Hashirama: Can I Raise It?

Chapter 46 Hashirama: Can I Keep It?

"If I had known it would be like this..."

"I wouldn't have moved..."

"Is my bear life... going to end right here?"

Bear-Bear clung tightly to the rock with all four limbs, staring pitifully at the river surface with teary eyes, hoping that a few fish would leap out of the Naka River...

It would be best if they landed right in front of it, so that after eating the fish, it would have the strength to go on.

"Sniff~"

"Sniff~"

"What is this smell... it smells so good..."

Bear-Bear twitched its nose in confusion and took a deep breath.

This is...

The breeze that occasionally swept across the surface of the Naka River was actually carrying the scent of delicious food.

As everyone knows, a bear's sense of smell is 100 times that of a human; it can even detect the scent of food from several kilometers away.

Some experienced beekeepers even use bears to test the quality of honey.

Because according to the observations of these beekeepers, bears always prefer to eat the very best parts of the honey first.

Bear-Bear's expression shifted from confusion to certainty, and then from certainty to surprise.

"If there is food, I won't have to starve to death, right?"

Bear-Bear's brain whirred as it suddenly arrived at this line of reasoning.

"Delicious food... where is it?"

Bear-Bear closed its eyes, lifted its nose, and began to sniff carefully.

"Huh, why does the scent of food seem to be getting closer and closer?"

"And it's still constantly approaching?"

"Can the food actually move?"

Bear-Bear's mind was filled with question marks.

When it opened its eyes and looked in the direction from which the scent of food was drifting...

"A terrifying human cub!"

Bear-Bear saw a human cub actually running toward it across the surface of the river.

Although the clothes on this human cub did not bear that terrifying Uchiha Clan Crest.

However...

In this moment, the fear and memories of being dominated by a human cub still flooded Bear-Bear's mind.

"Awoo-woo..."

"Don't come over here..."

Bear-Bear watched with a face full of shock as this human cub rushed toward it...

Bear-Bear panicked completely, its four limbs beginning to scramble about in agitation.

In its carelessness, Bear-Bear tumbled directly into the Naka River.

"Glug..."

"Glug..."

In its panic, Bear-Bear choked on several mouthfuls of water.

Four-year-old Senju Hashirama had come out today to clear his head, and it would be even better if he could run into Big Brother Shin, who had taught him how to skip stones last time.

Besides, Big Brother Shin had treated him to some delicious rice balls last time.

Thinking of this, Senju Hashirama revealed a smile; he had brought delicious rice balls with him this time as well.

If he ran into Big Brother Shin, he would definitely treat Big Brother Shin to these delicious rice balls.

He would also take the opportunity to chat with Big Brother Shin about how to end the war.

Senju Hashirama felt that he was too slow-witted; when they parted ways last time, Big Brother Shin had clearly said that the best way to end the war was to fill the world with love...

Yet, he had been thinking about it for so long and still couldn't figure out how to fill this world with love.

Just as Senju Hashirama was preparing to skip a stone to soothe his mood, a series of miserable wails suddenly reached his ears.

Senju Hashirama looked in the direction from which the wailing came and saw a brown bear cub currently trapped on a giant rock in the middle of the Naka River.

"Poor little guy..."

Senju Hashirama looked at the creature wailing miserably on the rock, and his heart suddenly softened.

Senju Hashirama decided to save this bear cub.

After a period of diligent training, Senju Hashirama's strength had improved significantly.

He had not only mastered the technique of using Chakra to climb trees but had also learned how to use Chakra to walk on water.

Therefore, for him, rescuing a bear trapped in the middle of the river was an easy task.

However, strangely enough, just as Senju Hashirama was about to reach the bear, something happened.

The bear seemed to be extremely terrified; not only did a panicked expression appear on its face, but in its fluster, it accidentally fell into the Naka River.

"What's going on?"

"Could it have been attacked by humans before?"

"Is that why it's so afraid of humans?"

With a hint of confusion, Senju Hashirama reached out, grabbed the fur on the back of the bear's neck, and fished it out of the Naka River.

"Am I going to be burned to death?"

Bear-Bear's two large, wide eyes were filled with fear as it looked at the human child holding the scruff of its neck.

Its entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Don't be afraid..."

"I won't hurt you."

Senju Hashirama offered the bear a kind smile, then, carrying the bear, he stepped onto the water again and quickly returned to the shore.

Once they reached the bank, Senju Hashirama gently placed Bear-Bear on the ground.

Terrified to the core, Bear-Bear didn't even dare to shake the water off its fur; instead, it seized the opportunity to scramble behind a large tree nearby and hide.

Then, hiding behind the tree, it poked its head out and stared nervously at Senju Hashirama.

"Gurgle..."

"Gurgle..."

At that moment, Bear-Bear's stomach growled again.

"Are you hungry?"

Senju Hashirama crouched down, took a cloth bundle from his chest, and carefully opened it.

Looking at the two rice balls still emitting a fragrant aroma, Senju Hashirama hesitated for a moment.

Then, he broke one of the rice balls in half.

He placed the smaller half onto a clean leaf and set it on the ground along with the leaf.

To avoid scaring Bear-Bear, Senju Hashirama took a few steps back.

Looking at the food within reach, Bear-Bear swallowed a large gulp of saliva.

Bear-Bear first looked nervously at Senju Hashirama not far away, then refocused its attention on the half-rice ball.

"Should I eat it?"

"What if it's a trap?"

"You have to remember, Mama Bear was burned to death by a terrifying human child."

"But if I don't eat, I'll starve to death..."

At this moment, it was as if two bears were fighting inside Bear-Bear's head; one urged it to eat the rice ball, while the other warned it not to, in case it was a trick.

"Screw it, if I die, I die."

"Even if I'm going to die, I want to be a well-fed bear."

In the end, Bear-Bear could not resist the temptation of the food.

It stepped out from behind the tree, one step at a time, then dove headfirst onto the half-rice ball and began to devour it.

"This food..."

"It's so delicious!"

Bear-Bear shed tears as it chewed the tasty rice ball, unable to help but marvel in its heart.

Although Bear-Bear was only a brown bear ninja beast cub, that half-rice ball was far too little for it.

Just like those who vow to diet and lose weight—they might not intend to eat anything at first, but once they start, most people simply cannot stop until they are stuffed.

That is the charm of delicious food.

Bear-Bear was the same now.

After finishing the half-rice ball, Bear-Bear still felt very hungry.

"Since this human child was kind enough to give me food..."

"He probably won't violently burn me with fire."

"Then, can I ask him for a little more food?"

After confirming that there was no Uchiha Clan Crest on Senju Hashirama's clothes.

Bear-Bear tilted its head and thought, deciding that the Senju Hashirama before it was a good person...

Therefore, Bear-Bear decided to ask Senju Hashirama for more food to fill its belly.

So, Bear-Bear crawled up to Senju Hashirama, rubbed against his leg, and then looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes, wearing an innocent expression as it begged for food.

Senju Hashirama looked down at Bear-Bear, who was still rubbing against his leg.

So soft, so comfortable.

Four-year-old Senju Hashirama stroked the soft, smooth fur of the ninja beast Bear-Bear, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

"I want to raise this ninja beast Bear-Bear..."

"When it grows up, I can ride it, and it can fight alongside me; this is a partner for life!"

He would absolutely never admit that the reason he wanted to adopt the ninja beast Bear-Bear was simply because Bear-Bear was too kawaii.