Wild Boar and Snake

"What should I do? If I go in there, I'll only be a burden."

Hyuga Natsu loosened her grip, abandoning her attempt to climb, and took a few steps back.

"No, I have to find someone to go in and check; it's too dangerous in there."

With this thought, Hyuga Natsu hurried away in a panic.

On the other side, Hyuga Gen had quietly crept near the large tree where Xiaojin was hanging.

He was grateful for his Byakugan; otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to reach this spot. Although it wasn't far, he had encountered quite a few traps along the way, which he had fortunately scouted out using his Byakugan.

In this dangerous world, it never hurt to be cautious.

To his relief, the giant wild boar and the large python seemed to be fighting further and further away. They were evenly matched in strength, and it would be difficult for either to claim victory anytime soon.

It looked like they were old rivals.

Hyuga Gen thought the python was a bit foolish; a beast is a beast, and if they didn't like each other, they just fought. But that was fine by him—if they were any smarter, he would be in even greater danger.

Hyuga Gen carefully approached from the back of the tree, where they couldn't see him. Fortunately, the tree was thick and sturdy.

That made sense, too; if the tree weren't thick enough, the giant boar would have knocked it over after a few charges, and Xiaojin would have long since become the boar's meal.

As for the snake, it probably wanted to swoop in and claim an easy prize, but since this was the giant boar's territory, the two had clashed.

Looking at Xiaojin not far away, Hyuga Gen seized the opportunity and moved closer. Thankfully, it still had a heartbeat; it was alive.

Seeing the wounds on Xiaojin's body, he couldn't tell how they had happened, though it stood to reason that if it hadn't been injured, it wouldn't have been caught in the net.

Hyuga Gen took out a kunai and was just about to slice the net when a crow swooped down from the sky toward him.

Hyuga Gen quickly raised his kunai to defend himself, but the crow was incredibly clever. Just as it was about to hit the blade, it pulled up sharply, perched next to the net, and began cawing at him.

It seemed to be forbidding him from cutting the net, or perhaps it simply didn't want Xiaojin to be freed.

The commotion immediately drew the attention of the giant snake and the wild boar. Discovering a human presence, they stopped their fight and charged toward Hyuga Gen.

They harbored an intense hatred for humans. Being caged here would make anyone feel miserable, so whenever they encountered a human, they either killed or devoured them.

Seeing that its goal had been achieved, the crow slowly ascended. Before leaving, it cast a mocking glance at Hyuga Gen and flew away from the scene of the trouble.

Hyuga Gen felt like he was about to spit blood. Truly, he had never seen such a despicable crow; crows should go extinct—they had no place in this world.

With no time to think, Hyuga Gen quickly jumped down from the tree and ran. He knew this wasn't the time to cut the net and save Xiaojin.

Even if he cut the net and released Xiaojin, the situation would only get worse. After all, Xiaojin was severely wounded and unconscious; it couldn't fly on its own.

If Hyuga Gen tried to carry it while running, neither of them would make it, and they would both end up as food.

Seeing the two beasts rushing toward him, the only thing Hyuga Gen could think of was to run. He might have barely managed to deal with one, but with two, running was his only option.

Although Hyuga Gen was fast, he could feel them getting closer and closer.

"I'm still too young. If I had just another year or two, I would definitely have stewed these two and eaten them."

"Well, at the end of the day, I'm just too weak. If I were a freak like Uchiha Itachi, I wouldn't be in such a pathetic state."

Of course, he wasn't even sure if Uchiha Itachi had learned the Great Fireball Technique yet. While the technique didn't seem that impressive, one had to realize that most Genin struggled to use it; it was usually reserved for Chunin.

Even if he hadn't learned it, Uchiha Itachi could have used his precise throwing skills to pierce their eyes, which would have given him a high chance of victory.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Gen knew neither. He only knew a bit of the Gentle Fist, and his chakra concentration wasn't high enough; hitting the boar or the snake wouldn't do much, and he would likely be eaten or crushed to death.

Unless he could shatter their hearts with a single palm strike—something he might be able to do in a year or two—he clearly couldn't do it now. He had only been soul-transmigrated here for a year.

"I must train hard. Now is not the time to be a slacker."

Hyuga Gen made a silent vow to himself to train even harder and improve his strength.

Of course, he had been exercising his body all along; he had been frail before, but he was already much stronger than he used to be.

Seeing the gaping maw behind him, Hyuga dodged just in time. He had run a fair distance, but they had caught up, and his heart was in his throat.

He narrowly avoided them several times, but thanks to the dense trees, he was agile enough to avoid being caught, despite his lack of raw speed.

Three hundred, two hundred, one hundred meters. Hyuga Gen gripped an explosive tag-laden kunai in his hand. He planned to throw it the moment he left the forest to buy himself some time.

After all, there was still a fence he needed to climb, and he couldn't jump that high yet; he couldn't clear it in one leap, so he needed a moment.

He threw the kunai. With a loud boom, an explosion erupted. Hyuga Gen didn't look back as he sprinted toward the iron fence, lifting his foot to climb over.

At that very instant, Hyuga Gen hesitated. He realized that if he climbed over, he would be safe, but Xiaojin would be in danger.

They might immediately turn back and devour Xiaojin. At that thought, Hyuga Gen's expression darkened. He should have asked someone for help.

He turned around and rushed back toward the site of the explosion, fearing they might have already turned back.

As expected, the explosion hadn't caused much damage. The power of the explosive tag wasn't great, and while it had some effect on their thick hides, it wasn't enough.

They had been ready to give up, thinking the "two-legged worm" had escaped, but the fact that the detestable creature had returned infuriated them further. They felt insulted.

Without a word, they charged to devour the damned human. Hyuga Gen activated his Byakugan, took his stance, and prepared to fight.

Suddenly, Hyuga Gen deactivated his Byakugan, looking terrified as he backed away.

"Only now realizing your fear? It's too late. I must devour you alive, two-legged worm."

The giant python lunged toward Hyuga Gen with its jaws wide open.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."

Suddenly, a figure in mid-air struck out with a palm, followed immediately by another strike directed at the giant boar.

"Get lost, now. Hmph."

The newcomer shouted, his voice carrying an indescribable air of authority.

The two beasts knew they were no match for this person; though they were reluctant, they tucked their tails and fled in disgrace.

Cool. It was damn cool. This was the first time Hyuga Gen had ever seen Hyuga Hiashi look this cool—holding a little girl in one arm while unleashing two palm strikes in mid-air, then scaring off two ferocious beasts with a single low shout. He almost wanted to applaud.

"Brother Dongyi, are you alright?" Hyuga Natsu approached Hyuga Gen, asking with concern.

"Uncle Hiashi, Xiaojin is still over there. Let's hurry over."

Without time for further words, Hyuga Gen dashed out.

Hyuga Natsu followed closely behind, and Hyuga Hiashi naturally had no choice but to follow as well.