Konoha's Mission Master

"Roar..." The giant bear roared in pain, its stench filling the air. It withstood several of Kakashi's attacks and launched a direct attack on Yakumo. At that moment, the upright giant bear seemed like an entire mountain pressing down on it. Huge claws descended from the sky, and in that instant, Yakumo felt a deadly threat. At the critical moment... the kunai thrown by Mori Masako exploded in a series of explosions.

The giant bear's attack was affected by the pain, and Yakumo immediately raised his sword to block. The terrifying force surged into his body through the blade. Although he caught the blow, he was also thrown back by the terrifying force and crashed into a nearby tree.

"Cough cough... I'm alright, I'm not injured."

Looking at the ninja sword in his hand, now bearing several cracks...

He became very angry.

I'm very poor and desperately short of money!

The attacks came one after another, especially the explosive tags that Mori Masako threw out, as if they were free.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom!!"

The giant bear opened its blood-red maw and began to gather its strength…

"Watch out!" Kakashi warned.

“The surrounding chakra is gathering.”

"Boom!" With a roar, the huge earthen-yellow sphere exploded, and everyone retreated but were still cut by the flying stones.

Able to mobilize chakra and unleash attacks similar to ninjutsu, the giant bear at this point can be considered a combat-type ninja beast.

The battlefield was separated, and the group of people and the bear stared at each other.

Finally, the giant bear leaped up and pounced on Kakashi. Just as the evil wind came, Kakashi formed hand seals and transformed into a wooden stake, while his true form hid in the shadows.

"Whoosh..." Yakumo swung his half-broken ninja sword at the giant bear, but the bear didn't dodge. Instead, it grabbed the sword and exerted force...crack, and the bear broke apart.

The giant bear grinned...

Yakumo's heart is bleeding.

Just then, the kunai that Mori Masako threw arrived, and the giant bear immediately raised its paw to block them. This time, the kunai did not explode.

The giant bear threw away the kunai from its front paws, its enormous head filled with bewilderment…

Yakumo forcefully threw the white bag in his hand, then took several steps back.

The bag exploded under the giant bear's force, splattering large amounts of lime onto the bear, with much more floating in the air, obscuring vision.

"Shh..."

A flash of lightning, and Kakashi swung his sword straight at the giant bear's injured eye socket, splattering hot blood all over him.

The giant bear let out a painful roar, and after retreating, Kakashi's face was completely bloodless, instead turning pale.

As the smoke cleared, blood dripped continuously from the giant bear's left paw, which had been pierced through, while its left eye remained intact.

In that instant, Kakashi unleashed his full power, a devastating blow of unparalleled force.

However, the giant bear anticipated Kakashi's attack and blocked the fatal thrust with its left palm, while Kakashi's chakra was now nearly depleted.

The giant bear looked somewhat smug.

"What does quicklime plus water equal?" Yakumo suddenly asked, throwing out two more white bags that were easily smashed by the giant bear.

At this moment, the bear had completely transformed into a polar bear, especially since the wounds on its body were radiating intense, burning pain. Meanwhile, Yakumo continuously used water bullet ninjutsu to strike the giant bear with hand seals.

With each smash, he felt a little happier.

This is all because you interrupted my barbecue!

This is all because you broke my weapon!

The giant bear let out a painful howl, and even its momentum weakened a bit.

Chapter 15: The Art of Concealment, Beginner's Guide.

Each time quicklime comes into contact with water, it releases a large amount of heat and white smoke. Moreover, the giant bear takes a half step back each time it is hit by a water bomb, but the white smoke obscures this scene and no one notices it.

It was precisely in these minute details that Yakumo's true attack method was hidden—a water bullet ninjutsu with the power to shatter tiles and dent walls.

The giant bear immediately began to clean the lime off its body, and the group slowly retreated in the process…

...disengaged from the battlefield.

Although the giant bear was unwilling, it ultimately did not give chase...

His gaze toward Yakumo was full of wariness.

That group still possessed the means to severely injure him; that inconspicuous water sphere could actually penetrate his thick fur and fat, damaging his internal organs.

"Why didn't that giant bear chase after us?" Uchiha Obito, still shaken, asked.

"Perhaps it was the high temperature generated by adding water to quicklime that aroused my fear of flames," Yakumo casually explained.

"Anyway, it's all thanks to you this time," Kakashi said.

"I... also... accidentally discovered that quicklime mixed with water produces heat, and we encountered such a dangerous situation because I suggested having a picnic in the Death Forest."

Yakumo scratched his head and said with great shame that he was in a good mood but still had to take the blame.

"It's not your fault, we had a lot of fun too." Masako Mori said. She always said things that were in Yakumo's favor, perhaps without even realizing it herself.

"Yes, we really had a lot of fun."

Before long, the group had completely left the Death Forest and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yakumo's grilled meat is delicious... and the flavor is very unique!" Nohara Rin praised sincerely. She rarely eats meat, but she enjoyed it to her heart's content today.

