Summoning Technique

"The mission request for Kazahana Koyuki has been sent to Konoha. The mission is to maintain and expand the heating system of the Land of Snow, that's the official description... It specifies that the three members of Team 7 are required to carry out the mission." Tsunade handed the mission scroll directly to Sakura Haruno and asked, "Are you going alone, or will you have someone accompany you?"

"I'll go with Sasuke; he can be of some help."

"That's good. With Sasuke watching over you, I'm not so worried." Tsunade rocked her chair and swayed gently as she spoke.

Sakura Haruno's lips twitched slightly. Her master actually trusted Sasuke's principles more... Even though she was someone who could uphold her principles!

"Won't this affect Sasuke's training? This mission of yours will last for more than a month."

"He can also train in Lightning Release in the Land of Snow. And I'll teach him a new Lightning Release Ninjutsu —it's very powerful!"

"Hmm..." Tsunade didn't press Sakura about why she knew Lightning Release Ninjutsu, nor did she ask what the Ninjutsu was like. She nodded slightly and handed a sealed bottle to the girl.

"This is a piece of tissue cut off when cleaning Yugao's wound. I've been using Medical Ninjutsu to maintain its vitality. You don't have much time this time, so you must hurry and try to make a new heart by the end of this year."

This year, Sakura looked at Tsunade and suddenly realized that Special Jōnin also had this meaning: Special Jonin are able to leave the village independently to complete missions!

However, Tsunade promoted her to Special Jonin mainly because she felt it would make it easier to control her...

After her battle with Kakuzu, her combat prowess was put to the most rigorous test, Tsunade began to believe that she was now capable of standing on her own.

Then they assigned her a task that should have been completed by an Anbu, turning it into Special Jonin assessment task!

Tsunade gave Sakura a few instructions and then led her to a training ground.

"Today I'm going to teach you a new Ninjutsu, the Summoning Technique!" Tsunade, taking out a scroll. "With your talent, you should have learned this Ninjutsu long ago... Let me confirm one more time, you're not allergic to soft-bodied creatures, are you?"

"It's alright..." Sakura Haruno thought for a moment and then replied.

She sometimes even thinks snails are quite cute.

However, I do tend to keep my distance from wet, slimy mollusks.

This is only human nature! It's not because she's become a girl in this life that she's being pretentious; she was just as afraid to touch Katsuyu in her previous life!

However, when it comes to combat, when she fully utilizes her Ice Release Chakra, she can naturally block out most of the emotions that are not conducive to the battle and remain very calm... In that state, she should be able to deal with Katsuyu without any pressure.

"That's good..." Tsunade nodded, seeing that Sakura's expression didn't show any reluctance. "Otherwise, if you're disrespectful to the Sage Katsuyu later, that would be a very serious matter. Now, sign the Summoning Scroll! The Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique are Boar-Dog-Rooster-Monkey-Sheep. Try summoning as much of the Katsuyu as you can!"

Under Tsunade's guidance, Sakura completed the procedure for signing the Summoning Contract, followed by Hand Seals.

"Summoning Technique!"

BOOM!

A puff of smoke appeared, and Sakura Haruno suddenly found herself rising up, her feet transforming from solid ground into a soft, yielding sensation.

A striped Katsuyu, as tall as a three-story building, lay sprawled at her feet.

The Summoning Technique was successful on the first try, after all, this jutsu wasn't very difficult for Sakura Haruno.

The key point is that, surprisingly, standing on the Katsuyu's back didn't feel strange or disgusting at all, probably because she was circulating Ice Release Chakra.

However, the Katsuyu's back wasn't sticky like she had imagined; instead, it was dry and smooth, and with its almost transparent skin and flesh, it looked a bit like jelly.

The girl cautiously touched it with her hand and didn't feel any disgusting slime; it was soft and elastic to the touch.

Hmm, it feels pretty good... She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In that case, even ordinary contact outside of combat wouldn't be a problem at all. She had thought she would see a slug that was tens of meters long.

That experience will surely haunt her for days, giving her nightmares for a week.

"Lady Tsunade, what can I do for you?" Katsuyu glanced around, not detecting any hostile Chakra, and asked.

Can such a huge Katsuyu be summoned on the first try?

Tsunade glanced at Sakura Haruno, smiled faintly, and said to the Katsuyu, "Hmph, Katsuyu, this time it wasn't me who summoned you. Come down, Sakura!"

"Let's get acquainted. This is Sakura Haruno, your new Summoning Contract. She's the one who summoned you just now." She waved Sakura down and patted the girl on the shoulder. "This is Katsuyu... um, part of the Sage Katsuyu."

"Oh, a new contractor? Nice to meet you, Lady Sakura Haruno." The Katsuyu shook its antennae, seemingly nodding respectfully.

Sakura Haruno blinked. Adding "adult" after her name was a first for her... she suddenly felt something was off. Had her status really risen that high?

"Please don't call me 'sir' anymore. I'm just a kid who was promoted to Chunin less than half a year ago," Sakura Haruno said with a smile. "Just call me by my name, or you can call me Sakura!"

The Katsuyu shook its head—if the part with the long tentacles was its head—and said, "This is out of respect for the contractor, Lady Sakura Haruno. Moreover, with your strength, you deserve the title of 'Lady'."

"Heh heh... let's not worry about how we address each other," Tsunade said seriously, "Let's get down to business first!"

"Huh? Isn't signing Summoning Contract the most important thing?"

Tsunade smiled mysteriously, "No, no, no, this is just an appetizer..."

"Besides signing the Summoning Contract and teaching you the Summoning Technique of summoning Katsuyu, there's something even more important today: I'll take you to the Shikkotsu Forest..."

"Shikkotsu Forest? That name sounds familiar!" Sakura was slightly taken aback.

She felt like she'd heard that place name somewhere before.

"Yes, you should have heard of Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myōboku, and Ryūchi Cave. They are known as the Three Great Sage Lands, and are also the places where the summoning beasts of the so-called Legendary Sannin —me, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru —reside daily."

"I've never seen any of these places on a map before!"

"Of course, because the civilized world we humans have developed is only a corner of this entire planet! Beyond the territories of the Five Great Nations and other countries, there exists a vast and boundless world... For example, the location of Mount Myōboku is a full month's journey from here. At a ninja's pace, that's enough to traverse the entire world map of the Five Great Nations from left to right. And the location of Shikkotsu Forest is even further from Konoha than Mount Myōboku!"

Sakura Haruno pondered for a moment. She knew that beyond the civilized world lay an unexplored and dangerous wilderness, but this was the first time she realized that in this world, human activity did not occupy the majority of the planet. No wonder the concept of "traveling around the world" didn't exist here...

Many people probably think the world is flat, right? Actually, the world is round!

As her eyes darted around, a new question came to mind, "If that's the case, how did the ancients find places like Shikkotsu Forest and sign a pact with the Sage Katsuyu?"

"Every era has its outstanding explorers..."

Tsunade pondered for a moment and said, "If this topic were to be discussed further, it could probably go on for a whole night."

"Alright, let's not chat about this anymore, don't keep the Katsuyu waiting too long!" Tsunade, this wasn't the time for idle talk, "Experience the feeling of Reverse Summoning Technique! When you open your eyes, you'll be in Shikkotsu Forest!"

"Katsuyu, thank you for your help."

The huge mollusk with dark green stripes nodded.

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