On the open sea, the weather was clear and bright. The sun shone down on the water, where several seagulls would occasionally dive into the sea, emerging with a small fish to enjoy a hearty meal.
Seeing the seagulls, Uchiha Nagi knew that there had to be an island or a landmass nearby.
Uchiha Nagi brought his index and middle fingers together. "Release!"
The sharks, which had been forced into service as beasts of burden for several days, were finally freed from the genjutsu. The fearsome ocean predators immediately fled from the speedboat in a panic. They swore that for the rest of their lives, they would stay as far away from human wooden boats as possible and never get close again.
After releasing the pitiful great white sharks, Uchiha Nagi deployed his iron sand. It had to be said, the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release had at least solved one problem for him: his inability to fly.
Throughout the entire ninja world, not counting summoning animals, the number of people who could fly using their own abilities could be counted on one hand. Onoki was one. Besides him, Nagato's Deva Path could use the fundamental force of gravity to fly, and Madara likely could as well, since they essentially used the same pair of Rinnegan.
As for the others who could fly, they all relied on external forces, such as Deidara's clay bird, Gaara's sand, and the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release. Magnet Release controlled metal, using it to carry oneself into the sky, rather than flying on one's own. It was the same as Gaara's method, but its flight speed wasn't as fast as Deidara's or Onoki's.
But if Uchiha Nagi could get a basic grasp of electromagnetism, flying freely like Onoki and the Deva Path shouldn't be a problem. After all, electromagnetism controlled magnetic fields, and the most famous example of someone controlling their own bio-magnetic field was Superman.
Uchiha Nagi flew into the air and scanned the area carefully. Finally, with the help of his Mangekyo and a telescope, he spotted an island in the distance. It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either.
It had been half a month, and Uchiha Nagi still hadn't found the island he was looking for. He used Water Style when he was thirsty and caught fish when he was hungry, cooking them with Fire Style. He had no worries about food or drink; the only problem was his dwindling supply of grain. And he had a big appetite. If he couldn't find it in another half a month, he would have to turn back once his grain ran out. After all, humans were omnivores and couldn't survive on meat alone.
The reason he was so determined to find it was, first, that this island, like the three great sage regions, was filled with a large amount of natural energy. The animals on the island grew to be incredibly large and powerful. This phenomenon was only seen in the three great sage regions, where the abundant natural energy enriched the water and plants, causing the native animals to become unusually large and strong. Uchiha Nagi was a picky person. Since he was going to forge a sword, he wanted to choose the best possible place. The island's water, rich with natural energy, would undoubtedly benefit the swordsmith. He could also capture a few of the animals for Kimimaro and Yukihime to use as summoning beasts. And, like with summoning animals, consuming food grown from land and water rich in natural energy would certainly be very beneficial to the body.
But the open sea was vast; it wasn't so easy to find. Uchiha Nagi had avoided the shipping lanes between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, searching elsewhere, because if the summoning beast island was on a major route, it would have surely been discovered long ago.
As he approached the island he had just spotted, Nagi's light boat struck a reef. With a loud crash, it began to take on water.
"Dammit, what bad luck. There are reefs here."
He dragged the boat onto the beach, left it there, and then flew into the sky with Magnet Release to get a better look.
[Screee!]
Just then, a giant eagle dove down from the sky at high speed. It seemed to have decided that Uchiha Nagi looked quite tasty and wanted to catch him for dinner.
Smack!
Flying in mid-air, Uchiha Nagi casually punched it with one of his Susanoo's giant hands, leaving the eagle's head spinning.
After being injured, the eagle's eyes actually showed a human-like expression of fear. It then turned and flew away.
"Hm? Could this be the place?" Uchiha Nagi immediately activated his Magnet Release wings and followed the eagle.
Along the way, he saw that the island was home to massive spiders, lizards, and snakes, all of them enormous.
"I've come to the right place. Barring any surprises, this should be it," Uchiha Nagi said with delight.
Nagi was also incredibly curious about the artificially synthesized ultimate summoning beast on the island. It could acquire the abilities of any summoning beast it ate. If given time to grow, it could indeed become an existence that surpassed all the Tailed Beasts. He just didn't know if it was mindless and driven only by slaughter, as in the original story. If so, the beast would be of little value.
At that moment, on the island, a red-haired girl with a haggard face was maintaining a seal on a square, high platform. Because sealed upon it was an artificially created demon. From the moment this demon was born, she knew it must never be allowed to escape, or it would destroy the world.
What exhausted her even more was that it had been years, and no one had come to the island. The original researchers and guardian ninja had all been sacrificed in an experimental riot. She had only escaped by chance. But with her strength alone, she probably couldn't maintain the seal for much longer.
