Chapter 199 What a Big Bird

Kawakita Town was at the foot of a small mountain, much as Muzuki had imagined—remote and poor. Most of the houses here didn’t even look like they belonged to the same era as the houses in the Leaf Village Main District.

“The scenery actually looks pretty good,” Obito said as he went to the rooftop, his hand shading his eyes as he surveyed the area.

“Ninja sirs, Big Black usually stays at the highest point of the mountain. If possible, please try not to kill it. Just drive it away is fine,” Hamajiro said, his expression pleading.

Hamajiro’s words immediately soured Obito’s mood, which had been uplifted by the nice scenery.

The thought of helping that detestable Mayor made Obito extremely displeased.

“I understand, but that giant eagle is a bird, after all, and it can fly. We’ll need to prepare more time. We’ll notify you when it’s done,” Muzuki replied, nodding.

After speaking, Muzuki led his disciples away from Hamajiro’s house.

“Muzuki-sensei, we’re not really going to help that Mayor, are we?” Obito couldn’t help but ask when he saw Muzuki leading them towards the mountain peak.

“Otherwise? A Ninja is nothing if he doesn’t complete his mission,” Kakashi answered first.

Although he was also displeased with the so-called Mayor, he would still choose to drive away the giant eagle and complete the mission.

“Let’s investigate thoroughly first and see what the real situation is like. Don’t believe everything people say,” Muzuki said, shaking his head.

Being enthusiastic is good, but one cannot blindly follow someone’s words. If the giant eagle is truly bothering the residents, and the Mayor isn’t a bad person, then acting blindly would be doing a good deed with bad results.

“Kakashi, you narcissist, I didn’t even ask you!” Seeing that Muzuki didn’t say he would help the Mayor, Obito was somewhat happy and took the opportunity to retort to Kakashi.

Relying on the Byakugan’s powerful vision and the Ninja’s strong mobility, Muzuki quickly found the giant eagle described in the mission.

Perhaps because of its immense size, this giant eagle didn’t nest in trees or on cliffs like ordinary eagles, but rather lived in a cave.

Muzuki roughly estimated the giant eagle’s height and wingspan, feeling that its body length should be around four meters and its wingspan possibly over ten meters.

After seeing the black eagle’s true form, Muzuki was certain that this black eagle was a Nin-Beast; ordinary eagles absolutely could not grow to this size.

“Big Black, Big Black.”

Obito and the others didn’t have Muzuki’s Byakugan’s super vision and X-ray vision. They hadn’t yet discovered the giant eagle’s location, and Obito even tried to call out its name to make the black eagle come out.

Although they were his disciples, the Byakugan couldn’t be exposed at the moment, so Muzuki didn’t directly point it out. Instead, he led his disciples to continue searching, gradually approaching the cave where the giant eagle was located.

At this moment, a sharp, incomparably piercing eagle cry suddenly rang out.

Then a black shadow flashed, and a giant black eagle appeared at the mouth of the cave, its sharp eyes fixed on Muzuki and the others.

“What a big bird!” Obito exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.

Seeing the giant eagle described in the mission and actually seeing a giant eagle several meters tall in reality were completely different feelings.

Kakashi’s muscles tensed, and his hand had already quietly gone into his Nin-tool pouch to pull out two Kunai.

Unlike Obito, Kakashi’s first thought upon seeing the giant eagle was that its sharp talons could directly kill a person.

“It really is big,” Might Guy mused. If he were to fight such a giant bird, what would happen if it just flew into the sky?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The giant eagle suddenly spread its massive black wings, then flapped them while letting out a terrifying shriek. The powerful wind generated by its flapping wings sent grass, leaves, and sand swirling into the air.

Kakashi thought the giant eagle was about to attack and immediately prepared to throw the sharp Kunai in his hand.

Muzuki pressed down Kakashi’s hand, which was about to throw the Kunai.

Kakashi looked at Muzuki with a puzzled expression. Although he had agreed to the client not to kill the giant eagle, given its size, if he didn’t attack vital points, he wouldn’t cause much damage.

“Don’t be in a hurry to act. Look over there,” Muzuki said, shaking his head, then pointed to the scorched wound on the giant eagle’s right wing.

Because the giant eagle’s feathers were already black and its body was large, Kakashi hadn’t noticed this immediately.

“This injury… are there other Ninja in the village?” Kakashi speculated while cautiously watching the giant eagle.

Having mastered Lightning Release Ninjutsu, he recognized at first glance that the injury on the giant eagle’s wing was caused by Lightning Release.

“Could it be that the Mayor hired other Ninja to get revenge on Big Black?” Obito wondered, guessing.

At this point, Muzuki could roughly confirm that the giant eagle’s temper was quite gentle. Even when injured, it only threatened strangers and didn’t directly launch an attack.

Muzuki walked forward with a smile. The giant eagle was startled by Muzuki’s action and flapped its wings rapidly again.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I just want to help you heal,” Muzuki continued to walk forward fearlessly, speaking. If it was a Nin-Beast, it might understand what he was saying.

