Kumamoto Kuro unconsciously sniffed the air twice.
This was simply a habit he had developed during his time as a black bear.
However, this small action immediately surprised him.
Even after transforming into human form, his powerful sense of smell remained unchanged.
"Oh?"
After realizing this, Kuro recalled the system notification he had received earlier:
[Gain the ability to transform into a bear and summon bear-shaped clones]
From this, a reasonable conclusion could be drawn.
Even though Kuro currently possessed a human body, he could still revert back into his black bear form whenever necessary.
Both forms shared the same abilities.
That meant his human body could retain the strength, endurance, and perception of a black bear, while the bear form could potentially utilize ninja techniques and equipment.
A rather impressive ability.
In another magical world, a power like this would probably be called an Animagus transformation.
But this was hardly the time to analyze his abilities.
Kuro sniffed the air again.
Using his experience from the past month, he quickly identified the newcomers.
"Two shinobi from Konohagakure… one male, one female."
"The girl smells quite pleasant… the boy, on the other hand… smells a little strange…"
Kuro muttered quietly.
Moments later, the two shinobi emerged from the trees and stepped into the clearing.
Now that Kuro appeared as a human boy, he had no reason to hide like he had when he was a bear.
So the moment they entered the clearing—
They noticed him immediately.
One of them was a boy wearing windproof goggles.
The moment he spotted Kuro, he instantly became alert and stepped protectively in front of the girl.
"Who goes there?!"
Kuro took a closer look and immediately recognized them.
The loud and energetic boy—
Obito Uchiha.
And the gentle girl beside him—
Rin Nohara.
Kuro instantly switched to acting mode.
"Who… who are you? Please don't kill me… I was just passing through…"
He deliberately showed a frightened expression and raised his hand in a clumsy salute.
Oppenheimer-level acting had begun.
Seeing Kuro's nervous behavior, Obito relaxed slightly.
"What? It's just a passerby…"
He said over his shoulder to Rin.
But there was no response.
"…Huh?"
Obito turned around in confusion.
Rin was still standing there safely behind him.
But her eyes were slightly unfocused.
She stared directly at Kuro and murmured quietly:
"So handsome…"
No matter how mature and understanding Rin usually was—
She was still just a twelve-year-old girl.
And when she suddenly saw Kuro's face, she couldn't help being momentarily captivated.
"What?"
Obito froze.
Then he glanced back at Kuro again.
After several seconds of silence, he muttered reluctantly:
"Hmph… he's somewhat handsome… but he's still nowhere near my level…"
…
…
The forest fell into awkward silence.
Eventually, Kuro broke the tension.
"Ahem… um… are you ninjas from Konoha? Could you help me?"
"I got lost in the forest… and when I came here, I suddenly found these corpses…"
"Ah!"
Only then did Rin remember the original purpose of their mission.
She hurried over to the bodies.
Looking down, she quickly examined the two Kumogakure shinobi.
Then she noticed the corpse of the Uchiha ninja lying further away.
All three bodies had died violently.
The two Kumogakure shinobi even had clear claw marks across their bodies.
Rin immediately waved to Obito.
"Obito! It really was the black bear!"
"Look! It's already attacked three people—and they're all shinobi!"
Then she turned back to Kuro with a slightly worried expression.
"What's your name?"
"How did you end up here? This area is very dangerous!"
"There's a black bear attacking people nearby!"
Kuro scratched his messy golden hair.
"My name is Kumamoto Kuro."
Obito walked over and looked down at the Kumogakure corpses.
Then he lifted his head and stared suspiciously at Kuro.
Ever since Rin had casually mentioned that Kuro was handsome—
Obito's hostility toward the mysterious "bear" had quietly shifted.
Now his attention was focused on Kuro himself.
Obito narrowed his eyes.
"Kumamoto… Kuro?"
"Did you see a black bear around here?"
Kuro immediately shook his head.
"No… when I arrived, everything was already like this."
Obito studied his expression carefully.
He couldn't find any obvious signs of lying.
Still—
He stubbornly insisted.
"Hmph! That just makes you more suspicious!"
"Maybe you're the one who killed them!"
Rin frowned immediately.
"Obito! Don't say such things!"
"These injuries were clearly caused by a bear!"
Listening to their argument, Kuro couldn't help feeling emotional.
Right now, the world was in the middle of the Third Shinobi World War.
Spies from every village constantly infiltrated enemy territory.
The situation was tense and complicated.
Even though Obito clearly didn't like Kuro—
At least he was thinking logically and questioning a stranger's identity.
But Rin…
She hadn't doubted Kuro at all.
This girl was simply too kind.
Of course—
It might also have something to do with Kuro's handsome appearance.
People naturally trusted good-looking faces.
This was true in the real world.
And apparently—
It was also true in the Naruto world.
Still, Obito was starting to become a bit troublesome.
Kuro could tell that Obito disliked any potential rival.
In his eyes, Obito seemed to be gradually evolving from a noisy kid into a genuine nuisance.
"Ahem…"
Kuro spoke again.
"I didn't kill them."
"I'm actually a ninja from the Yugakure in the Land of Hot Water."
"My homeland has been affected by the war… so I came here hoping to seek refuge."
"I heard that Konoha sometimes accepts refugees."
"I was trying to reach the village, but I got lost in the forest. I ran out of food, and my clothes were torn… so I've been wandering around trying to survive."
Kuro delivered the story calmly.
The geography even supported his explanation.
The forest they were standing in was located in the northeastern region of the Land of Fire.
Beyond the Land of Iron, further east across the sea, lay the island nation where Yugakure was located.
So refugees arriving here was not impossible.
Unfortunately—
Obito clearly didn't believe a single word.
After hearing the explanation, the corner of his mouth curled upward.
In a time of war, a mysterious stranger suddenly appearing and claiming he wanted to go to Konoha?
Obviously suspicious.
Obito felt proud of seeing through the deception.
He sneered.
"Hmph. Someone from the Land of Hot Water coming to Konoha?"
"Only a fool would believe tha—"
"Oh my gosh… how pitiful!"
Rin's sudden exclamation cut him off.
She looked at Kuro with watery eyes filled with sympathy.
"Uh…"
Obito's confident speech collapsed instantly.
No matter what he said—
Rin had clearly already believed the entire story.
And whenever Rin supported something…
Obito rarely opposed it.
Rin looked at Kuro with sparkling eyes.
"We're shinobi from Konoha Village."
"If you don't mind… why don't you come back with us?"
Kuro immediately replied:
"Really? Is that okay? But… I look like this…"
As he spoke, he tugged awkwardly at his oversized clothes.
Then he glanced down at his bare feet, looking embarrassed.
His gaze shifted toward the sandals worn by Obito and Rin.
Both of them wore the standard blue open-toed Konoha shinobi sandals.
However—
Although both pairs looked the same—
Kuro's gaze lingered slightly longer on Rin's feet.
Beneath her dark red thigh-high socks, her feet rested inside the open-toed sandals.
Five delicate white toes peeked out from the front.
Under the scattered sunlight filtering through the forest canopy, they seemed to glow faintly.
Her toenails were carefully painted a light purple, reflecting soft glimmers of light.
Those tiny feet were surprisingly delicate.
One might wonder where they would rank in the eyes of a true connoisseur…
Obito noticed that Kuro had been staring downward for quite a while.
Curious, he lowered his head to follow Kuro's gaze.
The moment he realized what Kuro was looking at—
Everything clicked.
Kuro had been staring at Rin's feet the entire time.
Obito's face instantly turned red.
He jumped forward and pointed angrily at Kuro.
"What are you doing?!"
"Don't you dare peek at Rin's feet!!!"