Smack!
Hagoromo reached over and smacked Naruto on the back of the head.
"Ow! What did you hit me for, Teacher Hagoromo?"
Naruto clutched the back of his head, tears in the corners of his eyes.
Hagoromo pointed at the bushes where Shikamaru and Choji had been hiding.
He said mildly, "Naruto, as for your sensory exercises, you can copy them out five hundred times at home this weekend."
"I'll check them next week."
"If you're still like this after that, I'll increase your exercises in this area. As long as you haven't passed,"
"don't even think about practicing any other Ninjutsu."
Gulp—
Hearing this, Shikamaru couldn't help swallowing.
He knew Hagoromo wasn't wrong to do it, but five hundred times!
Afraid Naruto would get angry over it, Choji scratched the back of his head and stole a glance at him.
But then—
"Yes! I understand, Teacher!"
Naruto answered at once, as though afraid something would happen if he replied a moment too late.
After all, Naruto had plenty of experience with this sort of situation.
Last time, he had been made to copy them out a thousand times because of his Chakra control.
That was because Naruto had initially tried to bluff his way through, only for Hagoromo to keep adding to the punishment until it reached a full thousand repetitions.
Still, there had been a benefit.
Naruto's Chakra control had improved by leaps and bounds.
"All right, get back to practicing."
After saying that, Hagoromo waved Naruto back to his practice, then turned to Shikamaru and Choji.
"What about you two? Don't you need to go home?"
Choji glanced at Shikamaru beside him, signaling to him repeatedly.
What a drag—
Shikamaru couldn't help sighing. He stepped forward and said, "Teacher, Choji and I came because we want to become your disciples."
"It's just that you and Naruto walked too fast. It took me quite a bit of effort to catch up."
Hearing that, Hagoromo gave Shikamaru a surprised look.
Even though they were in the village, Hagoromo subconsciously erased his tracks every time.
He hadn't expected Shikamaru to find him by following the few traces he had left behind.
"That's right, that's right! Teacher, Shikamaru and I have thought it over, and we want to become your disciples!"
Choji nodded hurriedly beside him.
"Have you talked to your parents?" Hagoromo asked, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Yes, Teacher, we've spoken to our parents. My father agreed."
Shikamaru nodded in confirmation.
And that was what he found strange. After all, his father was the head of the Jonin Commander.
Generally speaking, he didn't want Shikamaru having too much contact with certain people.
For example, people from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan.
But a few nights ago, when Shikamaru told his father that he wanted to become Teacher Hagoromo's disciple,
his father seemed to have been stunned for a moment.
At the time, he had only told Shikamaru to think it over, then called him over just as he was leaving that morning.
He told Shikamaru that he could tell Teacher Hagoromo today that he wanted to become his disciple.
He also said the same went for Choji.
"All right, but if you become my disciples, you won't be able to slack off."
Hearing Shikamaru's answer, Hagoromo nodded, then gave them a warning.
After all, he took disciples to strengthen himself. If they slacked off, he really would be better off without them.
"No problem, Teacher!"
Choji, whose eyes had been narrowed, nodded hurriedly at that. Then he said, a little embarrassed,
"It's just, Teacher, could you bring me lunch every day? I can pay for the food!"
Hagoromo was taken aback. Wait—
Was this all for a meal?
"Sure. It's no trouble for me."
Hagoromo paused, then looked at Shikamaru and Choji and asked,
"Shikamaru, Choji, are you willing to become my disciples?"
As he spoke, Hagoromo watched for their answer with a warm smile.
He had no choice. This was the first rule of taking disciples; otherwise, the panel wouldn't appear.
Shikamaru and Choji were startled by the question, but nodded and answered without hesitation.
"We're willing, Teacher!"
[Detected that 'Shikamaru Nara' and 'Choji Akimichi' are willing to establish a master-disciple relationship.]
[Checking trust levels]
[Detected 'Shikamaru Nara's' current trust level as beginner. 'Yin Release Chakra' added to panel (latent)]
[Detected 'Choji Akimichi's' current trust level as intermediate. Obtained one 'Summoning Contract']
Hm?
Hagoromo couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the pop-ups.
Suppressing the urge to examine them, Hagoromo turned and called out to Naruto,
"Naruto, come here~"
"Coming, Teacher! What is it?"
Naruto hurried over at the call, stealing an unobtrusive glance at Shikamaru and Choji as he ran.
"I've taken on two more disciples. As their senior, you'll have to set a good example from now on."
With that, he reached out and pushed Naruto in front of Shikamaru. "Get to know each other first. We'll start training later."
Then Hagoromo went straight to a tree and sat down beneath it.
He closed his eyes as though resting, but in fact had immersed himself in his mind.
Whoa—!
Good grief!
Even Hagoromo couldn't help clicking his tongue at the Summoning Contract on the panel.
If he actually took it out, it would be almost as tall as he was.
After reading the description on the Summoning Contract, Hagoromo gradually came to understand.
In the Shinobi World, only Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest could be called the Three Great Sage Lands.
The main reason they could be called Sacred Lands was that all of them possessed the legacies of Senjutsu and Sage Mode.
The Summoning Contract in Hagoromo's hands, however, could rival those three Sage Lands.
That was right. It also contained Senjutsu and Sage Mode.
The conditions were a little harsh, though: one had to be as strong as an elite Jonin.
Moreover, the first creature one contracted would be one's exclusive summon from then on. Unless it died, one could only ever summon that creature.
Tsk.
Why does this feel like a chicken rib?
Hagoromo couldn't help feeling a little helpless. Once he really reached the level of an elite Jonin, a summoned beast could at most provide some assistance.
Unless it was like Hiruzen's, since Enma could transform into a weapon at will.
As for Kakashi's dogs and Uchiha Itachi's crows, they were used more often to convey or gather information.
After all, in the later stages, Naruto used Sage Mode more often instead.
He only summoned the toads of Mount Myōboku again during the final fight against the Ten-Tails.
Forget it. I'll leave it for now.
The reward was good, but he couldn't use it yet.
It would be more meaningful to train instead.
He would aim to reach elite Jonin level sooner, and perhaps he could find out what the Sage Mode in this contract was like.
Once he was done, Hagoromo got to his feet. Naruto and Shikamaru were already waiting for him nearby.
They were at different stages in their training, but fortunately he had the handy Shadow Clone Technique.
Hagoromo raised his hands and formed Hand Seals. "Shadow Clone Technique."
He had his other clone take Shikamaru and Choji to work on Chakra control, while he continued training Naruto.