"Whoa, this thing really is huge!" said Naruto, looking up the giant mound of fur towering over him.

A dull eye stared at him with disinterest from within the tangled jungle of matted grey fur, then blinked and turned to focus on the road in front again.

"Yeah," shouted the male trader from his seat at the front of his caravan, "It's a northern gigante- this one's called Mujarl. They're pretty rare outside of Freljord as they're hard to tame, so you can tell Mujarl here is my pride and joy."

He bent over and patted the beast's back, and it rumbled lowly in acknowledgement.

"Northern gigantes are pretty ideal for us traders- on the surface, at least. They can pull this huge-ass caravan for days on end, and if we ever get set on by bandits, it's quite the security when we want it to be. Gigantes fight amongst themselves all the time in the wild – they're born fighters. They can get up on their hind legs and they've got enormous claws under all that fur. Their hide is ridiculously tough too- hard to hack through it with a blade, and it's more magic resistant than an army of paladins to boot.

"They'd be higher in demand, but unfortunately their skin becomes brittle and shatters once there's no blood coursing through their veins. And as I said, they're hard to tame too. Wild as anything. Too difficult to breed and domesticate them. Mujarl is a real one-of-a-kind."

Naruto's gaze dropped to the ground, and saw that indeed, the gigantic beast was leaving scraped tracks that indicated the size of its enormous claws. He whistled lowly.

"Woooooow," said Pell, awestruck, his eyes slowly travelling up the side of the gigante that, to the pint-sized boy, might as well have been as large as a mountain.

His sister, on the other hand, was hiding in the folds of Naruto's cloak, holding onto the hem of the garment and peering out apprehensively.

"Hey now," said Naruto kindly, "It's not going to hurt you."

However, Nell just gripped harder to his cloak, much to his amusement.

"Say," yelled the trader, "Since we're going in the same direction, what do you say to having the kids ride up here with us? We've got room up here for the two little ones. It'll make the journey a lot faster, and me and the missus would love the company."

Naruto smiled up at him.

"That sounds like a good idea," he shouted back.

He turned to his charges.

"Waddaya say?" he asked, "Wanna ride up in the wagon? It could save your poor legs the walking."

Pell nodded excitedly, while Nell was a little more reserved in her acceptance. She wasn't too keen on getting too close to the scary looking creature pulling the caravan, but her legs tired out quicker than her brother's, and she didn't want to slow down the group by asking for a break.

"That's the spirit," called the trader encouragingly, "Trust me, the view up here is amazing! I'll go get the ladder."

"There's no need for that," said Naruto quickly.

He scooped up a twin in each arm and swiftly ran up the side of the caravan, his soles sticking to the vertical slope with chakra. In just moments, he reached the seating area at the front, startling the trader's wife with his abrupt arrival, almost causing her to drop the mechanical gadget she was fiddling with.

"What's that?" Naruto asked curiously as he carefully placed each child down on the ledge.

"Oh this?" said the female trader after regaining her composure, "It's just a communicator. Haven't you seen one before?"

Naruto shook his head mutely.

"Well, I guess mages have their own way of communicating, with spells and such," said the woman, "But us normal folk have to make do with our little trinkets. It's not as convenient though- these communicators are rather short-ranged."

"That was a mighty fine trick you pulled there," chipped in her husband, "I've never seen someone run up the side of walls like that. Can't imagine it's very useful in a fight though."

"Yeah, more so in running away," joked Naruto as he turned to run down again.

They all shared a laugh, before Naruto ruffled Pell's hair, winked at Nell, then started his descent.

The fading light of sunset shone through the boughs of the trees as the small party wound their way through the rapidly darkening woods. Sporadic snapping and cracking sounded as twilight set in, the enormous caravan pushing past the low hanging branches, only barely small enough to fit on the wide path cutting through the forest.

"Can't we stop here for the night?" asked Naruto, "It's getting dark."

