[Summoning Technique: Hmm… There's a nest of snow sparrows about two kilometers to the southwest. They look pretty lively. Do you want to go take a look?]
[Summoning Technique: Wow! A snow leopard! It feels like I haven't seen one of these fluffy big cats in ages. Little Mikami, hurry over and pet it for me!]
[Summoning Technique: …There's nothing particularly noteworthy around here. Let's check farther north.]
Perhaps because many rare alpine animals had appeared nearby, the Summoning Technique was extremely excited. She even asked Yuu to go "pet the cat" for her.
After Yuu did as she requested, he gained one point of affection from her.
The Great Fireball Technique was also getting restless.
However, what concerned her was mainly whether these alpine animals would taste good roasted, and whether they should capture a few to test the quality and flavor of their meat…
After wandering along the mountain ridge for nearly half a day,
finally…
when Yuu reached a mountain hollow, the Summoning Technique discovered the final target of this trip.
[Summoning Technique: It's that one! That one! That's the one!]
[Summoning Technique: Eight o'clock, around seven hundred meters away! Hurry! It looks like it's about to leave!]
"…Screech—!"
A faint but piercing cry suddenly erupted, breaking the silence around them.
Yuu raised his head and looked into the distance.
A massive black shadow swept across the sky, producing a rumble like that of a small passenger plane as it tore through the air.
However, because of the intervening mist, he could not see its exact appearance, only its silhouette.
"So that's the giant eagle?"
Yuu narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the shadow behind the layers of fog.
Then he suddenly dashed forward.
Just before reaching the cliff's edge, he leapt into the air and rapidly formed seals with both hands.
"Transformation Technique… Peregrine Falcon Form!"
At that moment,
the chakra inside Yuu surged rapidly, driving changes throughout his body.
Feathers covered his arms, his bones visibly reshaped themselves, and his senses shifted…
In the blink of an eye, a sleek peregrine falcon with sharp eyes replaced his human form.
Then, with a powerful flap of his "wings," the physiological traits of a top predator were perfectly reproduced.
Yuu transformed into a gray streak released from a bowstring and shot into the sky!
[Trait: Lifelike Transformation—Your Transformation Technique has reached perfection and can completely rewrite your physical form. While transformed, you can perfectly reproduce every physiological characteristic of the target.]
That was right.
The Transformation Technique at maximum affection possessed such a miraculous trait.
Peregrine falcons and swifts were both birds Yuu had repeatedly studied and dissected while in Konoha. He was extremely familiar with their anatomy, so he had long been capable of reproducing them through the Transformation Technique.
However, because walls had ears, Yuu had never displayed this level of transformation before.
But now, he was standing on a peak more than two thousand meters high.
He had also just asked the Summoning Technique to sense the surroundings and confirm that no observers were present within several kilometers.
So he could finally let himself go and try this method freely.
Whoosh—!
The powerful air current was instantly pierced apart as his altitude rapidly increased.
Icy clouds and mist struck him head-on before being quickly left behind.
In his peregrine falcon form, Yuu's field of vision became extraordinarily broad.
Through the thick clouds, he could vaguely see the appearance of the black shadow from earlier.
It was a rare behemoth.
Its wingspan approached fifteen meters, its wing bones were as thick as beams, and its feathers gleamed with a cold metallic luster.
Every flap of its wings created visible spiraling currents, making it resemble a small fighter jet preparing to launch.
It truly was a majestic giant eagle.
When Yuu, transformed into a peregrine falcon, approached within several hundred meters,
the giant eagle seemed to notice him.
It suddenly turned its head, locking onto him with a pair of crimson eyes filled with undisguised hostility.
After a brief stare,
the giant eagle released a piercing screech that seemed capable of splitting metal and stone.
Then it abruptly turned and dove toward Yuu!
Whoosh—!!
The air exploded!
At this moment, the giant eagle resembled a meteor falling from the heavens, its momentum terrifying!
Yuu's heart tightened, but he had no intention of retreating.
Instead, he adjusted his angle and transformed into a streak of gray lightning, charging forward to meet it head-on!
He intended to test the eagle's strength this way.
Boom—!!!
The two forces collided violently hundreds of meters above the ground!
The overwhelming force striking him head-on made Yuu feel as though he had been hit by a train.
His entire body nearly fell apart.
"…Damn, is it really this powerful?"
Yuu was somewhat shocked.
