Chapter 2: Giant bear

"I found it, Captain. It's at one o'clock, nine hundred meters away," said the team member code-named "White Horse."

He was a ninja of the Hyuga Clan, possessing the Byakugan, the kekkei Genkai with white eyes that could observe everything within one kilometer around him. Upon hearing this, Captain Jackal made a gesture, and the entire team immediately adjusted their direction and slowed down their steps.

Uchiha Natsu also mobilized his entire body's strength and slowed down his pace. Before, he was very reluctant to do this, but after being inspired, it became much easier. It didn't take long for everyone to arrive at their destination and find a good location to ambush in advance.

Consciously leaving the ambush site, Uchiha Natsu ran to hide tens of meters away. Then, after thinking about it, he got up and retreated more than ten meters. After checking that there was no danger in the surrounding area, he used the [Earth release: The Hiding Like A Mole Technique] to drill underground, feeling relieved.

This [The Hiding Like A Mole jutsu] was a ninjutsu that Uchiha Natsu had studied and trained every day for many years, performing it at least a thousand times to ensure it came in handy in situations like this. After all, he had to face a Jōnin, and he couldn't handle it as a Chunin.

The breeze blew on the leaves, rustling them. A few leaves that were beginning to turn yellow were falling. A few seconds later, there was a stampede sound of "pa, pa" from the front. A figure appeared in the depths of the jungle, running quickly on the ground instead of jumping on the trees due to the urgency.

The figure gradually approached, and Captain Jackal was about to make a gesture when he noticed a silver-haired figure rushing out. "Lightning cutter!" Crackling blue lightning gathered in Kakashi's hands. The captain sighed secretly, and seeing Kakashi rushing out, he could only follow quickly.

This traitorous ninja was the same rank as the last one, an S-rank, with actual strength as a Jōnin. Although attacked and injured by Kakashi, he quickly adjusted his posture to defend himself. However, being outnumbered, he couldn't escape and eventually succumbed.

"Sharingan... Kakashi..." A horrified expression was imprinted on the Rebel's face, with unwillingness and remorse, and finally, the body slowly collapsed. "Thump" When the corpse fell to the ground, Kakashi lowered his head, looking at his bright red right hand in a daze. The blood on his hand evaporated from the lightning that had not yet dissipated.

Uchiha Natsu knew that Kakashi became like this because of the continuous blows from the deaths of his teammates and teachers. However, this had nothing to do with him; he was there to clean up the corpses.

While the captain and two other team members went to study the route, Uchiha Natsu didn't emerge from the soil until the rebellious ninja was completely dead. Coming to the corpse, Uchiha Natsu saw that Kakashi did not intend to leave, so he simply retrieved the corpse directly under his nose.

Putting his hands together, chakra passed around his hands and then pressed against the corpse. The corpse instantly turned into powder and dispersed in the air. Kakashi's eyes widened, and the original dead fish eyes showed an incredible look for the first time.

Uchiha Natsu explained casually, "It's a ninjutsu that I learned by accident, and it only works on corpses." At the same time, in Uchiha Natsu's mind, the corpse had already been sent to the store. After a while, the system displayed:

[Corpse scores 60 points; credit rating bonus points: 0 points; total score: 60 points.]

[The recovery was successful, and the trade item was obtained: the contracted summon beast "Giant Bear," and the specific information was sent to the host's memory.]

[Please choose to collect or discard by yourself.]

Immediately afterward, a piece of information appeared in Uchiha Natsu's memory out of thin air. This giant bear is not a creature of this world, but its fighting power is very strong, and it grows very huge. Its actual strength has surpassed that of ordinary Jōnin. The key point is that this giant bear will not rebel, and even if asked to die, it will completely obey orders. With this giant bear, as long as it's not a fight with an elite Jōnin level, at least it can be a 50-50 chance against the opponent. For him, who is weak, it is a timely help. Uchiha Natsu immediately chose to receive it.

Afterward, the summoning art of this giant bear was conveyed to Uchiha Natsu's consciousness. There was no need to bother memorizing anymore; the summoning formula had already consolidated the impression by itself. With this giant life-saving bear, Natsu Uchiha felt a little more secure.

After disposing of the corpses, the team set off again. After a while, they came to the border of the Land of Fire and going forward, they were about to leave the border.

"Captain, the target stopped less than 800 meters ahead; shall we continue to chase?" The white horse said this to the jackal with its eyes wide open. "Killing him is the task," Kakashi interjected, his tone cold and chilly.

Uchiha Natsu frowned. Although he wanted the corpse very much, their overall strength was not reassuring. There were only two Jōnin and a team that didn't even have an elite Jōnin. If it encountered an ambush after going out of the village, it could be in danger. The three traitorous ninjas all fled with information, and Uchiha Natsu would not believe that no one responded. However, given Uchiha Natsu's temporary logistics status, it was useless to speak out, so he simply kept silent.

The captain glanced at Kakashi and thought for a while. A few seconds later, Jackal, the captain, made a decision: "Keep chasing!" Amid Uchiha Natsu's concerns, the team set off again. 'You can't believe it even with Byakugan; you can't judge many things with your eyes...' Uchiha Natsu thought to himself. Turning his head, Uchiha Natsu said to Kakashi, "I can't hold it anymore; go and make it easier, and I will follow in a while."

After speaking, without waiting for Kakashi to respond, he left the team. Kakashi could only speed up and go to the front to explain the situation to the captain. Uchiha Natsu was only there to deal with the aftermath, and it would be the same with or without him during the battle, so the captain didn't say anything.

After leaving the team, Uchiha Natsu opened Sharingan, glancing back and forth, not missing any detail. In high-speed movement, even with a blank eye, there was no way to observe so carefully, so Uchiha Natsu chose to leave the team. If he were ambushed, the others were at least Jonin, and he was a chunin who had just been promoted; he would suffer. It was better to be steady and act separately.

Uchiha Natsu was afraid that there were traps underground, so he observed, and his speed slowed down. After a while, he distanced himself from the team. Not long afterward, there was a sudden abnormal sound in front, indicating trouble.

Uchiha Natsu quietly moved forward, looking through the bushes. Sure enough, the team had fallen into an ambush, likely due to some traps arranged in advance, and several people suffered injuries of varying degrees.

A four-member team of Cloud Village and that Konoha rebel, a total of five people, surrounded Kakashi and the others. The battle had already broken out, and it was obvious that the opponents were all Jōnin, putting Konoha at a disadvantage.

"Sure enough..." Natsu Uchiha sighed secretly, then backed away quietly. He was just a weak Chunin, and it was very dangerous to participate in the battle of the Jōnin, so, to be on the safe side, he let the giant bear charge instead of him.

After retreating to a safe distance, Uchiha Natsu formed a seal with both hands and then slammed to the ground. "summoning jutsu!" Swish, swish, swish... The black runes spread like a spider web, and then a huge gray bear appeared out of thin air in front of Uchiha Natsu.

"Go, a giant bear," Natsu Uchiha pointed to the battle circle and whispered. The giant bear understood immediately roared, and rushed out instantly. "Boom!" The huge bear's claws stomped on the ground, causing it to tremble.

The giant bear's massive body moved incredibly fast, and the distance of tens of meters was shortened in one second. The next second, it slapped a cloud ninja with its paw. This cloud ninja, still attacking crazily, was hit on the back of his head with a paw before he could react, spewing out a mouthful of old blood.

He rolled his eyes and ascended to the sky in a spiral. In a parabola flew more than ten meters away, taking a blow that made him doubt his life. Even if there were medical ninjas on the scene, hanging onto their lives would probably be worthless. But apparently, there were no medical ninjas present except him.