The wild boar was enormous, yet incredibly agile. It even seemed to anticipate the shuriken he threw—dodging all three from different directions.
The corner of Uchiha Yoichi's mouth twitched. He felt a bit fortunate that he didn't have any teammates with him. If a Chunin's shuriken were dodged by a wild boar, it would absolutely become a joke.
"Finish this mission quickly, then move on to the next one."
The thought flashed through Yoichi's mind. In the next second, faint lightning flickered across his entire body as he activated his newly learned Lightning Release Chakra Mode. His reactions, chakra flow, and speed all increased significantly.
With a single Body Flicker, Uchiha Yoichi appeared ten meters in front of the boar.
In the next instant, his hands rapidly formed seals, chakra gathering in his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A scorching fireball several meters in diameter roared toward the boar, its terrifying heat even scorching the ground beneath it.
If this were an ordinary wild boar, there would have been no way to dodge such a Fire Release technique.
But this beast was actually Tsunade, one of Konoha's legendary Three Ninja. Having survived countless battles, there was no ninjutsu she hadn't seen before.
Drawing upon the small amount of chakra within her body, Tsunade concentrated it into her limbs. Her speed instantly multiplied, allowing her to narrowly evade the Great Fireball.
However, the edge of the blazing fireball grazed her tail, and the intense pain made Tsunade roll across the ground.
"Oink—oink—OOOINK!!!"
You damn Uchiha brat! I'm Tsunade of Konoha—the Three Ninja! We're from the same village!
Tsunade desperately wanted to shout an explanation, but she couldn't say a single word. Worse still, the amount of chakra in this beast's body was extremely limited. If she burst out again once or twice more, she would completely exhaust it.
Running was no longer an option.
The best solution was to somehow let the Uchiha brat in front of her realize who she really was—but that was Tsunade's greatest problem.
If she had enough time, she could barely manage to write on the ground with her forelimbs. But in the current situation, she clearly wouldn't be given that chance.
"What kind of wild boar is this?" Yoichi muttered in shock."It can even concentrate chakra into its limbs? That's an advanced technique even among ninjas—something they don't teach at the Academy. Did a Forest of Death boar gain enlightenment and turn into a ninja beast?"
The Sharingan allowed Yoichi to see chakra flow clearly. He could distinctly see the boar gathering chakra throughout its body and channeling it into its limbs.
Lightning crackled as his figure shot forward like a flash of electricity.
While using Body Flicker, Uchiha Yoichi drew a kunai and slashed viciously toward the boar's neck.
Slash!
At the critical moment, the boar—Tsunade—suddenly lowered its head. Yoichi's kunai missed the neck, cutting off only a chunk of its ear.
That's the third miss…What the hell is this boar? Does it also have superpowers?
Anger surged in Yoichi's heart. If he couldn't even kill a wild boar, how was he supposed to survive the Third Shinobi World War?
"Damn it—getting cocky just because you're a boar?!"
The lightning intensified as Uchiha Yoichi pushed Lightning Release Chakra Mode to the limit his body could withstand. A dazzling suit of lightning armor instantly wrapped around him.
In the next second, his figure vanished—and reappeared beside the boar.
He kicked out viciously.
BOOM!
The massive boar was sent flying through the air.
"Oooooooink!!!"
It hurts like hell! Damn Uchiha—once I get out of this, I swear—!
Tsunade continued to grunt in words no human could understand, but in the next moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of mortal danger.
Unfortunately, the boar's body didn't contain enough chakra to support sustained use. Still, she struggled wildly, kicking and flailing her limbs in a desperate attempt to escape Yoichi's pursuit.
It was pointless.
Yoichi's speed and strength were now far beyond before. In a boar's body, Tsunade had no chance of escaping.
But then—something unexpected happened.
As Tsunade flailed about, the dust she kicked up made Uchiha Yoichi's nose itch.
Before he could stop himself—
"Achoo!"
That single sneeze caused Tsunade's consciousness to instantly detach from the boar's body and return to her own.
After sneezing, Uchiha Yoichi calmly continued his flawless finishing move. Chakra coated his kunai as he slashed downward, severing most of the boar's head in one clean strike.
The hill-sized boar collapsed, blood pooling across the ground as it stopped moving.
"Three consecutive misses… good thing no one saw that."
Uchiha Yoichi glanced at the boar's corpse. He felt that something about it was strange—but since it was already dead, he didn't bother examining it further.
After marking the location, he headed back toward the client's village to inform them that the beast had been slain and complete the mission.
————————————————
"STOP! I'M TSUNADE OF KONOHA—WE'RE FROM THE SAME VILLAGE!!!"
Tsunade shouted loudly with her eyes tightly shut, flailing her arms and legs wildly and quickly kicking her bed into disarray.
Then—
She froze.
Opening her eyes, she looked around in confusion.
"I… turned back?"
In the next instant, her beautiful eyes filled with blazing fury.
"Which bastard used a jutsu on me?! You're dead!"
She had just turned into a wild boar, been hunted down by a young Uchiha, and then reverted back at the moment of death?
Was that genjutsu?
Tsunade quickly shook her head and pressed a hand to her abdomen. She could still feel pain there—especially from that devastating kick.
The sensation had been far too real.
If it were genjutsu, then the caster's genjutsu would have to be the strongest in the entire ninja world.
And besides—she had been asleep at home. Why would anyone cast such genjutsu on her?
Most importantly, everything had felt too real. Real enough that Tsunade believed it had all actually happened.
"No. I have to get to the bottom of this. If I find out who did it—no matter who you are—you're dead!"
Fury surged in Tsunade's eyes. As one of the Three Ninja, being toyed with like this—turned into a beast and hunted—was an unparalleled humiliation.
Then she frowned, deep in thought.
The Uchiha boy who had hunted her—no, hunted the boar—had been using what looked like Lightning Release Chakra Mode, a technique from the Cloud Village.
And while she was fleeing, she vaguely remembered hearing the boy speak—but it wasn't normal speech. It was as if his voice echoed directly in her mind, similar to the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transmission Technique.
It even sounded like fragments of his inner thoughts—something about superpowers.
"One clue at a time. Start with the Forest of Death."
After thinking for a while and finding no clear leads, Tsunade angrily dressed herself, left her house, and used Body Flicker to rush out.
Halfway there, she abruptly changed direction and headed toward the Hokage Building. She didn't enter, but instead summoned an ANBU squad.
As one of the Three Ninja, she possessed the authority to mobilize ANBU and issue emergency missions.
"Immediately go to the Forest of Death. Investigate reports of a wild boar that may have breached the perimeter fence. Once you find the breach point, continue searching outward. Do not miss any information related to that boar!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Although they had no idea why Tsunade wanted information on a wild boar, the ANBU executed orders without question—especially when they came from one of the Third Hokage's disciples and a legendary Sannin of Konoha.