Along the banks of the Naka River, a different scene was unfolding.
Led by Uchiha Ryunoske, a group of kids busily prepared for their midday picnic. Some ventured into the adjacent woods to gather dead branches and prepare barbecue ingredients. Others spread out the camping gear, arranging neatly packed meals brought from home. Amidst the flurry, some organized the freshly picked wildflowers, placing them at the center of the picnic blanket to infuse a touch of wilderness.
Suddenly, a mournful shreik echoed from the depths of the forest, startling the birds, causing them to fly away, and shattering the tranquil atmosphere.
"Ryu.., it sounds like they've encountered something dangerous! Do you think we need to go and check?" Uchiha Asuka, her gaze fixed on the forest's direction, voiced her concern to Ryunoske beside her.
"Don't worry! It's under control, Asuka..." Uchiha waved dismissively, his focus undisturbed.
"But it doesn't sound good!" protested Asuka, noticing her brother's nonchalant demeanor. She couldn't shake off her worry.
Still not feeling any urgency, he reluctantly set down the pastries he was arranging, raising his head to peer into the distant forest. Addressing his younger sibling, he reassured, "Don't fret, Asuka. There's a real ninja among them!"
"uhh?, has anyone else from the clan joined us?" Uchiha Asuka's response was swift as she processed the situation.
"With so many of us going camping together, the clan usually sends a couple of adults to supervise..." Her brother's explanation resonated with Asuka, who considered the potential risks of the surrounding forest. "Besides, even though the woods nearby aren't particularly dangerous, there are occasional stray wild beasts from the deeper parts. The adults worry we might get lost or encounter other dangers.."
Asuka nodded in agreement with Ryu's reasoning, feeling reassured. With that settled, she turned her attention to the tasks at hand.
In the forest, sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting a warm glow over Toshiro. He was mid-air with his sword raised to strike down the boar.
"Konoha secret technique : Thousand Years of Death" with that, he made a swift downward slash on the boar's neck, severing its spine.
"..."
At that moment, a deafening silence enveloped the forest, punctuated only by the pitiful whine of the dying boar that left the group breathless for a moment before they could exhale the tension that had built up within them.
With the completion of his "demonstration," Toshiro surveyed the wild boar lying motionless beneath the tree, its occasional twitches indicating its lingering vitality. Suddenly, a wave of relaxation washed over Toshiro, as if his body and mind had been liberated, undergoing some form of spiritual transcendence.
"Yasuo, are you really that unfit? You ran only a kilometer, and you're already exhausted to the point of trembling. Can't even keep your feet straight." Toshiro's teasing tone was met with a bewildered gaze from Yasuo, who struggled to form a coherent response as he was perched precariously on the tree.
"And Ryo, you really seem to be on the verge of wetting yourself in fear?"
"No way!"
Ryo, his face flushed with embarrassment from the revelation, nearly lost his composure. He quickly darted behind a nearby tree, hoping to conceal his embarrassment, much to Toshiro's amusement.
While Toshiro delivered the decisive blow to their target, Uchiha Yukito, Yasuo, and Mamoru, perched in the tree, marveled at his skill.
The young children, aged six or seven, struggled to grasp the deeper implications of the situation unfolding before them.
However, Toshiro's display inevitably casts a shadow of "weakness" in their young minds. Their thoughts spun fruitlessly, unable to articulate the complexity of their emotions.
Toshiro's gaze scanned the branches behind where Yukito Uchiha had been previously. Feeling someone's gaze upon him.
"Who's up there?"
Receiving no response, he shifted his perspective, scrutinizing the area with renewed focus. Toshiro, finding nothing amiss, dismissed his earlier suspicion as mere imagination.
"I almost got caught by these kids..." A young man in his twenties, dressed in the uniform of the Konoha Police Force, sighed in relief from the safety of a nearby tree.
He was momentarily careless, and because of that, he had nearly been discovered. This child possessed unexpectedly acute senses!
The young man couldn't help but suppress a smile. Despite the kid's innocent appearance, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. This young man, perched among the branches, was the ninja tasked with overseeing the group from afar and a member of the Konoha police force.
The Uchiha children often venture out to play, sometimes in groups as large as a dozen or even twenty, especially in places like the perilous Naka River near Konoha Village. Understandably, the Uchiha family always assigns someone to keep an eye on them.
Whenever Toshiro leads his friends on hunting or outings, they are accompanied by guardians, though they are not always visible.
"Alright, no need to look like statues anymore! Let's get to work. Yukito and Shou, gather the shuriken and kunai we left behind. Mamoru and I will handle the wild boar, while the rest check the traps we set earlier and dismantle them. Let's keep to our schedule," Toshiro instructed. Squatting down, he took out a kunai and made a swift cut on the boar's neck to bleed it.
Despite the relative safety of the forests around Konoha Village, it's better to leave once blood has been spilled. The ninja world is unpredictable, with potential threats lurking. Toshiro doesn't want any mishaps here due to a wild chakra beast.
After a while, the group reconvened. They redistributed the collected kunai and shuriken and marveled at their catch: two pheasants and a hare. Toshiro couldn't help but marvel at the abundance of wildlife in the area. They had only set the traps an hour ago, yet they had already reaped a bountiful harvest.
"Sugoi, this wild boar is massive!"
Toshiro had safely returned to the campsite with his companions. Together, they dragged the main prey of the day, a wild boar weighing over 300 kilos, on a simple wooden sled.
