'Wolf Shadow' has been captured.

It had been the talk of the town since morning. She didn't quite understand what the ordinary peasant faces were so happy about: this shinobi didn't kill members of the lower classes, because such heads fetched a pittance. But in the main market square, there was practically a celebration. How little these pigs needed to find a reason to smile — just someone's public exēcution. And after that, they considered themselves better than mercenaries.

She yawned widely, sitting on a pile of crates in an inconspicuous spot on the square, between two taverns. The famous shinobi was being transported in a cattle cage, shackled as if he were the devil himself. They even bandaged his eyes, as if his gaze alone would spell death. It was amusing to observe how much raw fear there was in this scene.

The execution was scheduled for three days, before the first minister's return to the capital. Well, he truly deserved it: the list of his sins was longer than the tongues of gossips. But the fact that some pathetic capital city soldiers were able to track him down and even capture him was incredibly suspicious. As a seasoned mercenary, she had heard of Toji and had even had the opportunity to see him in person a couple of times in the criminal underworld. He was elusive because he trusted no one and was extremely powerful. He had no home, no family, not even a steady love interest to give them any clues to track him down.

He was as dangerous as a wild predator, yet as invisible as your own nose. That's why they nicknamed him 'Wolf Shadow.'

This whole scene seemed unnatural to her, so she watched him vigilantly from a safe distance for two days. Passersby threw stones at him, threw dirt, and spat; someone even dared to poke him with a stick, hurling endless curses. But he sat in this cage, fixed in a hunched position, his head drooping, like the statue of some martyr. Not a sound, not a movement.

So, waiting until midnight, when the guards were lazily changing shifts, she slowly approached the finally unguarded cage. Reaching through the bars, she first touched him experimentally: she squeezed his shoulder, slid her fingers along his dirty hair, and lifted his chin. When else would she have the chance to touch Wolf Shadow? Immediately afterward, she rustled her free hand on her belt and, a moment later, brought a flask of water to his dry lips. And that was his only reaction to her presence: he parted his lips and drank the entire flask. He licked the refreshing moisture from his lips and quietly sniffed the air, like a dog sniffing. His head tilted slightly to the right, still held in her palm, as he said calmly,

"By noon tomorrow, I'll paint this place red. Consider this warning my thanks."

And if death itself had a voice, it would speak through Toji's lips.