Everyone returned home to prepare their weapons.
They agreed to meet in half an hour at Entrance Twelve, the entrance closest to the Forest of Death.
A tall fence made of wire mesh and steel bars stood before them.
Signs reading DANGER and NO ENTRY were attached to it, and the fence was several meters high, making it look extremely difficult to climb over.
Ten minutes later, everyone had arrived.
However, the gate was secured with an enormous iron padlock.
Yakumo looked up at the wire fence several meters above him.
“Are we supposed to climb over?”
“We can just go through the gate,” Kakashi replied matter-of-factly.
“The gate is locked.
Unless you happen to have a key?”
On second thought, considering Sakumo Hatake’s status in Konoha, it wouldn’t have been particularly surprising if Kakashi had a key to this gate.
Kakashi stepped forward and pulled a thin piece of wire from his clothes.
He focused on the lock and began fiddling with it.
Less than thirty seconds later, there was a click, and the enormous padlock sprang open.
Kakashi sighed.
“I haven’t practiced recently…
My hands are getting rusty.”
What a humblebrag.
“Since when do you know how to pick locks?” Obito Uchiha immediately demanded.
He was especially displeased by the undisguised admiration shining in Rin Nohara’s eyes.
“My father taught me,” Kakashi answered.
Then he turned the question around.
“Isn’t this basic ninja knowledge?”
“Honestly…
I don’t know how,” Yakumo admitted.
“Neither do I,” Mori Yasuko added.
“Me neither…” Rin confessed.
“Lockpicking is easy to learn.
It only took me three days to get the hang of it,” Kakashi said casually.
“You can always learn it later.”
Was that another humblebrag?
“Forward, into the Forest of Death!” Yakumo announced.
He was already too exhausted to complain.
The most devastating kind of showing off was the kind that happened without the slightest intention of doing so.
The group climbed over the fence and walked a few dozen steps farther in, finally entering the depths of the forest.
The surroundings grew eerily quiet.
The only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves.
The air was fresh, and the temperature dropped noticeably.
It was almost…
cold.
The moment they entered the forest, Kakashi’s expression changed.
Even his entire bearing underwent a dramatic transformation, becoming far more restrained and focused.
His black short blade slipped silently into his hand.
He looked less like a young Academy student and more like an experienced hunter.
“If we encounter any beasts, I’ll take the lead in attacking.
Yakumo and Obito, support me.
Rin and Yasuko, keep watch for threats.”
Everyone drew their weapons and kept them within easy reach, ready for battle.
And then…
Half an hour passed.
Nothing happened.
They didn’t encounter a single beast.
As time went on, the group’s confidence grew.
They began walking more casually, no longer making a deliberate effort to suppress the sounds of their footsteps.
“Hey, look at that beautiful flower!”
At the back of the group, Obito suddenly reached toward a blooming purple flower.
“Don’t touch it.”
“Don’t touch it.”
Kakashi and Yakumo spoke at the same time.
“That flower is poisonous,” Yakumo explained to the others.
“Its toxin can enter your body through your skin.
The worst part is that it won’t kill you.
It’ll just make your entire body unbearably itchy.”
The flower was probably something Konoha’s higher-ups had deliberately planted in the forest to teach young ninja a lesson: in the wilderness, the more beautiful something looked, the more dangerous it could be.
“How do you know that, Yakumo?” Yasuko asked curiously.
“The Wilderness Survival Guide in the library devotes three entire sections to this particular flower, the Purple Devil Orchid.
I’d guess the author had a really miserable experience with it in the past.
That’s probably why the book describes the effects of the poisoning in such vivid detail…”
The group resumed their exploration.
However, Obito’s head drooped as they walked, and his enthusiasm seemed to have vanished.
He appeared to have become the only deadweight in the group.
“Be careful…”
Kakashi murmured softly, tightening his grip on his ninja blade.
This was a different blade from the one he usually used for training.
Its color was darker and more subdued.
The shadows shifted between the trees.
Low bushes were shoved aside by a tremendous force, and an enormous wild boar burst into view.