Their friends, eager to hear the news, gathered around in groups, watching with curiosity and occasionally letting out exclamations. Normally, their prey consisted of smaller game like pheasants, hares, or fish from the valley creek. Today's catch was truly remarkable and eye-opening for these young ones.
Ryo, Yukito, Mamoru, and Yasuo all carried themselves like victorious ninjas returning from battle, their demeanor majestic and high-spirited, with a hint of arrogance.
Some observant girls couldn't help but notice the fatal wounds on the wild boar and were shocked, covering their eyes with their hands. Yet, some couldn't resist peeking through the gaps between their fingers.
Toshiro, realizing the challenge ahead, relinquished his position to let his companions take over dragging the boar carcass. Dealing with such a massive wild boar would be difficult; boiling water to remove the hair wouldn't suffice. Peeling it directly seemed to be the only viable option.
Moving the massive wild boar was proving to be quite the challenge, especially without a tool board at hand. Surveying his surroundings, he spotted a shallow shoal covered with gravel at the edge of the valley, sparking an idea. As for expecting help from the others, he knew he couldn't rely on these kids.
"Enough with the boasting, let's get to work. Help me drag the wild boar over to that shallow area there, but watch out for the stones in the river. We don't want anyone to get injured."
Attempting to roast the entire boar at once wasn't feasible; it wouldn't cook evenly, and the taste might suffer. Noticing some suitable stones nearby, he decided to try something different, despite having already prepared plenty of barbecue ingredients.
"Everyone, pitch in. Gather more firewood. And Hideo, instead of fishing, find us some smooth surface slates by the river. They should be large but not too thick, preferably hard and not brittle."
Initially annoyed by the interruption of his "Hero moment," Ryo's demeanor softened when he noticed the serious look in Toshiro's eyes. Realizing the urgency, he quickly complied to get extra firewood, feeling a bit like a subordinate.
Toshiro went and retrieved a sturdy machete from his backpack, designed specifically for chopping tree branches. He never imagined that he'd one day become a "Pig slayer."
In the warm spring noon sun, within the canyon along the banks of the Naka River, the young Uchiha clan members were divided into three groups, waiting quietly.
"Toshiro, what's this? I've never seen anyone grill meat on a rock before," remarked Ryo, the first to voice his skepticism.
"Once we try it, we'll know if it works. But Ryo, you really messed up today. I might just have to punish you with no barbecue later!" Toshiro declared confidently, casting a glance at his disheveled friend.
Before them stood a fire pit constructed from local stones, lined with mud from the nearby river, and covered with a stone slab to serve as a barbecue station unique to the ninja world.
Feeling the warmth of the slate, Toshiro took charge, pouring the pre-prepared oil onto it and spreading it with a brush while explaining the process to his companions.
Using chopsticks and large leaves as makeshift plates, they arranged over 20 slices of pork onto the heated stone slab, quickly applying sauce and spices and flipping them as they cooked.
The breeze carried the tantalizing aroma of barbecued meat, infused with hints of chili peppers and cumin.
"Wow, this is delicious! Really, really good! Even better than what I had at Yakiniku," exclaimed Uchiha Asuka, breaking her usual silence with enthusiasm and revealing a hidden talent for tasting food.
"Are you sure, Asuka? You're not pulling our leg, are you?" Ryunoske expressed skepticism, recalling past experiences where he'd been deceived by her and Yasuo during games of "Werewolf Killing."
"Yeah, the cooking techniques and sauces might not be as refined as Yakiniku, but there's something special about using freshly hunted wild boar shoulder meat for barbecue, especially in this unique setting," Asuka explained, trying to convince her skeptical brother.
A sudden scramble ensued for the cooked pieces of meat.
"You're so slow! Ryo, why aren't you putting the meat on the grill faster?" Someone snatched the last piece of barbecue from the slate, ignoring Ryo's disappointed expression.
"Hey Hideo, don't pile up so much firewood; it's already producing too much smoke!"
"Who gathered this firewood? It's still damp!"
"Ryo, you fool, why are you putting so much sauce on?"
"Careful, careful; the oil is about to spill over!"
Even if a child of six or seven succeeds in mastering chakra control, managing a camping trip by themselves is still filled with stumbling and bickering.
With around twenty youngsters devouring nearly a hundred kilos of wild boar at once, even if they've all mastered chakra control and better digestion than the capacities of normal children, it was still a huge amount of food.
"I'm so stuffed! I don't think I can eat another bite!" exclaimed Toshiro. He sat on the grass alongside everyone else, hands behind his back, quietly relishing this serene and cozy moment.
"Ah, this is bliss. I wish we could stay in this moment forever," someone sighed.
The wind picked up, sweeping across distant ridges, over slopes, and through the hilly terrain, gently ruffling the weeds in the valleys.
Colorful mountain flowers swayed gracefully in the breeze on the hillsides.
Clouds drifted lazily across the sky, while sunlight streamed through gaps, casting long, diagonal bands of light onto the ground before them. The dense canopy of trees rustled softly in the wind, their shadows dancing endlessly. The gentle murmur of flowing water echoed from nearby, inducing a sense of tranquility and peace.
Amidst this heavenly convergence, Toshiro's eyelids fluttered twice, and he drifted into a deep slumber.
AN : You can read chapters published ahead on my p@treon account - p@treon.com/noviceauthor777