The giant black eagle either didn’t understand or didn’t believe Muzuki’s words. Seeing Muzuki ignore its warning and continue to approach, it swung its massive left wing towards Muzuki.

Whoosh!

Muzuki vanished from the giant eagle’s sight. Just as the giant eagle was wondering where the little person had gone, it suddenly felt a heavy blow to its head, followed by a dizzy spell, and it collapsed directly onto the ground.

“So, when Muzuki-sensei hits me, he’s actually being gentle,” Obito said, subconsciously touching his forehead, which was often hit, upon seeing Muzuki knock the giant eagle down with two fingers.

Making the unruly giant eagle more obedient, Muzuki extended his hand and used the Mystical Palm Technique on the giant eagle’s injured area.

The glowing green healing light enveloped the giant eagle’s wound, and the injury on its body quickly recovered.

“Gugu~” Suddenly, the pain in its body disappeared, and the giant eagle couldn’t help but let out a comfortable cry.

Although it didn’t know what had happened, the giant eagle understood one thing: this strange little person in front of it was not to be trifled with, and he had no ill intentions towards it.

The giant eagle folded its wings and lowered its head to rub against Muzuki as a sign of friendliness.

Obito looked at the thick fur on the giant eagle’s large head, feeling that it must be very soft to touch. So, he walked to Muzuki’s side, wanting to pat the giant eagle’s big head.

When Obito reached out, however, the giant eagle quickly dodged, watching Obito warily.

“Don’t worry, they are all my disciples. They won’t hurt you,” Muzuki said.

Next, Muzuki set up tents nearby with his disciples.

Although there were civilian houses down the mountain, to foster a bond with a future Nin-Beast, Muzuki chose to stay on the mountain.

At lunchtime, perhaps as a way of repaying his kindness, the giant eagle caught an injured wild boar and placed it near Muzuki’s tent.

Muzuki didn’t stand on ceremony. He immediately killed the wild boar and roasted it.

After repaying Muzuki’s kindness, the giant eagle returned to its cave to rest, but it was quickly attracted by a scent it had never smelled before.

The giant eagle quickly emerged from the cave, locked onto the location based on the scent, and swiftly arrived at where Muzuki and the others were eating.

Smelling the enticing aroma it had never experienced, the giant eagle stared eagerly at the wild boar on the grill, not daring to make too much noise.

It really wanted to eat, but that little person had healed it, and he was also very formidable.

“No way, do eagles like roasted meat too?” Obito couldn’t help but quip as he watched the giant eagle stare intently at the roasted pig.

“As expected, the chef skill is very powerful,” Muzuki thought. This life skill was simply god-tier for gaining favor. Even Nin-Beasts couldn’t resist the temptation.

The giant eagle stood in front of the roasted meat, contemplating for a few minutes, then suddenly flew away. A while later, the giant eagle returned, carrying various prey, which it piled up next to Muzuki.

“Gugu~” The giant eagle made a docile sound, pointed to the prey with its wing, then pointed to the roasted pig, and then looked at Muzuki with excited eyes, rubbing its head against Muzuki.

Muzuki cut out two-thirds of the roasted pig with a Kunai and said with a smile to the giant eagle:

“I can’t give it all to you. My disciples and I also need to eat.”

Finally able to eat this enticing food, the giant eagle didn’t even pay attention to Obito, who took the opportunity to pat its head, and quickly devoured it ravenously.

After taking a bite, a light instantly flashed in the giant eagle’s eyes. It hadn’t expected this thing to smell good and taste even better. It had never eaten anything so delicious.

“Wow, Muzuki-sensei, Big Black seems to really like your roasted meat!” Obito exclaimed, his face showing excitement as he finally got to feel the giant eagle’s soft fur.

Obito felt as if he had learned something new; apparently, birds liked roasted meat too.

Muzuki smiled without speaking. He felt that he didn’t even need to do much; perhaps after a few more days, this black giant eagle wouldn’t be able to resist following him.

“After dinner, we’ll investigate Kawakita Town. Be careful, there might be enemy Ninja here,” Muzuki said, getting to the point.

Kumogakure and Sunagakure were at war, so it was normal for Cloud Ninja to be in the Land of Rivers, which bordered the Land of Wind. Since the giant eagle had Lightning Release injuries, it was highly likely that Cloud Ninja had caused the harm to the giant eagle.

However, Muzuki speculated that the opponent’s strength wouldn’t be high. If it were a powerful Ninja, even if the giant eagle could fly, it would be difficult for it to escape.

Kakashi was somewhat at a loss for words. Obito’s jinx had actually come true again; they had unexpectedly encountered Ninja again.

Before joining Muzuki’s team, he had done so many C-Rank Missions and never encountered a Ninja once. Yet, with Muzuki, he had done only two C-Rank Missions, and both had unexpected incidents.