"It really seems like a big one!"
Kagetsu, along with his two companions, looked at the chaotic scene in front of them where trees had been uprooted and branches scattered everywhere. They spoke quietly among themselves.
"This level of destruction could only be caused by a large-scale Summoning Beast," Uchiha Shisui remarked, his expression turning serious. Even Chunin-level shinobi would have to be cautious facing such a creature.
The three exchanged information based on their observations. They treated this mission as an opportunity to understand each other better and to establish a foundation for future cooperation. It was also a good chance to put the knowledge they had learned at the Ninja Academy into practice.
"Did you hear that?" Anko suddenly raised her hand off the ground and looked in a specific direction.
Thud, thud!
A rumbling sound, like the roar of distant thunder, came closer and closer. The ground began to tremble, causing the three to instantly tense up.
"Scatter!" Shisui shouted instinctively.
As they all used the Body Flicker Technique to leap away, a massive beast, over ten meters tall, charged through the forest. It uprooted trees along its path, exposing its enormous body to the trio.
It was a gigantic wild boar-like creature, with exposed tusks and four stout legs resembling thick pillars. The ground shook with every step it took.
It seemed to treat this area as its personal playground. The wild boar beast shook its head, eyed another undisturbed part of the forest, and snorted loudly as it adjusted its stance, preparing to charge.
"I'll go first!" Anko, who saw herself as the team leader, steadied herself on a tree and began forming hand seals immediately.
She initiated her signature Dragon Fire Technique.
The power of the jutsu Anko now unleashed was far stronger than it had been during the Bell Test battle they had participated in before.
A scorching line of fire turned into a blazing pillar and hit the boar's massive body directly. The flames spread rapidly, covering most of the wild boar's surface.
The beast let out a heart-wrenching shriek, and its enormous body instantly rolled over on the ground. The surrounding area trembled as if in response to its pain.
At the same time, the giant wild boar's attention shifted to the three of them, whom it now saw as tiny insects.
"Damn! Its defense is that tough?"
Seeing that the wild boar could still move around after taking the full brunt of her Dragon Fire Technique—its skin charred black, exposing the flesh underneath and emitting a cooked meat smell—Anko couldn't help but curse in surprise.
But Kagetsu and Shisui had no time to respond to her. The wild boar, now enraged, thundered toward them with its hooves pounding the ground.
Shisui, still in mid-air, pulled out four kunai tied with explosive tags from his back pouch and flung them towards the wild boar's direction.
The four kunai collided with each other mid-flight, changing trajectory before embedding themselves into the area where the boar had been burned by the Dragon Fire Technique.
This maneuver alone demonstrated Shisui's excellent dynamic vision, his mastery of kunai manipulation, and his ability to seize the right timing.
The four kunai, with their explosive tags embedded in the wound, exploded in a burst of fire.
The giant wild boar, suffering yet another heavy blow, staggered and let out an even more furious and pained roar.
"Perfect opportunity!"
Dodging the wild boar's charge, Anko immediately noticed that she was facing its injured side. Acting on instinct, she threw two kunai with explosive tags attached to them, one after the other, trying to replicate Shisui's earlier attack.
However, the boar, in pain, rolled around on the ground, rubbing itself against the dirt to extinguish the flames on its body. Anko's kunai bounced off its armor-like hard shell, sparking two explosions in mid-air.
"Be careful, it's going berserk!" Shisui shouted in warning. An injured wild beast, especially an already aggressive boar, would fight until its last breath.
"Damn it! It's too big, and its defense is too strong. My jutsu aren't having much effect!" Anko yelled as she continued dodging the boar, which now seemed to have marked her as its nemesis.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
All this time, Kagetsu had remained still, not yet making a move. Suddenly, he bit his finger and formed the hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu with his blood-stained palm.
With a puff of thick smoke, a massive yellow serpent appeared on the field, swiftly slithering towards the boar. The two colossal beasts collided fiercely under the guidance of the three shinobi.
The giant snake coiled around the boar's body, but the boar retaliated by biting down hard on the snake's neck.
Just as the snake was about to dissipate into smoke, the boar, trapped in its grasp, suddenly saw a pair of blood-red eyes flash before it.
The boar's bloodshot, rage-filled eyes lost focus in an instant. Its strength drained rapidly, and it fell silent, as if it had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep.
With a final burst of smoke, the giant snake vanished. The boar's massive body collapsed onto the ground, completely losing its will to fight.
"Phew… phew…"
Standing on top of the fallen boar, Anko, who had been desperately chased around earlier, let out a heavy sigh. She looked at Kagetsu with a puzzled expression.
"How could you summon such a big snake? I thought the Nara clan was known for their chakra control, not chakra reserves," she questioned suspiciously.
Summoning Jutsu is a technique that dynamically measures chakra consumption based on the size and power of the summoned beast. For Kagetsu to call forth such a massive snake, his chakra reserves must be at least on par with, if not surpassing, her own.
"It was a good collaboration," Kagetsu ignored Anko's ramblings and extended a hand to Shisui, who had landed beside him.
"Good collaboration," Shisui, still maintaining his Sharingan, looked at Kagetsu's outstretched hand. After a brief pause, he reached out and shook it without hesitation.
"You two!" Anko shouted in exasperation.
"You did great too, captain. You kept the beast occupied long enough, giving us the chance and time we needed," Shisui turned around and said earnestly.
His sudden compliment soothed Anko's frustration, making her beam with a broad smile.
"Well done."
A raspy voice suddenly echoed from below.
The three quickly jumped down from the beast's body, watching as Orochimaru slowly emerged from the ground.
"Orochimaru-sensei! Look, we managed to take down this big guy together!" The energetic Anko rushed over excitedly, pointing at the giant beast lying on the ground.
"I saw everything," Orochimaru replied, patting Anko's head and ignoring her dreamy expression. His gaze shifted to Kagetsu and Shisui. It paused briefly when he noticed Shisui's blood-red eyes.
"Were you watching us from the shadows, Orochimaru-sama?" Shisui asked, raising his hand.
"Since it's a dangerous mission and I couldn't be there myself, so I had to use a shadow clone," Orochimaru responded somewhat coldly. Once was enough for the incident with Nawaki.
"Let's go; I'll take you all out for a meal," Orochimaru said after killing the wild boar that was still entranced in the illusion, sealing it away in a scroll.
****
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/pirateking24/tiers