Late at night, in a forest far from town.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Deafening roars echoed through the forest again and again.
Blue light shimmered beneath Lin Mu's feet, sticking him to the side of an ancient tree.
He was a good seven or eight meters above the ground.
The ancient tree he clung to was shaking violently.
Lin Mu's expression was grave as he looked down.
It was a bear, enormous in size, standing over three meters tall!
Its eyes were as big as eggs, blood-red and savage!
Its razor-sharp fangs glimmered a ghastly white in the darkness.
The bear seemed to have gone berserk, repeatedly ramming the ancient tree in an attempt to knock Lin Mu down.
"These system missions are getting harder and harder!"
This was one of Lin Mu's normal missions for the week.
Normal Mission: Kill one Violent Wild Bear. Mission reward: 300 Gold Coins.
And they called this normal?
This was practically a death sentence!
Ever since he had set off to train with Jiraiya, he had been doing fewer normal missions.
He had also spent 3,000 Gold Coins on a Senju Hashirama Template Fragment last time, leaving his finances in terrible shape!
Now that he had finally entered a free-training phase, he'd decided to take on some missions and replenish his Gold Coins.
After all, he now had the right to purchase Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique.
Once he saved up 10,000 Gold Coins, his strength would undergo another terrifying leap!
But when Lin Mu saw that the reward was only 300 Gold Coins, he knew this wasn't going to be simple.
Killing a Chunin earned only 50 Gold Coins, but this Violent Wild Bear was worth a full 300!
That was a sixfold difference.
The bounty alone made it clear just how strong this Violent Wild Bear was.
At least six times as strong as a Chunin!
That put it on par with an ordinary Jonin.
Of course, even if this beast had the strength of a Jonin, Lin Mu wasn't afraid.
The moment he saw the bear, he charged straight at it.
Finish the job early, wrap up early, get paid early.
But the bear's first swipe knocked some sense into him.
A sharp crack rang out, and Lin Mu went flying five or six meters like a rag doll!
That thing was strong—ridiculously strong.
Was this bear a mutant?
And you're only giving me 300 Gold Coins for something this powerful? Hmph, what a stingy shop!
What's more, the Violent Wild Bear grew more and more furious as the fight went on. It seemed to have no idea what pain was, and its injuries didn't appear to affect it at all.
Its attacks grew increasingly frenzied. Lin Mu had cut it countless times, but its fighting strength hadn't diminished—instead, it had only grown stronger.
This thing was way too ferocious!
Lin Mu glanced once more at the Violent Wild Bear rampaging beneath the tree and took a deep breath. This time, he'd finish it off with a single combo!
"Wood Style: Great Forest Technique!"
Lin Mu quickly formed a few hand seals. His chakra stirred under his guidance, flowing in a special way and affecting the trees around him.
Crack, crack, crack...
Branches shot out from the surrounding trees. Once rigid, they now stretched like vines, winding toward the Violent Wild Bear to bind it.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The bear roared again, then gave a powerful tug with its burly body.
The branches wrapped around it snapped at once, and it broke free.
But in that moment, it left itself open!
"Wood Style: Explosive Spear Tree!"
Lin Mu shouted as chakra surged and blazed through his body like flames. His muscles shifted, and vines sprouted, coiling around his right hand.
His right hand rapidly expanded before his eyes, swelling and growing larger!
In the end, that single arm was as huge as his entire body.
More chakra flowed into the arm, turning it into a giant tree limb that grew harder and heavier.
"Die!"
The moment the Great Forest Technique bound the Violent Wild Bear, Lin Mu had started building up his right arm.
By the time the bear broke free, his Explosive Spear Tree was ready.
The glowing blue chakra beneath his feet vanished. Using the ancient tree to propel himself, Lin Mu sprang forward like a cannonball and hurtled down toward the giant bear.
In terms of sheer attack power, this was the strongest jutsu in his arsenal.
"Explosive Spear Tree!"
His giant wooden fist slammed into the bear's head.
A tremendous crash rang out. The Violent Wild Bear was driven into the ground, leaving a half-meter-deep crater beneath it.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Lin Mu landed a short distance away and stared at the giant beast in the crater, his chest heaving.
Using the Great Forest Technique and Wood Release: Explosive Spear Tree one after the other had taken a toll. Even with his powerful physique, he was struggling.
He had already used up more than half of his substantial chakra reserves.
But the system still hadn't announced a kill.
That meant the beast was playing dead. It was still alive!
What a cunning creature. If he hadn't had the system, the beast might have tricked him.
"Too bad for you, I'm the chosen one!"
Lin Mu felt a brief pang of pity for the giant bear, then pulled Samehada from his back.
Lately, Lin Mu had been feeding Samehada his chakra, and their rapport had improved considerably.
Perhaps sensing its master's killing intent, the spikes covering Samehada stood on end, and its entire body hardened.
Gripping Samehada in both hands, Lin Mu leaped forward and charged at the giant bear at incredible speed.
But when Lin Mu came within a meter of it, the bear—which had been lying motionless as if dead—suddenly sprang up.
Its enormous paw swung toward him, aiming to smash him into a pulp.
Just as expected!
Lin Mu thought, Glad I'm quick-witted!
Then he twisted at an impossible angle, dodging at incredible speed as the giant paw swept past his back.
Shhk—
A sharp pain struck, and he knew the bear's claws had torn open the flesh on his back.
A ruthless glint appeared in Lin Mu's eyes. At the last moment, Samehada slashed toward the giant bear's neck.
Riiip—
The sound of flesh tearing rang out as Samehada carved away a large patch of skin and flesh from the bear's neck.
"Roar!"
Blood gushed from its neck. With a vital spot wounded, the giant bear staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! Normal Mission complete: Kill one Violent Wild Bear. Reward: 300 Gold Coins!"
"Phew..."
Lin Mu's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The fight was finally over!
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