Uchiha Hana

Chapter 11: Uchiha Hana

"It's Mr. Rabbit!"

Uchiha Hana saw a figure flash between the trees and shouted in pleasant surprise.

Thinking of the taste of braised rabbit, Uchiha Hana subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Uchiha Hana was six years old this year, and last year she had been lucky enough to pass the clan trial, becoming a qualified genin.

She came from a commoner family within the Uchiha Clan and had a four-year-old younger brother at home.

Because she was particularly gluttonous, she would come to the forest next to the Uchiha Clan's compound whenever she had time to catch animals like rabbits to satisfy her cravings.

Watching Mr. Rabbit flash by, Uchiha Hana's mind was filled with the image and taste of Mr. Rabbit transformed into a braised dish.

And so, six-year-old Uchiha Hana chased after the route Mr. Rabbit had taken to escape.

Mr. Rabbit ran in front, and Uchiha Hana chased from behind...

The person and the rabbit went around in circles like this in the forest next to the Uchiha Clan's compound.

"Good chance!"

A glimmer of joy flashed in Uchiha Hana's eyes.

While running, Uchiha Hana saw Mr. Rabbit within arm's reach and, with the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down, launched herself into a flying tackle at the fleeing rabbit.

Who would have thought that the clever Mr. Rabbit would make an emergency right turn, causing the sprinting Uchiha Hana to miss completely.

"Mr. Rabbit is really too cunning!"

"But I'm not weak either."

Seeing that she had missed, Uchiha Hana was not discouraged in the slightest; she stepped off a tree trunk with her right foot and vaulted forward.

Mr. Rabbit was likely driven to a dead end by Uchiha Hana's pursuit and suddenly panicked.

In his frantic state, he happened to see a huge tree hollow ahead, so Mr. Rabbit dove straight into it without a second thought.

Uchiha Hana, who was chasing enthusiastically from behind, felt extremely happy when she saw Mr. Rabbit panic and dive into the tree hollow.

She thought to herself that there was no way the braised Mr. Rabbit would get away now.

After running up to the tree hollow, Uchiha Hana circled around it.

After confirming that the tree hollow truly had no second exit, Uchiha Hana poked her head toward the inside of the hollow with a joyful expression.

"ROAR!"

Just as Uchiha Hana poked her head in to look, a massive roar suddenly erupted from within the tree hollow.

Caught off guard, Uchiha Hana's ears were left ringing from the sheer force of the sound.

"Oh no!"

Without needing to think, Uchiha Hana knew that this tree hollow must be the lair of some giant creature, and she had carelessly delivered herself to its doorstep.

Although Uchiha Hana was a genin, her strength was only average.

She could skillfully use the Body Flicker Technique, knew the Uchiha Clan's basic Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, and possessed the clan's basic taijutsu—that was the extent of her power.

Thinking of how a single roar from the opponent had made her ears ache, she immediately felt the urge to retreat; after all, one only has one life, and no one wanted to die like this.

However, while Uchiha Hana wanted to retreat, the giant creature nesting in the tree hollow was not about to give her the chance.

Just as Uchiha Hana turned to flee, another heart-stopping, massive roar erupted from the hollow.

Immediately following the roar, a giant, arc-shaped Wind Style slash was launched directly out of the tree hollow.

Fortunately, Uchiha Hana was agile; after enduring the shock of the massive roar, she hurriedly tilted her head to the right.

The giant arc-shaped Wind Style slash mercilessly grazed her ear and struck the tree behind her.

With a loud "boom," the tree behind Uchiha Hana, which was thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around, was sliced cleanly in two by the Wind Style slash.

Seeing the miserable fate of the tree behind her, cold sweat instantly beaded on Uchiha Hana's forehead.

That's right, she was terrified.

Guided by ninja intuition, Uchiha Hana subconsciously performed a backflip, instantly putting dozens of meters of distance between herself and the tree hollow.

"Thump."

"Thump."

The massive vibrations traveled through the ground directly to Uchiha Hana's feet.

A moment later, Uchiha Hana finally saw the true appearance of the tree hollow's owner.

A brown bear—a massive brown bear—walked out of the tree hollow with heavy steps and stared viciously at Uchiha Hana.

This brown bear was far too large; by Uchiha Hana's estimation, its height was definitely over three meters.

For the six-year-old Uchiha Hana, who stood only one meter tall, this size was clearly overwhelming.

The most critical part was that this giant brown bear had actually just unleashed a Wind Style arc-shaped slash.

It was clear that this massive brown bear belonged to the category of wild ninja beasts.

One had to understand that the difference between an ordinary beast and a ninja beast was that the latter could utilize chakra and launch attacks using it.

"This is bad..."

Six-year-old Uchiha Hana understood her current predicament in an instant.

Escape was certainly out of the question; for a wild ninja beast that excelled in Wind Style attacks, speed was always its greatest strength.

Furthermore, looking at Uchiha Hana's two short legs, there was no way she could outrun this giant brown bear ninja beast.

A ninja should always be prepared to die in battle at any moment.

Since escape was impossible, fighting might offer a glimmer of hope.

Thinking this, Uchiha Hana reached into the ninja tool pouch behind her, drew a kunai, held it in a reverse grip with her right hand, lowered her center of gravity, and assumed a defensive stance, ready to fight at any moment.

"ROAR!"

The giant brown bear ninja beast first let out a loud roar at Uchiha Hana, then immediately charged toward her position like a tank.

I cannot take this head-on!

That was Uchiha Hana's first instinct.

Taking advantage of the giant brown bear's charge, Uchiha Hana slid to the side with her kunai held in a reverse grip, aiming directly for the beast's right leg.

Uchiha Hana thought that if she could strike and injure the motor nerves in its right leg, the beast would surely be hindered in its movement.

By then, whether she chose to flee or continue her assault, her chances of winning would immediately increase significantly.

In a split second, the girl and the bear brushed past each other.

Uchiha Hana's reverse-held kunai struck toward the giant brown bear's right leg with precision and force.

Not good...

The sensation of resistance and drag as the kunai hit the fur made Uchiha Hana realize in an instant that her blade had failed to pierce the hide of this wild ninja beast.

Before she could even process this, a massive bear paw struck out, arriving before she could react.

With a loud "THUD," Uchiha Hana's small body was sent flying by the giant paw, crashing heavily into a nearby tree.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets, follows, and investments.

I got off work late today, my apologies.