A thick layer of snow coated the forest grounds, giving the trees and bushes a beautiful dusting. The bone-chilling breeze was enough to keep all of the animals in hiding for the day. But this didn't mean it would keep the hunters away from their all-time favorite sport! They all wore a few layers of clothing to make sure they could last a long time in this type of whether. Right now only certain species were being picked off due to being overly populated. Even those who weren't on the list were slowly being killed off one by one. No one seemed to care at all about a thing called extinction. All they wanted was to make money off of their fur and meat.

A trail of bloody paw prints led from the frozen lake and all the way over to the nearest cave. Judging by the patterns itself, you could tell that the wounded animal wasn't able to walk a straight line. It weaved in and out. There was even a dent in the snow to signify that at one point, it had collapsed due to sheer exhaustion and blood loss. For now the hunter had failed in killing it off and taking home the prize. Was it even still alive? Or was it just lying there, dying a slow and painful death?

A pair of boots crunched against the heavy, wet snow. In one hand he held a gun, the other a knife. The blade was covered and dripping with a crimson colored liquid. It was thick and ran all the way down his arm, soaking his pure white coat. It looked like he wasn't about to let his precious wolf get away alive. The thing got stabbed both in the side and on the back of its leg. "I'll shoot the fucker this time!" He hissed underneath his breath. The amount of money for such a magnificent creature was outrageous. The fur alone would earn him a couple hundred-thousand dollars. This type of wolf was, after all, a rare breed.

It stood eight feet tall on it's back feet and had long, gorgeous fur that felt silky-smooth to the touch. Each one had it's own unique qualities. You could never find two that looked exactly the same, which was nice. Another reason why hunters received so much money for selling one of them. They were literally one of a kind...and everyone wanted to own one. Lately more people have been protesting against the excessive killing of these rare wolves. But so far it wasn't doing any good. No one seemed to be listening to them! These hunters were just way too money hungry, who only thought of themselves.

"Oh come on Danzo. We weren't supposed to be hunting wolves!" A blonde-haired, blue-eyed nineteen year old said while throwing his hands up in the air. This wasn't a part of the agreement. Why didn't they just stick to shooting at deer? The meat was always used in stews and hot dishes. And what didn't get used, was sealed and packed away in the freezer for another time. This type of animal was nowhere near extinction, so it was okay to hunt them down.

Those cold eyes shot a threatening glare back at him. "We will only take one, Naruto. If the wolf isn't dead yet, then it's going to die soon enough. Why not put it out of its misery?" A dark smirk spread on his lips then. Oh how he enjoyed taking home his priced possessions! This was going to be the best one yet out of his entire lifetime. "You are still a student in learning. So shut your mouth and watch!"

"...!" Naruto flinched at the sharpness in the old man's voice. Everyone knew not to mess with Danzo. He was one mean, cruel person. Not to mention very selfish and greedy on top of it. His true colors were definitely showing right now. But he didn't utter a single word about it and did what he was told...kept his mouth shut completely.

"Now come on!" Danzo grabbed a hold of the blonde's jacket and pulled him on over to the cave's entrance, peering inside. But it was pitch black, so neither one of them could see a single thing. The sound of something whimpering could be heard then, which caught both of their attention.

"Is that-..." Naruto trailed off, squinting his eyes to see if he could see better that way. But even that didn't work! He only caught a slight glimpse of it earlier, before it took off running. So he had no idea what it really looked like. But in his mind he imagined something truly outstanding.

Grabbing a match from his pocket, Danzo lit it up and stuck his hand inside, trying to get a better view of the surroundings. It wasn't a large cave, so the wolf didn't really have anywhere to hide. Running off into such a place was the biggest mistake it made. Now it was trapped! The light shone on a small puddle of blood that was smeared at the very top. "I think I got something here..." He mumbled, before taking a step closer into the cave.

The smear mark led all the way over to the farthest end of the cave, where the wounded animal lye breathing heavily. Naruto, who was behind him, gasped in shock at the sight of it. This wolf had black fur with tints of dark blue in it. And the eyes...they were an even darker shade of black! The size alone caused him to take a few steps forward, getting ahead of Danzo now. To think that something so huge and beautiful actually existed! And they were on the brink of extinction. Such a shame really. Something this amazing should never die out!

Seeing those wounds on the wolf caused Naruto's heart to ache. How could he just stand here and let his teacher kill it off? He would never be able to forgive himself. "H-hey. Can't we hunt something else down?"

Danzo put his finger on the trigger and aimed his gun right at its chest. "You're not keeping your mouth shut..." He grumbled, leaning forward a bit.

"Of course I'm not going to keep my mouth shut, ya old geezer! Now put the gun down, or else I'll beat the shit outta you!" He threatened.

Danzo just scoffed at the small threat. "Oh I'm so scared. You can't even hold a gun properly. What makes you think you can take me on? How pathetic..."

Naruto pulled out one of his guns and aimed it right back at him. "It doesn't matter where I shoot. Just as long as I get you, that should be good enough." he sneered.

