Summoning Technique

Early the next morning, Seiji opened his eyes and unconsciously stretched. A series of crackling sounds, like beans popping, came from all over his body.

"Feels great!" Seiji came back to himself and lightly clenched his fists, feeling his body brimming with strength. After a night of deep sleep, Chakra had filled his body once more, and none of last night's weakness remained.

He got up and walked out of the room, finding Genji sitting upright at the table in the main hall.

"Come eat breakfast. Once we're done, we'll begin today's lessons," Genji said to Seiji. Seiji's awakening and exceptional talent had seemed to bring a ray of light into Genji's bleak world.

In the Ninja World, a place filled with conflict at every turn, Genji was already considered middle-aged despite having only just turned thirty.

The middle-aged man, who had once spent his days wallowing in despair, had risen early today for the first time in ages and cooked again after several years. It was merely a simple wild vegetable porridge, but for Seiji, who had not eaten food cooked by his father in a long time, it was an immense surprise.

"Yes, Father!" Seiji sat down at the table. "Thank you for the meal!"

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, father and son cleaned up together before returning to sit at the table.

"Father!" Seiji looked at Genji with anticipation in his eyes.

"I know your heart is full of doubts, confusion, and curiosity. No rush—we'll go over it slowly." Genji pulled up the corners of his mouth. On his face, which had been numb and expressionless all year round, it looked neither quite like a smile nor quite like a cry.

"As I said last night, this ability is called the Shikotsumyaku. It is the Kekkei Genkai passed down through generations of our Kaguya Clan. However, because this Kekkei Genkai is too powerful, exceedingly few people in the clan awaken it. Only those with extraordinary talent can do so." Genji then sighed. "No... I don't even know whether you can still bear the Kaguya name. Our family has been expelled from the clan. It's Father's fault. I've wronged you."

"The Shikotsumyaku is an ability that lets one freely manipulate every bone in one's body, using them for defense or attack. Anything related to 'bones'—such as osteoblasts, osteoclasts, calcium concentration, and so on—can be manipulated without restriction. Bones enhanced by Chakra are among the hardest materials in the Ninja World. At least, I've never seen anything harder than my bones. At the same time, after awakening the Shikotsumyaku, our bodies gain the ability to rapidly heal external wounds." Genji slowly removed his upper garments and circulated the obscure, sluggish Chakra within his body. Several bone tips emerged from his chest, back, and arms. As his Chakra fluctuated, Genji let out a low shout, and Bone Spikes burst through his flesh, looking somewhat savage.

"This is the Shikotsumyaku. Bones can grow out from anywhere on our bodies at any time, according to our will." Genji caught his breath before continuing, "When attacking, these bones are our sharpest spears. When defending, they can also serve as our strongest shields."

"Father was badly injured in the war when he was younger, so using Chakra is rather strenuous for me. Once you learn to control the Shikotsumyaku proficiently, bone growth is actually very fast." There was a trace of unwillingness in Genji's voice.

"You should have found the scroll your mother left behind before. It only contains ordinary Elemental Techniques. Your mother never awakened the Shikotsumyaku, so she did not have methods for cultivating it, nor did she possess the related Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu that comes afterward."

"Yes, Father." Seiji was still trying to process all the information Genji had just given him.

Genji withdrew the Bone Spikes on his body, then crossed his arms and gripped the Bone Spikes protruding from his arms. With a slight tug, he pulled them out of his body.

He casually handed the two Bone Spikes to Seiji while demonstrating that the places where the bones had just broken through were already rapidly healing under the effects of Chakra. "Father has never given you a proper gift. I've strengthened these two Bone Blades with my Chakra, so take them to protect yourself."

"Thank you, Father. I love them!" Seiji happily accepted the Bone Blades and carefully tucked them away close to his body. It was the first gift his father had ever given him since he could remember.

"Our situation isn't very good. That damned Kaguya Musashi has always had people watching and guarding us. If he finds out that you awakened your Kekkei Genkai so early, he'll definitely take action. So Father can't personally teach you ninjutsu." Genji spoke through gritted teeth, then let out a deep sigh.

Genji bit his finger, slowly formed hand seals, and lightly pressed his hand against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

A cloud of white smoke dispersed, revealing an ancient ink-black scroll on the ground.

"This is the Kekkei Genkai scroll passed down through our branch of the family. Genji married the Sixth Elder's daughter, so we are considered part of the Sixth Elder's branch. It records the cultivation methods for the Shikotsumyaku, as well as all kinds of ninjutsu and taijutsu used in conjunction with it. Today, Father will teach you this item Summoning Technique. Once you learn it, cultivate according to the scroll from then on. If you have any questions during your training, come ask me. Remember to go farther away. Their main target is me, so they probably won't pay much attention to you."

"Come, let's first learn the Summoning Technique. Once you master it, you'll be able to summon this scroll whenever you wish."

"The Summoning Technique is a type of Space-Time ninjutsu, roughly C-rank. The first kind is blood-contract summoning, which can summon living creatures to assist a ninja in battle. You need to form a blood contract with the creature you wish to summon before you can call it forth, and the size of the summoned creature also depends on the amount of Chakra you possess. We won't discuss that for now. Besides, Father never had a Summoning Beast." Genji smiled. Most members of the Kaguya Clan preferred close-quarters slaughter. Though they knew various ninjutsu as well, most rarely used them in battle.

"The second kind is non-blood-contract summoning, which allows you to summon objects stored elsewhere. That is the item Summoning Technique we will be learning."

"First, inject your Chakra into the Summoning Array on the scroll, then leave your blood on it. After that, whenever you wish to summon the scroll, it will use the two mediums of Chakra and your blood to summon the scroll stored in our branch's Shrine." Genji explained, "Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram. Those are the five seals for the Summoning Technique. It isn't difficult to master. With your talent, you should learn it after practicing a few times."

Seiji, encountering ninjutsu for the first time, was filled with curiosity. He recalled Genji's hand movements from moments ago, imitated his father by biting his finger, and slowly began forming seals with both hands. Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram. Assisted by the seals, Chakra rapidly flowed through his body. After all, this was Seiji's first time forming hand seals. His hands moved clumsily, and it took him a full five seconds to complete the five seals. Then he slapped one hand forcefully onto the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

As the thick smoke cleared, Genji's eyes widened at the sight of the scroll, now resting in a different spot on the ground. Once again, he could not help marveling at his son's talent.

"Did it work, Father?" Seiji asked, his voice brimming with the excitement of using ninjutsu for the first time.

"It worked. You succeeded on your first attempt—just as expected of my son. You can stop supplying Chakra now and let the scroll return to its original place." Genji continued, "Then you should head out. Go farther away and cultivate step by step according to the scroll."

"Yes, Father. Then I'll be going." Seiji stood and spoke respectfully to Genji.