Li Wei wakes up in a hospital bed. His bones still ache from his fight. He looks at the nurse. “Where the hell am I?” he asks.

The nurse smiles. “Lay back down. They should be back anytime now.”

“That wasn’t my question. And who the hell is they?”

Two girls in black robes enter the room. “I think she means us.” The girls have a huge smile on their face.

“Oh… Who are you again?” Li Wei asks, still confused.

“I’m Mei Lian!” the girl on the left says. She has shorter hair than the girl on the right – but beside that, the two girls look the exact same.

“I’m Xue Lian!” the girl on the right says. “We’re the ones who rescued you!”

“Well – thanks… I guess… Where am I though?” Li Wei asks. A man with slick, black hair enters the room. He is wearing purple robes – instead of black, like the other two – and a Japanese-style white eyepatch. “You’re in the Shinobi Hospital. Hi, I’m Commander Dai Wen. I heard you’ve taken out a high rank Wushi.”

Li Wei is still extremely befuddled. “Commander Dai Wen? Shinobi Hospital? What the hell is going on?”

Dai Wen answers. “The Shinobi Organization is a large group of rebels who raise money by assassinating key government figures in an attempt to overthrow the corrupt government and start anew.”

“I know who the Shinobi are. It’s just…”

Dai Wen laughs. “Yes, you are in the Headquarters of the Shinobi Organization. We thought you’d make a great addition to our team…”

“What do you mean?” Li Wei asks. “You single handedly took out an upper level A Rank Wushi!! Gramps would love your help.” Dai Wen answers. Li Wei stares at Dai Wen weird. “Gramps?”

Dai Wen escorts Mei Lian, Xue Lian, and Li Wei to the Grandmaster’s Office. Grandmaster Jin Liang sits behind a desk littered with philosophy books. His room is messy and unorganized. Jin Liang is noticeably older than Dai Wen. He has grey hair a long beard. His face is spotted with wrinkles.

Jin Liang greets Li Wei. “Hello…?” “Li Wei. My name’s Li Wei.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I believe you already met my beautiful young grandmasters – Mei Lian and Xue Lian.”

“I have.”

Jin Liang expresses a giant smile. “Wonderful. Now, here’s where things get – err – to the chase. I’ve heard that you took out an A Rank Wushi by yourself, is that right?”

“That is right, sir.” Li Wei says, trying his hardest to be formal. “My question is… Why did you do it?” Jin Liang asks.

Li Wei’s throat begins to close. He swallows spit to open it a little. “I don’t know.”

Jin Liang pauses. He processes the situation. “You don’t know?”

Li Wei elaborates. “It’s just… I woke up this morning to the sound of banging on the door. I remember my parents telling me to lock myself in my closet, but… I didn’t listen. Then when the Wushi killed my dad, he went after me. My mom sacrificed herself to save me. And that’s when…”

Jin Liang’s eyes open wide. “That’s when… IT came out?” Jin Liang asks. Li Wei nods.

“Li Wei… I believe you have GREAT potential. You may even be past Elite level. You would be a significant table-turner in the overthrow of the Wushi Party’s regime. What do you think?”

Li Wei thinks for a second. “What do I think… When can I start?”

SHINOBI RANKS: The Shinobi Organization ranks their members by the power of their beast spirits. JUNIORS have C Ranks, JOURNEYMEN have B Ranks, and ELITES have A Ranks. The handful of Super Tier Shinobi work directly under the Grandmaster. These Shinobi Include: Mei Lian, Xue Lian, Dai Wen, and Li Wei.

Li Wei, Mei Lian, and Xue Lian surround Dai Wen in the training grounds. Dai Wen explains the rules of today’s training. “So, the rules of the game are easy.” Dai Wen and the others stand in a large red circle. “All three of you are going to fight me, all at once. Your goal is to knock me out of the red in under three minutes. If you win, I will buy ramen for all of you. But I win, you guys will have to buy ramen for ME.”

