Forest of Death, eastern sector.
Three bedraggled figures were fleeing desperately through the damp undergrowth.
"Phew... phew... Shikamaru! Is that huge thing still chasing us?!"
Ino Yamanaka ran while looking back, her golden ponytail covered in mud and grass, her face drained of color.
"Don't look back! Keep running!"
Shikamaru Nara gritted his teeth and kept his genius head, with an IQ over 200, lowered low.
His mind was completely blank now, with only one thought left: run for his life.
"Even... even the Human Bullet Tank couldn't stop it!"
Chōji Akimichi, bringing up the rear, was so out of breath he could barely speak.
His bulky body crashed left and right through the narrow forest, snapping several small trees.
He still clutched an unfinished bag of chips tightly to his chest. He was a real tough one.
They were Team 10, led by Asuma.
They had been lucky at first, finding a Heaven Scroll right at the start.
But before they could celebrate for even two minutes, they had stirred up a hornet's nest.
They had run into a bad-tempered giant armored bear taking its afternoon nap!
That thing had thick hide, tough flesh, and monstrous strength.
Chōji's Human Bullet Tank had hit it like a scratch.
Ino's Mind Body Switch Technique was utterly useless against a beast with nothing but muscle in its brain.
Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique could not even keep up with its movements.
"ROAR—!!!"
Another deafening roar came from behind them, accompanied by the sharp crack of trees being snapped in half.
The armored bear had clearly decided they were its afternoon snack and relentlessly pursued them.
"There's firelight ahead! It looks like someone's there!"
Ino's sharp eyes spotted a faint orange glow through a gap in the trees ahead.
As if she had found