They forgot about the stew still bubbling in the pot and dropped to the ground among the tangled roots and trees.
Then hooves struck the earth. Thud. Thud.
The ground began to tremble.
At first, the sound came in broken intervals.
After only a few steps, the beast charged. The crashing noise merged into a rolling thunder that made their hearts pound in their chests.
It never wavered from its path. Grass was flattened beneath its bulk as it barreled straight toward the soup and the grill.
Branches snapped. Leaves exploded into the air. This raging torrent would crush anything in its way.
When it finally collided, the sound was almost soft. A dull, heavy boom, like a massive sack slamming into a wall.
The grill and the pot were flung aside.
"That bastard!" Nawaki shouted, eyes wide. "He ruined our dinner!"
He lunged forward, but Might Duy caught him in midair.
Duy narrowed his eyes. The enormous boar roared at the scattered meat, its cry half grief, half mockery.
It was obvious. The beast was trying to drive them out.
"No matter what, seniors do not let juniors step into danger first."
He leapt forward, landing without raising a single grain of dust.
Duy stayed alert. A boar this large carried terrifying strength.
He unfastened the weights around his ankles and hurled them.
Metal tore through the air, aimed straight at the boar's skull.
The beast did not even flinch. The heavy weights sank into its fat like stones dropped into thick mud, then bounced away.
Facing a giant, Duy felt his adrenaline surge. His heart beat like a war drum.
The chill of fear was swallowed by excitement.
"What a magnificent encounter of youth!" he shouted inwardly, a wild smile curling across his face. He longed for an equal opponent.
But behind him stood the people he had to protect.
"First comes the boar, then the bear, then the tiger." A lone male boar was the most dangerous of all.
Once it charged, its thick fat could absorb blows and carry it forward.
The clash erupted in an instant.
The boar roared, lowered its head, and charged with shocking speed for a body of its size.
It was like an overloaded truck tearing down a highway, cracking the ground and hurling debris into the air.
"Life, can you not spare me just this once?"
Julian White seemed to hear that familiar line echo in his mind.
Duy twisted aside at the last moment. The earth shook, and the wind from the tusks burned across his cheek.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
He leapt down from an ancient tree, spinning as his heel smashed into the beast's neck.
This was the very technique he had just taught Guy.
"Watch closely, Guy. Pure taijutsu can shine with youth alone!"
The impact rattled his bones. It felt like kicking solid granite, the shock numbing his calf.
"Thick hide," he muttered. The monster's armor was tougher than he had expected.
The boar shrieked and thrashed wildly, trying to gore and crush the small enemy beneath it.
After several close calls, Duy knew ordinary strikes were not enough.
"This technique is imperfect, but I cannot let it rampage. The people I care about are behind me!"
His gaze sharpened. He crossed his arms over his chest as chakra surged.
"Eight Gates Formation. Gate of Life, open!"
A green whirlwind erupted around him. The air flickered and warped.
Power flooded his aching muscles.
He became a green afterimage, fists and feet flying. Leaf Great Whirlwind. Leaf Steel Fist. Blows hammered joints and weak points like war drums.
Still, the decisive strike would not land.
The boar struggled, twisted, and stomped, trying to skewer or crush the buzzing threat.
Duy danced on the edge of death, displaying the pride of a taijutsu specialist.
Its thick fat cushioned every blow. The boar merely shattered trees to force its way through.
One tusk scraped across Guy's abdomen, tearing his shirt. Cold death brushed past him, then ignited a fiercer resolve.
"My youth will not end here!"
Duy leapt back, ready to fight another hundred rounds.
Instead, the boar turned and charged toward Julian and the others.
"Damn it!" Duy roared, unleashing a storm of punches into its flank. Every strike was swallowed by fat.
"Come on!" Nawaki shouted, forming seals in an instant.
The Underworld Swamp spread beneath the beast as he poured every last drop of chakra into it. The boar was simply too massive to sink quickly.
All he could do was watch it draw closer.
"Nawaki, Water Release. Raging Water Wave. Its right hind leg!"
Nawaki gave a bitter smile. "I want to, but I am out of chakra."
A sting like a mosquito bite pierced his neck. His eyes rolled back, then snapped into focus.
Power surged through his body. Acting on instinct, he blasted out a jet of water that bent the boar's leg and hurled it into the swamp.
Duy seized the opening and flashed in front of the beast.
He drew a deep breath. The Fifth Gate opened. Green shifted to blue. Scalding pressure rolled outward, dust spiraling at his feet.
Sensing doom, the boar struggled to rise, bloodshot eyes locked onto the small man radiating lethal intent.
No flashy movements. No roar.
Duy simply threw a punch.
The fist looked slow, yet carried power enough to shatter mountains, tearing through the air like a bullet train.
It struck squarely against the boar's hardened forehead.