He had not been unprepared for the collision. He had even used the principles of Super Strength, yet he was still clearly inferior to the giant eagle.
Of course, this was partly because Yuu had never been a bird before and did not know how to properly exert force in midair.
If they had competed on the ground, where he could brace himself firmly, the difference probably would not have been this large even if he still could not overpower the eagle.
Fortunately, Yuu had prepared for this situation.
The instant he realized that the giant eagle's strength exceeded expectations, he activated the Substitution Technique and flashed above its back.
Then he released the Transformation Technique, reappeared in human form, and landed on its back feathers!
The moment he landed, Yuu lowered his stance and center of gravity.
He gathered chakra beneath his feet and stretched out both hands to grab the feathers around the giant eagle's neck.
"?"
A human-like trace of surprise flashed through the eagle's eyes.
Immediately afterward, that surprise was replaced by rage.
Screech—!
A shrill cry nearly shattered Yuu's eardrums.
The giant eagle twisted its neck violently and pecked at Yuu with its hooked beak.
When Yuu dodged the peck, it suddenly shook its shoulders and back.
Its muscles rippled like waves as it attempted to throw him off!
Fortunately, Yuu had practiced climbing waterfalls in Konoha.
Although he staggered, he was not immediately thrown away.
Even if he had been, it would not have mattered. His Substitution Technique could relocate him anywhere within eighty meters.
As long as the distance was not instantly widened too far, he could simply flash back.
Seeing that it could not shake him off,
the giant eagle suddenly rolled sideways, beginning a breathtaking dance of death.
First, it beat its wings and climbed almost vertically into the sky.
Then, from several thousand meters above the ground, it folded its wings and plunged toward the mountain below.
Only at the final moment before impact did it level out into a near-ground glide.
Throughout the entire process, Yuu felt the air pressure around him change violently.
The wind rushed past like blades.
Even with strength approaching the Kage level, he found breathing difficult, while his heart pounded furiously inside his chest.
At once, Yuu could only gather chakra in his hands and feet, gripping the feathers on the eagle's back tightly and pressing himself against its body.
At the same time, he had to remain focused and avoid the deadly hooked beak that repeatedly turned back to strike him.
Afterward,
the giant eagle continuously performed all kinds of incredible aerial maneuvers:
barrel rolls, lateral rolls, spiral rolls…
It attempted to scrape the human off its back or smash him directly.
The experience was far more intense than any roller coaster.
At first, Yuu was caught somewhat off guard and nearly thrown away several times.
But each time, he grabbed the eagle's feathers again at the last second and stabilized himself.
Gradually, he adapted.
Then he clenched his right fist and delivered several consecutive Super Strength Punches into the muscles along the eagle's back near the roots of its wings.
Even though those muscles were as hard as iron, visible depressions were smashed into them, causing subtle tremors in the eagle's flight.
"Hey… I'm not here to kill you! I came to sign a contract and become your partner!"
"Become my summoned beast, and let's conquer this sky together!"
Taking advantage of the eagle's pain and its slowing momentum, Yuu hurriedly shouted, attempting to subdue the massive creature through relatively peaceful means.
But the giant eagle completely ignored his words.
After pausing briefly, it accelerated again.
Its backward pecks became more frequent, while its rolls and dives grew even more violent.
Clearly, it had no intention of accepting Yuu's olive branch.
"…So words really won't work?"
That made sense.
Thinking back, Little Green and the three weasel brothers had only agreed to contracts after being defeated in battle.
In the original story, Naruto had also struggled with Gamabunta for a long time before earning his acknowledgment. Even the legendary power of talking someone into submission had failed.
Apparently, these creatures operated like Pokémon.
You had to weaken them first before throwing the Poké Ball, or the success rate would be too low.
Thus,
Yuu took a deep breath and gathered his remaining chakra.
With a thought—
Heavenly Fire Judgment!
No seals were needed.
No words were necessary.
Blazing chakra surged through Yuu's body and erupted into crimson-gold flames in the air.
The fire expanded and took shape, once again forming a blazing throne that engulfed the giant eagle.
The eagle was also extremely stubborn.
Ignoring the burning pain caused by the flames, it released another long cry and charged directly into the fire, seemingly determined to prove its dignity as ruler of the skies through a head-on clash.
Boom!
As the giant eagle's massive body tore through the sea of fire, it looked from afar like a burning meteor appearing high in the sky, dragging a long trail of flame behind it.
