Chapter 2 — The Last Retainer
The forest swallowed Shiro and the masked ninja as they ran, branches snapping under their feet. Behind them, Kuro Village burned—an orange wound in the night. Smoke billowed high enough to brush the moon, carrying with it the crackling roar of flames and the faint, terrible screams of those still trapped inside.
Shiro didn't look back.
He couldn't.
If he did, he'd break.
His legs trembled beneath him, but not from exhaustion. Fear, shock, confusion—they tangled inside his chest until each breath felt like a stone.
Finally, the masked ninja slowed, raising a hand.
"Stop."
They stood in a clearing surrounded by towering pines. Moonlight spilled across the moss-covered ground, turning everything silver. The masked ninja didn't seem winded at all. Shiro, on the other hand, bent over with both hands on his knees.
"H-Hold on," Shiro gasped. "Please. Just tell me what's happening. Why did those men attack the village? Why were they after me? And… what did you call me back there?"
The ninja remained silent for a moment. Their mask reflected the moonlight—smooth porcelain, features carved without emotion.
When they finally spoke, their voice was quiet. Not cold—quiet, as though the weight of their words required gentleness.
"You are Shiro Kage," the ninja said. "The last descendant of the Kage Clan. And tonight, your bloodline awakened."
Shiro straightened slowly. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"That's impossible," he said. "The Kage Clan is gone. They were wiped out by the Meiji and Akuma years ago. Everyone knows that."
The ninja turned slightly, looking toward the distant flames.
"Yes," they murmured. "Everyone knows. Because that is what the country was meant to believe."
Shiro felt something in his stomach twist.
"What do you mean?"
The ninja removed their mask.
Shiro inhaled sharply.
The face beneath was weathered, lined with age and grief. Not old, but worn—like someone who had spent half their life hiding in darkness. Their eyes were sharp, almost too sharp, with irises so black they seemed bottomless.
"My name is Renshiro," the ninja said softly. "I served as a blade and guardian of the Kage Clan. And for the last eleven years, I have been its only survivor."
Shiro's breath hitched.
"Only survivor… except for me?"
Renshiro nodded.
The forest was so quiet Shiro could hear his own pulse.
The Kage Clan—masters of Shadow Gi, feared across Ninshu, rivaled only by the explosive might of the Meiji Clan—had vanished from history before Shiro was old enough to remember anything at all. The academy always treated the Kage like a cautionary tale.
The clan that became too strong.
The clan that let power corrupt them.
The clan that had to be destroyed for the good of the nation.
Shiro had believed it like everyone else.
Until now.
"So it's true," Shiro whispered. "I really… I really belong to them?"
Renshiro studied him with an unreadable expression. "Your shadowlessness was the first sign."
"My… what?"
"No shadow means locked Shadow Gi," Renshiro said. "A dormant bloodline. Your essence was trapped, sealed. Whoever hid you wanted your power suppressed until the right moment."
Shiro stumbled back a step. "That makes no sense. If I'm from their clan, why hide me? Why send me to a random village? Why pretend I'm normal?"
Renshiro exhaled slowly.
"Because the night your clan fell, your parents made the hardest decision any ninja could make."
The clearing felt colder than before.
Shiro swallowed. "You… knew them?"
Renshiro's jaw tightened.
"Your father was the clan heir. Your mother was the most gifted Shadow Gi user born in a century. Together, they were unstoppable. But even they couldn't survive what happened that night."
Shiro's hands trembled.
"Tell me."
Renshiro gazed toward the sky as though replaying memories he'd tried hard to forget.
"The Meiji Clan had been growing nervous," he began. "Metsudo Meiji, the Lord of Ninjas, feared the rise of the Kage. He knew your father's abilities. He saw how quickly the clan was advancing. And so he made a choice."
Shiro already knew.
A choice born of fear.
"Extermination," he whispered.
Renshiro nodded once. "He didn't attack alone. The Akuma joined him—Dark Gi users who wanted the Kage's territory. Together, they struck at the heart of the clan."
