In the end, Uchiha Nagi released the giant eagle. He set down the summoning contract scroll, and after both sides had signed it, the eagle became his exclusive summoning beast.
A ninja could have multiple summoning contracts. Sasuke, for example, had a contract with an eagle and another with the snakes of the Ryuchi Cave. As long as you had enough chakra, you could summon as many as you wanted.
"All done," Nagi said with satisfaction. "I'll let you know when I need a ride. And I promise not to work you more than eight hours a day. It won't interfere with you raising your kids."
He considered himself a good boss. Where else could you find a deal like that, with a work limit of eight hours? Besides, it wasn't like he needed the eagle's help for travel every day, and he certainly didn't need its help in a fight.
Bidding farewell to the reluctant, humiliated eagle, Nagi flew back to the base. He decided he wouldn't use a boat to return to the mainland this time; he would just summon the eagle.
A legendary roc was said to soar for thousands of kilometers in a single day. This eagle couldn't match that myth, but its incredible speed still made it a priceless, fuel-free airplane.
He opened the door to the base. Honoka was still fast asleep. Nagi glanced outside; it was already getting dark. He decided to make some dinner and went out to catch a giant spider...
He lit a bonfire, set a pot over it, and started a meat broth. The bristles on the spider legs were removed; the meat was non-toxic and tasted similar to crab. He roasted them over the fire, taking out some cumin and salt from a storage scroll.
In a hazy dream, Honoka found herself back in the old days, fleeing from famine. Her mother had found a few crabs by the sea and was roasting them over a fire for her. The rich, savory scent of crab meat filled the air.
But no matter how much she ate, she was never full...
Huh? Is this real?
Honoka's eyes snapped open. Her stomach was growling fiercely. After days and nights of continuously refining chakra to reinforce the seal, she hadn't had a single day of proper food or sleep. The aroma of roasting meat had woken her up.
She looked down at herself. Her clothes were all intact, though her shoes and socks had been taken off and placed neatly on the floor.
Honoka swung her slender, jade-like feet out from under the covers, carefully put on her shoes, and walked out of the bedroom.
In the main area of the base, she saw Nagi having an open-air barbecue. A pot of steaming hot soup simmered over the fire, filled with some green vegetables, carrots, and bones. Eight giant spider legs were roasting over the flames.
Gulp. The girl couldn't help but swallow, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"Here," Nagi said, "have a bowl of soup first to warm you up."
"Thank you..." Honoka took the bowl with a blush, too shy to meet his eyes. She drank it all down in a few quick gulps.
After she finished, he handed her a roasted spider leg. She broke open the outer shell and began to eat. The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, savory without being greasy. It was delicious.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Nagi asked, "I'll be heading to the Land of Iron tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?"
Honoka froze. She had been on the island for so many years that she had no idea what she would do after leaving. His words left her at a loss for how to answer. It was like asking someone who had been cut off from the world if they wanted to leave; they would naturally be hesitant.
"Leave... here?" Honoka's voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Don't worry," Nagi said with a smile. "I'm just taking you out for a change of scenery. I'll place Flying Thunder God markers on the islands along the way, so you can come back whenever you want. Besides, I plan to turn this place into my research base. You can help me look after it as my assistant in the future..."
"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"Mmm," Nagi nodded. "It's a space-time ninjutsu. Like this—"
He took Honoka's hand. Swoosh—
The two of them vanished from the base. In the next second, they appeared on a beach far out at sea, next to the speedboat he had left there after it struck the reef. A Flying Thunder God kunai rested on its seat.
"This... this is the beach?" Honoka's beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief. One moment they were inside the base, and the next they were on the seashore?
"It's space-time ninjutsu," Nagi explained with a smile. "The chakra consumption depends on the distance and the mass of what's being transported. If it's just teleporting with one person, it's not a problem. I can teach you if you'd like, but the aptitude requirements for space-time ninjutsu are very high. Very few people can learn it.
But Honoka was already bouncing happily towards the water's edge, bending down to touch the sand and the seawater. She hadn't played by the sea in so long. Since her mother's death, she had been all alone on the island, never once able to relax.
Now, she felt incredibly light. She no longer had to guard the ultimate summoning beast; she could do whatever she wanted.
"Nagi-nii, I've decided! I'll go with you!" Honoka said after playing for a while, a hint of shyness in her voice. "I hope you won't mind if I'm clumsy... as long as I can be of help to you."
