The Giant Bear had run off.
While the children were excitedly talking, the Giant Bear woke up.
It glanced at Might Guy in terror, then ran without looking back.
The huge crater on the hillside was still smoking.
The six children stood beneath the moonlight, looking at the little bear lying on the ground, then at the gigantic figure that had vanished into the darkness.
The atmosphere suddenly turned a little awkward.
Obito scratched his head. "Um... what do we do now?"
No one answered.
Guy looked down at the leg that had kicked out that huge golden foot, then at the little bear.
The little bear was still unconscious, lying motionless with its belly rising and falling.
Then he looked into the distance.
The ten-meter-tall Giant Bear was running even faster than it had on the way over. Now, they couldn't even see its shadow.
"It ran away?" Obito's eyes widened. "It just abandoned its kid and ran?"
Kakashi nodded.
"Even ninja beasts are afraid to die."
Obito gaped, looking in that direction, then at the little bear.
"So what do we do with this one?"
They looked at one another.
Should they kill it?
The thought crossed several of their minds.
But no one said it aloud.
Kurenai spoke softly. "How about... we let it go?"
Rin nodded. "It's still little."
Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses. "Let it go? What if it grows up and comes looking for revenge?"
Obito shuddered. "Oh, right! It saw us just now!"
The children fell silent again.
Guy crouched down and patted the little bear's head.
Its fur was coarse and prickly.
The little bear let out a sleepy grunt but didn't wake up.
Guy thought for a moment, then looked up at Kakashi.
"What do you think?"
Kakashi walked over and stood in front of the little bear.
The moonlight fell on his masked face, and his eyes gleamed.
"Alive, it's worth more than dead."
He paused.
"It's wartime. A Ninja Bear as strong as a Genin could fetch a lot of money."
Everyone froze for a moment.
Sell it?
Obito blinked. "S-sell it... to whom?"
Kakashi glanced at him.
"There are plenty of clans in the village looking for summoning beasts. One with tough skin and thick fur that can serve as a meat shield might not know any jutsu, but it's easy to raise."
He spoke calmly, as if he were commenting on the nice weather.
Somehow, none of the children thought his words were strange.
The age of ninjas.
Wartime.
Even six-year-old children understood these things by now.
Guy nodded.
"That makes sense."
He patted the little bear's head.
"Then we'll sell it and split the money evenly."
Obito's eyes lit up.
"Split it evenly?! Really?!"
"Yeah."
"How much would we get?"
Kakashi did a quick estimate.
"For a living Ninja Bear at the Genin level, each of us should get at least this much."
He held up one hand.
Obito swallowed.
"F-five thousand ryo?"
Kakashi shook his head.
"Fifty thousand."
Obito sucked in a sharp breath.
Fifty thousand each. With six of them, that made three hundred thousand ryo.
Guy had no objections, either.
Might Duy worked so hard on missions just so Guy could eat more.
Fifty thousand ryo wasn't a small amount. It was nearly a month's worth of Duy's mission earnings.
Guy even glanced in the direction the Giant Bear had fled and licked his lips.
"I'll buy it."
Just then, a voice rang out.
Everyone turned around.
Kurenai was standing there, moonlight shining on her face and her wine-red eyes gleaming.
Obito's mouth fell open.
"You?! Where would you get three hundred thousand ryo?!"
Kurenai blushed slightly, but her voice didn't falter.
"I... my family has it."
Obito froze.
Then he suddenly remembered.
Kurenai Yuhi.
The Yuhi Clan.
They were a genjutsu clan in Konoha. They weren't among the very top clans, but they had been around for decades.
They had a sizable clan compound and plenty of businesses.
Three hundred thousand ryo.
It was a fortune to an ordinary family.
But to the Yuhi Clan...
Obito shut his mouth.
Ebisu shut his mouth, too.
Rin smiled at Kurenai.
Guy grinned.
"Fine."
Just one word.
Kurenai blinked.
"Y-you're not going to ask about the price?"
Guy shook his head.
"If you're buying it, we'll go with the price you said."
Kurenai blushed even more.
She lowered her head and said softly, "Then... I'll go talk to my dad."
Guy nodded.
"Okay."
Obito stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Hey! You're just agreeing like that?! Three hundred thousand ryo?! What if her dad says no?!"
Guy turned to him.
"Then we'll sell it to someone else."
Obito was at a loss for words.
That... did make sense, didn't it?
Still, something felt off to him.
He looked at Kurenai, who had her head lowered, the tips of her ears red.
He looked at Guy, who seemed completely unconcerned as he patted the little bear's head.
Then he looked at Rin, smiling with her eyes curved into crescents.
Obito suddenly felt a pang of jealousy.
"All right, all right. Let's tie it up first."
The group got to work.
They tore off vines, braided them into ropes, and bound the little bear tightly.
The little bear woke up as they fussed over it. It opened its bleary eyes and saw a group of tiny people gathered around it.
It struggled a couple of times.
It couldn't break free.
Then it saw a green face leaning close.
Thick eyebrows, big eyes, smiling right at it.
"Don't move. We've found you a good home."
The little bear blinked.
It didn't understand.
But that tone of voice seemed... like a good thing?
It lay there without moving.
Kurenai crouched beside it, her eyes shining as she looked at it.
"It's so well-behaved."
Rin smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, it's pretty cute."
Obito curled his lip. "Cute? It could kill you with one swipe."
Kurenai ignored him.
She kept looking at the little bear and said softly, "What should I call you from now on...?"
Ebisu was tying up vines nearby, muttering as he worked.
"Can this thing really be a summoning beast? What if it wakes up in the middle of the night and eats Kurenai?"
Kakashi glanced at him.
"It won't once they've signed a Summoning Contract."
Ebisu fell silent.
After half an hour of tying it up, they were finally done.
There were two bears.
The bigger one had run away.
The smaller one had been tied into a ball, with only its head sticking out.
Obito circled it three times.
"How do we get it back now?"
Kakashi thought for a moment.
"Drag it."
"Drag it?!"
"What else? You want to carry it?"
Obito looked at the bear ball, which was three times bigger than he was, and fell silent.
Guy had already gotten to work.
He grabbed a vine, slung it over his shoulder, and...
"Let's go."
He dragged the little bear along, its body sliding over the ground.
Scrape, scrape.
Its expression was a little dazed.
It looked like it was asking, Where am I going?
The group headed back.
The moon hung bright in the sky.
They hadn't gone far when Kakashi suddenly slowed down and fell into step beside Guy.
Guy turned to look at him.
Kakashi said nothing.
But his expression clearly said he had something to say.
Guy waited.
Kakashi still didn't speak.
"Hey," Guy said. "What is it you want to say?"
Kakashi's steps faltered.
He glanced at the others behind them.
Obito was arguing with Ebisu, while Rin and Kurenai laughed beside them.
No one was paying attention to them.
He took a deep breath.
"Guy."
"Hmm?"
"I—"
Kakashi opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Guy stopped and looked at him.
In the moonlight, the masked face seemed unusually hesitant.
"What's going on?"
Kakashi was silent for a few seconds.
Then he said, "I'm planning to apply for early graduation."