Training Ground 13.
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya stood to the side, listening intently as Chihiro explained.
"Alright, listen up. This technique requires you to call out to the voice deep within your soul! Once you connect with it, summon it forth!"
With that, Chihiro raised a finger, bit into it to draw blood, swiped it across her palm, then pressed it firmly to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
A thick cloud of smoke erupted.
When it cleared, an eagle soared into the air before gracefully landing on Chihiro's shoulder.
She smiled. "This is my partner."
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya's eyes lit up with admiration.
"That's amazing!"
But a voice broke through their excitement.
"Is that it?"
Sakiya stood with her arms crossed, looking unimpressed.
"Uh..." Chihiro scratched the back of her head. "Well, my summon might not be the strongest, but it's incredibly reliable in other ways..."
Stare.
Sakiya's blank, unwavering gaze drilled into her.
Within seconds, Chihiro gave in.
"Fine! I'll help you find a powerful summon!"
Satisfied, Sakiya nodded.
Chihiro sighed in relief—only to feel two pairs of eager eyes burning into her back.
Turning around, she saw Sakuragi and Tsuchiya staring expectantly.
Rubbing her temples, she muttered, "Alright, alright... I'll introduce you to some options."
---
The first stop was a familiar face from Chihiro's time in the Anbu—a seasoned summoner known for his powerful contracts.
His summon? A massive porcupine, part of a rare battle-hardened species.
Sakiya took one look and shook her head.
"Too ugly."
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya, however, looked tempted.
Summons of this size and strength were rare, after all.
But in the end, they moved on.
Chihiro sighed. "Alright, Sakiya, what exactly are you looking for?"
Sakiya tilted her head. "Requirements?"
She thought for a moment, then spoke decisively.
"My summon must be incredibly strong, look cool as hell, and have extraordinary abilities! As my partner, it must uphold the reputation of my Eye of Death!"
Chihiro's eye twitched.
Yep. Should've seen that coming.
"Sakiya, with that kind of list, I doubt anything in this world will fit the bill."
She crossed her arms. "Forget everything else—just finding something with 'extraordinary abilities' is already impossible."
Sakiya fell silent, deep in thought.
"...Fair point. Fine. I'll lower my standards."
Chihiro felt a glimmer of hope.
"As long as it's a sub-divine-level beast, I'll be satisfied."
Chihiro stared at her, eyes filled with quiet resentment.
"...What the hell is a sub-divine-level beast?"
Sakiya thought for a moment, then decided to demonstrate her idea.
She raised her hands, scrunched up her small face into a fierce expression, and swiped the air with her "claws."
Swipe! Swipe!
Then, just as quickly, she straightened up, returning to a serious stance.
"This is the kind of creature I want!" she declared.
Chihiro stared, utterly confused.
What Sakiya just did... looked exactly like a kitten playfully swatting at something.
Who was supposed to understand that?
But... it was cute.
Seeing the confusion in Chihiro's eyes, Sakiya explained earnestly.
"What I just imitated is a legendary beast! It's called the Elemental Eater! A powerful creature that can devour anything!"
Chihiro frowned. "Sakiya, do that again. This time, with some effort."
Sakiya sighed. "Fine. Watch carefully!"
She raised her small hands again, swiping at the air with slightly more force. Her expression turned fierce.
Then—
"Meow~!"
Chihiro: ??
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya froze.
Sakiya lowered her hands, noticing the stunned silence on Chihiro's face.
"...What?"
Chihiro leaned in slightly, her voice low.
"Sakiya..."
"You just meowed, didn't you?"
Sakiya blinked, confused by the question.
Chihiro suddenly lit up with excitement, leaning in even closer.
"You totally meowed!"
Sakiya instinctively shrank back, nodding cautiously.
Chihiro's eyes narrowed.
"Doesn't that sound exactly like the cat beast we caught before?"
Sakiya quickly shook her head, looking serious.
"No! The Elemental Eater just happens to look like a little monster, but it's completely different!"
Chihiro sighed.
"I've seen a lot of cat-like techniques before. But if we're looking for powerful summons, Kakashi has a summoning scroll from the ninja beast clan."
"Let's check it out."
