The Great Adventure of Xiong Xiong

Chapter 45: The Bear's Great Adventure

In a tree hollow within the forest on the north bank of the Naka River, a bear poked its head out timidly, its large, doe-like eyes wide as it cautiously observed the surroundings.

"So scawy..."

At the mere thought of that terrifying scene, the bear in the hollow couldn't help but feel its scalp tingle, and it began to shiver uncontrollably.

It had been just like any other day; after Mama Bear finished telling the bear to watch the house, she turned and headed into the forest to forage for food.

As the sun continued to shift across the sky, the bear waited for a long time, but Mama Bear never returned from her foraging.

Unable to contain itself any longer, the bear waddled out of the hidden tree hollow and began to track the scent Mama Bear had left behind in the forest, crawling toward her location.

"Mama Bear's scent..."

The bear lowered its head to sniff the ground, sensing that the lingering scent of Mama Bear in the forest was growing stronger and stronger.

The bear's large, doe-like eyes lit up; it knew Mama Bear must be nearby.

Before it could even lift its paws to go find her, a shrill, mournful roar suddenly erupted from the forest not far ahead.

"Mama Bear's voice!"

The bear was all too familiar with that shrill, mournful roar.

Had Mama Bear encountered some formidable opponent?

Thinking of this, the bear became incredibly worried, so it hurriedly scrambled forward on all fours in the direction of the sound.

"Huff..."

"Huff..."

The bear panted heavily as it ran forward without stopping...

Through the gaps in the forest, the bear could already see the silhouette of Mama Bear from a distance.

"Wait..."

"Why is Mama Bear fighting a human?"

"Didn't Mama Bear say humans are the most dangerous?"

The bear tilted its head, feeling somewhat confused for a moment.

Just as the bear prepared to go to Mama Bear's side to help her...

A horrifying sight made the bear stop dead in its tracks, all four paws skidding to a halt.

It saw that human cub suddenly transform, as if by magic, producing five identical copies of itself.

Immediately after, these five identical human cubs spat fireballs from their mouths, spraying them toward Mama Bear.

In the blink of an eye, the mighty Mama Bear was completely engulfed by the scorching flames.

Mama Bear let out a shrill, miserable scream as she was burned by the searing heat...

Before long, the stunned bear heard a "thud"—the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground—and the tall, fierce Mama Bear had collapsed, motionless and with her fate unknown.

Seeing the miserable state of Mama Bear not far ahead, the bear's eyes instantly turned red.

The bear was very familiar with the spot where Mama Bear had fallen; it was a secret secondary base they had established together.

When they were building that secret base, Mama Bear had once said that even a clever rabbit has three burrows, and since this world was so dangerous, they bears should prepare a few more tree hollows to hide in.

Gazing at the human cub who had killed Mama Bear—the one with the Uchiha Clan Crest printed on its clothes—the bear bared its teeth with red eyes, wanting to rush over and avenge her.

But before it could even take a step, the human cub wearing the Uchiha Clan Crest seemed to sense something and turned its head to look in the bear's direction.

Once targeted by that gaze, the beastly instinct etched into the bear's body instantly spiked to its peak.

The inexplicable fear that followed made the bear tremble uncontrollably.

"Humans are too scawy..."

"If I go over there, I'll be a dead bear..."

The bear lay shivering on the ground, covering its eyes with its paws, lacking even the courage to glance at the human cub.

Let alone risking its life to attack the human cub with the Uchiha Clan Crest on its clothes.

It didn't know how long it lay there...

Only when the bear could no longer feel that piercing gaze...

Did it finally move its thick paws away from its eyes and cautiously peek toward that spot.

Looking at the empty clearing...

The bear was stunned.

Once it confirmed that the dangerous human cub had left, the bear reached out a paw to pat its chest, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then, it hurriedly turned around and scrambled away on all fours toward home.

Thinking of Mama Bear's tragic death and the fact that it hadn't even had the courage to face the bear-slayer...

"Damn it!"

"I truly am a cowardly bear!"

As the bear ran, it thought of its mother's tragic death, then of the uncertainty of its future life as a bear...

The bear began to sob in grievance, large, bean-sized tears dripping incessantly from its face onto the forest floor.

It was truly a sight to make onlookers weep and listeners grieve.

Having fled in terror the entire way, the bear felt its tense heart relax slightly once it safely reached its tree hollow.

Perhaps due to being exhausted, hungry, and frightened, the bear could no longer hold on and fell asleep shortly after returning to the hollow.

It slept all the way until the next day.

It was startled awake by the sound of its own stomach growling...

"Mother Bear is gone now."

"I must go out and find food myself."

"But what if that vicious human cub is still lurking in the forest?"

"Wouldn't I lose my bear life then?"

"No, that won't do, that won't do..."

Just as it stood up, ready to head out for food, the bear seemed to recall something and immediately flopped back down, curling up where it was.

Because the hunger in its belly was unbearable, yet it dared not go out to forage, the helpless bear had no choice but to aggrievedly lick its own plump paws to stave off the hunger.

The first day...

The bear dared not go out.

The second day...

The bear still dared not go out.

The third day...

The bear remained too afraid to leave.

By the tenth day, the bear could no longer endure it.

For the sake of its own safety, the bear decided it would be best to move house.

"Hmph, detestable human cub."

"I'm moving to the NA District now; I don't believe you'll follow me there!"

If I cannot afford to provoke you, I can at least afford to hide from you.

With the idea of moving in mind, the bear waddled out of the tree hollow, intending to cross the Naka River and settle in the forest on the southern bank.

"Hmph..."

"I truly am a clever bear!"

With no possessions to speak of, the bear set off alone, beginning its journey of migration.

"Wow!"

"The river looks so deep?"

The bear stood by the banks of the Naka River, gazing toward the forest on the southern bank, its eyes filled with longing.

"As if a mere river could stop this bear's migration!"

"That is impossible; fortunately, this bear knows how to swim!"

With a smug look on its face, the bear lifted a paw and stepped into the water.

Sometimes, learning an extra skill might just save your life one day in the future.

The bear felt proud of its own versatility.

In truth, the current of the Naka River was not particularly swift, nor was the water very wide.

It was certainly possible to swim across if one took it slow.

However, for a bear that had not eaten for over ten days, this was clearly a bit of a challenge.

The bear had obviously forgotten that it hadn't eaten in ten days, and swimming was an activity that consumed a great deal of physical energy.

Thus, by the time the bear reached the halfway point, it was completely unable to continue swimming...

In its panic, the bear's leg suddenly cramped.

"Glug, glug!"

After a few struggles, the bear sank straight down, swallowing several mouthfuls of river water in the process.

Fortunately, there was a massive boulder standing in the middle of the Naka River.

Seeing the boulder standing in the center of the river, the bear felt as if it had caught a glimpse of hope for survival and scrambled to swim toward it.

By the time the bear hauled itself onto the boulder, it had absolutely no strength left at all.

"Awoo..."

"Awoo..."

A bear cub lay sprawled atop a giant boulder, wailing in shrill, miserable agony.

"Huh?"

"Why is there a bear in the river?"

Having just stepped out of the encampment to clear his head, four-year-old Senju Hashirama had only just reached the banks of the Naka River when he heard the piercing, mournful cries of a bear cub echoing from the water.

The four-year-old Senju Hashirama had originally come to the Naka River today to try his luck, hoping to see if he might run into that big brother who had taught him how to skip stones not long ago.

He had so many things he wanted to say to that big brother named Madara.