"Just a little bit further," said the male trader, leaning over and speaking softly as to not wake the twins nodding off on the caravan seat, "There's a nice little clearing that we'll be coming up to very soon that's just perfect for setting up camp. Trust me, we've travelled this route many times before."

"Alright," said Naruto, shrugging as he folded his arms behind his head, "I don't mind. The weather's not bad for an evening stroll."

"No it's not," came a rough voice from his right, "But it's also just right for a robbery. Put 'em up."

Naruto let one eye lazily slide over to look at the speaker.

"Put what up?"

"Yer hands, blondie, put yer hands up. We got a mage 'ere, so no funny business, ya hear?"

The harsh illumination of a fireball burst into life, throwing light onto the path.

"Ho there, Mujarl," said the male trader nervously, gripping the reins and bringing the huge beast to a halt.

Numerous flames flickered as torches were lit, revealing that the small group was now far from alone. Like a predatory pack of wolves, there were dark figures emerging from the woods from all directions, completely encircling the caravan. Torchlight reflected off drawn steel as knives, swords and cudgels were brandished.

"Bandits…" muttered the trader.

"Das right," came the voice of the speaker again, "We bandits. And we 'ere to do what bandits do. Whatcha got in the 'van, man?"

"W-wild beasts. My wife and I are beast traders," stammered the trader.

"Feh," the bandit leader spat onto the ground, "Useless. But ya gotta have gold, dontcha?"

"You can have it all… just let us go," said the trader quickly.

There was a pause before raucous laughter rippled through the bandit group. Naruto took the moment of mirth to sneak a glance up at Nell and Pell. The two were wide awake now, Nell hugging onto her brother for comfort which he tried his best to provide while simultaneously trying to hide his fear. He caught Naruto's eye, who nodded solemnly, proud of the young boy's attempt to stay strong for the sake of his sister. Pell, seeing this, stiffened his features and straightened his back, reassured by his older companion's unworried countenance.

"It don't work like that, see, man," sneered the bandit leader after the laughter had petered out, "We do the negotiatin' here, man, not you. Ya just sit there and be quiet, see? Although there's no point to that either, really, 'cause we gonna slaughter the lot o' ya anyway. Can't leave loose ends, see?"

The trader's wife gasped at this, and the bandit leader's eyes snapped to her instantly.

"Yes, lady, you too. You and yer brats too. I'm not the sentimental type, see, so ladies and brats get no free pass from me. I'm no gentleman, no sir, ha!"

Naruto looked up at his companions, wondering what he ought to do. He could fight them all, sure, and he was almost certain he'd win handily, but it just didn't seem like the right time for it. The bandits seemed to be stalling it out, for some reason.

"That's an awfully tall caravan you got there though, man," called the bandit mockingly, "I don't suppose ya'd drop the ladder now would ya, all nice like? Would make us killin' ya all easy, see."

"Why would we help you monsters if you're just going to kill us?" called the female trader tearfully, wrapping her arms around the twins in a protective embrace.

"Oh, ya ungrateful pig. Was gonna say if ya did that I'd at least off ya quickly, but instead we gonna have ta shoot ya down like a pigeon. Archers!"

A ragged line of bandits emerged from the darkness of the woods each holding a yew longbow and a makeshift quiver of scrappy arrows.

Now a little worried, Naruto's gaze snapped upwards. He might be able to beat all of the bandits, but what he couldn't do was heal, or resurrect. If one of his companions got hit with an arrow, that was the end. His hands snapped up, a ball of light surrounding it instantly.

The male trader, in a similarly panicked state, met Naruto's eyes. He saw the defiance there and the glowing light around his hands and immediately saw a way out of their situation.

"Can you hold them off?" he yelled desperately, "I can save your kids!"

Naruto nodded instantly and the trader immediately turned and grabbed his wife, pulling her and the twins into the safety of the caravan.

"GO WILD MUJARL!" was bellowed out just before the door slammed shut.