"This guy's grilled meat... is truly amazing..."

Obito Uchiha gave his approval with both hands.

On the other hand, after cleaning the white powder off its body, the black and white giant bear gradually headed deeper into the Death Forest. It was originally the overlord of the inner circle of the Death Forest, and this time it only came out of the inner circle because it smelled the scent of its enemy. On its way back, it inevitably passed by the river where everyone was picnicking and found the roasted meat that they hadn't had time to eat...

"Aww! It smells so good!"

The black and white giant bear used its intact right paw to pick up a skewer of meat and swallowed it whole with almost no chewing, then immediately started on the second, third, and fourth skewers…

It was as if this flavor could strike its very soul, bringing a unique and wonderful joy. At that moment, the pain in its body and the anger in its heart seemed to become insignificant.

If it could, it would like to come again…

500 skewers! No, I want 1000 skewers!

After its soul was purified, the black and white giant bear turned its head and looked in the direction the group had left... its eyes gradually hardened... it secretly resolved that it must find that person!

…………

After Nohara Rin gave them a quick treatment, everyone dispersed, leaving only Mori Masako, Kakashi, and Yakumo behind.

Masako Mori glanced at Kakashi and spoke.

"Yakumo, I'll wait for you over there."

Kakashi clearly had something to say, so Masako Mori tactfully suggested leaving temporarily.

"Although I don't know why you're hiding your strength, I promise I won't tell anyone. Also, I owe you a favor for what happened today." Kakashi said, and without giving Yakumo a chance to deny it, he turned and left.

As always, it was clean and efficient.

"So...we were exposed after all."

The fighting ability he displayed in today's battle was completely different from before; perhaps Rin Nohara and Masako Mori also noticed the abnormality in their strength...

Even if he ignored the problem due to nervousness at the time, he could still sense the abnormality in his strength after calming down at home.

Yakumo turned and walked towards Mori Masako. The two walked home together, their shadows stretched long in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The mission cannot be abandoned.

Encountering that bear was purely accidental; in a life-or-death situation, he had no way of hiding his strength…

"I didn't expect you to be this strong, Yakumo," Mori suddenly said on the way.

"At that time, it was a matter of life and death, and I just went for it in a moment of impulse... I was lucky to survive."

“So that’s how it is… My heart was in my throat at the time…” Masako Mori responded with complete agreement.

"Speaking of which... the explosive tags that I was reluctant to buy, you just scatter like beans." Yakumo quickly changed the subject, as it was no longer appropriate to discuss whether Mori Masako had discovered his true strength.

"You know my family owns a ninja tool shop, so having a few thousand explosive tags for self-defense isn't a problem."

"Yes, there's no problem."

"It seems like I'm the only one in this group who's short on money," Yakumo suddenly thought to himself.

Rin Nohara is not very clear, but judging from her clothes and spending habits, she should be a young lady who is quite wealthy. Although Obito Uchiha's parents died, he is still a member of the Uchiha clan. Kakashi goes without saying... his father is the head of the Anbu. Masako Mori is a young lady who carries thousands of explosive tags with her.

"Mori Masako, I don't want to try anymore." Yakumo suddenly spoke, his expression solemn and sacred.

"Huh? What?"

"It's nothing...just kidding, haha..."

That night, Yakumo continued to study the concealment technique. His need for this ninjutsu grew stronger and stronger. It was an insurance policy for his strength. Even if he exposed part of it, he could still hide more of his trump cards.

However, this technique involves incredibly complex knowledge, including various acupoints on the human face and the concealment of chakra fluctuations…

This led to him not being able to get the hang of the technique even after studying it for more than ten days. But tonight, after Yakumo used the 0.1 point increase in Intelligence, he finally found the key to getting started with this technique.

As chakra flowed, Yakumo's facial skin became dull and age spots appeared, and her strength gradually declined.

I've finally mastered the art of hiding.

Active: Concealment Mastery 2/10 'Acceleration'

Yakumo looked at the panel in disbelief; the Concealment Technique only required 10 points of proficiency to reach perfection.

Then...fill it up.

"We strive to create happiness; we wish you a pleasant gaming experience."

'100 gold coins have been deducted; Concealment skill speed-up!'

When Yakumo opened his eyes, he found that the Concealment Technique had completely disappeared from the panel and had become a seal formed by chakra within his body.

He suddenly realized that the purpose of the 100 gold coins was to insert the Concealment Technique into his body to gain the power to modify himself once. However, once he used the limited chakra or returned to his original form, the Concealment Technique would fail.

The next time he used it, he would still need to spend 100 gold coins to re-insert the Concealment Technique into his body. It was at this moment that he suddenly realized that the Concealment Technique could not possibly be a ninjutsu of the Mist Ninja Assassins, but rather a secret technique involving the sealing of the Uzumaki clan.

After being systematically enhanced, the hiding technique was transformed into a character customization system within the game. He remembered that customizing a character's face in the grind mini-game cost 100 gold coins.