The clearing went silent.
Shiro felt the cold tip of the Shiroi girl's spear aimed at him like an accusation. Renshiro stood protectively in front of him, hand on his blade. The wind rustled through the pine trees, but even that sound seemed muted under the weight of her words.
"Lord Metsudo Meiji knows you're alive."
The sentence repeated in Shiro's mind over and over, each time sinking deeper like a stone dropped into a lake.
The girl rested the spear against her shoulder again, as though she hadn't just announced a death sentence.
"Relax," she said. "Like I said, I'm not here to kill you. If I were, you'd already be dead."
Shiro stiffened. She said it casually, like commenting on the weather, but the confidence in her voice wasn't arrogance. It was experience.
Renshiro narrowed his eyes. "What does the Shiroi clan want with the boy?"
She shrugged. "That's above my pay grade. I'm just the messenger."
Renshiro didn't move. He didn't blink. "You attacked us first."
"No," she corrected. "I followed you. If I wanted to attack… I would've walked up with the spear pointed at your throat instead of the air."
Shiro wasn't sure if she was joking or threatening.
Her tone made it sound like both.
He took a step forward, cautiously. "Who are you?"
The girl gave a small bow, twirling her spear once before grounding the butt into the earth.
"Arashi Shiroi, second heir of the Shiroi Clan, specialists of Weapon Gi. Pleasure to meet you… shadow boy."
"Don't call him that," Renshiro snapped.
But Arashi only smirked. "Touchy. I get it—you Kage remnants have pride. Even the ones who used to hide in plain sight."
Shiro clenched his jaw. He didn't appreciate her tone, but before he could say anything, Arashi continued.
"Anyway, my clan elders asked me to deliver a warning. The Meiji and Akuma have already sent trackers into the mountains. If you keep running north, you'll walk right into them."
Renshiro stiffened. "…How many?"
"Enough to level a village," she said simply. "And they aren't scouting. They're hunting."
Shiro felt dread coil in his stomach.
"How?" he muttered. "How did they find out so fast?"
Arashi tapped her temple. "Metsudo isn't stupid. A whole village burned down. Someone unleashed Shadow Gi. What did you expect—that nobody would notice a pitch-black explosion in the night sky?"
Shiro felt heat rise in his cheeks. He hadn't meant to. He didn't even know how he'd done it.
"But don't worry," Arashi added, "the Shiroi clan isn't planning to hand you over."
Renshiro raised a brow. "Surprising. Last I recall, your elders hated the Kage even more than the Meiji."
Arashi leaned casually on her spear, her white-blond braid swaying slightly.
"That's true," she admitted. "But the old man leading us now—Shinta Shiroi—thinks differently. He believes the five clans have fallen out of balance. And he hates how Metsudo rules over Ninshu like a king when no Lord of Ninjas ever held absolute power."
Shiro blinked. "Wait… so your clan is against Lord Metsudo?"
"Not openly," Arashi said. "Not yet. But things are… shifting."
She stepped closer, spear angled slightly downward. Her eyes locked onto Shiro's with sharp, unsettling clarity.
"Which brings us to you."
Shiro swallowed. "Me?"
"Someone like you shouldn't exist," she said plainly. "A hidden heir of the Kage Clan—awakening Shadow Gi? Lord Metsudo would rather burn the entire country down than let that bloodline rise again."
Her words were blunt, but not cruel. Honest. Too honest.
"So," Arashi continued, "my clan wants you alive. Not because they like you. Not because they care about your safety. But because you being alive pisses Metsudo off."
Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"And I personally find that hilarious."
Shiro almost choked. Renshiro sighed in exasperation.
"Shiro," Arashi said, pointing the spear at him again, "you're a symbol. A dangerous one. And symbols can topple tyrants."
He didn't feel like a symbol.
He felt like a scared boy with a dead village behind him and a target painted on his back.
Renshiro placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder. "We'll go around the mountains, then. Avoid the Meiji patrols."
Arashi shook her head immediately.
"You won't make it. Metsudo sent a sensory squad. They'll pick up any Gi signature within ten kilometers."
