A bonfire made of dead branches burned fiercely, emitting crisp "crackling" sounds.
A grill was set over the fire, with a succulent lamb placed directly above the charcoal.
Sizzle—
Aoki Yoru sat on a stone beside the bonfire, turning the roasting skewer in his hand, watching the meat with focused attention.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps came from the forest. Looking up, he saw Kenta walking over while carrying a black bear that was a full 5 meters tall.
"Why did you hunt a black bear? The meat is fishy, greasy, tough, and has a weird smell. It's terrible," he said.
When he first arrived here, he had enthusiastically hunted a black bear, hoping to try bear paw, one of the eight delicacies, but ended up almost vomiting. Ordinary people really can't cook this dish well.
"This beast charged at me the moment it saw me, so I had no choice but to kill it. This bear hide is decent; it can sell for a good price."
This was the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, far from the center of Konoha.
Ever since the incident where Root kidnapped children, to avoid retaliation from Danzo, Kakashi had decisively applied for a one-year border patrol mission.
More than half a year had passed now. The three of them would patrol the area once a day and then go off to train on their own.
With his sensory range, if any enemy were to intrude, they wouldn't be able to hide from him.
He was incredibly grateful now that Kakashi had decisively accepted this mission. Given his status, he had become the commander of the border patrol team directly.
Only then could the three of them be so leisurely, with ample time to cultivate and grow.
The Third Shinobi World War had long ended. The Land of Earth was busy licking its wounds and repairing war damage, and it had no spare energy to send people through the Land of Grass to sneak into the Land of Fire and cause trouble.
Therefore, the border defense line they were responsible for was currently very stable, and there was basically no need to worry about foreign invasion.
Occasionally, there were merchants smuggling across the border, but he couldn't be bothered to catch them; it was impossible to stop.
The profits from smuggling were too high, and they all had protectors. Who knew which noble was behind them?
"Huh!!"
Aoki Yoru had sensed a giant creature flying over the territory of the Land of Grass. Although it was extremely fast and left his sensory range in an instant, he couldn't have been mistaken.
He curled his lips into a smile.
There weren't many creatures in the Ninja World capable of long-distance flight. He had always wanted to contract one to use for escaping at critical moments.
"You guys eat by yourselves. Tell Yui I'm heading back to the camp first," he said, and then disappeared.
"A blank summoning scroll? Did you find a summoning clan?"
Kakashi, who was processing documents, looked at him as he rushed in anxiously and asked with confusion.
Although there were no battles at the border, he had to manage patrols, defense, and logistics, dealing with trivial matters every day.
Aoki Yoru told him about his recent discovery and his plan.
Upon hearing this, Kakashi tossed him a scroll. "Don't force it. These kinds of flying creatures have an extremely wide range of activity and all live on high mountains, so they are very hard to find."
He nodded and walked out of the tent.
Over the next half month, Aoki Yoru traveled through almost the entire Land of Grass, venturing deep into the mountains and forests alone, searching everywhere for traces of a flying summoning animal, but unfortunately, he found nothing.
Its nest shouldn't be in the Land of Grass.
At this moment, Aoki Yoru was travel-worn, covered in leaves and dust.
In order not to miss this opportunity, he had barely rested. When hungry, he ate military ration pills; when tired, he leaned against a tree to nap for a while.
Taking out a map, Aoki Yoru looked at it with a serious expression. He had already checked the Land of Grass, so it had to be in another country.
Looking at the countries bordering the Land of Grass, the Land of Earth was unlikely. If it were there, it would have been discovered long ago; Ōnoki wouldn't let go of something that could significantly enhance combat power.
As for the Land of Rain, he didn't even dare to enter. This was the territory of Pain's Akatsuki Organization. If he were to run into them head-on, he might not even have time to run away.
Aoki Yoru looked further away at the Land of Birds and gritted his teeth. He would try one more time; if he couldn't find it this time, it meant it wasn't meant to be.
Land of Birds, Black Feather Mountain.
This mountain was the most precipitous peak in the Land of Birds, towering into the clouds, with its summit shrouded in mist and rarely visited by humans; it was also the place with the greatest hope.
Aoki Yoru used Chakra to stick his feet firmly to the cliff, standing at a ninety-degree angle to the rock face, and ran upward rapidly.
Suddenly, he showed an expression of surprise and joy, because he sensed a giant nest on the cliff at the summit, containing five chicks waiting to be fed.
Speeding up, he arrived in front of the nest. Looking at the familiar-looking chicks, Aoki Yoru knew what kind of creature it was—Yatagarasu.
It was the summoning animal of Pain from the original work. He didn't know if that one was their mother, but Aoki Yoru's intuition told him it was.
With five children waiting to be fed, the large animals nearby had long been hunted to extinction; otherwise, it wouldn't have run to the Land of Grass to forage.
The Land of Rain separated the Land of Birds and the Land of Grass. It wouldn't be surprising if it had been hit by Pain while passing through the Hidden Rain Village and turned into a summoning animal.
"Caw—!"
A fierce, hoarse, and shrill cry came from afar.
A strange bird with a massive body, coarse gray feathers, and a huge hooked beak charged at him, its round, bulging, fierce eyes staring fixedly at Aoki Yoru.
It was too similar. Looking at this one, he confirmed that this was Pain's summoning animal; the only difference was that it lacked the black rods and Rinnegan on its body.
He leapt lightly into the air to dodge the sharp claws, utilizing Shave, continuously stomping on the air with one foot.
Having missed the strike, it changed direction and dove at him again.
'It seems communication is impossible!'
Aoki Yoru hadn't expected it to be able to communicate with humans like Kakashi's Pakkun. After all, such summoning animals were extremely rare; you could count them on two hands in the Ninja World.
Since verbal communication was impossible, he would use physical communication.
After dodging the Yatagarasu's attack, he stomped hard on the air and leapt up, landing steadily on its back.
The Yatagarasu let out a scream of extreme rage, its feathers bristling. It flew wildly up and down, thrashing violently, doing everything in its power to shake off the annoying intruder on its back.
Aoki Yoru unleashed his Chakra to its full potential at the soles of his feet, adhering firmly to the bird's body.
After an hour of struggling, with constant rolling, sharp turns, and diving in the air, the Yatagarasu gradually grew exhausted.
Seeing his chance, Aoki Yoru unleashed Lightning Release Chakra from his feet, and electric currents enveloped the bird's entire body.
The Yatagarasu let out a shrill, painful screech, its whole body convulsing violently. Its massive frame could no longer maintain balance, and it plummeted crookedly from mid-air to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
At this moment, the fierce look in the Yatagarasu's eyes faded, replaced by a look of entreaty.
Aoki Yoru nodded in satisfaction; breaking in the eagle really was the most effective method.
He reached out and tapped a finger on the Yatagarasu's forehead, his Chakra piercing deep into its consciousness like a thin needle, lighting up a faint contract seal.
Afterward, he stroked its feathers, soothing its restless spirit.
As the contract seal was completed, the Yatagarasu's expression toward him became affectionate, and it nudged him with its head.
Over the next few days, Aoki Yoru followed the Yatagarasu to hunt in various small nations. There was no help for it; the chicks' appetite was simply too large, and the large animals in the Land of Birds had been eaten to extinction.
During this time, he strictly forbade the Yatagarasu from entering the Five Great Nations to hunt, and it was not to even enter the Land of Rain; it had to avoid it from afar.
Although the Yatagarasu didn't know why it couldn't enter, due to the influence of the contract, it obediently nodded its head.