At the command, the gigantic beast gave out an earth-shattering roar and reared up on its hind legs, raising its claws to the sky before slamming them into the ground. It screamed again before tearing off down the path, moving at a surprisingly rapid pace given the size of both it and its cargo.

The bandits blocking the path wisely dove aside to avoid being trampled as the gigante galloped away. A few arrows were sent flying in the direction of the wagon, but they harmlessly bounced off either the steel walls or the gigante's tough hide.

Naruto stared out as his companions moved away into the distance. He let out a sigh of relief. At least the kids were safe. He allowed his hands to drop, the chakra fizzling out.

"Oi, looks like ya 'friends' ditched ya," said the bandit leader in an ugly voice, "Not much we can do 'gainst that beast though, see. You, on the other hand, 'ave been thrown to the wolves. I doubt ya've much gold on ya though, but at least ya cloak looks fancy enough. Probably'll fetch a pretty penny at the markets."

"Yes, that's right," said Naruto mildly, "Don't suppose you'll just let me go, though?"

Dark chuckles were his only reply as the bandits closed in on him, sadistic smiles adorning their faces.

"I'm warning you…" said Naruto, more firmly, "If you try and kill me I'll return the favour. I'm giving you one chance to back off. One chance to save your miserable lives."

"Just die, blondie!" screeched a voice behind him.

Naruto spun around in an instant, dodged the incoming axe strike that had been aimed at the back of his skull, and thrust out with his palm, completely blowing off the head of his assailant with a concentrated blast of wind.

There was a sort of stunned silence as all of his attackers collectively paused to try and process what had just happened, but Naruto wasn't so nice as to allow them this reprieve. He gestured, and a spear of rock burst from the ground, impaling another bandit and lifting the corpse bodily off the ground. A wave to the side, and a second earth spire split from the first, ending another life in a similar fashion.

At this point the bandits started to gather their wits, and the idea that their prey wasn't nearly as defenceless as they assumed was now starting to register in their minds with desperate urgency.

"He's just one man!" one yelled, "Everyone get him!"

Affirmative yells filled the air, only to be replaced by bloodcurdling screams as the air around Naruto burst into brilliant flame, scorching everyone around him.

"That damn Moffat… this isn't what he told us at all! This guy's a goddamn battle-mage!"

Naruto's sharp ears picked up this growled comment from across the battlefield and he turned to the source, his interest piqued. Moffat was the trader's name… why would these bandits know that name?

Someone tried to take advantage of his seemingly distracted state by stabbing him with a dagger, but to the poor bandit's surprise, the dagger suddenly stopped in mid-air, blocked by an invisible wall of wind. Naruto gave a contemptuous wave of his hand, and his attacker's head slid off the attached neck, sliced off by a cut cleaner than could be made by any blade.

With a serious expression on his face, Naruto gathered chakra into his feet and leaped into the air, the propulsion sending him high and a chakra-born wind keeping him aloft. He cleared the space in a single bound and landed among a small group of bandits that had been hanging back, their rough looking leader and the one who had dropped the name Moffat among their ranks.

The bandits looked up in shock as he slammed into the ground, the earth rippling up and softening his landing almost like a cushion. Two of them made to strike him down, but he barely gave a glance in their direction as he waved his hand and the air itself crushed their ribs like wet paper.

This little display was nothing to Naruto… but it was very significant to the bandit leader, who at this casual display of incredible power, understood in that very instant that none of them stood a chance against the enemy they had chosen to tangle with.

"Retreat boys!" he yelled, "Moffat and Daria 'ave secured the prize, so git outta here! Regroup at HQ! Run fer ya lives!"

However, those were all the orders he managed to get out before Naruto sent a blast of wind chakra to crush his throat. He collapsed, a wet gurgling sounding as he tried desperately to take in air, and failing miserably. His fingers scrabbled at his throat fruitlessly, coming away bloody.

Naruto frowned, and threw a kunai straight through his eye, instantly stilling the leader's struggles. This one, particularly, he wanted to make sure was dead.

