Boars and Snakes

"What should I do? If I go in, I'll only get in the way."

Hyuga Natsu released the hand she'd been about to use to climb and took a few steps back.

"No, someone has to go in and check. It's too dangerous in there."

With that thought, Hyuga Natsu hurriedly ran off.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Gen had quietly made his way near the tree where Xiaojin was hanging.

He was lucky to have the Byakugan; otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to get here. The distance wasn't far, but he'd run into quite a few traps along the way. Fortunately, he'd used the Byakugan to scout ahead.

In a world full of danger, it never hurt to be cautious.

To his relief, the giant boar and the enormous snake seemed to be moving farther away as they fought. Their strength was evenly matched, and it would be a while before either could win.

They seemed to be old rivals.

Hyuga Gen thought the snake was a little dumb. Beasts were beasts: if they didn't like each other, they fought. Still, that was a good thing. The smarter they were, the more dangerous they'd be to him.

Hyuga Gen carefully climbed up the side of the tree they couldn't see. Luckily, it was thick and tall.

It had to be. If the tree weren't thick enough, the giant boar would probably have knocked it over after a few hits, and Xiaojin would have become its meal long ago.

As for the snake, perhaps it had wanted to come by and pick up an easy meal. But this was the boar's territory, so the two had started fighting.

Keeping an eye on Xiaojin nearby, Hyuga Gen waited for the right moment and crept closer. Thankfully, Xiaojin still had a heartbeat and was alive.

He looked at the wounds on Xiaojin's body, unsure how they'd gotten there. Then again, if Xiaojin hadn't been injured, it probably wouldn't have gotten caught in the net.

Hyuga Gen took out a kunai and was about to slash through the net when a crow suddenly dove down at him from above.

Hyuga Gen hurriedly raised his kunai to block it, but the crow was clever. Just before it hit the blade, it swooped back up and hovered beside the net, cawing at him.

It seemed determined to stop Hyuga Gen from cutting the net—perhaps because it didn't want Xiaojin to get out.

The commotion immediately caught the attention of the snake and the boar. When they spotted a human, they stopped fighting and charged toward Hyuga Gen.

They hated humans with a passion. Anyone would be miserable being penned up here, so whenever the beasts encountered a human, they either killed or devoured them.

Seeing that it had achieved its goal, the crow rose into the air. Before leaving, it gave Hyuga Gen a mocking look, then flew away from the trouble.

Hyuga Gen nearly spat blood. Seriously, he'd never seen a crow this obnoxious. Crows should go extinct. They had no business existing in this world.

There was 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 freed Xiaojin, things would only get worse. Xiaojin was badly injured and unconscious; it couldn't fly on its own.

If Hyuga Gen tried to run while carrying it, neither of them might get away. They'd end up as the beasts' next meal.

Seeing the two beasts charging toward him, all Hyuga Gen could think of was running. He might have been able to handle one, barely, but with two, he had no choice but to flee.

Hyuga Gen was fast, but he could still feel them getting closer.

I'm still too young. Give me another year or two, and I'll stew these two and eat them.

All right, in the end, I'm still too weak. If I were that freak, Uchiha Itachi, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

Of course, he didn't know whether Uchiha Itachi had learned the Great Fireball Technique yet. The technique didn't seem all that powerful, but ordinary Genin had a hard time using it. Chunin could manage it.

Even if Itachi hadn't learned it, his precise throwing skills would let him injure the beasts' eyes, giving him a good chance of winning.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Gen couldn't do any of that. All he knew was a little Gentle Fist, and he didn't have enough chakra. His strikes wouldn't do much against the boar or the giant snake. He'd likely be eaten or knocked half to death.

Unless he could strike hard enough to shatter their hearts, but perhaps it would take another year or two before he could manage that. He'd only been in this world for a year.

I need to train harder. This isn't the time to be a couch potato.

Hyuga Gen silently resolved to work harder at training and improve his strength.

He had been exercising all along, of course. His body had been weak before, but now it was much stronger.

Seeing the gaping maw behind him, Hyuga Gen hurriedly dodged. They caught up with him after he'd run a while, and his heart leaped into his throat.

He narrowly avoided them several times. Luckily, there were plenty of trees. He wasn't fast enough, but he was nimble, so they couldn't easily catch him.

Three hundred meters, two hundred, one hundred. Hyuga Gen clenched the kunai with an Explosive Tag attached in his hand. He planned to throw it the moment he left the forest and buy himself some time.

He still had to climb over the fence. He couldn't jump high enough to clear it in one go, so he needed a little time.

He threw the kunai. It exploded with a bang, and Hyuga Gen ran toward the iron fence without looking back, lifting a foot to climb over.

At that moment, Hyuga Gen hesitated. If he climbed over, he'd be safe, but Xiaojin would be in danger.

The beasts might turn right around and go back to eat Xiaojin. Hyuga Gen's expression darkened. I should've asked someone to help me from the start.

He turned around and quickly headed back toward the explosion. Now he was afraid the beasts might have already gone back.

Sure enough, the explosion hadn't done them much damage. The Explosive Tag wasn't very powerful. It had some effect on their thick hides, but not much.

They had been ready to give up, thinking the two-legged bug had already escaped. But that hateful bug had come back, making them even angrier. They felt as if he were looking down on them.

Without hesitation, they charged to devour the damned human alive. Hyuga Gen activated his Byakugan, took his stance, and prepared to risk it.

Suddenly, Hyuga Gen shut off his Byakugan and took a few steps back, pretending to be afraid.

Now you're scared? Too late. I'm going to swallow you whole, two-legged bug.

The giant snake charged at Hyuga Gen with its jaws wide open.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Suddenly, someone in the air struck with one palm, then struck again toward the giant boar.

"Get lost, now!"

The newcomer's voice rang out in a commanding tone.

The beasts knew they were outmatched. Though unwilling, they slunk away.

Damn, that was cool. This was the first time Hyuga Gen had seen Hyuga Hiashi look so cool. Holding a little girl with one arm, he'd thrown two palms in midair and driven off two fierce beasts with a single shout. Hyuga Gen nearly applauded.

"Big Brother Gen, are you all right?" Hyuga Natsu came over to check on him.

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

There was no time to say anything else. Hyuga Gen rushed off.

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