BOOM!
As the gray bear’s enormous body crashed to the ground, Kazan and Hakimi secured their dinner for the day.
“My combat strength should be at least chūnin level by now, right?”
Kazan dropped from the air, and the instant his feet touched the ground, there was even that distinctive One Piece-style clack.
The Forest of Death was one of the stages of Konoha’s Chūnin Exams in the original story.
Candidates had to make their way through the Forest of Death while collecting the required items from other examinees in order to pass.
Therefore, during that particular Chūnin Exam, the dangers the candidates faced in the Forest of Death came from two sources: the ferocious beasts inhabiting the forest and the other examinees.
Since Kazan could already treat the Forest of Death as his personal hunting ground, he definitely possessed at least chūnin-level combat strength.
“Stop drooling. Drag this guy back to the outskirts.”
Kazan rubbed Hakimi’s head, and the pair made their way back toward the outer reaches of the Forest of Death.
He had no intention of getting attacked by other beasts while he was trying to eat.
The Forest of Death was dangerous, but the creatures living around its perimeter weren’t much different from ordinary animals.
The true overlords of the forest all lived deep within its interior.
Out here, all Hakimi had to do was lie down, and no creature dared come anywhere near them.
Kazan gathered some firewood and butchered the bear.
Then, while the meat roasted, he continued practicing his punches.
The Forest of Death had just about everything going for it.
There was food, dry firewood, water, and even the scenery was pretty good—lush and green as far as the eye could see.
The only downside was how ridiculously long it took to cook the meat all the way through.
During that time, Hakimi repeatedly went back and forth gathering firewood.
Every now and then, he would even bring back wild fruits and mushrooms for Kazan to make soup with.
“This thing looks poisonous, doesn’t it? Last time I ate one, I ended up falling asleep.”
“But it tastes pretty good!”
Kazan looked at the purple mushroom Hakimi had brought back, rinsed it off, and tossed it into the pot.
He didn’t know whether people in the One Piece world were simply built that tough, or whether Garp himself was some kind of freak of nature.
Either way, Kazan appeared to be immune to most poisonous foods.
Once, he had brought one of these purple mushrooms back with him and fed it to the puppy raised by the family next door.
The moment the puppy swallowed it, the poor thing started convulsing on the ground like it was having a seizure, foam pouring from its mouth.
Kazan had panicked immediately.
He threw away the mushroom in his hand and thoughtfully ran next door to tell the family that their dog had eaten something bad and kicked the bucket.
He still remembered how hard their six-year-old daughter had cried that night.
Quite some time later, just as Kazan was getting tired from punching, the rich aroma of roasted meat finally drifted into his nose.
“Finally. I’m starving.”
Kazan pulled out a knife, sliced off the cooked portion, sprinkled it with cumin and other seasonings, and opened his mouth to take a bite.
Beside him, Hakimi suddenly poked him with a paw.
“What?”
“Awoo~”
Hakimi whined, then pointed a claw at the meat in front of him.
“It’s cooked. You can eat it.”
“Awoo~”
Hakimi whined again, his tiger eyes fixed on the cumin powder.
Right.
He wanted some too.
“Out of every tiger in this world, you’re definitely living the fanciest life. You even want cumin on your barbecue.”
Kazan rolled his eyes and sprinkled some seasoning over Hakimi’s portion as well.
Only then did man and tiger begin devouring their meal.
Before long, the entire bear had been “dealt with.”
Kazan flopped onto the ground and fell asleep, his stomach swollen into a round ball and a satisfied smile plastered across his face.
Hakimi was full as well.
He pressed his warm fur against Kazan to make him more comfortable while he slept.
At the slightest rustle in the surroundings, Hakimi’s eyes would immediately snap open as he vigilantly scanned the area.
“I knew those damn mushrooms were poisonous. I’m getting sleepy again…”
By the time Kazan finished speaking, a snot bubble was already forming at his nose.
Then he promptly passed out.
Night fell.
Moonlight streamed into the Forest of Death.
Pop!
The bubble hanging from Kazan’s nose burst.
He rubbed his eyes, sat up, and stretched with a satisfied groan.
“Now that’s comfortable, baby!”
Looking up, he saw the moon hanging amid the river of stars, casting down its cold, pale light.
“It’s gotten this late already. I’m heading back.”
“Awoo~”
Hakimi stood up as well and rubbed his head against Kazan.
“All right, enough. Stop acting like an actual house cat. I’ll come back after school tomorrow.”
“Awoo~”
Only then did Hakimi turn around and disappear back into the Forest of Death.
Kazan left as well.
With a leap, he cleared the fence surrounding the Forest of Death, a large piece of bear hide held in one hand.
“It’s a little late. I’ll sell this tomorrow.”
Kazan had no parents in this world.
Not long after he was born, the couple who had been his parents died in battle.
Konoha provided him with a small monthly stipend to support him until adulthood.
It was the village’s way of telling its shinobi: even if you unfortunately die out there, we’ll take care of your children.
Unfortunately, that meager amount of money wasn’t nearly enough to feed Kazan.
As his body continued developing, he would definitely begin using training weights and constantly push himself beyond his physical limits to unlock his body’s potential.
And that kind of equipment wasn’t cheap.
That was why Kazan often brought back bear hides and other spoils from his hunts to sell.
There was never any shortage of buyers for things like these.
If the journey weren’t so far, he would have run straight into the Land of Fire and sold them directly to wealthy nobles himself.
For now?
He had to let Konoha’s merchants take their cut, which meant the price he received wasn’t nearly as high.
….
On the way home, quite a few people greeted Kazan.
Most of the neighborhood residents were rather fond of the sturdy, energetic little troublemaker.
“Yo, Kazan! You’re back. Brought home another huge bear hide today, huh?”
“As expected of the Ninja Academy. They even teach you kids how to hunt.”
A middle-aged man sat outside his house with one leg crossed over the other, enjoying the moonlight.
When he spotted Kazan, he couldn’t resist teasing him.
Everyone living around here knew Kazan had gone to the Ninja Academy without bothering to properly learn ninjutsu.
Instead, he spent all his time fooling around and punching things.
Kazan’s footsteps stopped.
Then he turned toward the man’s house and shouted at the top of his lungs,
“Auntie Sachiko! This morning, I saw your husband selling fish and taking the opportunity to fondle Black Widow’s hand! He didn’t even charge her afterward!”
“What?!”
A startled shriek came from inside the house.
A moment later, a woman came charging out with a knife raised in her hand.
The man who had just been teasing Kazan immediately bolted.
“I didn’t! Don’t listen to that little bastard Kazan! I charged her! I definitely took the money!”
“Did you hear that, Auntie Sachiko? He didn’t deny touching her hand!”
“Ahhh! Damn you, Kazan, you little brat! Just you wait!”
The street immediately filled with laughter.
Everyone watched in amusement as Kazan stirred up trouble yet again.
“Hmph. Amateur. You dare make fun of me?”
Kazan continued down the street with a look of disdain.
He hadn’t gone far when he spotted a white-haired boy wearing a mask walking toward him from the opposite direction.
“Kakashi?”
Kazan’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect. I was just wondering whether my fists are hard enough yet.”