But this act had taken time, time that the remaining bandits had used to scatter and run away. The ones that had been further away had already disappeared into the woods, but the ones that had been in the group with the leader were luckily still in sight. Naruto recognised the one he had mentally marked down as the one who he had overheard say the trader's name among the fleeing bandits, and he narrowed his eyes.

Clenching his fist in an emphatic motion, he pulled the wind chakra around the specific man towards himself, watching in satisfaction as the man's speed dropped to zero almost immediately. It was almost comical how the man's legs were pumping with as much power as they could produce, yet he could move not an inch.

However, Naruto was not exactly in a jovial mood, and he did not take the time to enjoy the sight, instead quickly retracting his hand, increasing the force of the wind and making the man actually move backwards, towards him.

"W-What the hell is this?!" he heard the man scream in frustration and fear.

"Come here," Naruto said forcefully, and amped up the power once more.

This time the man was lifted forcefully off his feet and sent flying backwards to slam down at Naruto's feet in a crumpled heap, letting out a pained moan as he landed. Naruto didn't give him much time to recover, though, and uncaringly kicked him until he was forced to roll over onto his back.

"Hey, you," said the blond, "I've got some questions for you to an-"

However, he didn't get to finish the sentence as a blistering fireball interrupted him when it crashed into his head, exploding into a raging inferno upon impact.

The bandit on the ground could barely believe his eyes as the monster that his troupe had engaged was suddenly engulfed in flame.

"Huh?" he said stupidly, looking around.

"Run, Diarro!" came a scream, "Get out of the way!"

The bandit looked up at the sound of his name, and saw Poe, the group's only mage, preparing another fireball, this one much larger than the last.

Diarro forced himself to his feet and took off towards the woods again. Judging by the size of the explosion of the first fireball, he did not want to be caught in the blast radius of the second one.

He ran to the relative safety of the trees before he deemed it safe enough to look back, just in time to see Poe launch not one, but two gigantic fireballs at the dark figure somehow still visible within the flames.

"Take that you bastard!" yelled the mage, panting with exhaustion.

"Please."

Diarro swallowed inadvertently as he heard the unimpressed tone, a chill running down his spine as he watched the veritable firestorm blazing in the clearing suddenly billow out like a sheet. The wild flames somehow created an orderly dome around the tall figure standing in the middle, the flying sparks creating an air of majesty around him as they flickered through the air like so many fireflies, filling the air yet never touching the man standing amongst them. Diarro saw the unharmed state of every lock of golden hair, the completely unruffled clothes, and the disinterested expression in the cold blue eyes, and felt the icy hand of despair grip his heart.

Grabbing a tree trunk to steady himself, he watched in near disbelief as the man commanded the flames with one hand, like a conductor commands his orchestra. They twisted and flowed around gracefully in accordance with his hand motions, following his every motion like an obedient puppy, even as they moved back towards their creator and immolated him in an enormous pillar of fire as he sat there, too stunned to even move.

Diarro saw this and even as a small nagging voice told him it was hopeless to try and defy something that powerful, felt his survival instinct kicking in. So with tottering steps, he started running again.

He had not been running for more than two minutes when he heard the communicator at his hip buzz into angry life.

"Diarro? Come in, Diarro, are you guys done yet? Why haven't you contacted us?" came the static-distorted voice of the female trader.

"Daria, you bitch," spat Diarro, ripping the device from his belt and screaming into it.

"W-what?" came the confused reply.

"That guy didn't know 'minor magic tricks', he was a full-blown BATTLEMAGE! I've never seen anyone use magic like that in my entire life! He's already taken out at least a dozen men, with less effort than someone making breakfast! He's even killed Poe!"

"What? Impossible!"

"Impossible my ass- you've gotten our guys killed, you stupid cow. You said you scoped him out already, and 'he's harmless' you said, 'and naïve to boot'."

"He was!"

"Yeah, and the goddess Arminya shines out of my asshole. You fucking stupid sow, how could you fuck up SO HARD? Why did you have to go for these extra few kids, you greedy goat? We already have so many fucking kids from Piltover- we don't need any more brats!"

