"Ease up, boy. What you just did is nothing short of miraculous," the pack leader said in his deep voice. "Back in the old days, when we were free, going up against someone like me would've either made you the strongest warrior in the village—or its leader, if they had any sense. And here you are, all gloomy."
Kaida chuckled, brushing some dirt off his shoulder. "Hah... yeah, considering I was just about to become the leader of the pack, it's kind of a nice feeling."
"You weren't even close," the wolf said, smirking. "I haven't used any of my lethal moves. That was me playing with a child."
Kaida raised a brow. "How the hell were that claw strike and the shadow-bite thing not lethal? I'm pretty sure anyone else in my place would've died instantly."
He wasn't exaggerating. Kaida had pushed his Mangekyo Sharingan to the limit—predicting each strike down to the millisecond, enhancing his movement with chakra-infused strength from the seal just to keep up with the sensory overload. Two S-rank jutsu running in perfect sync had barely saved his life.
"Alright, fine—they were lethal," the wolf admitted casually. "But I predicted your reflexes before I even struck. I could tell you were tracking me, even through my shadow travel. So I figured... if you pushed a little harder, you'd evade it."
Kaida exhaled slowly. "So there's a technique deadlier than that in your arsenal?"
"Of course," the leader said, his eyes glinting. "But I'm not going to tell you about those. Wouldn't want our future spars to get boring, now would we? I assume you have some better cards up your sleeve too—things you haven't shown me?"
"I wouldn't say better," Kaida replied with a half-smile, "but yeah, I've got a few techniques I think you'll find... interesting." 'Thinking about my other MS ability as well as Susanoo, the best defense in the world,' he thought.
The leader laughed, a low, rumbling sound. "Good. I'd love to see them in the future."
"Yeah... about that," Kaida said, a little awkwardly. "I can't really come here at will. It's sort of... random. Unless I get extremely lucky, I don't see how I'd make it back.", 'This is awkward, I was the one to suggest future spars, but now I'm saying I can't come back,' he thought.
"I may have a solution," the leader said, turning to one of the four wolves standing behind him. The wolf nodded and vanished into the shadows.
Moments later, it reappeared—carrying a five-foot-long scroll in its mouth.
"But…" Kaida blinked, recognizing the scroll. "Didn't you say... you couldn't be my summon?"
"I did say that," the leader said with a wink. "But there's no rule saying we can't bring you here."
Kaida tilted his head. "So... you want me to be your summon? That's... unexpected. Though, I can't say I particularly hate it either," he said, with a smile on his face.
With Kaida's approval, the wolf placed the scroll on the ground between them.
"One thing though," Kaida said seriously, "I'm busy back in the village—missions, responsibilities. If you summon me at the wrong time, it could put my team, or someone I care about, at risk."
"Understandable," the leader said, thinking. "Then let's make it scheduled. How about you visit regularly—freely, on your terms?"
Kaida's eyes lit up. "Good idea. What about the last day of every month?"
"A month's too short. Make it every three months," the leader suggested. "That way, you have time to prepare. No excuses," he added with a smirk on his face.
"I can work with that," Kaida nodded. "Just make sure you improve too. I don't want to fight you again at this level in the future. Otherwise, it will get too boring."
"Oh, don't worry," the leader grinned. "I got a few ideas from watching your jutsu. You'll be in for a surprise next time."
"I look forward to it," Kaida said.
They both stepped forward—the wolf pricked his paw with the claw, and pressed it on the scroll, leaving a bloody paw mark on the scroll, while Kaida also did the same, though his hand was dwarfed by the size of wolf's paw print.
The leader then pulled something from the shadows and tossed it to Kaida—a gleaming wolf fang.
"A token," he said. "Consider it proof of strength. Might come in handy in your adventure of finding a summon. We're still kind of famous, even in our current state."
Kaida examined the tooth. "Whose is this?"
"Mine. We shed them every year—grow them back stronger, longer, and sharper."
"Cool," Kaida said, pocketing it.
"Well then..." Kaida gave a short bow. "I'll see you in three months."
"Until then," the leader said with a nod.
Kaida formed a hand seal.
Poof.
He vanished in a swirl of smoke.
The air shifted immediately. The friendly warmth the leader had faded, replaced by the commanding presence of a king.
"We have work to do," he said coldly. "Those jutsu... were impressive. I want our techniques restructured. Spread the word—anyone who develops something worthwhile will be rewarded."
With that, the leader turned, vanishing into the shadow towards a distant mountain, clearly went for practicing.
That was the moment the Shadow King of the Forgotten Vale began his climb to a new level of power.
While Kaida was having fun testing his strength, there was an important meeting going on in Konoha, something that involved him as well.
(In Hokage office)
"So you are telling me that Orochimaru is now after Kaida. It could very well be because he took Kimimaro and wants him back, with his revenge to delay his plan, whatever they had to do with Kimimaro," Hiruzen said, his smoking pipe already in his mouth.
"Sensei, we both know Orochimaru. There is no way he would have run away that easily if he wanted Kimimaro that badly, and from what we know, he may very well want them for his immortality thing," Jiraiya said.
"Even if we don't know his motive, one thing is clear and that is he wants to get Kaida. Dead or alive is still a question, but he wants him, right?" Shikaku asked. Jiraiya nodded his head at that, letting him continue.
"After Danzo, Orochimaru has very few connections in the village. If he had activated these many of his spies at the same time, it is pretty clear that he wants Kaida very badly," Shikaku said, really focusing on the topic, doing something that every Nara inherently loathes – working hard.
"Hmm, that's true," Jiraiya said, as he was the one who had caught most of these spies.
"Lord Third, Jiraiya-sama, you both know Orochimaru more than anyone in the village, so I will leave the motive of his action to your assumption, but from what I can see, we have a very good opportunity to catch Orochimaru this time," Shikaku said, but seeing the conflicted faces of both Jiraiya and Hiruzen, he added:
"We can always try to capture him. A genius of his caliber will be an important asset for the village, only this time he will be under control."
"Wait… how are you planning on catching Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, but he could already guess Shikaku's answer.
"By the same way we catch a fish," Shikaku said, a glint passing through his eyes.