Hashirama: Can I Keep It?

"I should've known..."

"I never should've moved..."

"Is this really where my bear life ends...?"

Bear-Bear clung to the rock with all four paws, tears in his eyes as he stared pitifully at the river, hoping a few fish would leap out of the Naka River...

Preferably, they'd land right in front of him. Then he could eat them and get his strength back.

"Sniff~"

"Sniff~"

"What's that smell... It smells so good..."

Bear-Bear sniffed, puzzled, twitching his nose.

This was...

The breeze that swept across the Naka River from time to time carried the scent of delicious food.

As everyone knew, a bear's sense of smell was a hundred times stronger than a human's. He could even smell food from several kilometers away.

Some experienced beekeepers even used bears to judge the quality of honey.

According to their observations, bears always went for the best honey first.

Bear-Bear's expression shifted from puzzlement to certainty, then from certainty to delight.

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

Bear-Bear's thoughts turned, and he suddenly came up with a plan.

"Delicious food... Where is it?"

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

"Huh? Why does the food smell like it's getting closer?"

"And it's still coming closer?"

"Can food move?"

Bear-Bear's mind filled with question marks.

When he opened his eyes and looked in the direction the food's scent was coming from...

"Scary human child!"

Bear-Bear saw a human child running toward him across the river.

Although the child's clothes didn't bear that terrifying Uchiha Clan Crest...

Still...

At that moment, Bear-Bear's mind flashed back to the terror and memories of being dominated by a human child.

"Waaah..."

"Don't come any closer..."

Bear-Bear stared in shock at the human child charging toward him...

He panicked completely, his paws scrabbling wildly.

In his panic, Bear-Bear slipped and fell straight into the Naka River.

"Glug..."

"Glug..."

In his fright, Bear-Bear swallowed several mouthfuls of water.

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

Big Brother Shin had even treated him to some delicious rice balls.

At the thought, Senju Hashirama smiled. He'd brought some tasty rice balls this time, too.

If he ran into Big Brother Shin, he'd treat him to one of these delicious rice balls.

He could also talk with Big Brother Shin about how to end the war.

Senju Hashirama felt he was so stupid. When they parted last time, Big Brother Shin had clearly said the best way to end the war was to fill the world with love...

But even after thinking it over for so long, he still couldn't figure out how to fill the world with love.

Just as Senju Hashirama was about to skip a stone to relax, he suddenly heard a series of miserable wails.

Following the sound, Senju Hashirama saw a brown bear cub trapped on a boulder in the middle of the Naka River.

"Poor thing..."

As Senju Hashirama watched the poor creature wail on the rock, his heart softened.

Senju Hashirama decided to rescue the bear cub.

After all his hard training lately, Senju Hashirama had become much stronger.

He had mastered using Chakra to climb trees, and had also learned Water Walking.

So rescuing a bear trapped in the middle of the river was easy for him.

But strangely, just as Senju Hashirama was about to reach the bear...

The bear seemed terribly frightened. His face was full of panic, and he accidentally fell into the Naka River.

"What happened?"

"Had humans attacked him before?"

"Is that why he's so afraid of them?"

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

"Am I going to get burned to death?"

Terror filled Bear-Bear's big, round eyes as he stared at the human child holding him by the scruff.

His whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"Don't be afraid..."

"I won't hurt you."

Senju Hashirama gave the bear a friendly smile, then carried him back to the bank with Water Walking.

Once they reached the bank, Senju Hashirama gently set Bear-Bear down.

Terrified, Bear-Bear didn't dare shake the water off his fur. Instead, he seized the chance to run behind a nearby tree and hide.

Then he peeked around the trunk, watching Senju Hashirama nervously.

"Grrr..."

"Grrr..."

Just then, Bear-Bear's stomach growled again.

"Are you hungry?"

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

He hesitated as he looked at the two fragrant rice balls inside.

Then he broke one of them in half.

He placed the smaller half on a clean leaf, then set the leaf on the ground.

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

Staring at the food so close by, Bear-Bear swallowed hard.

First, Bear-Bear nervously glanced at Senju Hashirama, then turned his attention back to the half rice ball.

"Should I eat it?"

"What if it's dangerous?"

"Bear Mom was burned to death by a terrifying human child, after all."

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

Bear-Bear's mind was like a battlefield, with two bears fighting inside it. One urged him to eat the rice ball, while the other warned him not to. What if it was a trap?

"Whatever. If I die, I die."

"If I'm going to die, I might as well be a full bear."

In the end, Bear-Bear couldn't resist the food's allure.

He crept out from behind the tree, then plunged his head into the half rice ball and began to devour it.

"This food..."

"It's so good!"

Tears streamed down Bear-Bear's face as he chewed the delicious rice ball, overwhelmed by the taste.

Although Bear-Bear was only a brown bear ninja-beast cub, half a rice ball simply wasn't enough for him.

It was like people who were determined to diet and lose weight. They might not plan on eating anything at all.

But once they started, most people couldn't stop until they were stuffed.

That was the magic of delicious food.

Bear-Bear was no different.

After finishing the delicious half rice ball, he still felt hungry.

"This human child was kind enough to give me food..."

"He probably won't use fire to burn me, then."

"Could I ask him for a little more?"

After making sure Senju Hashirama's clothes didn't have the Uchiha Clan Crest, Bear-Bear tilted his head and thought it over. He decided that the Senju Hashirama in front of him was a good person...

So Bear-Bear decided to ask Senju Hashirama for more food and fill his belly.

He crawled up to Senju Hashirama, rubbed against his leg, then looked up at him with his big, round eyes and an innocent expression, pleading for food.

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

So soft, so comfortable.

Four-year-old Senju Hashirama stroked the ninja-beast bear's smooth, soft fur, and a thought suddenly popped into his head.

"I want to keep this ninja-beast bear..."

"When he grows up, I can ride him, and he can fight alongside me. We'd make the perfect lifelong partners!"

He would never admit that he wanted to adopt Bear-Bear because he was so cute.