The Feast's Hunt

"Target acquired. Traveling alone. It's Lord Jiraiya."

Deep within the dense forest, the Byakugan user spoke in a low voice. Beside him were his two teammates: one was the stout Dōton Akimichi, and the other, though unremarkable in appearance, carried a calm demeanor that suggested he was no weakling.

"Dōton, you and I will attack from the front. Xun, you take the rear and try to flank him. We don't know how much strength Jiraiya-sensei's shadow clone retains, so we'll have to probe like this first," Hyuga Tenzan formulated the strategy. The three of them slowly began to stalk Jiraiya.

"Little ones, how could Lord Jiraiya be fooled by your petty tricks? Too green! Too green!" Jiraiya roared with laughter, sitting on a tree trunk and looking down at the three youngsters sprawled on the ground with a mocking gaze.

Hyuga Tenzan panted heavily, a wry smile on his face. Is this the difference in skill?

Even though the shadow clone's chakra level was only that of a genin, Jiraiya had defeated them with ease. His Gentle Fist hadn't even grazed Jiraiya's clothes.

Elsewhere in the forest.

Orochimaru leisurely traversed the dense woods, four children collapsed on the ground behind him, their faces devoid of life. Who knew what they had endured to be reduced to such a sorry state!

On the first day, four out of six teams were defeated.

On the second day, one team accidentally ate poisonous mushrooms. Fortunately, the slugs deployed by Tsunade provided timely rescue, and their lives were not in danger, but they were forced to withdraw from the training and were sent to Konoha Hospital for recovery.

On the third day, three teams successively teetered on the brink of collapse and had to be forcibly removed from the training grounds.

Thus, before even half of the week had passed, only two teams, seven individuals, remained.

However, when one thought about it, they were all just students from the Ninja Academy, only seven or eight years old. They lacked sufficient understanding of the high risks associated with the ninja profession, so it was normal for them to be unable to withstand this kind of training.

"Tonight's dinner is this big guy." Katsuki peeked out from behind a tree trunk, looking at the black bear, which was about two meters long, and swallowed. So much meat.

Today was the fourth day. For the past three days, they had mostly been on the verge of starvation. There were plenty of prey in the forest, but filling the stomachs of five people was no easy task. A few pheasants and rabbits would be gnawed down to the bone by the group in an instant.

Furthermore, the physical exertion of moving through the forest far exceeded their imaginations. The forest was fraught with danger, with all sorts of poisonous insects and fierce beasts that could appear at any moment. They had to maintain maximum vigilance, and even sleep required rotating guard duty. It could be said that these past few days had given them a deep understanding that being a ninja was far from the glorious profession they had imagined.

Danger was a ninja's closest friend.

"I'll confront this big guy head-on. You guys find an opportunity to attack its weak points." Katsuki rubbed his hands together, already eager to get this big guy into a pot. They had tried fishing before, only to discover that the fish in the stream were only palm-sized. After removing the head and tail, scaling, and gutting them, the meager amount of meat wasn't enough to fill their teeth, and the effort expended was completely disproportionate. It was then that they turned their attention to these larger prey.

Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Katsuki charged forward, forming hand seals. Clones appeared around him, about twenty in number, all with red hair and black clothing, arrayed in front and behind each other, crashing towards the forest predator like a tidal wave.

"Roar!"

The black bear was nearly three meters long, its burly body like a small mountain, its fur dark and shiny. Its two paws, when opened, resembled two millstones. The large creature noticed the 'monkeys' daring to provoke it and roared in anger. A foul stench blew over like a hurricane, instantly extinguishing more than half of the twenty shadow clones.

Shadow Clone Jutsu was too basic. The clones it created were merely like bubbles, easily popped with a little force. Of course, this didn't mean the jutsu was useless; it could still be effective in the hands of a master.

Ultimately, ninjutsu was just a tool, wielded by people. The specific effect it could achieve depended on the user's skill, meaning it varied from person to person.

Katsuki wasn't discouraged by the loss of half his clones to the black bear. He formed hand seals, and another large group appeared. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wishing he had Shadow Clone Jutsu. That was the ninjutsu most suited for the Uzumaki Clan, capable of tapping into their monstrous talent.

Unfortunately, he was still a bit young. A seven-year-old's body couldn't withstand such strain. He had considered using Shadow Clone Jutsu for training, but his underdeveloped body likely couldn't handle the burden, even with the Human-Human Fruit's enhancement.

Developing the Human-Human Fruit would take time. If he exceeded the limits of the Uzumaki bloodline and the Human-Human Fruit, he would still die. The fruit had merely opened a door for him; the path had to be walked by himself. There was no such thing as getting something for nothing; more often, it was hard work with no reward.

The black bear's two millstone-like paws swept down. Before the paws could land, the mere gust of wind they generated was enough to annihilate Katsuki's clones. After sweeping with both paws, it strangely found that these 'monkeys' had disappeared.

This was outrageous! The black bear was confused, then enraged. It felt like these monkeys were playing tricks on it, deliberately trying to fool it. It roared furiously and attacked violently, swiping its paws in all directions, obliterating all the illusory figures. The more it destroyed these illusions, the more its rage intensified.

Katsuki's true body hid among the clones, constantly forming hand seals to create more clones that marched forward to their deaths. His true body, however, dared not approach the behemoth.

After using the clones to probe, the palm wind that blew towards him stung his face. If he were to actually take a blow, he estimated he wouldn't be out of the hospital for three to five days. A single slap from this brute would undoubtedly shatter a person's bones.

However, he didn't intend to fight head-on. His goal was to exhaust the black bear's stamina and attract its attention, creating an opportunity for Minato and Otoha.

For example, now. As the black bear swept its paw diagonally across its front, extinguishing six of Katsuki's clones in one go, it also lost its footing due to overexertion, its mountain-like body swaying.

"Swish! Swish!"

Two shurikens flew out from the bushes behind Katsuki. They whizzed over his head and accurately struck the black bear's eyes, instantly drawing blood!

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The black bear roared madly. Blinded, and in excruciating pain, it felt a premonition of impending doom. It wildly swung its paws, but unable to discern its surroundings, a broken log was thrown at its feet. With a crack, the log was crushed by its thick legs. Then, with a thump, the black bear collapsed.

"Slash!"

"Slash!"

Two sounds, separated by less than a second, as Minato and Kushina darted out from either side, plunging their kunai deep into the black bear's neck.