Two ghastly white tusks protruded from either side of its gaping mouth.
Animals in this world possessed varying amounts of chakra, which often made them far more powerful than ordinary beasts.
Judging by its size and strength alone, this wild boar could probably have gone toe-to-toe with three tigers from Yakumo’s previous life.
“We’ve found our ingredients…” Yakumo murmured.
“Stick to the plan.
Get ready to attack.”
The wild boar showed no intention of retreating either.
It pawed at the ground with its thick forelegs, looking ready to charge at any moment.
“ROOOAAAR!”
With a furious bellow, the wild boar and Kakashi moved simultaneously.
The beast’s savage roar pierced their eardrums, but Yakumo quickly steadied himself and charged forward with his ninja blade.
Whoosh!
Electric arcs flickered around Kakashi’s body.
For an instant, sparks seemed to linger where he had stood before he shot forward like an arrow.
The chakra he released was already far beyond the level of an ordinary genin.
In a single exchange, he thrust his short blade directly into the wild boar’s eye socket, ending the fight almost instantly.
The Agility he displayed in that moment…
It was definitely above ten points.
By the time Yakumo arrived, everything was already over.
Kakashi calmly gave a simple order.
“Collect the ingredients.”
Yakumo formed the necessary hand seals and stored the wild boar’s carcass inside his storage scroll.
Behind him, Rin Nohara had practically transformed into Kakashi’s devoted admirer.
Her eyes sparkled as she watched him.
Damn it.
He’s stolen the spotlight again.
It wasn’t that the wild boar was weak.
Kakashi’s attack had simply been too precise.
He had deliberately targeted the most vulnerable part of its head, killing it with a single strike at the fastest possible speed.
It was as though he had performed that exact movement thousands of times.
Half an hour later, the group reached a stream and began butchering the wild boar.
They buried the entrails and other waste nearby.
Thanks to the chakra present in the bodies of these beasts, their meat tasted better and was more effective at replenishing the body’s energy.
Military Rations Pills were made primarily from animal ingredients and various medicinal herbs.
They were designed to stimulate the body into rapidly producing chakra when needed.
The boar’s meat was firm and lean, with very little fat.
Instead, its surface was covered in beautiful, glistening marbling, resembling layers of translucent snowflake-shaped crystals.
Kakashi took charge of slicing the meat.
Obito gathered firewood.
Yakumo stripped the bark from branches and sharpened them into skewers for the barbecue.
Meanwhile, Yasuko and Rin scattered powder around the nearby area to repel wild animals.
Half an hour later, the charcoal was ready, and the skewered meat had been prepared for grilling.
The group sat on stones beside the stream, waiting as they turned the marinated meat over the glowing coals.
Thin trails of smoke drifted toward the sky like white ribbons, while the irresistible aroma of roasting meat spread through the air.
In the end, Obito was the first to lose patience and begin devouring the food.
Yakumo, meanwhile, kept his eyes fixed on Kakashi, eager to discover how he planned to eat with his face mask still covering his mouth.
Kakashi raised a skewer in front of himself.
Under Yakumo’s expectant gaze, he lowered his head slightly.
When Kakashi lifted it again, all that remained was a perfectly clean, empty wooden skewer.
What had just happened?
It had taken, what, a single second?
“I’m full,” Kakashi announced.
Yakumo took various vegetables out of his storage scroll.
Wrapping them around the grilled meat gave it an entirely different flavor.
They also had chilled soft drinks that had been cooled in the stream, which made the meal even more refreshing.
The atmosphere grew increasingly relaxed.
Obito had already sprawled out on the ground without the slightest concern for his dignity, enjoying the breeze as he gazed at the clouds drifting across the sky.
And then…
Kakashi suddenly sprang to his feet and drew his short blade.
His eyes locked onto the forest in the distance.
Rumble…
Rumble…
The ground began to tremble, as though some terrifying giant beast were approaching.
Yakumo immediately prepared for battle.
And in Kakashi’s eyes, he saw something he had never expected to see.
A trace of fear!