First Encounter with a Monster

Uchiha Zhuang's keen hearing and eyesight, far surpassing ordinary people, searched for the source of the sound. However, the noise was erratic, sometimes high, sometimes low, shifting from left to right, making it impossible to pinpoint. Uchiha Zhuang's eyes snapped open, activating his Sharingan. Under the power of his one-tomoe Sharingan, the entire forest became incredibly clear, allowing him to spot even moths as green as leaves. Yet, even with this enhanced vision, he couldn't find the source of the sound, which seemed to be growing closer. Uchiha Zhuang pondered for a moment and understood. He had fallen victim to an illusion. Legends spoke of many yokai possessing illusionary arts, especially those dwelling in forests, whose techniques were incredibly potent. They blurred the lines between reality and deception, just like this. Uchiha Zhuang could see parts of the real forest, while the illusory parts were hidden among distant leaves. An ordinary person caught in such a spell would be utterly lost. Uchiha Zhuang quickly channeled chakra throughout his body. With a powerful burst of chakra, the illusion indeed dissipated, revealing a large dark shadow beside him: a massive bear. However, it stood on its hind legs, its face somewhat anthropomorphic, and its paws as agile as a gorilla's, constantly moving. Seeing that Uchiha Zhuang had seemingly broken its illusion, the bear's eyes showed a flicker of anthropomorphic confusion. But moments later, it clutched its stomach in pain and crashed to the ground. A katana lay across its head. It recognized the katana: "dangerous claws." Seeing the bear struck by his kick, followed by a ground-pushing downward strike with both hands and a spring-loaded kick with his legs, the bear flew up for a moment. Then, another downward kick sent it sprawling on the ground. The situation reached a stalemate. Uchiha Zhuang broke the deadlock, speaking to the bear, "Are you a yokai?" The bear shook its head and nodded, its meaning unclear. Uchiha Zhuang was bewildered. "Can you speak?" The large black bear let out a few growls. So, it was a bear spirit that couldn't speak, capable of illusions and reading emotions. What a good pet, no, what a monster. "Why did you attack me?" Uchiha Zhuang asked sternly. The black bear growled a few times, then pointed towards the distant Great Marsh Lake, making a gesture of biting with a large mouth and then tearing with both hands. Watching the bear's performance, Uchiha Zhuang roughly understood. The bear meant there was a monster in Great Marsh Lake, a creature with a large mouth that devoured people, extremely violent. It was trying to stop Uchiha Zhuang from approaching the lake. Uchiha Zhuang sighed; even yokai could have kind hearts. He then sheathed his katana and gestured to the bear, indicating he still intended to go to Great Marsh Lake to kill the monster. The bear nodded humanely and then lumbered away into the forest. After this small interlude, Uchiha Zhuang calmed himself and cautiously approached the shore of Great Marsh Lake. He looked at the quiet beach before him, with small birds and crabs crawling around, making it hard to imagine this was a place with a man-eating monster.

After observing the shore for a long time, Uchiha Zhuang couldn't come up with a good plan to lure out the monster. Should he jump in and swim? He didn't know if the lake monster could control water. Although he had water-style chakra and wouldn't necessarily die in the water, he could definitely survive. Moreover, he had used Chakra Essence (Gold), making his water ninjutsu even stronger. Should he throw bombs or marbles into the water? The monster might not be willing to come ashore; self-preservation was a biological instinct. What kind of monster was it? If only it were a big fish! Fish? Instantly, Uchiha Zhuang thought of fishing! Since this monster could eat people, humans were medium to large creatures, so the monster must be very large, at least large enough to swallow a person. Uchiha Zhuang decided to kill a wild boar or deer and use it for fishing. He turned back into the forest and, relying on his powerful sight and hearing, quickly located a group of wild boars. Four or five adult boars and over a dozen piglets were rooting around under a fruit tree. With a swoosh, a kunai flew into the head of one boar, and it instantly fell dead. The remaining boars, startled, scattered and fled.

