Itachi perked his ears up and listened to any sudden movements. His anbu training was kicking in right now. The beast's droppings on the floor were leading him deeper into the forest, he also saw large footsteps on the forest floor. He briefly studied them then continued walking.
Itachi's movements at this moment started to get quieter, he was like a tiger following his prey. Judging by the droppings and footsteps he was close to his target, he had to be extremely careful from here on out. The atmosphere was getting tenser by the minute, his surroundings were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
But then all of a sudden…
" Crack… "
Itachi instantly turned around and wielded his dagger, pointing it in the direction of the sound. But what greeted him was not his target but a little white rabbit moving around.
"Phew"
Itachi sighed in relief, if that was a fierce beast he may not have been able to escape unscathed, he would have been caught completely off guard. This was not the Itachi of old, even a minor beast was enough to threaten his life.
Itachi took a deep breath then continued walking, the lights from the sect were getting ever so distant, before long they would disappear from sight. Itachi knew this so he started to mark the trees he passed, with his dagger. This was done so that in case he did get lost he would be able to follow these markings and find his way back to the sect.
After about 20 minutes, Itachis's efforts finally bore fruit, in front of him were dense bushes with all sorts of lush fruits growing out of them, at the bottom of the bushes a massive boar-like beast was laying down fast asleep. It looked rather imposing, even though it was sleeping.
Itachi did not let his guard down the least and started to think of ways he could take it out, facing it head-on was as good as committing suicide.
Itachi crouched near a tree and then stalked his prey, looking for any weaknesses he could exploit.
" System, display target "
-
Target: Wild Turtle Boar
Realm: Rank 1 Beast ( equivalent to a low-rank qi condensation cultivator )
Status: Sleeping, but otherwise healthy
Danger level: Very dangerous for the host, the system recommends to stay away
Other additional information: Its said, the beast's skin is as tough as a turtle shell
-
Itachi briefly looked at the stats of the beast then closed the system panel. Although it didn't have much useful information, it was better than nothing. When one's power is insufficient, its knowledge that prevails. Itachi knew the power of information, he welcomed any and all knowledge.
Itachi's Sharingan and Byakugan were active, he studied the beast and found where its vital organs were. They were close to the shoulder blade of the beast, the lung and the heart were stationed next to it.
" If I can somehow approach the beast without alerting it, ill be able to stab its vital organs and kill it in one fell swoop. Provided I can pierce the thick skin "
Following this train of thought, Itachi slowly approached the beast, the beast's tusks were as big as Itachi's head alone.
" If I get hit by those tusks, I'm as good as dead "
5 meters… 4 meters… 3 meters… 2 meters…
Itachi was now 1-meter walking distance from the boar-like beast, he could now hear the beast snoring, god knows what it was dreaming about.
As Itachi tiptoed next to the beast, he held his breath, he was worried if he breathed loudly the beast would wake up.
After a few more steps he was finally in attacking distance. Itachi brandished his divine dagger and raised it in front of him, the moonlight reflected off the dagger, which made the dagger look even more otherworldly.
Itachi gripped the dagger tightly and slashed it downwards with all his strength.
Boom!
The dagger pierced into the beast's skin, however before it reached its heart, the dagger got stuck halfway. Itachi looked at the wound and cursed his luck! Even with such a sharp dagger, his childlike strength was still not enough!
Snap!
The beast suddenly opened his eyes and roared!
Itachi saw this scene and quickly started to calculate what to do, he didn't panic in the slightest, this was Itachi's personality, only by staying calm could he escape such a calamity.
Itachi tried to remove the pinned dagger but to no avail, it was stuck! Itachi had no time to try other ways of removing it.
The beast got up and started to move about frantically in an aggressive manner, when it saw Itachi standing next to it, it went crazy. The beast ignored the pain and charged straight at him!
BOOM!
Before Itachi could dodge the beast hit Itachi with its tusks with all its might, Itachi instantly went flying like a stringless kite in a storm.
BOOM!
Itachi's flying body landed right on the side of a tree, the impact left a small dent on the tree.
"Uhhggg"
Itachi groaned in pain as he watched the Boar like beast getting ready for another charge.
" Uhg… luckily I protected my vital organs with my arms just in time before the tusks hit me, but my right arm is completely broken "
Itachi swallowed the pain and got up with great difficulty, now was not the time to complain, his right arm was completely limp and on his side.
Itachi stood up leaning against a large tree as he held his right arm with his left hand. The pain in his right arm was getting worse and was starting to swell. If not treated now it could bring forth irreversible damage.
Itachi stared at the incoming Beast as he took deep breaths. It was about to charge again, this time he would definitely die if he gets hit again. He could no longer use his arms as protection.
" Here it comes…"
The beast roared once again as it charged straight at Itachi! All the animals in a 100-meter radius retreated in fright as they heard the resounding roar.
BOOM!