"H- how dare you! These ones are really high quality! They'll fetch a great amount at the slave market, I guarantee it!"

"Enough to justify the deaths of a dozen good men?" said Diarro cuttingly.

There was a short silence as Daria struggled for words.

"Well, whatever," said Diarro, calming himself the slightest amount, "Boss told the survivors to meet at HQ… before that blond monster got to him."

"What?!" came the shriek from the communicator, "Is he okay?"

"No, you stupid bat, that battlemage is way too strong. Nobody stood a chance. The boss went down like a sack of shit."

"That can't be…"

"I'm telling you, that guy's a fucking monster. He's not bloody huma…"

Diarro's sentence trailed off as he realised he was no longer talking into the communicator. He had been holding it up in front of his face, but it wasn't there anymore. For one ridiculous moment he thought there was something wrong with his vision, but he quickly realised that he could see just fine. But where was the communicator? He couldn't have dropped it, surely?

He cast around stupidly, before spotting it on the ground at his feet, still in his hand.

Wait a moment…

Diarro's eyes widened as his mind sluggishly tried to register the sight of his own hand on the ground before the pain suddenly hit him like a runaway horse.

He caught sight of his forearm, sheared off at an angle in a perfectly straight line even as he collapsed as to his knees, clutching his stump to his chest and screaming in agony.

"Diarro? Diarro! What's happening!" came Daria's frantic voice from the dropped communicator.

But Diarro either couldn't hear her or had other things on his mind, as he didn't even spare the slightest drop of attention to the buzzing communicator.

Tears dripped from his eyes as the pain rocked his entire body, filling his mind with a brilliant nova of light and noise.

"Found you," came a voice from behind him.

Through the tears, Diarro managed to turn around to see a hem of a black cloak. Already knowing what he would see, but still acting out of a sense of morbid curiously, his gaze moved upwards, travelling up the tall torso to alight upon blond hair and a pair of blue eyes that were as empty and cold as the Void itself.

Moffat leaned against the small table in the caravan, sipping from his mug of varm, while his partner Daria fiddled with the communicator, messing with the settings. He sighed, drained his cup, and threw it into the small basin in the corner.

"Mister! Mister, why are you doing this?" came a small voice, "Let us out!"

Moffat's eyes snapped over to a tiny cage where the voice had come from. Inside the steel enclosure which was only really big enough to fit a large dog, Pell and Nell were being held, curled into uncomfortable balls in order to fit. The trader glared at Pell, the one who had spoken, and stood up with a clatter.

Pell upon meeting the malicious, hateful eyes of Moffat, so different from the pleasant man he had met the day before, recoiled in fear and surprise.

"Listen here, you brat," Moffat said, reaching the twins' cage and kneeling down to be at eye level with them, "The next time you make a sound, I'm going to cut out your tongue."

Nell couldn't help but gasp at such a horrible threat, especially as it was delivered with such a cruel, casual tone.

"That goes for you too, girl. Not a peep, you hear me?"

"Why are you doing this?" squeaked Nell.

Moffat looked down and slowly unsheathed his dagger, the wicked edge gleaming from the light installed in the ceiling.

"Something wrong with your ears, girl? Perhaps I should cut those off too."

Nell started to cry, something that seemed to please Moffat, if the cruel smirk that covered his face was anything to go by.

"Hey now," he said with a mockingly cheerful tone, "Don't cry … that counts as making a sound, too."

"Moffat, stop messing with them and come back here! Something's happening with Diarro!" came Daria's voice, high pitched with worry.

"You're lucky Daria likes the look of you two," Moffat spat, resheathing his blade and turning to walk towards the table, where the communicator was squawking something he couldn't quite make out.

He quickly allowed his gaze to span the caravan's walls, his eyes roaming across the three sides of fabric-covered surfaces before coming to a satisfied stop at a small cloth sitting on the back of a chair.