Uchiha Zhuang carried the one-hundred-to-one-hundred-fifty-pound wild boar to the lake. He wrapped several steel wires around the boar and tied them to the thick trunk of a large tree in the forest. Feeling secure, Uchiha Zhuang slowly ran with the boar and, with a final charge, flung it forcefully into the lake. The impact with the water created a loud splash, and the water surged high. The ripples spread rapidly across the lake's surface. Seeing this, Uchiha Zhuang turned and climbed a large tree, observing the lake surface through the gaps in the branches and leaves. The wild boar floated on the water, a large area stained red with blood. The lake's surface shimmered. With his keen eyesight, Uchiha Zhuang could see small fish and shrimp stealthily eating the boar's flesh. The wild boar probably never imagined in its life that it would be devoured by small fish and shrimp, and the small fish and shrimp never imagined they would one day eat wild boar! Looking into the dark depths of the lake, he thought he saw a pair of giant yellow eyes flash and disappear. Uchiha Zhuang doubted his own eyes. How large could those eyes be? One eye was half the size of the wild boar! Was there a dragon hidden in there? He was shocked, but his intense curiosity drove him to continue. Suddenly, Uchiha Zhuang noticed that the small fish and shrimp eating the meat were rapidly moving away from the boar, and the area around the boar quickly became clean. Good heavens, it's here! With a massive surge of water, a huge mouth broke the surface and swallowed the boar in one gulp, revealing its true form. Good heavens, a giant catfish leaped out, showing more than half its body. Its long whiskers, smooth, scale-less body, and mouth full of sharp, dense teeth all showcased its features: a Giant Catfish. After swallowing the boar, the catfish shook its head and tail, swimming back into the dark depths of the lake, the steel wire slipping off. Only larger ripples spread across the lake's surface. Wait, I just remembered, that catfish had two nascent forelimbs just now. It's preparing to come ashore. If this thing comes ashore, the farming villages and towns definitely won't be able to withstand its rampage. It would be like a dinosaur among sheep, devouring dozens at a time. He felt extremely agitated. If only he could use the Tailed Beast Bomb and chakra, this thing would definitely be an ultimate weapon. The summoning beasts in the ninja world must be these wild animals or yokai that have been subdued!

While sitting in the tree contemplating, Uchiha Zhuang noticed a dark green figure walking among the lush water plants on the lake shore. Focusing his gaze, it was a Kappa! A bald head, a flat beak, and slender limbs, walking leisurely among the water plants. Only a Kappa yokai fit the situation. The Kappa let out a long, low cry, which eventually became inaudible. At that moment, there was movement in the lake. The Giant Catfish revealed its large head, but it didn't eat the Kappa. Instead, it rested on the shallow water plants with its forelimbs. The Kappa touched the catfish with its hand, and the catfish even closed its eyes. Then, the Kappa's hands began to emit waves of green light. Uchiha Zhuang could feel the life force contained within it and a very pure and comfortable energy! After about half an hour, the Kappa withdrew its light, and the catfish slowly retreated back into the lake. The Kappa then looked around and slowly submerged itself among the water plants.

Uchiha Zhuang fell into deep thought. This Kappa yokai was taming the Giant Catfish. Moreover, judging by what he saw, it seemed to be using its abilities to heal it or even evolve it, otherwise, the enormous size and the forelimbs that exceeded the normal developmental trajectory of the species couldn't be explained. If he guessed correctly, that green light was likely natural energy! In the ninja world, it wasn't uncommon for non-human beings to possess natural energy; it was a natural occurrence. Therefore, Uchiha Zhuang didn't find it strange. However, judging by the situation, the Giant Catfish ate people, and this Kappa likely knew about it, yet it was still taming the Giant Catfish. This led him to suspect that its motives were definitely not good. Perhaps it was preparing to unleash a powerful technique to wipe out all the surrounding humans.