Under Guy's relentless efforts, Kakashi was the first to regain consciousness.
He slowly sat up and scanned the surroundings. The ruined environment around them was completely different from the grand castle they had entered earlier.
"Where are we?" Asuma asked as he stood up cautiously, his eyes filled with vigilance.
"I don't know either." Kakashi shook his head before looking at the other two. "Are you both alright?"
Their sensei would definitely intervene if their lives were truly in danger, but minor injuries were another matter entirely.
Asuma and Guy nodded, indicating they were fine.
"Let's investigate the area first," Kakashi said.
The three cautiously moved deeper into the ruins. As they advanced, corpses gradually appeared along the path.
Some bodies looked fresh, while others wore ancient clothing that had clearly existed for decades.
Eventually, they arrived at a platform where a skeleton in old samurai armor rested against the wall.
Beside it sat a dusty table containing records about the castle.
"Kubisaki Kizashi... from the time of the First Great Ninja War?" Asuma muttered while reading the faded text. "That means this place has existed for at least thirty years."
Kakashi frowned slightly.
"A castle abandoned for over thirty years shouldn't still look so clean."
When they first entered, the castle's interior looked maintained rather than abandoned.
Something was wrong.
"Guy, have Little Green check the chakra flow inside the walls," Kakashi said.
The flesh-like vines attacking them earlier had emerged directly from the structure itself. If they could trace the chakra flow, they might locate the Summoned Beast controlling the castle.
Guy immediately formed hand seals.
A tiny green snake less than ten centimeters long appeared and wrapped itself around his head.
"This way!" Guy shouted after a moment.
Although Little Green could not see chakra pathways like the Byakugan, sensing chakra flow was easy for it.
Guy rushed ahead, but Kakashi suddenly grabbed him and yanked him backward.
Guy instinctively leaped away just as a drop of yellow liquid slid past his cheek and splashed onto his clothes.
Sizzle!
A harsh burning sound echoed through the corridor.
"My jumpsuit!"
Guy stared in shock as the fabric instantly dissolved.
The corrosive liquid was terrifyingly potent.
Before they could react further, Kakashi's voice rang out sharply.
"Move!"
The three instantly burst forward at full speed.
Behind them, thick yellow acid slowly dripped from the ceiling and walls, melting everything it touched.
"Hurry toward the Tenshu," Kakashi said while sprinting ahead. "We're probably inside a giant Summoned Beast right now. If we stay too long, we'll be digested."
Everything suddenly made sense.
The spotless castle.
The living walls.
The strange flesh-like corridors.
This was not a real castle at all.
It was the inside of a giant creature.
Kakashi had once seen the interior of a giant snake summon before, and this place felt disturbingly similar.
The three pushed their speed to the limit, but the maze-like interior twisted endlessly. Even after running for a long time, they barely made progress.
Lightning Release chakra crackled in Kakashi's palm.
He was preparing to blast through the walls directly when the winding corridor suddenly vanished.
A brightly lit chamber appeared before them.
At the center of the room rested a massive scroll nearly the size of a human body.
Various lizard drawings covered the edges of the scroll, while four bold characters were written across its surface.
Summoning Scroll.
"That's it!" Asuma said excitedly.
"It should be," Kakashi replied, though his gaze remained alert as he scanned the room carefully.
"You two stay ready. The moment I grab the scroll, something might attack."
Asuma nodded firmly and rushed forward without hesitation.
He reached the scroll and grabbed it instantly.
But at that exact moment, a strange vibration spread throughout the chamber.
A silent sound wave rippled across the room.
The flesh beneath their feet suddenly bulged upward violently.
Guy and Kakashi, who had already prepared themselves, were still launched into the air.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless flesh vines burst out from every direction at terrifying speed.
Kakashi immediately drew his blade.
The short sword flashed through the air, forming a defensive barrier that shredded the incoming vines into pieces.
On the other side, Guy twisted midair and unleashed a barrage of powerful kicks.
The entire chamber rapidly became sticky and suffocating, almost like sinking into a swamp of flesh.
Asuma tried to open the scroll, but the unstable footing made him lose balance.
The massive scroll slipped from his hands.
It landed on the ground before being swallowed directly into the fleshy floor.
More vines erupted instantly, rushing toward the three from all directions.
The pressure became overwhelming.
Even breathing felt difficult.
Then suddenly...
Poof!
A cloud of smoke exploded around them.
The suffocating assault vanished instantly.
When the smoke cleared, Kakashi and the others found themselves lying outside beneath the night sky.
The ruined foundations of the old castle remained, but the massive structure itself had completely disappeared.
Kakashi coughed lightly before standing up.
"Did it work?" he asked.
Asuma looked disappointed.
"Unfortunately, no. I touched the scroll, but I couldn't complete the contract."
"Don't look so depressed."
A familiar voice emerged from the darkness.
Hayashi slowly walked toward them.
"With me as your sensei, how could I let you leave empty-handed?"
Then his eyes shifted toward the darkness nearby.
"Big guy, how long are you planning to keep hiding?"
Kakashi and the others immediately turned toward the same direction, but all they could see was darkness.
Moments later, the air distorted.
A gigantic lizard summon slowly revealed itself.
Its enormous body resembled a moving mountain.
The pressure alone was overwhelming.
Even Kakashi and the others, who had already seen powerful summons before, felt stunned.
Compared to this creature, even Manda looked noticeably smaller.
However, the giant lizard appeared exhausted.
Its eyes lacked energy, and its breathing sounded heavy.
After thinking about it, the reason became obvious.
This summon had remained hidden here since the era of Kubisaki Kizashi.
The remote location offered almost no food sources. It could only rely on traps to catch prey before returning to dormancy once again.
If not for how isolated this place was, another shinobi would have discovered and contracted it long ago.
The giant lizard stared at Hayashi silently for a long time.
Then, to everyone's surprise, it slowly lowered its head and knelt respectfully before him.
"Powerful shinobi," it said in a deep voice, "I am willing to form a contract with you."
The summon possessed strong sensory abilities and could clearly feel Hayashi's overwhelming strength.
It completely ignored Asuma and the others.
The summoning scroll emerged once more and floated directly toward Hayashi.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
The purpose of this mission was to help Asuma obtain a summon contract.
Instead, the summon had chosen Hayashi without hesitation.
It felt less like helping a junior find a partner and more like bringing your senior along, only for the girl to fall for the senior immediately instead.
Asuma felt utterly miserable.