After leaving the cemetery, Naruto followed a narrow path toward the north of the island.
From what he could sense, the area to the north was almost uninhabited, with nothing but dense forest and a stretch of desolate coastline.
That suited him perfectly. He needed somewhere quiet to absorb Koushirou's training memories.
The light dimmed the moment he entered the forest.
The canopy overlapped overhead, letting only scattered shafts of sunlight slip through the gaps.
As Naruto walked, he felt the rhythm of this world's Natural Energy flowing through the trees.
"Roar!"
A roar suddenly burst from deep in the forest, shaking leaves from the branches.
A tree as thick as a bowl was snapped by a single swipe. It tipped sideways and crashed to the ground.
Then a massive brown shape emerged from behind it. The ground trembled as all four of its paws landed.
It was a brown bear.
Standing upright, it was over ten meters tall. Its shoulders were as broad as a wall, and the claws on its forepaws were longer than a human hand.
It stared at Naruto, a low rumble rising from its throat. Drool soaked the fur around its mouth and dripped to the ground.
Naruto stopped, looked it up and down, then shook his head.
"No wonder nobody comes around here. So you're the reason."
It was about the size of the bear that had chased Karin during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
An ordinary person would have found it terrifying, but to Naruto, it was just an oversized beast.
"Roar!"
The brown bear was enraged when its prey not only failed to run, but stood there sizing it up.
It dug its forepaws into the ground, spraying dirt, then lunged at Naruto with its jaws wide open.
Naruto did not move.
Just