He paused, voice lowering.
"No prisoners. No warnings. Only elimination."
Shiro's throat tightened so hard it hurt.
"What about my parents?" he forced out.
"They fought, Shiro. Gods, they fought harder than anyone I've ever known. They bought time for me to escape with you. You were barely two years old."
Shiro blinked hard, fighting tears he didn't want to show.
"They didn't survive," Renshiro finished quietly. "But they made sure you did."
Shiro turned his face away, chest burning. He didn't know these people—his parents—but hearing their fate felt like losing them all over again.
Renshiro stepped closer.
"They left one message for you. One truth you must accept, no matter how hard it is to hear."
Shiro clenched his fists. "What?"
"You are the rightful heir of the Kage Clan," Renshiro said. "Its last hope. And because of that, every clan in Ninshu—especially the Meiji—will try to either claim you or kill you."
Shiro felt like the ground had vanished beneath him.
"But I'm not strong," he whispered. "I'm not even trained. The academy said I'm the weakest in the village. How am I supposed to be… anything?"
Renshiro's eyes softened for the first time.
"You awakened the Ninja Lord System, Shiro. Only one with the purest Kage blood could do that."
Shiro remembered the glowing black text. The sudden surge of power. The way his body moved on instinct.
"That was… real," he murmured. "All of it."
"Very real," Renshiro said. "And incredibly dangerous."
Shiro sat on a fallen log, burying his face in his hands. "So what am I supposed to do now?"
Renshiro didn't answer immediately. Instead, he knelt so he could meet Shiro's eyes directly.
"We go where the Meiji cannot find us," he said. "To a hidden refuge your clan built long ago. A sanctuary. A training ground. And then…"
Shiro lifted his head, heart pounding.
"…you begin learning what it means to be Kage."
The forest wind shifted, rustling through branches overhead.
Shiro took a slow breath. "You're saying I have to fight back."
"I'm saying Ninshu needs balance," Renshiro corrected. "Metsudo Meiji has ruled unchallenged for too long. The five clans were never meant to kneel under a single man. And the Meiji believe the Kage are lost forever."
He placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder.
"You are proof they were wrong."
Shiro hesitated.
Fear gnawed at him.
He wasn't a prodigy like the Shiroi.
He wasn't fast like the Kaze.
He couldn't summon dark flames like the Akuma.
He couldn't level mountains like the Meiji.
He was just… Shiro.
A boy with no shadow.
But if Renshiro was right…
If his parents died to protect him…
If the system awakened for him…
Then maybe—just maybe—his shadow was never gone.
Just waiting.
Shiro stood, shaky but determined.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Show me where we need to go."
Renshiro nodded.
They started walking deeper into the forest.
But after only a few steps, Renshiro froze. His hand shot out, stopping Shiro.
"What is it?" Shiro whispered.
Renshiro's eyes narrowed.
"Someone's following us."
Shiro's blood ran cold. "Bandits?"
"No." Renshiro shook his head. "The presence is too refined. Too steady."
A low whistle cut through the trees—clear and sharp.
Then a young girl stepped out from the bushes, wiping a smudge of dirt from her cheek.
She wore a short white coat lined with metal plates, and a long spear rested casually on her shoulder. Her hair was pale blond, braided tightly down her back, and her eyes gleamed with sharp curiosity.
Shiro recognized the insignia on her chest instantly.
The Shiroi clan's crest.
A weapons prodigy.
"Well, well," she said with a small smirk. "So the rumors were true. The shadowless boy is actually a Kage."
Renshiro's hand went to his blade. "State your purpose."
The girl twirled her spear with effortless grace.
"I'm not here to fight," she said. "Not tonight. I came with a message from my clan."
Shiro swallowed. "A message… for me?"
Her smirk widened.
"Yes, heir of shadows."
She pointed her spear at him, tip glinting under the moon.
"Lord Metsudo Meiji knows you're alive."
Shiro's breath froze.
And the girl added, voice dropping low:
"And he's declared you a threat to Ninshu."