Mei Lian and Xue Lian get into fighting stances. “Aye, Li Wei! If I were you, I’d get into your fighting stance. This game can get pretty rough!” Mei Lian says, with a big grin. Li Wei follows directions.

Dai Wen smiles. “Begin!”

Mei Lian and Xue Lian unleash their beast spirits. Mei Lian has an S Rank, Mystic Class – Wood Elemental Crane named “Muhe”. Xue Lian has an S Rank, Mystic Class – Water Elemental Shark named “Shuisha”.

Mei Lian and Xue Lian leap toward Dai Wen at maximum speed. Dai Wen is lit with a fiery red aura. He blocks both simultaneously and smirks. This aura is Dai Wen’s SS Rank, Berserker Class Phoenix named “Fenghuang”.

Mei Lian and Xue Lian flip backward. Xue Lian looks back at Li Wei. “Try your best to keep up!” she says, cockily.

Mei Lian and Xue Lian throw multiple shuriken at Dai Wen. The shuriken’s’ direction tilts and drifts. Dai Wen unsheathes a katana and deflects the shuriken back at Mei Lian and Xue Lian. The sisters jump in the air and dodge.

Dai Wen gets into a fighting stance. His fiery aura grows even larger. The spirit of a phoenix can be seen glowing around him. “Now it’s my turn!”

Dai Wen seemingly teleports behind Mei Lian and kicks her into Xue Lian. The sisters roll on the ground and unsheathe their own blades. Xue Lian and Mei Lian spin and flip around Dai Wen, using teamwork to try to strike him, but Dai Wen shifts his body weight and blocks their repeated strikes.

“Fenghuang!!” Dai Wen exclaims. Mei Lian and Xue Lian are no match for Dai Wen’s speed. Li Wei gets more comfortable. He unleashes Heihu. “Heihu – Let’s not go easy on him!”

Mei Lian summons large trees that surround Dai Wen. The trees are filled with fruit that emit poisonous gas. Dai Wen throws multiple shuriken. They tilt and drift and hit the trees’ fruit, releasing all the poisonous gas.

Mei Lian and Xue Lian surround Dai Wen on all sides. They attempt to strike him, but Dai Wen dodges. Mei Lian summons a giant centipede made from wood. Mei Lian and Xue Lian ride on its head. Mei Lian expels a stream of water from her mouth. Dai Wen twists his body and dodges it in mid-air, which leaves him open for another attack.

Xue Lian launches a giant shark made from water at Dai Wen. Dai Wen grabs a short sword from his back. His spinning speeds up. Dai Wen’s short sword creates a gust of wind that blows the water shark back.

Li Wei appears behind Dai Wen, His body still lit with Heihu’s fiery blue and white aura. Li Wei fights Dai Wen – one vs one. Dai Wen is clearly too strong for Li Wei.

“Fenghuang… Let’s finish this.” Dai Wen focuses his beast spirit’s energy into his fist. Dai Wen tries to punch Li Wei, but Mei Lian summons a wooden wall to act as a shield. Mei Lian, Xue Lian, and Li Wei try striking Dai Wen all at once, but Dai Wen dodges without a sweat. The timer in his pocket goes off. Dai Wen looks at his feet. Still in the red. “Well, I guess I win! Sucks for your wallets, I eat a LOT of ramen!”

Meanwhile, at the Wushi Party’s Headquarters, the country’s supreme leader “Shogun” waits at his desk. General Hattori, the Commander and Chief of the Wushi Military, is called into the room.

“Bad news, Hattori. A-Rank Baizhao was killed yesterday during his raid on the Li Family’s home. His teammates miraculously escaped. The parents of the Li Family were confirmed dead… Meaning the child was the one strong enough to combat him.” Shogun says.

Hattori processes this. “We can’t allow someone this strong fall into the hands of the Shinobi.” Hattori says.

“Exactly. That’s why… I’m tasking you and your men to find and kill this boy. Any means necessary.

Hattori bows to his leader. “Yes sir.” Shogun smirks. “I’ll give you and Zhique three days. Don’t disappoint me. Got it?”

“Got it.” Hattori agrees.