The giant bear ran away.
While the kids were caught up in their excited chatter, the giant bear had woken up.
It took one terrified look at Might Guy and fled without looking back.
Smoke was still rising from the crater on the hillside.
Six children stood under the moonlight, looking at the small bear lying there, then at the massive silhouette disappearing into the darkness.
The atmosphere suddenly grew a little awkward.
Obito scratched his head: “So…
what do we do now?” No one answered.
Guy looked down at his leg—the one that had summoned that golden foot—then at the little bear.
The little bear was still unconscious, lying motionless, its belly rising and falling.
He looked into the distance again.
That ten-meter-tall giant bear had run away even faster than it had arrived.
Now there wasn’t even a trace of it.
“It ran away?” Obito’s eyes went wide.
“It abandoned its own cub and ran away?” Kakashi nodded.
“Ninja beasts fear death too.” Obito’s mouth hung open.
He looked in that direction, then back at the cub.
“Then what do we do with this one?” Everyone exchanged glances.
Kill it?
The thought crossed a few of their minds.
But no one said it out loud.
Kurenai spoke softly: “Maybe…
let it go?” Rin nodded: “It’s still young.” Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses: “Let it go?
What if it grows up and comes back for revenge?” Obito shuddered.
“Yeah!
It saw our faces!” They fell silent again.
Guy crouched down and patted the cub’s head.
The fur was coarse and prickly.
The cub let out a groggy grunt but didn’t wake up.
Guy thought for a moment, then looked up at Kakashi.
“What do you think?” Kakashi walked over and stood in front of the cub.
Moonlight fell on his masked face, his eyes bright.
“A live one is worth more than a dead one.” He paused.
“This is wartime.
A ninja bear on par with a genin could sell for a good amount of money.” Everyone blinked.
Sell?
Obito blinked: “Sell…
sell to who?” Kakashi glanced at him.
“Plenty of shinobi clans in the village want summoning beasts.
This one’s thick-skinned and tough, good as a meat shield.
It can’t use jutsu, but it’s easy to keep.” He said it calmly, like he was commenting on the weather.
None of the kids found anything wrong with what he said.
The era of shinobi.
Wartime.
Even at six years old, they understood these things.
Guy nodded.
“Makes sense.” He patted the cub’s head.
“Then we sell it and split the money equally.” Obito’s eyes lit up.
“Equally?!
Really?!” “Yeah.” “How much will we get?!” Kakashi calculated.
“A genin-level ninja bear, alive.
At least this much per person.” He held up one hand.
Obito swallowed hard.
“Fi…
five thousand ryo?” Kakashi shook his head.
“Fifty thousand.” Obito sucked in a breath.
Fifty thousand per person.
Six people.
That was three hundred thousand ryo.
Guy had no objections either.
Might Duy worked hard on missions, all so his son could have a little more.
Fifty thousand wasn’t a small amount—it was roughly a month’s worth of Duy’s mission pay.
Guy even looked in the direction the giant bear had fled and licked his lips.
“I’ll buy it.” Just then, a voice spoke up.
Everyone turned.
Kurenai stood there, moonlight on her face, her wine-red eyes bright.
Obito’s jaw dropped.
“You?!
Where are you getting three hundred thousand ryo?!” Kurenai’s face flushed slightly, but her voice didn’t waver.
“I…
my family has it.” Obito froze.
Then it hit him.
Kurenai Yuhi.
The Yuhi clan.
Konoha’s genjutsu clan.
Not one of the top families, but they’d been around for decades.
Their clan grounds weren’t small.
Their assets were considerable.
Three hundred thousand ryo.
A fortune for an ordinary family.
For the Yuhi clan…
Obito shut his mouth.
Ebisu shut his mouth too.
Rin smiled at Kurenai.
Guy grinned.
“Deal.” Just one word.
Kurenai blinked.
“You…
you’re not going to ask about the price?” Guy shook his head.
“You’re buying.
Whatever price you say.” Kurenai’s face turned even redder.
She lowered her head and said softly: “Then…
I’ll go talk to my dad about it.” Guy nodded.
“Okay.” Obito watched, dumbfounded.
“Hey!
You’re just agreeing like that?!
Three hundred thousand ryo?!
What if her dad says no?!” Guy turned to look at him.
“Then we sell it to someone else.” Obito was speechless.
That…
that made sense?
But something still felt off.
He looked at Kurenai—head down, ears bright red.
He looked at Guy—completely unbothered, patting the cub’s head.
He looked at Rin—still smiling, her eyes crescent moons.
Obito’s teeth started to ache.
“Fine, fine.
Let’s tie it up first.” The group got to work.
They pulled vines, braided ropes, and bound the cub tightly.
The cub was jostled awake.
It groggily opened its eyes and saw a bunch of little people surrounding it.
It struggled a couple times.
No use.
Then it saw a green face leaning in close.
Thick eyebrows, big eyes, grinning at it.
“Don’t move.
Found you a good home.” The cub blinked.
It didn’t understand.
But that tone of voice…
didn’t sound like a bad thing?
It lay there, still.
Kurenai crouched beside it, watching with bright eyes.
“It’s so gentle.” Rin nodded with a smile.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cute.” Obito curled his lip.
“Cute?
One swat and it could kill you.” Kurenai ignored him.
She kept looking at the cub and murmured: “What should I name you…” Ebisu tied vines on the side, muttering as he worked.
“What if this thing actually becomes a summoning beast?
What if it eats Kurenai in the middle of the night?” Kakashi glanced at him.
“Summoning contracts prevent that.” Ebisu shut up.
After half an hour of binding, they were finally done.
Two bears.
The big one had run away.
The little one was tied up into a ball, only its head sticking out.
Obito circled it three times.
“Now how do we get it back?” Kakashi thought for a moment.
“Drag it.” “Drag it?!” “Got a better idea?
You want to carry it?” Obito looked at the bear ball—three times his size—and fell silent.
Guy was already moving.
He grabbed a vine, hoisted it over his shoulder.
“Let’s go.” The cub was dragged along the ground, sliding behind him.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Its expression was one of utter confusion.
Like it was saying: Where exactly am I going?
The group headed back.
The moon hung bright in the sky.
After walking a short distance, Kakashi slowed down and fell in step with Guy.
Guy turned to look at him.
Kakashi didn’t say anything.
But his expression clearly showed he had something to say.
Guy waited.
Kakashi still didn’t speak.
“Hey.” Guy broke the silence.
“What do you want to say?” Kakashi’s steps faltered.
He glanced behind them.
Obito was arguing with Ebisu.
Rin and Kurenai were laughing beside them.
No one was paying attention.
He took a deep breath.
“Guy.” “Yeah?” “I—” Kakashi opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Guy stopped and looked at him.
Under the moonlight, that masked face rarely showed hesitation.
“What’s going on?” Kakashi was silent for a few seconds.
Then he said: “I’m planning to apply for early graduation.” End of Chapter 16