…
At this moment,
on one of Eagle Peak's summits,
Shin, a Root elite wearing Konoha ANBU clothing and an animal mask, flickered onto a massive rock.
He cautiously scanned the surroundings, trying to locate a certain figure.
"Where did he go?"
Had he lost him?
Shin had suffered quite a bit in order to keep up with Yuu during the journey.
After all, this region was very far from Shakuka Town, and few people lived within dozens of li.
Following Yuu in such an environment without being discovered was extremely difficult.
Furthermore, Eagle Peak itself was an exceptionally steep mountain, making the climb exhausting.
Fortunately, Shin was one of Root's best tracking experts and had ultimately managed not to lose him.
As he raised his head and searched the surrounding jagged rocks and sparse vegetation, the eagle's cry in the sky caught his attention.
He looked up.
His body suddenly stiffened.
Behind the holes of his mask, his eyes widened to their absolute limit.
"That is…"
High above in the distant sky, at some unknown point, an incomparably magnificent burning cloud had appeared, seemingly covering nearly half the heavens!
No…
That was not a natural sunset cloud.
It was a crimson-gold sea of fire, blazing, rolling, and roaring!
Within the flames, the outline of an enormous, majestic throne had condensed, setting the entire sky ablaze.
Golden-red light poured downward, creating a magnificent and chilling scene like the arrival of the apocalypse.
"What the hell is that?"
"The sky… is burning?"
Had that white-haired brat caused all of this?
What had he done this time?!
Even though Shin was a rigorously trained Root elite, he was still stunned by the miraculous sight before him.
His mind went completely blank.
…
High in the sky,
Yuu rode upon the giant eagle, whose body was covered in flames.
He could feel his stamina being rapidly depleted, while his remaining chakra had fallen to a somewhat dangerous level.
In the thin air at high altitude, even breathing was gradually becoming difficult.
However…
the giant eagle was not in good condition either.
Its body was enormous, and it could normally hunt lions and tigers for food, but its movements also consumed a great deal of energy.
After such an intense aerial struggle, combined with Yuu's "burning-cloud offensive," its stamina had clearly declined.
Its dives were no longer as sharp and powerful as they had been at the beginning.
More importantly,
because of the flames' continuous burning, atmospheric convection at high altitude had rapidly intensified.
A layer of cumulonimbus clouds had already gathered beneath the sky.
Electrical currents crackled as the clouds collided, creating the unmistakable scene of an approaching thunderstorm.
Suddenly!
A bolt of lightning struck downward, its dazzling brilliance instantly illuminating heaven and earth!
Then came a second bolt, followed by a third…
One of the bolts descended from the clouds and, by sheer coincidence, headed directly toward Yuu and the giant eagle!
Just as the man and eagle were about to be struck,
Yuu drew the Sword of the Thunder God from his back with a sharp motion.
Amid the hum of electricity, the golden lightning blade appeared.
Like a lightning rod, it drew the bolt toward itself.
Then, with a swing of Yuu's arm, the lightning was redirected toward an isolated mountain peak nearby!
Boom!!
Rocks shattered and smoke surged into the sky!
Yuu looked at the giant eagle and spoke again.
"How about it, big guy? Are you willing to negotiate now?"
"If you keep being stubborn, both of us might end up buried in this thunderstorm."
"Screech!"
The giant eagle raised its head and cried out, a human-like trace of contempt flashing through its pupils.
Fine.
Apparently, the pressure still was not enough.
Yuu looked up toward the thunderstorm above.
After a brief hesitation, he simply pushed off with both feet and launched himself from the giant eagle's back.
He poured the last of his remaining chakra into the Sword of the Thunder God, which he raised high above his head.
Buzz—!!!
In an instant, the blue electrical arcs around the blade expanded wildly like awakened lightning serpents, twisting and roaring.
The scattered lightning in the sky also seemed to find an outlet and began rushing toward the sword from every direction!
Crackle—boom!
Accompanied by explosive sounds that made one's scalp go numb, a massive sphere of lightning dozens of meters in diameter gradually formed around Yuu.
It was composed of countless jumping electrical arcs.
The violent energy currents tore at the air, producing astonishing pressure.
But that was still not enough.
In the next moment, white-hot flames erupted around Yuu.
He pushed them into the expanding sphere of lightning.
The two most violent forms of energy merged together and unexpectedly formed the outline of a gigantic sword stretching across the sky!
Heavenly Fire Judgment: Thunder-Fire Sword!
~~~
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