Large Summoning Beast: Chubingmaru!

"Failed...!"

Uchiha Shizuka sighed regretfully.

If only it had succeeded in one go.

"No!" Tang Ping shook his head and explained, "It succeeded. With a few more experiments, Mei will be able to regain her sight!"

The Rebirth Potion's effects had been confirmed. All that remained was further testing to determine the proper dosage.

He had also confirmed a few things, so progress would only speed up from here.

"That's wonderful!"

Uchiha Shizuka looked thrilled.

She had watched Uchiha Mei grow up since childhood and had long regarded her as a daughter. That was why she was so excited.

"But we need to figure out an explanation beforehand."

Tang Ping calmly pointed this out.

Curing her was not the problem. The problem was how to explain it afterward.

The Rebirth Potion and Healing Potion were two entirely different things.

At most, the Healing Potion was a substitute for Medical Ninjutsu, and a low-end version at that.

But regenerating severed limbs was absolutely unprecedented.

At the very least, Medical Ninjutsu could not accomplish it—not even Tsunade Hime, the founder of Medical Ninjutsu, could do so.

The consequences would be extremely severe if it were exposed.

Never mind whether the Uchiha Clan would protect him to the death; even if they did, they might not be able to protect him.

"Don't worry. I already used genjutsu to alter the memories of those Medical Ninjas. Mei only needs to announce later that she was healed by another Medical Ninja!"

Uchiha Shizuka confidently declared that it would not be a problem.

The Medical Ninjas they had previously sought out were not from Konoha, so their memories had naturally been altered.

That was the only way to prevent information about the Sharingan from leaking, which was why outsiders did not know the details.

Even within the clan, they only knew that something had happened to her eyes. Only a few knew how serious it was.

They merely needed to say that she had encountered a highly skilled Medical Ninja who treated her out of gratitude for a favor from her grandfather.

Any excuse would do.

As for anyone asking about the details?

Sorry, Uchiha Mei was no ordinary person.

As the Uchiha Clan's former "princess," she naturally had the right to remain silent.

And that right was hardly hers alone. Trying to pry into every detail would completely cross the bottom line of all ninjas.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Aunt Shizuka!"

Tang Ping was quite satisfied with this.

As long as no one suspected him, it was fine.

More than half a month later!

When Tang Ping returned to the courtyard after completing his fifth experiment, the thing he had been eagerly awaiting arrived.

"This is the summoning scroll you wanted!"

Uchiha Mei tossed him a scroll as thick as an arm.

Although her eyes were still covered with white cloth, life had returned to her expression. The deathly stillness from before was gone.

Slap!

Tang Ping caught the scroll excitedly.

There was certainly a risk in having someone retrieve it for him.

But if he waited until he could act personally, who knew how long that would take? That was why he had thought of using money to have Kakuzu retrieve it for him.

The facts proved that as long as the money was right, Kakuzu could indeed complete any task well.

"Come on, let's go to the Training Ground!"

Tang Ping was somewhat excited.

This would absolutely become his trump card.

Even though Taiyi had greater potential.

It would still take quite some time for it to grow to the level of the Shuzaki Great Lizard.

Uchiha Mei silently followed.

For a ninja, being unable to see did not mean they could not move freely.

Sensory Ninjutsu!

The clan did not lack such things.

Uchiha Mei had already learned one, allowing her to move around with some difficulty.

And during this time, word had been spread that her eyes were slowly "recovering" thanks to the treatment of a highly skilled Medical Ninja.

Naturally, that claim was meant to conceal the Rebirth Potion.

The two soon arrived at the Training Ground exclusive to the Uchiha Elder House Lineage.

Every major ninja clan had its own Training Ground.

The Uchiha Clan naturally had them as well, and more than anyone else. Otherwise, they would not deserve to be called a Noble Clan.

The Training Ground was not only equipped with every kind of training tool, but also had barrier formations that ensured privacy.

Not even the Byakugan could see through those barriers.