"Here we are," he said happily, picking it up.

He matched one end to the corner of the twins' cage and began to pull it across, blocking the front of the cage and rendering it identical to all the other sheets that covered the insides of the caravan like a bad wallpaper job. He noticed with glee that Nell had put her fist into her mouth to stop herself from making a sound, even as she still shook with silent sobs and tears fell from her eyes in an unceasing river. Her brother was glaring at him, but could not hide the fear that emanated from his eyes like a torch beam.

"Remember… don't make a sound, kids."

Moffat finished covering up the cage, and turned to stride back over to Daria who was hunched over the table, staring at the communicator with shocked eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Just listen," she said, not taking her eyes off the communicator.

Moffat leaned in, a look on his confusion on his face. The communicator was making strange, high-pitched noises- a loud, almost shrill keening that was intermittently interrupted by a muffled muttering.

"I don't get it… what's happeni- is that Diarro?" Moffat asked, faintly recognising the muttering as the voice of their liaison within the bandit group.

Daria's pale expression turned to him and at her look of horror, Moffat suddenly realised that the strange noises from the communicator was not an error with the acoustics or electronic feedback, but it was actually faint screaming.

"What the hell's going on?" he demanded, immediately closing in and twisting the volume knob of the communicator to full blast.

The voices they could hear seemed to be quite far away from the communicator itself, so even at full blast, the sound was rather quiet. However, it was now at least quite clear to the two traders what was being said.

"Who are those two traders… Moffat and Daria?" came the cold voice of Naruto through the communicator.

"Th-they're the masterminds b-behind our operation… they w-work with us," whimpered Diarro, the fear and pain in his voice unmistakable, even through the staticky distortion of the device.

"That coward ratted us out!" growled Moffat angrily, but a hand on his arm from Daria caused him to look at her.

The haunted look in her eyes and a grim shake of her head calmed him long enough to realise that Diarro being a simple traitor wasn't the whole story.

"And what operation would that be?" asked Naruto, not a trace of amusement or curiosity in his voice.

There was silence broken only by Diarro's pants, before there was a horrible squelching sound and Diarro began to scream again, a terrible pain-wracked screech that pierced through the tense quiet in the caravan. Moffat stared at Daria, his mouth falling open. He didn't know what had just happened back on his comrade's side, but that sound was not pleasant. It was clearly the sound of flesh being ripped apart, and the sheer pain that would entail was not something he would like to dwell on. Daria met his gaze, tears gathering at her eyes as she bit her lip.

"Well?" asked Naruto, his voice cold and cutting, clear and recognisable even over Diarro's screaming, "If I ask you a question, answer me. You still have three fingernails, my one-armed friend, and I won't hesitate to pull those out too if you don't give me what I want."

Diarro just continued screaming… until the pair listening heard Naruto sigh audibly, followed by a fresh round of screams that seemed even louder… if that was even possible.

"Two left…" said Naruto, "You're running out of fingers, my friend… perhaps I should move onto toes next."

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" sobbed Diarro, agony clear in every syllable, "D-Don't hurt me anymore!"

"Well?"

"We kidnap kids and sell them to slave traders! We were just at Piltover and picked up a whole lot of them! Moffat and Daria usually scope out a section of the city- orphanages, schools, even easy-looking households… and then the rest of us take the goods and- AAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh my, so sorry," said Naruto, his voice displaying no evidence to suggest such a sentiment, "My hand slipped… anyways, why target us?"

"… no more… please…"

"So you're not going to answer my questions?"

"NOnononono! I am, I am! Daria saw your kids! Thought they would make us a lot of money, so they decided to get us to kill you so they could make off with your kids! She thought it would be easy to get you to sacrifice your life for them!"

"Oh, I see. Well, thanks for your help, but I'm afraid you've now outlived your usefulness. Goodbye, my bandit friend."

"W-wait! Spare me, please! I can tell you where your kids are! I can tell you where Moffat and Daria are! Please!"

