra met fang.
Its jaws snapped inches from my face. I felt its hot breath. It smelled like blood and rotting meat.
My arms trembled under the pressure.
"YOU'RE HEAVY!"
The beast pushed harder. My feet slid backward, carving lines into the dirt.
Too strong.
Too fast.
Think.
The panther suddenly swiped with one massive paw. I tried to jump back, too slow.
Its claws ripped across my shoulder. Pain exploded through my arm.
I crashed to the ground and rolled again. Warm liquid soaked into my sleeve.
Blood.
For a moment, the world rang in my ears.
Everything felt distant.
Blurry.
But I forced myself to focus.
If I black out, I die.
The panther began walking toward me slowly. Not rushing anymore.
Confident.
Predators like wounded prey. I wiped the blood from my cheek.
"…Crap."
I forced myself to stand, lowering my stance.
My shoulder burned. Blood ran down my arm.
"Alright, kitty…" The panther suddenly charged again.
This time, I did not dodge. I ran straight at it.
The panther leapt, jaws wide enough to crush my skull.
At the last second, I dropped flat to the ground.
The beast flew over me.
And I slashed upward with everything I had.
Six glowing chakra claws carved across its stomach.
Blood sprayed across my face and clothes.
The panther roared in pain.
But it did not fall. It twisted mid-air with terrifying speed.
Its tail whipped across my face.
WHAM.
Stars exploded in my vision.
That hurt like hell. I really thought that would finish it.
But the damn cat was still alive. I staggered back a few steps.
The panther was limping now.
Wounded.
Bleeding.
Angry.
Which made it even more dangerous.
"…Okay," I muttered. "Plan B."
I had no jutsu.
No clones.
No backup.
Just instincts.
And claws.
The panther lunged again. This time I waited.
Three seconds.
Two.
One,
At the last instant, I stepped forward instead of back. I moved inside its attack.
Right into its blind spot. Its claws could not reach properly at that angle. I grabbed the thick fur around its neck with one hand.
And drove the other hand straight into its throat.
My chakra claws pierced deep.
The panther thrashed violently. Its body slammed into me.
I held on with everything I had.
"STAY…..DOWN!"
It smashed me into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
My vision blurred. My ribs screamed in pain.
But I refused to let go.
I pulled my claws out, then stabbed again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike went into its neck. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Warm.
Sticky.
The forest echoed with the beast's dying growls.
Finally, Its movements slowed.
Its strength faded. The panther staggered. Then collapsed heavily onto the forest floor.
Silence returned. Only the sound of my heavy breathing remained.
I rolled off its body and lay on my back, staring up at the sky through the trees.
My chest rose and fell quickly.
"…I won."
After a minute, I slowly lifted my glowing chakra claws into the air like a victory pose.
The blue light flickered.
My arm trembled.
But I was smiling.
My second fight.
After a few minutes, I stood up
"Ouch…"
My shoulder burned badly. I looked at the deep claw marks.
"Yeah… that's enough excitement for today."
I walked toward a small stream nearby and washed the blood off my face and arms. The cold water helped clear my head. But my clothes were still soaked in blood.
Great.
The journey back home took almost one and a half hours. The walk felt much longer than usual.
The adrenaline from the fight had faded. Now I felt every bruise. Every cut. Every sore muscle.
I was tired.
Really tired.
When I reached the village streets, people began staring.
A small child. Covered in blood. Walking calmly.
Some women screamed. One even fainted.
A man shouted, "Demon!" and tried to hit me with a stick.
Before he could reach me, a shinobi stepped in front of him.
It was an Uchiha.
Most likely from the Konoha Police Force.
He stopped the man easily and glared at him until he backed away.
Then the Uchiha ninja turned toward me.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yep," I replied casually.
He looked at my torn clothes and shoulder.
"…What happened?"
I told him about going to Training Ground 44.
His eyes widened.
"You did what?"
Then he frowned.
"That area is off-limits for Academy students. It is for official ninja only. That place is dangerous."
He scolded me for a few minutes.
But not harshly.
More like an older brother scolding a reckless kid.
After that, he handed me a few bandages and a small jar of healing ointment.
"Don't do that again," he said firmly.
I nodded.
He was surprisingly kind.
…I will probably feel bad when he dies during the Uchiha massacre.
That thought felt strange.
This world had some differences from canon.
One thing I noticed clearly, Most civilians treated me badly.
They hated me openly.
But many ninja were different. Most were either indifferent or simply ignored me.
And a few, a small few—
Treated me like a normal child.
Not completely normal but as normal as they were allowed to treat a jinchūriki.
After reaching home, I took a proper bath.
The water turned red as I washed off the dried blood. I threw my clothes into a bucket filled with water to soak.
Then I applied the healing ointment on my shoulder and wrapped it with bandages.
It stung.
But I had felt worse.
After resting for a short while, I left for the Konoha Public library.
I do not go there every day anymore. Only four days a week.
There is not much work. Very few people visit the public library.
Last time I went was Friday.
Today was Monday.
Time to see what Hiroji would say about me showing up slightly injured.