Summoning Crows

After poking fun at himself, Uchiha Aozora quickly adjusted his mood.

He had learned everything so quickly before that he had forgotten he was actually an ordinary person too. His Chakra had elemental affinities, and it was impossible for him to learn every ninjutsu in the Shinobi World.

"I actually forgot to test my Chakra affinity. I really shouldn't have."

Aozora added buying Chakra Test Paper to his schedule, then took out the Ninja Crow Clan's Contract Scroll.

Aozora first opened the Ninja Crow Clan's Contract Scroll and saw that there was one, and only one, name written on it—Uchiha Shisui.

"Where did Yamashiro Aoba contract Ninja Crows? Or did he contract a different kind of Ninja Crow?"

Putting aside his wandering thoughts, Aozora turned his attention back to the scroll.

A Ninja Beast's Contract Scroll was anything but ordinary. It contained powerful and special Sealing Jutsu Scripts that allowed humans and a clan of Ninja Beasts to form an equal contract and cooperate with one another.

Groups of Ninja Beasts that possessed Contract Scrolls generally had formidable power or influence, such as the Toad Clan of Mount Myōboku and the Snake Clan of Ryūchi Cave.

Although the Ninja Crow Clan had no reputation in the Shinobi World, the Contract Scroll alone showed that they were not weak.

Following the scroll's instructions, Aozora used his finger as a brush and blood as ink, writing his name in a blank space on the scroll.

Once he finished writing his name, Aozora felt a peculiar suction force from the scroll. A small portion of his Chakra and Spiritual Power was drawn in.

Since he sensed no danger, Aozora did not resist.

The sensation vanished in an instant. When Aozora sensed again, he found no abnormalities whatsoever.

No longer dwelling on it, Aozora began learning the Summoning Jutsu.

The Summoning Jutsu was not difficult. After practicing briefly, Aozora grasped the trick.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

After his Chakra flowed along a special route, it surged from Aozora's hand and formed a complex Sealing Jutsu Script on the ground.

Blood flowing from his finger dripped into the center of the Sealing Jutsu Script. As Chakra continuously poured forth in indistinct waves, Aozora sensed streams of cold, sinister Chakra.

He instantly realized that each stream of Chakra represented a Ninja Crow. As long as he connected with one of them, the Summoning Jutsu could succeed.

After thinking for a moment, Aozora increased his Chakra output. He wanted to summon a stronger Summoning Beast, since an ordinary Ninja Crow might not even be able to speak.

Unfortunately, as his Chakra output increased, Aozora discovered that aside from sensing more cold, sinister Chakra, he could not find any powerful Chakra fluctuations.

After a long while, just as Aozora was about to stop supplying Chakra, he suddenly discovered a chaotic and powerful stream of Chakra. He immediately connected with it and began the summoning.

"Bang!"

Aozora suddenly felt soft, smooth feathers appear in his previously empty right hand.

As the smoke dispersed, a giant crow as large as an eagle appeared before Aozora, its entire body pitch-black.

This crow radiated a cold, ominous aura. Its body was sleek, its beak and talons sharp, and its eyes blood-red.

"Caw—!"

The Red-eyed Crow let out a strange cry, then swooped down toward Aozora.

The Red-eyed Crow dove as fast as lightning, but its intent to attack was far too obvious. Though Aozora was somewhat surprised, he still reacted in time and sidestepped its attack.

The diving crow crashed toward a large tree, but at the crucial moment it flapped its wings and veered away. Its body avoided the trunk, while its sharp talons left deep claw marks in the bark.

"Such speed, such sharp claws!"

Aozora became interested in the crow.

According to the records on the scroll Shisui had left behind, the Ninja Crow Clan's strength lay in their immense Spiritual Power. Physically, they were only slightly stronger than ordinary crows.

This giant crow was clearly an anomaly among the flock.

"Speed and strength are decent. What about defense?"

