A month later....

Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai and Anko were standing outside the same spot where Kakashi had been just a month ago, the edge of the forest.

Medical Corps ninjas carried out stretcher after stretcher with sheets covering the unfortunate bodies that were dismembered.

After watching the third stretcher go by, Gai broke the silence. "This has been the fifth attack this month!" Placing his hands on his hips.

"This is getting out of hand." Kurenai stated, crossing her arms, watching the forth stretcher go by.

"Way out of hand." Asuma muttered, hands in his pockets and cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"We must do something." Kurenai stated as she broke her gaze from the parade of the dead to her fellow comrades standing beside her.

Anko crossed her arms and had a pout like look on her face. She was thinking. "Kakashi..." She questioned.

Kakashi glanced in her direction.

"You know these woods..." Anko looked to her left, right at Kakashi. "Am I right?"

Kakashi nodded shallowly.

"You know the woods better than anyone-" Anko stopped her sentence, correcting herself. "Well... um... I mean... well... since... her..." Anko didn't know how to say it. She rubbed the back of her neck, somewhat embarrassed.

Kakashi sighed, dropping his head. "Yeah, I know." He looked at the ground, finding it interesting.

The others looked at him, slightly confused.

Just then, the fifth stretcher came out. One of the medical ninja was somewhat clumsy and tilted the stretcher too much to his right.

Just then, a disembodied head came rolling out from under the white sheet and at Anko's and Kurenai's feet.

Both girls jumped back, shuddering and yelping, and hid behind Asuma. They peeked out from behind each of his shoulders.

The face had a surprised and horrid look on its face; blood streaming from the corner of its mouth.

"Oop, sorry." The medical ninja stated and picked the head and threw it under the cloth again.

When he did that, the arm fell out and dangled there.

The medical ninjas just kept walking.

The girls shuddered groaning in disgust.

"I'll keep an eye on things." Kakashi stated watching the end of the train walk further and further away. "So 'that' doesn't happen again." He was referring to the rolling head and arm.

That Night

"Aw, man!" Naruto whined. He stretched his arms and placed them behind his head. "Why do we have to be out here?! Why not the others?!"

"Naruto!" Sakura tried to explain to him, the millionth time.

Looking from the fire in the middle of the campsite, to Naruto sitting to her left. "Kakashi sensei already explained to you why we're out here in the first place."

Naruto glanced at her, giving her a questioning look. "He did?"

"You're so oblivious..." Sasuke stated, blowing air.

He sat with his right knee toward the sky and his right arm laying loosely on top of it, his left leg lay on the ground with his left hand supporting him.

"Kakashi sensei knows these woods like the back of his hand." Sakura stated, trying to get through to Naruto.

"Well..." Naruto stated sarcastically. He dropped his hands down to his sides and put them on the ground to help support his rage. "If Kakashi sensei knew these woods like the back of his hand, then he would have been here an hour ago!!" Naruto complained, spit flying out of his mouth.

"Boo!" Kakashi poked his head out from behind a nearby bush, behind the genin.

"AH!!" Naruto and Sakura screamed. They jumped up, scared stiff.

Sasuke, on the other hand, jumped up into a fighting stance with a kunai drawn and ready. He glared at Kakashi as he stood up from the bush and broke out into a fit of laughter.

Naruto had this expression on his face of shear horror and surprise.

He fainted, falling on to his back, his feet straight up in the air. He quickly scrambled to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. "DON'T DO THAT!! AND WHERE WERE YOU!?!" Naruto yelled at him with fire burning in his eyes.

"Sorry..." Kakashi stated calmly after composing himself from his laughter. He scratched the back of his head, "Got lost." He stated simply.

They all fell over, feet up in the air.

"How could you get lost?" Sakura asked, sitting up.

"I haven't been through here in a while." Kakashi responded. "Everything's changed." He sighed, looking around at the trees. He then looked up to the star lit sky.

Suddenly, something growled.

Naruto looked down at his stomach, so did everyone around him.

They all had sweat drops on their heads.

