Opening the map in her hand, Amane was currently located within the base in the Land of Hot Springs.
The Land of Waves was situated diagonally to the lower left; from Konoha's perspective, it was a corner to the lower right.
It's truly tiny.
To get there, taking a boat was almost the only option, which also meant the slowest journey.
[I remember the main plot reached Zabuza around early spring, so there's still plenty of time.]
Although she always remembered the Land of Waves event, keeping track of the timing was still difficult.
Mainly, she didn't want Orochimaru to find out about this, so Amane used a few tricks.
Amane's gaze couldn't help but drift toward another location.
It was a small island.
It belonged to a small nation and was one of its primary economic lifelines; normally, no ordinary merchant ship would ever travel there.
Land of Sea, Summoning Island.
As the name suggested, this was a place used to breed various Summoned Beasts, which were then sold to other countries for profit.
[Perfect, I can go there to fix the weakness I've been wanting to shore up, and then getting to the Land of Waves will be fast.]
Having decided on her route, Amane packed the necessary items and arrived at the coast of the Land of Hot Springs.
Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram
Summoning Jutsu!
A massive, round-headed snake with black and white ring-like patterns appeared, then nodded respectfully to Amane.
"Take me to this place. I've been there before, so you should know the way."
After she pointed to the location of Summoning Island on the map, the giant sea snake nodded, then swallowed Amane in one gulp and dived into the sea.
Despite being inside the snake's belly, Amane's powerful sensory abilities clearly captured the rapid movement through the outside world.
But precisely because she was in its belly, the surrounding mucus was, frankly, quite disgusting.
This only further solidified the necessity of this trip in Amane's heart.
About two days later, the sea snake finally emerged from the sea.
But when it spat out Amane, who was covered in mucus, with a "poof," it vanished in a "bang" of smoke before she could utter a single complaint.
"The snakes of Ryūchi Cave have really become spirits; they slip away so fast."
Amane sighed helplessly, quickly found a hidden spot, and took out her sealed items.
Things like buckets, shampoo, and body wash. Then she used Water Release to create fresh water directly from Chakra, thoroughly cleaning herself inside and out before using Wind Release to blow herself dry.
Finally. Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu.
At twelve years old, her future beauty was already beginning to show. After tidying her hair and clothing, Amane looked at the identical version of herself created by the water mirror.
Twelve-year-old Amane had shoulder-length red hair and sky-blue eyes; her face already showed hints of future glamour amidst its cuteness.
As for the clothes... there wasn't much to say. It wasn't a beauty pageant, and Ninja gear could only be so pretty. She wore chainmail as an inner layer with a black kimono over it, decorated with a few patterns so it didn't look too plain.
However, one thing that troubled Amane slightly was perhaps due to the Hashirama cells and her own training of the Sage Body.
At only twelve, Amane's vitality was visibly more abundant than that of her peers.
Nodding in satisfaction, Amane snapped her fingers coolly, but in reality, she just cut off her Chakra control, causing the mirror image to lose its form and turn into a puddle of water.
"You, it's you! Quick! The VIP client is here!"
After taking a detour to the main gate, Amane was warmly welcomed the moment she was spotted.
Countless staff members turned their gazes toward her. Some who looked like newcomers were given a crash course by their seniors on why Amane was called a VIP client.
Well, simply put.
Amane was the savior of this island.
In the original work's anime-only arc, this island was nearly wiped out by a man-made Summoned Beast after an experiment with a dangerous creature went out of control.
Two years ago, during her Sage Mode trials, her spirit gradually merged with Natural Energy, allowing her to see a grander world beyond imagination. She saw this place and remembered that such a plot indeed existed.
So not long after that, after helping Orochimaru complete the Living Corpse Reincarnation and attacking the god-like Itachi, she came here under the pretext of wanting to see if there were more functional Summoned Beasts.
The rest was easy to imagine.
"Alright, alright. That Summoned Beast was already given to me as a reward anyway, and I didn't buy anything else besides that."
The staff clearly didn't agree with Amane's statement, insisting that her taking that thing away meant they owed her another favor.
In any case, the title of VIP member belonged solely to Amane.
"You guys... forget it. I won't turn down a discount if it's offered; I really did come to buy a Summoned Beast this time. By the way, is Hino Ka here?"
At the mention of Hino Ka, the receptionist showed a look of realization and quickly led Amane to the research lab.
Inside, biological culture tanks stood every few steps, with various symbols and text flashing on high-tech instruments.
This was the core of the entire island; basically all man-made Summoned Beasts originated from here.
On a high platform in the deepest part, a creature that clearly did not belong to natural evolution stood there, roaring at the crowd before it.
But no matter its rage, it could not break through the Sealing composed of golden Chakra runes and chains.
"Alright, settle down."
A girl who looked five or six years older than Amane spoke while forming Hand Seals, her red hair draped down.
Instantly, as the girl's hand seal changed, the creature's eyelids gradually closed, and it collapsed onto the platform.
The red-haired girl stood up and stretched; Sealing it seemed to have no negative impact on her.
"So, Young Lady Sealing master who has been watching for a while, what do you think?"
Hino Ka spoke with a relaxed, teasing tone, her bright black eyes looking at Amane expectantly.
[Her personality changed so much; I remember she wasn't like this in her soul state in the original work.]
But it was understandable; after all, she was still alive now.
"In the long run, Sister Hino Ka's approach is correct. Gradually wearing down the reflexive hostility of a man-made Summoned Beast like this makes it less likely to go on a sudden rampage later."
Amane's words sounded professional, but in reality, they were all nonsense.
Was there any researcher here who didn't understand that?
"Free."
Hino Ka chuckled and uttered two words.
"Of course, if you used Cursed Seal Technique here, you could solve this problem quickly. As long as the Summoned Beast attacks the caster, the cursed seal will activate as punishment, allowing it to be put into use extremely fast."
As she spoke, Amane's hands began to form seals. A golden chain covered in runes slipped into Hino Ka's Sealing Barrier. It didn't cause even a hint of damage to the original Barrier, even as it finished applying the cursed seal and retracted.
Hino Ka admitted to herself that she was far inferior when it came to this move.
The Summoned Beast that had just fallen asleep in the Barrier woke up instantly and was about to attack the tiny human binding it, just like before.
However! The moment it made a move, its eyes became clear.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Oh! I need to teach the person binding me a good lesson! Charge!
Eh? Why am I charging?
As this state began to repeat, its instinctive hostility toward the caster was worn away.
"You're amazing, Little Amane!"
Hino Ka scooped up the still-petite Amane and began rubbing her face against hers frantically, treating her like a porcelain doll she couldn't put down.
This was the consequence of rashly acknowledging a rare fellow clansman; no matter how much strength Amane showed, Hino Ka seemed to have decided she was the big sister.
She had even suggested more than once that Amane should just stay and live on this island; since business was booming, she would certainly never want for food or clothing.
Of course, Amane refused every time.
"I want to fly. Combat power is secondary; speed, flexibility, and endurance are priorities."
While struggling, Amane seized the opportunity to quickly state her requirements.
If she stayed any longer, Hino Ka would start suggesting (or kidnapping) her again.
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