As he spoke to himself, Aozora casually threw out four shuriken.

Though the crow was fast, it had no brains. Aozora easily predicted its flight path.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The shuriken struck the Red-eyed Crow accurately, yet they seemed to hit steel and bounced away.

The Red-eyed Crow was enraged. The blood-red color in its eyes deepened, and it charged at Aozora even faster.

"Interesting!"

Aozora's lips curled upward as he began circling around it.

Though the Red-eyed Crow was a crow, its body was as robust as an eagle's, and its feathers were like Sharp Swords, making it extremely troublesome. However, there seemed to be something wrong with its brain. Its attacks were straightforward and direct, allowing Aozora to toy with it easily.

After testing it with shuriken, Aozora tested its resistance to ninjutsu.

"Fire Style - Great Fireball Technique!"

To avoid killing it, Aozora deliberately reduced his Chakra output. Even so, a fireball the size of a washbasin was not something an ordinary crow could withstand.

"Boom!"

The fireball struck the Red-eyed Crow precisely. The powerful impact sent it flying into the air, and flames ignited its feathers.

Aozora had thought the crow would fall the next moment, but unexpectedly, it flapped its wings and stubbornly charged at him again.

Looking at the crow wreathed in flames, a gleam flashed through Aozora's eyes as thoughts rapidly arose in his mind.

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

"Smack!"

The Red-eyed Crow was repeatedly punched and kicked by Aozora, burned by fire, and slashed with blades. Before long, it had become a bald-feathered bird, its remaining feathers scorched black and its body covered in many cuts.

Yet even so, the Great Crow continued attacking Aozora with undying determination, and its speed had not slowed by much.

In the end, the summoning time ran out. The crow was pulled back into its original space, bringing the battle to an end.

Before he could savor the fight, the Chakra within his body was absorbed by the Heavenly Book.

Before long, the Chakra returned. Two Pale Gold ancient characters appeared on the Heavenly Book first—Beast Taming. Then the words "Outer Body Incarnation" emerged, and the gray ancient characters glowed with golden light.

"Is the key to 'Outer Body Incarnation' the Summoning Jutsu?"

Aozora was somewhat surprised, since the two seemed completely unrelated.

Although he wanted to accept the inheritance immediately, the wilderness was dangerous after all. Aozora patiently returned home.

The moment he got home, Aozora rushed into his bedroom, leaped onto the bed, and began accepting the inheritance.

It was like an immortal touching the crown of his head, like a divine Buddha imparting power. Ancient words surfaced in his heart, while ethereal scenes reflected in his mind.

After accepting the Beast Taming inheritance, Aozora finally understood why the Summoning Jutsu contained the key knowledge for Outer Body Incarnation.

Aside from its potential for growth, another key aspect of Outer Body Incarnation was communication and control. Because an incarnation possessed independent thoughts and a body, if the original body could not know the incarnation's thoughts or had no means of controlling it, then the incarnation would become another individual.

The Summoning Jutsu and Contract Scroll involved part of the knowledge of soul contracts. Through a contract, a Summoning Beast and its master would retain an unseen connection even across thousands of mountains and rivers.

This contract was equal and harmless, but after being improved by the Heavenly Book, it could create a master-servant contract.

This contract could be used for Beast Taming, and it could also establish the soul core of an "incarnation."

A spirit beast might have a chance to break the contract because it possessed an independent soul from the Other World, but an incarnation's soul foundation was itself a soul contract. Other than suicide, it could never break the contract.

This was how the original body of Outer Body Incarnation controlled its incarnation.

Looking at the two Daoist magic and Divine Abilities he could cultivate, Aozora hesitated.

Unlike other Daoist magic and Divine Abilities, both Beast Taming and Outer Body Incarnation involved splitting the soul. The danger in that was too great—so great that Aozora could not accept it.

"Forget it. There's no rush. I'll consider it after fully completing the inheritance."