There was not a trace of mercy as Naruto said with a tone of finality, "I have my own ways of finding what I want, don't worry."

There was a strangled sob from Diarro but Naruto continued without paying him much heed.

"I'll at least give you a painless death for your help… well, relatively painless. You are a disgusting piece of shit who kidnaps children, though… so you kinda deserve it. But hey, wanna know something cool? Apparently being burned alive isn't as painful as you might think. Apparently your nerves are one of the first things to go and you don't feel much pain… after the first few minutes of mind-numbing agony, anyway. Or that's what they say, at least… let's find out now, shall we?"

The screaming that begun at that point was so horrendous, so soul-wrenchingly wretched, that Moffat and Daria could almost convince themselves that they couldn't hear the telltale whoosh of fire… the bubbling of fat being cooked, the crackling of and crisping of skin, the hissing of burning flesh. They could almost convince themselves that it was just their imagination, that their minds were morbidly filling in the gaps between the screams, just jumping to the worst conclusion. Almost.

They listened for what seemed like eternity, until the screaming turned hoarse, and then petered out entirely, leaving only the merry sounds of fire, amplified by the buzzing static of the communicator. It had realistically only been several minutes, but to the couple sitting inside the caravan in shock, it may as well have been hours.

Finally, Daria was the first one to snap out of it.

"What do we do now?" she asked quietly

Moffat looked back at her, his eyes wide with desperate fear.

"I don't know…" he said slowly, an icy river of despair starting to creep through his veins.

Naruto paused as he reached a small clearing. Spinning around suddenly, his sharp eyes sought out the dark corners, looking for anybody that could possibly be hiding in the shadows. Seeing nothing but the darkness, he nonetheless stood still, his countenance stony.

Slowly, gently, he lifted up his hood, until his face was again hidden from sight, transforming him from a frightening young man into a terrifying spectre of the night. He stood for a moment, a dark pillar amongst the trees, before countless shadows burst from his form, splitting up and rapidly traversing the woods, each hunting a quarry only they could track.

The original continued to stand there for a second. He, along with his Shadow Clones, were now sporting the distinctive eye markings of Sage Mode- not that anyone could see it, with both the darkness and the special vision-obscuring properties of his hood in play. The natural energy amplified Naruto's considerable sensor abilities a hundredfold, and it was this ability the clones were using to locate the prey they were seeking.

"No one escapes alive," growled the original Naruto, not a single shred of mercy to be found in his voice.

He had his own targets to catch… a pair travelling in an enormous metal box, pulled by an equally gargantuan beast. Even without Sage Mode boosting his senses, he was sure he'd be able to find who he wanted without much trouble.

He gave one more look back at the woods behind him, before darting off in a shadowy streak.

Strange…

Sage Mode allowed him to sense things far beyond his normal capabilities… and it had been telling him there had been something in the space between two of the trees behind him. He had felt the thing following him for a while now, but only with the power of Sage Mode had he had his suspicions confirmed.

However, whatever it was, he couldn't see it at all, even with the aid of chakra, but it didn't seem to mean him any harm either. It seemed content with just watching and following.

Naruto knew for certain that it was not a part of the bandit group though, so he put the mysterious presence out of his mind. He would deal with it later, perhaps.

From the shadows of the woods, two figures watched the Naruto shoot away in pursuit. One was low to the ground, while the other stood upright. However, both of them looked distinctly inhuman. The shape of their bodies, the way they held themselves, there was an animalistic quality to them that couldn't be denied.

"Why must we follow this man, dear Wolf?" asked a sweet female voice- the upright figure.

"He smells like fun, so fun! Beautiful prey follows him everywhere!" came the deep growling response from the other.

The woman sniffed disdainfully.

"I don't like it. There's no one for me to hunt. Everywhere he goes smells like violent death."

"I like him!"

"You would."

"Come on! It's a feast, Lamb, a feast!"

"I suppose it is, dear Wolf… for you," a pause, "Alright, let's go. We've a long night ahead of us."