Sakiya thought for a moment. If nothing else worked, a ninja beast might still be pretty cool.
"Alright."
And with that, they set off to find Kakashi.
Surprisingly, they found Kakashi at the training ground.
Inside, he was acting as a referee.
Naruto vs. Sasuke!
Naruto created multiple shadow clones, filling the battlefield with identical versions of himself.
Sasuke, in response, activated his Lightning Chakra Mode, enhancing his speed.
Naruto's clones swarmed the battlefield, making it hard for Sasuke to locate the real one. But Sasuke's speed was too fast—every strike took down a clone before they could react.
Naruto, however, was watching closely.
He was learning Sasuke's movement pattern.
"Now!"
The moment Sasuke rushed in to strike another row of clones, Naruto's remaining clones preemptively moved to counter him!
Sasuke suddenly found himself surrounded. He dodged quickly, but Naruto had already anticipated where he would move.
Right on cue, Sasuke dodged into Naruto's waiting attack!
Sasuke's eyes widened—he hadn't expected Naruto to keep up.
For a moment, both stood still.
Then—CLASH!
Their attacks collided, the shockwave knocking them both back.
But Naruto had planned ahead—his shadow clones were already behind Sasuke!
Sasuke noticed and smirked.
"Not bad, Naruto! But you miscalculated my speed!"
With a surge of chakra, Sasuke's heartbeat accelerated—his body felt weightless.
His speed doubled!
In an instant, Sasuke vanished in a flash of lightning, leaving the clones behind.
Before Naruto could react, Sasuke was already at his side—kunai at his neck.
"You lose!" Sasuke declared.
Naruto blinked at the weapon in front of him. Then, unexpectedly, he grinned.
"No, Sasuke... you lost!"
POOF!
Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
A shadow clone?!
Suddenly, the ground beneath him exploded.
Six Narutos burst out!
Two grabbed his feet.
Two locked his arms.
One held his neck.
And the last—the real Naruto—smirked triumphantly.
"Hahaha! Gotcha, Sasuke! Didn't see that coming, huh?!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"Don't celebrate just yet!"
Naruto's smile faltered.
"Chidori!"
Lightning exploded from Sasuke's body!
The clones instantly disintegrated.
Even Naruto, standing farther away, was shocked by the burst of electricity—his muscles went numb, and he collapsed.
Sasuke stepped forward, sword drawn, pointing it at the paralyzed Naruto.
"You lose."
Naruto groaned, frustrated.
Kakashi finally spoke.
"Ahem... Sasuke wins."
Sasuke extended a hand.
Naruto stared at it for a second, then grabbed it, pulling himself up.
Their eyes met.
Naruto's expression turned serious.
"Next time, I won't lose."
Sasuke scoffed, turning away.
"Hmph. We'll see."
Tsuchiya and Sakuragi clapped.
"Wow, that was awesome!"
At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke finally noticed that Sakiya and the others had arrived.
Naruto blinked in surprise.
"Oh, what are you guys doing here?"
When he saw Sakiya, he gave a casual wave.
"Hey, Sakiya, long time no see."
His tone was normal.
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya exchanged glances.
Something felt off.
Why?
They looked again at Naruto's calm expression.
Then it hit them.
Oh.
That eager, over-the-top enthusiasm he used to have—was gone.
Sakiya noticed the change too.
"Oh? You seem... different."
Naruto smiled.
"Yeah. I think I've finally figured out who I am. I've come to understand myself better, accept who I really am, and look ahead."
Chihiro leaned over to Kakashi.
"What happened to Naruto?"
Kakashi chuckled.
"He's been training with Master Jiraiya. He's matured a lot."
Sakiya nodded.
"Then, the new you is finally worthy of joining my Death Pact."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Seriously?! That's awesome!"
There it was.
The familiar excitement.
Sakiya sighed internally.
Yeah. Naruto is still Naruto.
Sasuke crossed his arms.
"Anyway, why are you guys here?"
Chihiro quickly turned to Kakashi.
"Sensei, Sakiya wants a summon. So we were wondering about the ninja hound contract..."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"But Chihiro, you already have a summon, don't you?"
Chihiro winced and gestured at Sakiya.
Kakashi immediately understood.