"But if it doesn't kill me, then what's the point? Tch, I'm killing this wolf whether you like it or not. Now let me show you who is superior here, brat..." He said while turning his attention back to the wolf.

His blue eyes darted from the old man and over to the wolf. Naruto was actually starting to panic at this point! Just one bullet. That's all it was going to take to end the wolf's life. And for what? So that someone could wear their fur for fashion? Or to be stuffed and hung in a museum? In the end it all came down to money. "I...I think I'm going to be sick..." He muttered under his breath.

Dark, saddened eyes locked onto his then as another painful whimper escaped him. And then out of nowhere, the wolf began to howl loudly. The sound echoed throughout the entire cave and could be heard outside quite clearly. Another faint howl followed after his, which was obviously from a different wolf. This happened two more times, and then suddenly...all three of them howled at once. Well this wasn't good.

"Danzo, if we don't get out of here, then his pack will tear us to shreds. It's not worth it. Let's go!" He shouted.

The older man rolled his eyes. "I'll just kill them off as well. I have plenty of bullets..."

"...What? B-but then you would be killing four of them. What happened to just sticking to this one?! You're such a liar, you dirty old bastard!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"We humans come first. You obviously haven't figured that one out yet!" He sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"You...you..." Naruto couldn't even finish his sentence he was so angry. It got to the point where tears pooled in his eyes. If he didn't do anything now, then a bunch of wolves were going to get killed for nothing! "You're nothing but a cold-blooded murderer!" He pointed his gun down at Danzo's leg and pulled the trigger, shooting him right in the knee.

"...What are you doing?!" Danzo shrieked out in pain, before falling to the ground and holding his bleeding knee.

"Put the gun down, or else I'll shoot the other one..." Naruto threatened darkly. Now it was his turn to take charge of things! He was going to protect these wolves no matter what. Even if it cost him his very own life.

"Y-you're insane! All this for a stupid animal? It's already half dead, so what's the point?!" He pointed his gun up at Naruto then. "Or maybe I should kill you off like some worthless animal as well. Maybe that'll teach you a lesson..."

Before anything else could be said, loud growling noises could be heard from behind them. As they both looked back, they saw three even larger wolves standing at the entrance of the cave. Each one of them had their long, sharp fangs barred with saliva dripping from their mouths. The one with bright red eyes leaped forward and bit down on Danzo's hand, yanking the gun from it. It's teeth sank down into the flesh and caused it to bleed pretty badly.

Naruto took this opportunity to run on over to the wounded wolf. He sank down to his knees and just stared at him for a few minutes. "O-oh my..." He whispered, taking it all in. That beautiful fur was soaked in its own blood.

"Grrrr..." It growled weakly.

"Shhh it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Let me help you..." He took off his backpack and dug through it, taking out a first-aid kit. The other wolves had actually scared off Danzo, and caused him to literally crawl out of the cave for his life. It was strange, because they could have so easily killed him off...so then why didn't they? He messed with their youngest pup didn't he? So he should pay. But nope...they let him go.

Naruto raised a shaky hand to lightly touch the wolf's cheek, running his fingers through the soft fur. "I won't let you die okay? I promise." He whispered soothingly.

"..." Instead of biting his hand off, the wolf allowed him to touch him. And to be honest, it actually felt very nice. His eyes slowly closed, relaxing into it.

This earned a chuckle from the blonde. "That's much better. Now let me patch you up~" He pressed a wet washcloth against both of the wounds, cleaning them out to make sure they wouldn't get infected. Then he wrapped some bandages around them nice and tight.

The wolf looked down at itself, sniffing at the wounds that were now cleaned and bandaged up. "...?"

"I have some water for you. You must be thirsty..." Naruto pulled out a water bottle and poured some into a small bowl, setting it down in front of it's face. "You look cold too..." That's when he pulled out a thick blanket and draped it over the wolf's body, making sure only the head stuck out from it. "My tent isn't very far from here. But I always carry my blanket around whenever it's snowing like this. Just in case I get stranded somewhere, hehe." He grinned.

The wolf looked down at the water and stuck it's tongue out, licking up some of the refreshing cold water. And he didn't stop until it was completely empty. His body slowly stopped trembling as the warmth overcame him. Looking up at the human one last time, he laid his head down on its paws and huffed, getting more comfortable. "..."

Naruto stroked at his ears, knowing that his very own dog loved this a lot. "Just get some sleep and focus on healing. Your family is here. And as long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you. I'll...I'll protect you..." He vowed.

The wolf relaxed even more as its ears were rubbed at. No one has ever done this before, so this was his very first time experiencing such an amazing feeling! He didn't want this to stop any time soon. And so he allowed himself to growl softly, letting the human know that he loved this. 'This idiot is going to protect me, huh? Let's see if he can keep such a promise...' He thought.

Yup, these weren't just any ordinary wolves. They were...special.

Author's Note: Yasss I brought this story back! It is one of the very few that I absolutely loved to write. I like the plot, and how I am not actually rushing things. I did not however, go through each chapter and edit stuff. I just don't have the time to do that. I'm lucky that I managed to get another chapter done. Anyways, here you guys go. This one will be staying!~ ;w;