Forest of Death

Kazan stopped after what felt like an eternity, his body nearing its limit.

He took off his shirt and wrung it hard. Sweat poured from the fabric like water from an open tap, splashing onto the dry training ground.

Every drop was proof of his hard work.

"Heading back, Ka... Kazan?"

Might Guy stopped when he saw Kazan stop.

He had spent the whole time trying to catch Kazan. But what began as a five-lap deficit had grown to a full fifteen laps, and he was exhausted.

Only sheer willpower kept him going.

"Yeah. If I leave it any later, things could get tricky."

"That's it for today, Guy. See you."

Kazan slung the wrung-out shirt over his shoulder and left the Ninja Academy without looking back.

The sun would set soon. He had to find dinner.

Once Kazan was out of sight, Might Duy came over. "Let's head home too, Guy."

"Okay."

Might Guy followed his father home.

On the way, he couldn't help asking, "Dad, can I really become a strong Ninja?"

"Of course!" Might Duy answered without hesitation. He pressed his thumb to his chest, over his heart. "The sweat you shed will never betray you. Every step you run is your youth roaring!"

"But... even at Taijutsu, I can't beat Kazan..."

Guy's voice dropped.

He had no talent for Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu was utterly beyond him.

When the Ninja Academy first admitted students, he had been almost the only one turned away.

Only his father's constant encouragement had kept him going. In the end, he had moved the Third Hokage enough to let him enroll in the Ninja Academy.

He had thought that if he kept working hard, one day he would catch up to everyone else and prove that his and his father's Ninja Way was right.

Then he arrived at the academy and met Kazan.

He couldn't match Kakashi's talent for Ninjutsu. Now he couldn't match Kazan's talent for Taijutsu, either.

A gap of fifteen full laps was more than just a number.

It meant the energy in his body fell far short of Kazan's, a Genius who had abandoned Ninjutsu to train solely in Taijutsu.

He couldn't even match how hard Kazan and Kakashi worked.

More than once, he had seen Kakashi training alone. He had also seen Kazan emerge from the Forest of Death covered in wounds.

I'm too weak!

As Guy hung his head, Might Duy swung a fist and sent him flying several meters.

"You idiot, Guy!"

"The fact that they're ahead of you means you need to follow the path they've made and chase them all the harder!"

"Listen to me! Youth is a train with no return trip. Anyone who's always afraid of failure will never succeed!"

"Be brave. Don't ask yourself whether you can beat them. Ask yourself what you need to do to beat them..."

Might Duy shared what he had learned from life with his son.

Guy clearly hadn't expected such wisdom from his father. For once, it wasn't something like, "Youth doesn't reach its peak until the moment you die!"

Clarity returned to Guy's eyes. He called out to his father, "I understand, Dad!"

"Guy!"

Father and son embraced in the street and burst into tears.

Passersby gave the pair a wide berth. They wanted nothing to do with those two lunatics.

Meanwhile.

Kazan had reached the Forest of Death.

Dinner was waiting for him there.

As Kazan grew older and stronger, the amount of energy his body needed each day had become enormous.

An ordinary Ninja could fill up on a bowl of rice, a bowl of Miso Soup, a fish, and some vegetables.

For Kazan, that was barely an appetizer.

It wouldn't leave him starving, but it was nowhere near enough to satisfy the tremendous potential the Garp Template had given his body.

He needed vast amounts of food to feed his hyperactive cells, give them enough energy, and bring out his body's full potential.

Kazan strode into the Forest of Death, the place that struck fear into the hearts of Konoha's villagers.

As the site of the Chunin Ninja Exams, the Forest of Death was home to countless ferocious beasts: giant snakes over a hundred meters long, bears the size of houses, and giant apes that could leap dozens of meters at a time...

Creatures like those were everywhere in the forest.

He had barely entered the outskirts when a pair of scarlet eyes lit up. Glistening drool dripped from sharp fangs.

Kazan looked over. A fierce Tiger the size of a small house emerged from the shadows behind a tree.

"Been waiting long, Hakimi?" He chuckled and beckoned.

Then something remarkable happened.

The Tiger Kazan had named Hakimi turned into an eager pet. He pounced over and affectionately licked Kazan's face.

He was Kazan's "hunting dog." Kazan had found him two years ago, when he was still a cub.

His mother had probably died fighting another beast, leaving Hakimi to wander out to the edge of the Forest of Death.

Luckily, Kazan had just eaten his fill that day. Otherwise, he might have cooked Hakimi for dinner.

"Let's go."

"Roar!"

Hakimi immediately crouched so Kazan could climb onto his back.

Then the man and the Tiger charged deeper into the Forest of Death.

Before long, they found a target: a Grizzly Bear even bigger than Hakimi.

The bear spotted them too and fixed his gaze on Hakimi.

Kazan, perched on the Tiger's back, barely registered to him. Just a two-legged creature. One swipe could kill him ten times over.

The bear clearly had no idea which of them was the real threat.

"That's the one. Go get him, Haki Tiger!"

Kazan sprang high from Hakimi's back. At his command, Hakimi leaped straight at the bear without hesitation.

The bear reared up to meet him.

Boom! Hakimi knocked the bear flat. But the bear quickly swatted him away, sending him crashing through a nearby tree.

Before the bear could get back up, the two-legged creature dropped from the sky.

"Fist Bone!"

Kazan clenched his right fist and plummeted like a Meteorite.

"Impact!"

The bear watched Kazan's fist grow larger by the instant. Then, with a thunderous boom, it slammed straight into his head.

There was no Haki behind the punch, let alone Conqueror's Coating. Just a fist and a blow charged with Chakra.

Yet that single punch nearly sent the bear to meet his ancestors.

"Roar!"

The wounded bear went berserk. Blood streamed from his eyes, blurring his vision, and he swung his paws wildly. Tree after tree snapped in half beneath his blows.

Kazan retreated beside Hakimi. He rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand, then shook out his left arm to loosen up.

"Still alive? You can take a hit."

Hakimi answered with a roar.

"Don't bite his paws. I'm having bear paw tonight, and I don't want your drool on it."

With that, Kazan launched himself forward again. "Fist Bone: Impact!" he roared, driving another punch at the bear.