Bully Lord In the Chunin Exam (NarutoVerse)

Reika looked at Kuro, still processing her words. "You've been holding out on us. You've had this power all along, and you never said anything?"

Kuro smirked faintly but didn't offer an explanation. Instead, he simply turned around and looked at those Blackthorn vines "I didn't need to show you until now."

Xero's voice rang out, still full of suspicion. "You expect us to just believe this? That simple sword of yours is really capable of doing what you just did?"

Kuro paused, his back to them, before answering in a tone that carried no further explanation: "It's not the sword itself. It's the connection I have with the earth. The sword is just a tool."

As they stood there, the silence thick with the weight of Kuro's words, the ground beneath them seemed to hum once again, a reminder that they were standing on ancient, living soil. The power Kuro had summoned was just a glimpse of something far older, something far more dangerous than they had ever imagined. The threat of the wolves had been vanquished, but Kuro's words echoed ominously in their minds—there were far greater powers at work, and they had only begun to scratch the surface of what lay hidden beneath the earth's surface.

Reika and Xero exchanged glances, both uncertain whether to trust Kuro's explanation, but one thing was clear: whatever Kuro had just unleashed was far more than they had ever anticipated.

And as Kuro led them forward, the shadows of the trees and the earth's pulse seemed to follow them, always lurking just out of sight.

The sound of hurried footsteps broke the stillness. A group of shinobi emerged from the shadows, their footsteps light but swift. The air shifted, the quiet broken by the arrival of an all-too-familiar presence. At the forefront of the group were two figures Kuro knew all too well.

Kakashi Hatake, the enigmatic copy-ninja, stepped into the clearing first. His ever-present mask obscured much of his expression, but his single visible eye flicked back and forth, scanning the scene with practiced precision. Behind him, Might Guy, the exuberant and perpetually cheerful shinobi, walked with his usual boundless energy, his eyebrows furrowed in a mix of confusion and fascination. The two of them were an odd pair—one calm and measured, the other brimming with energy and enthusiasm. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Kakashi's eye settled on the devastation around them. He raised an eyebrow, his tone calm but with a touch of curiosity. "Looks like we missed the action," he remarked, his voice carrying that same nonchalant air it always did, even in the face of danger.

Might Guy, on the other hand, was anything but nonchalant. His voice rang out as he swept his gaze across the area, his eyes wide with excitement and awe. "What manner of devilish tree magic is this?" he exclaimed, his hands gesturing wildly toward the twisted remnants of the blackthorn trees that had sprouted from the earth moments before. "Are these the handiwork of our enemies, or..." He paused, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward Kuro. "...perhaps the work of one among us?"

Kuro tensed, his grip tightening slightly around the wooden sword. He didn't respond, his gaze unwavering as he kept his eyes on the two shinobi. He knew they wouldn't just let it slide, not with their sharp senses and experience. Kakashi, ever the observant one, was already piecing things together.

Kakashi stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Kuro. "The sword," he said, his voice carrying a certain calmness, as though he were stating a fact rather than asking a question. "You used it to summon those trees, didn't you?"

Kuro met his gaze, his face betraying little emotion. "What were we just dealing with?" Kakashi asked, his tone measured but still searching for an answer.

Kuro shrugged slightly, maintaining his nonchalant demeanor. "Three-headed wolves. Children of Cerberus," he said simply, as if it were the most casual thing in the world.

Reika and Xero exchanged uneasy glances. The mention of "Children of Cerberus" stirred something in them, but neither knew quite how to respond. They had seen terrifying creatures before, but nothing quite like this. There was something about those wolves that felt wrong—like they didn't belong in the world they knew.

Might Guy, ever the enthusiast, stepped forward, his arms folded in a manner that was more comical than intimidating. "Children of Cerberus?" he repeated, his voice a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "I've never heard of such creatures. Are they summoned beasts? Perhaps the Inuzuka Clan might know something about them."

Kuro shook his head slightly, his expression neutral. "Maybe. But they didn't seem like any summoning jutsu I've seen." His tone was deliberate, choosing his words carefully, as if he were hiding something—something more than he was willing to share. He wasn't about to tell them the full truth, not yet.

Kakashi, ever the master of reading people, narrowed his eye as he studied Kuro, as though sensing there was more to the story than what was being said. "And what about those trees?" he pressed, his voice steady and unyielding.

Kuro hesitated for a moment, his grip on the wooden sword tightening. The questions were starting to pile up, and he knew that soon he wouldn't be able to keep up the act. But he wasn't ready to reveal everything yet. Not when the stakes were so high.

"They're just... a tool or more likely cyborg," Kuro said vaguely, lifting the wooden sword in front of him. "It reacts to chakra. That's all."

Kakashi's sharp eye didn't miss the hesitation in Kuro's voice, nor did he seem convinced by the explanation. But he didn't press further, instead turning his attention to the remnants of the wolves. He crouched down, brushing away some of the dust that had settled around the broken bodies of the creatures. His fingers traced over the ground, and he quickly uncovered something that made his brow furrow. A small metallic fragment glinted in the light, embedded in the earth.

Kuro felt a stir in his stomach as he looked at the fragment. Even in death, the wolves' remains hadn't completely disappeared. There was still something unnatural about them, something that didn't sit right. These are on a completely different level from anything he had seen on Earth.