Renshiro cursed under his breath.
Arashi stabbed her spear into the ground, leaning on it casually.
"That's why I'm here. I can smuggle you through Shiroi territory."
Renshiro's eyes sharpened. "Why would we trust you?"
Arashi gave a bored sigh. "Because you don't have any other options."
The worst part was… she was right.
Shiro looked between Renshiro and Arashi.
"So what do you want from me?"
"Nothing," Arashi said. "For now."
She kicked a pouch toward him. Shiro caught it, surprised by the weight.
"What's this?"
Renshiro answered before she could. "A concealment charm."
"Yep," Arashi said. "Shiroi-made. Hides your Gi presence for miles. Costs enough to bankrupt a small clan. Consider it a 'we don't want you to die yet' gift."
Shiro stared at her. "Why help me? Really."
Arashi hesitated.
For the first time, she looked… serious.
"Because when I was little," she said quietly, "my grandfather told me stories of the Kage Clan. How they controlled shadows. How they faced the Meiji without fear. How their lord could vanish and reappear anywhere he pleased."
Her fingers tightened around the spear shaft.
"He told me they were gone forever. And I always thought that was a shame. The world needs monsters like Metsudo Meiji… and monsters who can stand against him."
Her eyes locked with Shiro's, steady and unwavering.
"So don't die."
Shiro felt something stir in his chest—a strange mixture of fear and responsibility.
Before he could speak, a distant boom echoed through the forest.
Renshiro's head snapped in the direction of the sound.
"That was Explosion Gi," he growled. "Meiji trackers."
Arashi cursed. "They're faster than I thought."
Shiro felt adrenaline surge through him.
"What do we do?" he asked.
Renshiro drew his short-blade. "We run."
Arashi rolled her eyes. "Not that way. This way."
She grabbed Shiro's wrist and pulled him into a sprint. Renshiro followed, silent as a shadow. The forest blurred around them as they darted between trees and leapt over roots.
Another explosion boomed behind them, closer this time.
"They found your trail!" Arashi shouted over her shoulder. "They're tracking your residual Gi!"
Shiro's breath came in quick bursts. "I-I don't even know how to control my Gi!"
Renshiro responded sharply, "Then learn now!"
"What?!"
Renshiro grabbed Shiro's arm mid-run.
"Listen! Shadow Gi responds to emotion and instinct, not technique! Whatever you felt when the System awakened—feel it again!"
Shiro's heart pounded wildly.
Fear.
Desperation.
Loss.
The burning of his village.
The image of Metsudo Meiji condemning him to death.
Darkness prickled at the edges of his vision.
Another explosion ripped through the forest, sending a shockwave that snapped trees like twigs.
Arashi hissed through her teeth. "They're close. Too close."
Renshiro didn't slow. "Shiro! Use it!"
The darkness surged inside him, coiling around his heart like living ink.
Something ancient whispered in his blood.
—Shadow Step available—
—Activate?—
Shiro inhaled sharply.
"Yes."
The world warped.
His body dissolved into a smear of black smoke.
The next moment, he reappeared twenty meters ahead, stumbling as he regained form.
Arashi skidded to a stop, staring wide-eyed. "Holy—! You actually used it?!"
Renshiro's shocked expression lasted half a heartbeat before shifting into a proud, relieved grin.
"That," he said, catching up, "was the clan's signature technique."
Shiro stared at his trembling hands. "I… I did it…"
Another explosion shook the ground.
Arashi grabbed her spear, expression tightening.
"We celebrate later! They're almost on top of us!"
Renshiro looked at Shiro. "Can you do it again?"
Shiro nodded. "I think so."
Arashi cracked her neck. "Good. Because you're about to need it."
She pointed ahead, where the forest thinned.
"Run straight. Shiroi territory is close. If you make it past the ridge, Meiji trackers won't dare cross."
Shiro took a breath.
Renshiro drew his blade.
Arashi raised her spear.
Behind them, the forest glowed with approaching explosions.
Shiro swallowed his fear and whispered:
"Shadow Step."
And he vanished into darkness.