It could not be helped.

Ninja intelligence was far too important, so setting up such measures was nothing unusual.

Standing in the center of the enormous private Training Ground surrounded by woods, Tang Ping slowly unrolled the summoning scroll.

At that moment, he desperately wanted to know whether one particular name was written on it.

Masashi Kishimoto!

When the scroll was unfurled, he saw only a handful of names. The first was "Shuzaki Gosuke."

"Thank goodness..."

Tang Ping quietly let out a breath. He had truly been afraid that name would be there.

He bit his finger and wrote his own name on the scroll.

After writing his name.

Tang Ping vaguely sensed something.

Boar—Dog—Rooster...!

His hands slowly formed seals.

Take note.

Signing a contract with a Summoning Beast did not mean it would necessarily fight for you.

Obtaining the summoning scroll was only the first step. Only after gaining its recognition could you summon it to fight for you in battle.

And Summoning Beasts all had different temperaments.

Just like Naruto and Gamabunta in the future, it was hardly strange for a summoned beast to refuse to obey your orders.

The Shuzaki Great Lizard should have a loyal temperament.

But Tang Ping was afraid things might go wrong, which was why he had come to this Training Ground to summon it instead of doing so in the underground chamber.

"Summoning Technique!"

Tang Ping used all the Chakra in his body.

Different summoning targets required different amounts of Chakra.

A Genin could easily summon a small Summoning Beast.

But for a large Summoning Beast, a Genin could forget about it—unless they were an Uzumaki and a Jinchuriki.

Tang Ping had less than One Kakashi's worth of Chakra, yet Chakra equivalent to a Special Jonin's was completely drained away, as though someone had sucked him dry.

Bang!

A vast cloud of white smoke spread outward.

Uchiha Mei, standing to the side, drew her Kunai and gripped a Signal Flare.

In her perception.

An incomparably massive mass of Chakra had suddenly appeared in the Training Ground, leaving her extremely tense.

What kind of Summoning Beast is this?

Judging solely from its Chakra, she could tell that this was a Summoning Beast far stronger than the Ninja Crow from before. There was not even a Summoning Beast within the Uchiha Clan that could compare to it.

As the white smoke dispersed.

A colossal lizard with snow-white scales and crimson eyes appeared in the Training Ground.

It stood more than ten meters tall and was at least several dozen meters long.

What did that mean?

To see its entire body clearly, one first had to move some distance away.

Powerful.

Its sheer size made that obvious.

For Summoning Beasts, larger bodies meant greater strength.

The reason was simple.

The larger the body, the more Chakra it could hold, and the greater its destructive power.

"It seems Lord Gosuke's lineage has died out. Are you the new contractor?"

The white great lizard lowered its head and examined Tang Ping with its crimson eyes.

It doesn't seem hard to deal with!

Seeing that it had not attacked immediately, Tang Ping secretly breathed a sigh of relief and introduced himself.

"I am Uchiha Tang Ping. Please treat me well!"

Thankfully, it was not stubbornly refusing him as its new contractor. Otherwise, things would have become troublesome.

If it refused to cooperate, there was nothing he could do with his current strength.

"I am Chubingmaru. I shall assist you in battle from now on. However, your Chakra has been depleted, so I shall take my leave first!"

After the Shuzaki Great Lizard stated its name, it indicated that this summoning was over.

Yes.

With Tang Ping's current Chakra, he could not even afford half a minute of its "appearance fee."

Still, with such powerful combat strength, half a minute was enough.

At the very least, in terms of destructive power, it was absolutely no weaker than a Kage-level fighter—perhaps far stronger.

The Chakra consumed would decrease as their relationship improved.

By default, the summoner bore the cost of a summoning. But once the relationship with the Summoning Beast improved, the beast could bear most of the cost instead.

For example, Taiyi bore most of the consumption whenever it was summoned.

But for Chubingmaru, Tang Ping bore the entire Chakra cost of the summoning, which was why the duration was so short.