Night had only just fallen when six small figures quietly gathered at the entrance to Konoha's back mountain. The cool night wind brushed through the trees while faint moonlight filtered down from above, illuminating the uneven forest path ahead.
Kakashi Hatake stood at the front of the group and calmly swept his gaze over everyone present. Besides himself and Might Guy, the others included Uchiha Obito, Rin Nohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and one extra person who clearly did not belong there.
"Ebisu?" Might Guy blinked in surprise when he saw the boy in sunglasses standing stiffly among them. "What are you doing here?"
Kurenai lowered her voice slightly before answering, "I ran into classmate Ebisu on the way here."
Ebisu immediately snorted and crossed his arms proudly. "This lord merely came to supervise all of you so none of you do anything disgraceful that would damage the reputation of the Ninja Academy!"
Obito instantly curled his lips in disdain. "Just admit you're scared."
"Who's scared?!" Ebisu exploded immediately.
"Then why are your legs shaking?"
"This... this is simply the warm-up exercise of an elite Ninja!"
Might Guy could not even be bothered paying attention to their pointless argument anymore. He simply turned toward Kakashi, whose expression had already become serious.
Kakashi nodded slightly before beginning to walk deeper into the forest. "Let's move."
The moonlight tonight was thin and dim.
The six children carefully advanced through the darkness while the sounds of crunching leaves and snapping twigs continuously echoed beneath their feet. As they moved farther and farther into the mountains, the surrounding trees gradually became denser, causing the atmosphere to grow increasingly oppressive.
Kurenai silently followed closely behind Might Guy while tightly gripping the Kunai in her hand. Her knuckles had already turned pale white from nervousness.
Guy noticed her expression and glanced back at her with a grin. "Scared?"
Kurenai instinctively shook her head first before hesitating briefly and nodding honestly afterward.
Guy immediately raised a thumbs-up. "It's fine. I have youth."
Kurenai froze briefly before the corners of her lips slowly lifted upward.
Ahead of them, Obito happened to glance backward and saw the two of them quietly looking at each other. Instantly, his teeth began aching from jealousy again.
"Hey! Are we moving or not?!"
The group continued deeper into the forest for nearly half an hour.
The surrounding trees gradually thickened until barely any moonlight could pass through the canopy overhead. The deeper they went, the quieter the environment became, to the point where everyone could clearly hear their own breathing.
Suddenly, Kakashi halted in place and raised one hand.
Everyone instantly fell silent.
Obito subconsciously opened his mouth to ask what happened, but Rin immediately covered his mouth before he could make any sound.
Kakashi slightly tilted his head while listening carefully.
Whoosh... Whoosh...
A deep and heavy breathing sound slowly echoed through the darkness ahead, sounding almost like loud snoring.
Without hesitation, Kakashi pulled out a shuriken and flung it toward the direction of the sound.
Thunk.
The shuriken embedded itself firmly into a tree trunk.
No reaction.
The heavy breathing continued steadily.
"It's sleeping," Guy whispered softly.
Kakashi nodded lightly.
The two exchanged a glance before simultaneously lowering their bodies and quietly moving forward.
After pushing through a thick cluster of bushes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A gigantic black shadow lay in the clearing beside a massive boulder.
Even while lying down, the creature still looked like a small hill.
Its body alone measured over three meters tall, and under the moonlight, its thick fur reflected a faint metallic sheen. Each strand of fur looked as thick as a chopstick, while the exposed claws extending from its paws were longer than Guy's entire hand.
Every time the giant creature breathed, gusts of wind swept fallen leaves across the clearing.
Guy's eyes instantly lit up.
Kakashi's eyes also sharpened immediately.
Behind them, the expressions of everyone else completely changed.
Obito's jaw nearly fell onto the ground.
"T-This thing..."
Kurenai's face instantly turned pale as she tightly gripped her Kunai.
Rin hurriedly covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Ebisu's sunglasses slid halfway down his nose. He pushed them back up, only for them to slide down again immediately afterward.
Among everyone present, only Might Guy and Kakashi showed no fear at all.
Instead, both of their eyes shone frighteningly bright.
"Found it," Guy grinned excitedly.
"Mhm," Kakashi replied calmly.
Obito finally recovered enough to whisper frantically, "Are you two insane?! That thing could flatten us with one swipe!"
Guy completely ignored him and instead turned toward Kakashi.
"What's the plan?"
Kakashi thought quietly for several seconds before speaking. "I'll use Clones to distract it. You'll handle the main attack."
"Good."
The two immediately turned toward Obito at the same time.
Obito instinctively stepped backward. "W-Why are you both looking at me like that?"
"You're in charge," Kakashi said calmly.
"In charge of what?"
Guy casually answered, "You're responsible for taking the others away once the fight starts."
Obito froze briefly before his face flushed bright red.
"You... you're looking down on me?!"
Guy casually patted his shoulder. "No. I'm looking up to you, which is why I'm entrusting this important responsibility to you."
