Uchiha Zhuang's keen hearing and far better-than-average eyesight led him toward the source, but the sound kept shifting, now high, now low, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. It was impossible to pin down. Uchiha Zhuang's eyes snapped open, and he activated the Sharingan. Through the One-Tomoe Sharingan, the entire forest came into sharp focus; he could even make out moths as green as the leaves. Yet even then, he couldn't find the source of the sound, which seemed to be drawing closer. After a moment's thought, Uchiha Zhuang understood. He'd fallen under a genjutsu. According to legend, many monsters could use genjutsu, especially those that lived in forests. Their illusions were so skillful that it was hard to tell truth from falsehood. Just like this one: Uchiha Zhuang could see part of the real forest, while the false parts were hidden among the distant leaves. An ordinary person who got caught in it would never find their way out. Uchiha Zhuang quickly flooded his body with chakra and unleashed a powerful burst. The genjutsu broke, revealing a huge black shadow beside him: a giant bear that could stand upright. Its face looked somewhat human, and its paws moved with the dexterity of a gorilla's hands. It kept fidgeting. Seeing that Uchiha Zhuang had broken its genjutsu, the bear's eyes showed a humanlike puzzlement. But a moment later, it felt a pang in its stomach, then its whole body slammed into the ground. A katana was held over its head. It knew that sword: the "Dangerous Claw." Uchiha Zhuang had kicked the bear, then braced himself on the ground with both hands and thrust his legs up, launching it into the air. Another downward kick sent it sprawling. A tense standoff followed until Uchiha Zhuang broke the silence. "Are you a monster?" The bear shook its head, then nodded. What was that supposed to mean? Uchiha Zhuang was stumped. "Can you speak Japanese?" The black bear let out a few growls. So it was a bear monster that couldn't talk, but could cast genjutsu and read people's expressions. What a great pet—no, what a great monster. "Why did you attack me?" Uchiha Zhuang asked sternly. The black bear growled a few times, then pointed toward Great Marsh Lake. It made a very humanlike gesture: opening its mouth wide and snapping at everything, then wrenching its hands apart. Watching the bear's demonstration, Uchiha Zhuang roughly understood. The bear meant that a monster in Great Marsh Lake had a huge mouth and ate people, and was incredibly violent. It had been trying to keep Uchiha Zhuang away from the lake. Uchiha Zhuang couldn't help but marvel. Even monsters could be kindhearted. He put away his katana and gestured to the bear that he still planned to go to Great Marsh Lake and kill the monster there. The bear nodded in a very humanlike way, then strode off into the woods. After that little interruption, Uchiha Zhuang steadied himself and cautiously approached the lake. The quiet sandy shore before him was dotted with little birds and crabs crawling about. It was hard to imagine this was a place where a man-eating monster lived.
After observing the shore for a long time, Uchiha Zhuang still couldn't think of a good way to lure out the monster. Should he jump in and swim? He didn't know whether the monster at the bottom of the lake could control water. Though his chakra had a Water Release nature, he might not be able to kill it underwater. He could definitely protect himself, though, especially since he'd used the Chakra Essence Liquid (Gold), which made his Water Release even stronger. Should he toss in explosive beads? The monster might not come ashore. Avoiding danger and seeking advantage was an instinct shared by all living things. What kind of monster was it? If only it were a giant fish! A fish? In a flash, Uchiha Zhuang had an idea: fishing. If the monster could eat people, then it could eat medium- or even large-sized prey. It had to be big enough to swallow a person. Uchiha Zhuang decided to kill a wild boar or deer to use as bait. He turned back into the forest and quickly located a herd of wild boars by relying on his keen eyesight and hearing. Four or five adult boars and more than a dozen piglets were rooting around beneath a fruit tree, snorting as they searched for food. With a whoosh, a kunai flew into a boar's head, killing it instantly. The others scattered in terror.
Uchiha Zhuang carried the two-hundred-pound boar to the lake. He wrapped several loops of steel cable around its body and tied the other end to the thick trunk of a tree. Once he was sure it was secure, he carried the boar and began to run, slowly at first. Then, with a final charge, he flung it into the lake with all his strength. The impact made a tremendous splash, sending water high into the air and ripples racing across the surface. Uchiha Zhuang immediately turned and climbed a tree, watching the lake through gaps between the layers of branches and leaves. The boar floated on the surface, its blood spreading in a wide stain. Sunlight glittered on the rippling water. Thanks to his keen eyesight, Uchiha Zhuang could see little fish and shrimp quietly nibbling at the meat. The boar probably never imagined it would be devoured by little fish and shrimp; and they probably never imagined they'd get to eat boar meat! As he stared into the dark depths of the lake, a pair of enormous yellow eyes seemed to flash into view, then vanished. Uchiha Zhuang doubted his own eyes. Just how big were those eyes? Each one was half the size of the boar. Was there a dragon hiding in there? He was stunned, but his intense curiosity drove him to continue. Suddenly, Uchiha Zhuang noticed the little fish and shrimp eating the meat dart away. In an instant, the water around the boar was clear. Here it came! A huge wave surged, and a massive mouth burst out of the water and swallowed the boar in one gulp, revealing its true form as it did. A giant catfish leaped partly out of the lake. Its long whiskers, smooth, scaleless body, and mouth full of sharp, fine teeth all identified it as a giant catfish. After swallowing the boar, it swished its tail and headed back into the dark depths. The steel cable slipped free, leaving only wider ripples spreading across the lake. Wait—Uchiha Zhuang suddenly remembered that the catfish had two partially formed forelimbs. It looked as if it was preparing to come ashore. If it did, a village defended by nothing more than ordinary farmers would never withstand its rampage. It would be like a dinosaur unleashed among a flock of sheep, devouring a dozen people with every bite. Uchiha Zhuang was deeply troubled. If only he could use a Tailed Beast Bomb and chakra, this thing would be a proper ultimate weapon. Were the summoning beasts in the ninja world all wild animals or monsters that had been subdued?
As Uchiha Zhuang sat in the tree, deep in thought, he noticed a dark green figure moving along the lake's shore, where the water plants grew thick. He looked closely. A Kappa! A bald head, a flat beak, and long, slender limbs. It moved leisurely through the plants. The only monster that fit the scene was a Kappa. It let out a long, low call, so faint that eventually it couldn't be heard at all. Then something stirred in the lake. The giant catfish raised its enormous head, but it didn't eat the Kappa. Instead, it used its forelimbs to crawl onto the shallows among the water plants. The Kappa stroked the catfish, which even closed its eyes. Then a soft green glow spread from the Kappa's hands. Uchiha Zhuang could sense the life force within it, along with an energy that was pure and soothing. After about half an hour, the Kappa's glow faded, and the catfish slowly retreated into the lake. The Kappa looked around, then quietly slipped away through the water plants.
Uchiha Zhuang fell into deep thought. This Kappa was raising the giant catfish, and judging by what he'd just seen, it was using its power to heal it—or even help it evolve. Otherwise, there was no explaining its enormous size or the forelimbs that defied the natural course of evolution. If his guess was right, that green glow must have been Natural Energy! In the ninja world, it wasn't unusual for nonhuman creatures to use Natural Energy. So Uchiha Zhuang wasn't surprised. But the giant catfish ate people, and the Kappa had to know that. Yet it was still raising the catfish. He could only guess that it had bad intentions. Maybe it was planning to unleash a major attack and wipe out the surrounding humans.
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