"I'd be honored to have you join my team." Nagi smiled and extended his hand.
Honoka looked at the handsome, sharp-featured young man before her, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably once more. Blushing, she placed her small hand in his...
It had to be said, good looks were a boon everywhere. It was just like how Sasuke had the entire class of girls chasing after him before he even graduated...
Shu—
With another teleport, Nagi brought her back to the base, where the roasted spider legs still lay before the fire.
The night passed without another word.
The next morning, as the sun broke through the thick fog and bathed the island in light, the massive summoning beasts had already begun their morning hunt.
Nagi's expectations for the summoning beasts here had been a bit too high. In the end, this place was too small to nurture intelligent, Gamabunta-sized summons like the ones in the three great sage regions. The only one, the giant eagle, had grown so large only because of its ability to fly. However, Nagi planned to see if he could find a large-scale sealing jutsu later to lock in the island's natural energy and prevent it from leaking out. That way, the summoning beasts might be able to evolve even further. In a thousand years, it might even become a place like the three great sage regions.
"Are you ready? We're leaving on the eagle's back this time. I'll come back later to forge my sword and modify this place into a proper base."
After speaking, Nagi stood in an open area and summoned the eagle. When it landed, it wore a look of reluctance. It still had to raise its kids...
"Yes. I'll go wherever you go, Nagi-nii," Honoka nodded.
Nagi and the red-haired girl climbed onto the eagle's back. With a loud cry, it soared into the sky.
"Choosing it was definitely the right decision. This is so much faster than sitting on a boat or flying myself," Nagi remarked.
"Nagi-nii, everything on the ground looks so small!" Honoka said, looking down with curiosity. It seemed she was a little scared of flying so high for the first time; her small hand unconsciously gripped the man beside her tightly.
Some eagles in the natural world could reach speeds of over two hundred kilometers per hour. This giant eagle's speed had already surpassed the speed of sound. And since it had chakra, it would subconsciously use Wind Style chakra to reduce wind resistance while flying, making it even faster.
Whether its combat power could compare to Gamabunta was another matter, but its travel ability alone outclassed every other summoning beast in the ninja world. Weren't there only a few Tailed Beasts that could fly? And they had already been turned into jinchuriki batteries...
Along the way, whenever Nagi spotted an island, he would pat the eagle, telling it to land so he could place a Flying Thunder God marker, much to the eagle's displeasure.
"I'll treat you to a big meal when we get back to the mainland to make it up to you," Nagi said, patting the eagle.
The eagle gave him a "you-better-keep-your-promise" look. With its enormous body, its appetite was immense...
After placing the markers, the eagle carried them back into the sky.
"Hey, Nagi-nii, look at that island! It looks like a turtle!" Honoka suddenly said, pointing to a small island on the ground.
Nagi followed her finger. It really did look like one. An oval-shaped island with four small black dots that looked like limbs, a round head in the front, and a short little tail in the back...
Wait a minute—
"Eagle, lower your altitude a bit so I can get a better look," Nagi said, patting the eagle.
Hiss— "It really is a turtle," Nagi drew in a sharp breath.
He knew what this floating island was now. It was a real turtle, a giant turtle no smaller than the Ten-Tails. Who knew how long it had lived; its back was covered in vegetation...
It was confirmed. This was the Land of Lightning's turtle, the very one Nagi had been searching for. On its back was the Waterfall of Truth, a place where the powerful could train and advance their spirits... In Taoist and Buddhist terms, it was a place to battle one's inner demons and negative emotions, to achieve a complete sublimation of one's spiritual power.
"To wear out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it by chance when you least expect it..." Nagi muttered to himself.
He then patted the eagle, signaling it to land on the island.
The ocean was truly the most mysterious place. Since the advent of chakra, it had not only given birth to strange creatures like Samehada, but also to beings as massive as an island. Nagi had never seen the Ten-Tails, but he was certain this turtle was not much smaller.
Of course, its combat power was probably pathetic...
And who knew how many other strange creatures like this giant turtle lurked in the deep sea.
He wondered when the Land of Lightning had discovered this giant turtle. They probably wanted to turn it into a summoning beast at first, but then discovered its combat power was abysmal. And since it had the Waterfall of Truth on its back, they simply found a way to take control of it...
Nagi was just curious, could this giant turtle really get enough to eat from the small fish in the shallow sea without going into the deep?