Chapter 76
Iruka exchanged glances with the other two chūnin teachers.
The three spread out in a triangular formation, surrounding the Ōmba in the center while their hands rapidly formed seals.
[One Thread Lamp Formation]
With a perfectly synchronized low shout, circle after circle of black runes instantly took shape, locking the Ōmba in the center and rendering it unable to move.
Although this was only a basic barrier ninjutsu used to teach students,
learning difficulty did not equal power. When cast jointly by three experienced chūnin, its binding strength was still not to be underestimated.
"Ombu—!"
Upon realizing it could no longer move, the Ōmba thrashed its massive body wildly.
The monstrous strength it prided itself on erupted, actually causing cracks to spread across the ground reinforced by the barrier ninjutsu.
This level of resistance far exceeded the teachers' expectations.
Trapped at the center of the formation, the Ōmba's current state felt less like pure rage and more like a frenzied, panicked anxiety.
Cold sweat beaded on the sunglasses-wearing teacher's forehead; his interlocked fingers trembled slightly: "This thing's power is way too much!"
Iruka clenched his teeth, continuously pouring chakra to maintain the formation: "Hold on! It won't break free anytime soon… just wait until reinforcements arrive…"
Xuanming floated beside Naruto, carefully observing the rampaging Ōmba.
"I just remembered something…"
Digging through long-buried memories in his mind, Xuanming indeed recalled some relevant fragments.
It was a time even earlier than the Warring States period of the shinobi world.
There was no Konoha yet; even the Uchiha clan hadn't moved near the Naka River. The entire area was untouched primeval forest.
Back then, Kurama had not yet been consumed by hatred and simply lived in the surrounding woods.
The ferocious beasts and venomous insects now confined in the Forest of Death had once roamed everywhere.
And the Nine-Tails—whether in strength or size—was undeniably the strongest among them.
Wherever the Nine-Tails rested, no other creature dared approach.
But Kurama was a free spirit—going wherever it pleased, bullying whoever it wanted.
The Ōmba tribe also lived in this region and inevitably couldn't escape becoming Kurama's playthings.
During its wandering and games, it sometimes treated encountered animals like balls to toss around.
The Ōmba tribe was considered quite strong—because they were genuinely tough.
Ordinary wild animals would be crushed with one swipe.
This group could actually resist a few hits when serious—that meant they had real ability.
Only the strong were worthy of becoming toys for the even stronger; anything weaker would be accidentally crushed to death.
Back then, they weren't exterminated—after all, they were just occasional entertainment when there was nothing better to do.
Xuanming's voice continued in Naruto's ear: "Ōmba may be irritable, but they aren't inherently evil. And they have one very distinctive habit."
Xuanming drifted closer and pointed vaguely at the Ōmba's back.
"Their young almost always live on their parents' backs until they grow up. The moment you touched its back earlier, it wasn't simply angry—it was…"
A light bulb went off in Naruto's mind; he instantly understood where that earlier sense of dissonance had come from.
"It's looking for its cub?"
When Naruto had grabbed its back, the Ōmba's movements really had slowed for a moment.
The feeling of something clinging to its back subconsciously reminded it of its own young.
But before it could process the sensation, Naruto's palm strike had dazed it—turning that fleeting sense of loss into deeper fury.
Naruto looked up at the Ōmba still struggling inside the barrier.
No wonder it appeared nearby—its cub must have been lost in the training ground.
"Naruto, why are you three still standing here watching?!"
Iruka saw Naruto still rooted in place and immediately gestured for him to leave quickly.
But Naruto didn't retreat—instead he took a step forward.
He shouted loudly toward the Ōmba: "Hey! Ōmba—are you looking for your kid?!"
The Ōmba—still struggling against the barrier—suddenly slowed its movements.
"Hey, it actually understands human speech!"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
Seeing the reaction, he shouted even louder: "I'll go help you find it right now—just calm down for a bit, okay?"
The Ōmba stared at Naruto with its blood-red eyes, hesitating as it observed him. Two heavy puffs of breath snorted from its nostrils.
Xuanming returned to Naruto's side. Seeing Naruto's reaction, he didn't interrupt.
How novel—understanding human speech?
Even Akamaru, as a dog, already possessed considerable intelligence.
In a few more years, it might even be able to read the answers to the chūnin exam written test.
Compared to ninken, Ōmba were practically wild men with animal appearances.
And even if an Ōmba couldn't fully understand the meaning of spoken words, it could still sense the general emotion being conveyed.
"Don't mess around! Get back to the village right now…"
Iruka was about to scold Naruto.
"…Huh? It actually stopped?"
He suddenly felt the pressure on the formation lighten and his face filled with astonishment.
Naruto didn't have time to explain much. He turned to Iruka: "Iruka-sensei, give us a little time—we'll search the training ground. We might be able to find its cub!"
Although the teachers noticed the Ōmba's movements had slowed, they still didn't dare drop the barrier.
In the end, Iruka told Naruto: before other ninja from the village arrived as reinforcements,
if they could find it, then go search—and they could try releasing the creature afterward.
But if the village ninja arrived first and the cub still wasn't found, they would have no choice but to eliminate this monster that threatened village safety.
Hearing this, Naruto turned to his teammates: "Sasuke, Hinata—come with me to look!"
Sasuke looked full of doubt. Though he thought Naruto's idea was absurd, seeing the temporarily calmed Ōmba, he still decided to go along with it.
"If we're searching… I don't even know what the cub looks like."
Hinata followed closely behind Naruto. Hearing Sasuke's question, she answered softly: "The Ōmba cub… its fur should be brown… I saw it in the materials…"
She had read about Ōmba cubs in the documents earlier but hadn't made the connection right away.
The three quickly began searching through the forest—time was running out.
At the other end of the training ground.
Shikamaru had already stood up, looking at the sky with a speechless expression: "The exercise got canceled… don't tell me there's more trouble?"
He and Chōji hadn't walked far toward the entrance before running head-on into Naruto's group.
"Hey, Naruto—what happened over there?"
Shikamaru looked at the three who appeared very anxious: "The exercise has already been canceled—why are you three still running deeper? Going the wrong way?"
"No time to explain—help me find a small animal that looks roughly like this."
Earlier the Fox Sage had already described what an Ōmba cub looked like.
He quickly repeated the description to the others.
"The little animal you're talking about—is it this weird creature?"
Inuzuka Kiba's voice suddenly rang out.
He walked out of the bushes with an annoyed expression.
Akamaru was barking "woof woof" at his feet, anxiously spinning in circles.
Naruto looked closely—on Kiba's back was clinging a furry little thing.
And it was a small animal with brown fur, trembling as it clutched tightly to Kiba's clothes.
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