Obito froze once more.
Before he could respond, Guy and Kakashi had already shifted their attention entirely toward the giant bear.
"Ready?" Guy asked.
Kakashi calmly formed a one-handed seal. "Mhm."
Poof.
Two Clones instantly appeared beside him.
"Go."
The three Kakashis rushed out simultaneously.
At this moment, the giant bear still remained asleep.
The first Clone dashed forward and stabbed a Kunai directly toward the bear's rear.
Clang.
The Kunai bent instantly.
The giant bear merely twitched one ear.
The second Clone leapt onto its back and stabbed downward again.
Clang.
The Kunai still failed to pierce through.
The giant bear let out a low grunt.
The third Clone circled around to the front and hurled a shuriken directly toward its face.
Clang.
The shuriken bounced away harmlessly.
Then, slowly, the giant bear opened its eyes.
Those enormous pupils were even larger than Guy's fists.
Its slit-like pupils locked directly onto the white-haired figure standing before it.
Then the giant bear slowly pushed itself upright.
Four meters.
Five meters.
Its gigantic body rose until it stood nearly five meters tall.
Then it opened its enormous mouth filled with terrifying fangs.
"ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"
The deafening roar exploded through the forest like thunder itself, violently shaking the surrounding trees.
Obito's legs instantly went weak.
Kurenai's face lost all color, yet she still refused to retreat.
Rin hurriedly pulled her backward.
Even Ebisu forgot to adjust his falling sunglasses this time.
However, Kakashi did not retreat at all.
The three Clones intentionally remained directly in front of the giant bear, fully attracting its attention.
And at that exact moment, a green figure suddenly burst out from the side like lightning itself.
Leap.
Spin.
"KONOHA SENPU!!!"
The spinning kick tore through the air with a sharp howl before slamming viciously into the back of the giant bear's neck.
Boom!!!
The bear's gigantic head snapped forward violently as both eyes rolled upward.
Then its massive body crashed heavily into the ground with enough force to shake the entire clearing.
The earth trembled several times in succession.
Afterward, the gigantic creature simply lay there motionless.
Completely unconscious.
Silence immediately filled the clearing.
Absolute silence.
Obito's mouth hung open so wide an entire fist could probably fit inside.
"H-Huh...?"
Kurenai covered her mouth in complete disbelief while staring with wide eyes.
Rin accidentally dropped the medical pouch in her hands and completely forgot to pick it back up.
Ebisu's sunglasses slid all the way down to the tip of his nose as he repeatedly stared back and forth between the unconscious bear and Might Guy.
"T-This... this..."
Guy landed steadily before awkwardly scratching his head.
"Seems like... I kicked a little too hard?"
Kakashi dispelled his remaining Clones before calmly walking over.
First he looked at the unconscious bear.
Then he looked at Guy.
His expression immediately became complicated.
Guy frowned unhappily. "Hey, what's with that look?"
Kakashi remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking.
"I was just wondering exactly what kind of terrifying training you've been doing these past two months."
Guy instantly grinned brightly and raised another thumbs-up.
"Youth!"
Kakashi suddenly felt a strong urge to roll his eyes.
Meanwhile, Obito rushed over excitedly and circled around the unconscious bear several times before cautiously kicking it twice.
"It's really unconscious?! You seriously knocked out something this huge with one kick?!"
Kurenai also hurried over before grabbing Guy's sleeve nervously and checking his body repeatedly.
"Are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Does anything hurt?"
Guy casually shook his head. "I'm perfectly fine."
Only then did Kurenai finally relax slightly.
Then, realizing how close she was standing to him, her face instantly turned red and she hurriedly released his sleeve before retreating two steps backward.
Nearby, Rin finally picked up the fallen medical pouch and walked over with a gentle smile.
"Kakashi, you were amazing too."
Ebisu hurriedly pushed up his sunglasses before clearing his throat proudly. "Ahem... well... this lord admits that all of you do possess some ski—"
Before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly shook violently.
Boom!!!
Everyone staggered at once.
Guy and Kakashi instantly raised their heads toward the deeper parts of the forest.
Before Obito could even react—
Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!
Heavy footsteps continuously shook the earth.
Trees snapped apart one after another.
Then, an enormous black shadow suddenly burst out from deep within the forest.
A giant tree thick enough to require three people to wrap around it was instantly smashed apart by a single swipe of its paw.
The gigantic shadow charged directly into the clearing before finally stopping beneath the moonlight.
Six meters.
Seven meters.
Eight meters.
Nine meters.
Ten meters.
A gigantic bear nearly ten meters tall now stood before them.
Its fur was even darker and thicker than the previous one, resembling layers of black iron armor.
Its blood-red eyes locked directly onto the tiny children standing before it.
Thick saliva continuously dripped from its mouth, smashing into the ground and leaving small craters wherever it landed.
At this moment, the true Ninja Bear had finally appeared.