"Ah. I see."
The ninja hounds weren't rare summons.
But whether they'd accept someone like Sakiya... that was another story.
Before Kakashi could say anything, Naruto jumped in.
"Wait, Sakiya, you want a summon?! I have a better idea! Jiraiya-sensei gave me access to the summoning contracts of the Three Great Lands! They have the strongest summons!"
Kakashi's expression changed.
"The Three Great Lands?"
Chihiro's eyes widened.
"This could be perfect!"
She turned to Sakiya.
"Sakiya! The cool, powerful summon you want? It has to be there!"
Sakiya frowned.
She knew what this meant.
The toads.
Naruto saw her hesitation and immediately decided to show her.
He bit his thumb, pressed his palm to the ground, and unleashed a huge amount of chakra.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
BOOM!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted.
And then—a giant toad appeared.
Toad Bunta.
Naruto grinned proudly.
"Well? Strong! Handsome! Right?"
Sakiya didn't hesitate.
"No! It's ugly! I refuse!"
Toad Bunta's eye twitched.
He turned slowly to Naruto.
"Hey, kid! Did you summon me just to show off?"
Naruto quickly pointed at Sakiya and explained.
"No, Boss Toad! I just wanted to see if you'd let Sakiya sign a summoning contract."
Before the toad could even respond, Sakiya immediately refused.
"No way. A toad like that is way too ugly. It doesn't suit the name of my 'Eye of Death' at all."
Toad Bunta's eye twitched.
"Hey! Brat! I'm the boss of the toads! One of the finest in my entire clan! How dare you call me ugly?! And let me remind you, I'm also one of the strongest summoning beasts!"
Naruto saw things were getting heated and quickly tried to calm him down.
"Boss Toad, don't be mad! She's just talking nonsense. You can go back now."
But Bunta wasn't leaving that easily. He narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? And where exactly do you plan to find a summon stronger than me?"
Sakiya smirked.
"Stronger than you? I have plenty. Want to see?"
"…What?"
Everyone—Naruto, Kakashi, Chihiro, even Sasuke—stood there in stunned silence.
Kakashi narrowed his eye.
"Wait, you actually have something, Sakiya?"
Sakiya grinned.
"Let me show you what a real summoning beast looks like."
Chihiro and the others looked at each other.
"Is she serious?"
Without answering, Sakiya raised her hand.
A massive summoning circle appeared in the air, floating ominously.
She began to chant.
"From the void's depths!
From the sun's fire!
From the light's end!
Descend upon this world!
Come forth—Obsidian Death!"
The air shook.
The summoning circle spun wildly, and suddenly—
The sky changed.
Clouds twisted into a swirling vortex, its center directly above the magic circle.
Everyone felt it.
A crushing presence.
Tsuchiya gulped.
"This… this is affecting the entire sky. What the hell is she summoning?"
Toad Bunta's expression hardened.
Even he was getting worried.
Everyone stood frozen, caught between excitement and fear.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive pillar of light shot down from the sky, slamming into the summoning circle.
The very ground trembled.
And then, it appeared.
A massive, four-legged beast.
It resembled a horse, but its body was covered in black scales. A sharp, spiraled horn jutted from its forehead. Its four hooves crackled with dark energy.
But most terrifyingly—
A thick, black aura poured from its body.
An aura so dark, so heavy, that it felt like pure destruction.
Even Kakashi's breath hitched.
This thing… it could probably destroy an entire world.
Sakiya smiled triumphantly.
"Alright, Obsidian Death. Let's give them a little show.
Death Trample!"
The massive beast reared onto its hind legs, then slammed its hooves into the ground.
BOOOOOM!
The ground shattered.
Chunks of rock and dirt erupted into the air.
A massive crater spread beneath them.
Sakiya looked down at the destruction, then turned back with a smirk.
"So? Pretty amazing, right?"
"Want to see the next one?"
Kakashi and the others stared, speechless.
"...There's more?"
Sakiya simply grinned.
And then—
She summoned hundreds of massive western dragons, towering demon apes the size of mountains, and eastern dragons stretching thousands of meters across the sky.
By the time she was done, even Kakashi looked like he had seen a ghost.
______________
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