Her name was Uzumaki Honoka. Born in an era of war, her father had died early, and her childhood memories were hazy. She only remembered constantly wandering with her mother. Then one day, someone found her mother. She didn't know what was said, but they came to this island. Here, Uzumaki Honoka had a relatively happy childhood, because there was no war, no death, no famine, and no cold. There were also some researchers and a few ninja.
Her and her mother's task was to use sealing jutsu to guard the experiments here—some modified summoning beasts.
The Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu was famous throughout the ninja world. From a young age, she had diligently learned the sealing jutsu her mother taught her. For her, it wasn't just a job; it was the means by which she survived. When they were fleeing as refugees on the mainland, so many other refugees and bandits had tried to harm them, but her mother had always fought them off with sealing jutsu.
This island was unusually rich in natural energy, making it a very suitable place for raising summoning beasts. The faction that brought her here, it seemed, was not content with just raising them, but wanted to create an ultimate summoning beast—one that could fuse all abilities and become infinitely stronger. In the end, they succeeded, and they failed.
Because after their success, the team couldn't control the ultimate summoning beast at all. When it got out, it ate all the researchers. Finally, her mother sacrificed herself, exhausting her own life force to seal the out-of-control, still-infant ultimate summoning beast.
After that, she lived alone on the island. However, the seal was not stable. The beast inside would periodically attack it. And it seemed to be constantly evolving; even after being locked up for years without food or drink, it was still not dead.
But she was alone, and her strength was limited. Under the constant assault of the ultimate summoning beast, she couldn't hold out much longer. If this continued, she would probably have to follow her mother's example, sacrificing her own life to reinforce the seal. But even that would only last for a few years.
[Honoka, this experiment was a mistake. You must never let this summoning beast out, or the ninja world will be finished.]
Uzumaki Honoka looked at the seal, recalling her mother's dying words. She said with determination:
"I will never let it escape, Mother."
Wait—
Someone's here?
Just then, Uzumaki Honoka suddenly sensed something. She looked up in surprise toward a certain direction. She had sensed that someone had arrived on the island, and their chakra was immense. She had never encountered such a massive amount of chakra before.
Kagura Mind's Eye.
This was a gifted ability that only a very few talented women of the Uzumaki clan could possess. It was one of the strongest sensory ninjutsu in the ninja world. And as it happened, Uzumaki Honoka possessed it.
A lonely girl, having been on this island for so many years with no one to talk to, had long grown used to it. But the appearance of another person still filled her with ecstatic joy. Could it be that the employer who had funded the research had finally sent someone?
Uzumaki Honoka didn't even have time to consider if it was an enemy. She immediately rushed out of the base, opened the cave, and ran outside.
BOOM!
This was the third giant beast Uchiha Nagi had knocked out. The animals here were truly enormous—spiders and lizards the size of trucks, and massive snakes. It seemed they all had their own hunting grounds. When Nagi intruded, they had treated this tiny human as an after-dinner snack. But every beast that had tried to take a bite had broken its teeth.
"They just charge without even being able to tell if they can win against an enemy. Making a contract with this kind of summoning beast would be useless." Uchiha Nagi shook his head. Just then, he suddenly heard a woman's scream from the forest.
"Ah—!"
Hm? Someone's here.
Uchiha Nagi combined a Body Flicker with his Breathing Style and rushed over.
A massive spider had wrapped Uzumaki Honoka in a web and was dangling her in the air. Normally, she would never have been caught, but as luck would have it, she had spent the last few days and nights reinforcing the seal, completely depleting her chakra. Without her chakra, and not being a taijutsu expert—she didn't even know any ninjutsu—and with her mind focused on meeting the person who had come to the island, she had carelessly fallen into the spider's trap. If her chakra hadn't been exhausted, she could have easily broken free. But now...
"You... you stay away!" Uzumaki Honoka's face was pale as she looked at the terrifying spider with its two rows of compound eyes and mouth full of fangs. The foul stench from its open mouth was nauseating. The giant spider opened its maw and lunged toward her head, apparently planning to start its meal with her brain.
"Ah!" Uzumaki Honoka closed her eyes and screamed in terror.
BOOM!
"Destructive Death: Air Type!"
At the critical moment, Uchiha Nagi arrived. He cut down the spider with a single blow and caught the girl as she fell from mid-air.
Uzumaki Honoka only felt a gust of wind the moment the spider's mouth was about to bite down on her. Then, she found herself falling into a young man's arms.
A handsome face, a sharp and chiseled profile, a pair of red eyes, and a masculine scent. Honoka was stunned. It was the first time in her life she had been this close to a member of the opposite sex her own age. She couldn't help but blush, her heart beginning to pound.