"Heh, heh." Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm hungry." He stated simply.

Kakashi shook his head, "There's food in the packs." Kakashi pointed his thumb to the bags slightly behind him.

"YEAH!" Naruto shouted and ran over to the packs and dove in, literally.

Kakashi placed his hands back in his pockets. He walked away to the other side of the camp, where he found a suitable spot and sat down at the base of a tree.

Naruto was throwing things here and there.

Kakashi pulled out his book and began to read it.

Days went by... Nothing happened. Maybe it was just a flook.

The next week they were out there... Nothing...

Until, that last night...

Everyone was up.

Kakashi was lying on his right side, reading his book.

Naruto was sitting cross-legged, arms draped loosely on his lap, staring at the dancing flames.

Sakura was lounging back, staring at the stars and black sky of the night.

Sasuke was sitting cross-legged, with his elbow on his knees, hands folded in front of his mouth and his eyes shut. He wasn't sleeping though, just resting his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a bush; it seemed to come alive! It was rustling wildly.

Everyone looked at it.

To the genins' left and Kakashi's right.

The rustling stopped.

A squirrel came scampering out of it. It was brown and bushy. It's big black eyes captivating. It stared at them, then scurried off into a different direction.

The eyes of the genin and jonin followed it until it disappeared.

"Hmmm..." Kakashi was thinking. "Odd."

Then, a deer leapt out from the same bush, startling everyone in camp. The deer startled at the fire and bounded around it a couple times then leapt over a bush and ran away.

Naruto was knocked over on his back.

Sakura ran and hid behind a tree.

Sasuke jumped up in to a fighting stance.

Kakashi just sat there. He sat there watching the way the deer had exited. "Hmm..."

Everyone started to calm down a bit.

Breathing evened out, muscles relaxed, racing hearts slowed down to their normal rate.

"Odd..." Kakashi muttered after every one was relaxed.

"Something must have startled it." Sakura stated, her hand over her heart, calming it.

"But what?" Kakashi muttered. He scanned the campsite with his one eye, seeing if anything was out of the ordinary, listening and smelling for anything that was odd.

His ear caught something, it was faint, and getting closer.

Kakashi closed his eyes and zoned in on the thing.

'Okay... four legs...' He thought in his head. 'Quiet thing... Must have pads... And... Coming in at a fast pace... and closing in fast.' Kakashi opened his eyes, bolting to his feet.

Several seconds later, as he predicted, the creature leapt out from behind the bush where the deer leapt out from behind.

It froze, then emitted a low rumbling sound.

The genin stood frozen, eyes wide, staring at the beast.

It's figure was illuminated by the fire's light. It stood on four legs, as Kakashi had predicted, it stood a little over one meter high, it's grey fur bristling at the sight before it. Its sharp, white teeth shining with the light, and its pink tongue rolled back as not to bite it when its massive teeth and jaws tore at the object of its choice.

"Wah-... What is that thing?" Naruto stuttered in surprise.

The genin all stared at the magnificent beast, in shock and awe.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura." Kakashi called out their names. "Get up the tree." He stated reaching to his kunai pouch and pulling out a kunai, holding it up and readying for a fight with the beast.

"Sensei! What's going on!?!" Sakura shouted, after she shook off her shock.

"NOW!" Kakashi Shouted at them, glaring quickly at them then back at the beast.

The genin all nodded and scrambled up the nearest tree to them, so they were in three separate trees.

"This is gonna be messy." Kakashi muttered to him and the wolf like beast.

"Why do we need to be up here?" Naruto called out from his branch, hugging the tree.

"Because," Kakashi began, pausing for dramatic effect. "If there's one of these things... Then there has to be more."

The wolf began to pace back and forth, pacing the same track back and forth, its brownish yellow eyes glaring at Kakashi. It would growl viciously and sometimes snap its jaws in the direction of Kakashi.

Kakashi just stood there, watching for any signs of attack or retreat. But, all it seemed to be doing was pacing, trying to make up its mind weather to attack or retreat.

It finally decided...

It leapt for Kakashi, starting the fight...