Summoning Beast

"Fire Release - Great Fireball Technique!"

After Leiyin finished forming the hand seals, scorching flames burst forth.

"Earth Release - Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Huh?

Almost simultaneously with Leiyin, after he released the flames, the ground in front of the tanuki transformed into a massive earth dragon. The earth dragon opened its jaws and swallowed the flames whole.

[Tanuki Sword Sage] sat atop the earth dragon's head, looking down at Leiyin from its enormous body, as if it could swallow him in one bite at any moment.

This [Earth Dragon Bullet Technique] was a B-rank Earth Release technique. Who would have thought that this unimpressive-looking tanuki, which even looked somewhat comical, could actually use it?

Facing the enormous earth dragon, Leiyin was not afraid. Instead, he was delighted. "The creatures around here really do keep giving me pleasant surprises."

Hearing this, [Tanuki Sword Sage] did not answer him. Instead, it lightly waved a finger. The earth dragon opened its huge mouth again, and in an instant, it spat out mud bullets like a violent storm, firing them mercilessly at Leiyin.

The mud bullets slammed into the ground one after another, piercing straight through it without exaggeration. In an instant, the entire area was riddled with holes.

What [Tanuki Sword Sage] did not know was that, just before the earth dragon spat out the mud bullets, Leiyin had already vanished from that patch of ground with [Flying Thunder God Slash].

"Rasengan!"

When Leiyin reappeared, a chakra sphere had already gathered in his hand. Holding it out, he slammed it fiercely into the earth dragon's head. The earth dragon's vital point suffered another devastating blow, and it immediately crumbled apart. The earth dragon, which had been so imposing moments ago, vanished in an instant, and the tanuki fell back to the ground.

"To think you could defeat the Cat Tiger Beast and easily break apart my [Earth Dragon Bullet]. No wonder you were chosen by [Buddha Lord]."

"You've been going on about Buddha Lord this and Buddha Lord that from the start. Who exactly is this Buddha Lord?"

At that moment, the tanuki drew the sword from behind his back. "Let me test you a little more."

Seeing this, Leiyin also drew the ninja blade from behind his back to meet him, still wrapping it in lightning.

Clang, clang, clang.

Within the field of battle, the clear, melodious sounds of blades clashing rang out without pause. As Little Tiger Cat watched from the side, [Tanuki Sword Sage] held the upper hand in swordsmanship.

After dozens of exchanges, the tanuki suddenly brought his sword down, cleaving Leiyin's ninja blade in two.

Huh?

The battle stopped at once, and the atmosphere became awkward.

Leiyin threw the broken half of his ninja blade to the ground. Energy gathered in his hand as he charged toward the tanuki.

Seeing this, the tanuki refused to back down. He formed hand seals with both hands, and in an instant, a stone fist emerged from his chest.

"Earth Release - Rock Fist Technique!"

"Massive Rasengan!"

The two forces collided with a tremendous boom. Even Little Tiger Cat, which had been watching from the side, was caught in the shock wave. Leiyin, the tanuki, and Little Tiger Cat were all blasted more than ten meters away.

Tanuki Sword Sage and Leiyin had fought to a draw.

Leiyin rose to his feet and dusted off his clothes. The tanuki looked at him and nodded with satisfaction. "Just as Buddha Lord expected. Boy, you pass. Now, if there's anything you don't understand, you may ask me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Little Tiger Cat jumped onto Leiyin's shoulder again.

Pointing at Little Tiger Cat, Leiyin asked, "What's the deal with this little fellow?"

The tanuki sheathed his sword behind his back. "It's called the Cat Tiger Beast, a legendary monster from ancient times. Normally, it lives in this form—the Little Tiger Cat form. But when it encounters a special situation or enters battle, it grows gigantic. That's the appearance you saw at the beginning."

Little Tiger Cat gently licked Leiyin's cheek, while Leiyin tenderly stroked its head.

The tanuki continued, "The Cat Tiger Beast is extremely loyal by nature. It recognizes the first person to defeat it as its master and will never betray them."

Hearing this, Leiyin looked at Little Tiger Cat and smiled.

"In other words, this tiger cat is now your Summoning Beast. You can summon it whenever you need it. The hand-seal sequence for summoning it is [Tiger - Rat - Tiger]." As the tanuki spoke, he demonstrated the hand seals for Leiyin.

After listening, Leiyin stroked its head. "Then I'll be counting on you from now on, Cat Tiger Beast."

The adorable Cat Tiger Beast gave a soft "meow" and smiled at Leiyin.

"This is a dimensional world to you. Time spent here is frozen from the perspective of the outside world. Isn't the most famous thing in the Naruto World the Three Great Sage Lands? This place is also a Sage Land, but very few people know about it. What I'm about to tell you may surprise you even more "

"Huh?"

"[Sacred Buddha Ridge] stands above the Three Great Sage Lands. The sages who live here and the fruits of their cultivation are also more powerful than those of the Three Great Sage Lands."

Leiyin: "Is that so?"

"Indeed. There's the Toad Sage of [Mount Myōboku] and the White Snake Sage of [Ryūchi Cave]. The ones who live in [Sacred Buddha Ridge], however, are the [Tanuki Sage Clan]."

Leiyin asked, "The Tanuki Sage Clan? Then the [Buddha Lord] you mentioned is also a tanuki?"

Tanuki Sword Sage stroked his chin. "That's true, I suppose "

"Then he's your leader, right?"

"Yes. In your terms, that's correct."

Leiyin understood. Just as Naruto Uzumaki was associated with [Mount Myōboku], [Sacred Buddha Ridge] would be Leiyin's place of cultivation! Then, next was—

"Tanuki Sword Sage, I want to practice [Sage Mode]. So hurry up and take me to meet your [Buddha Lord]."

Hearing this, Tanuki Sword Sage smiled. "Boy, you haven't reached the level required to practice [Sage Mode] yet. Come back next time, and you'll be able to cultivate [Sage Mode]."

So that was how it was. Leiyin thought to himself that the system required him to reach Jōnin (mid-tier) before he could unlock [Sage Mode]. Clearly, the time had not yet come.

Regardless, he now possessed a powerful Summoning Beast, so the trip had not been in vain.

However, Tanuki Sword Sage's next words made his eyes light up.

"Our Tanuki Sage Clan excels at [Water Release] and [Earth Release] ninjutsu. I can teach them to you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Next, I'll demonstrate the hand seals for several techniques. Watch carefully."

With that, Leiyin activated his [Sharingan].

Tanuki Sword Sage demonstrated several ninjutsu techniques in succession: [Earth Release - Earth Dragon Bullet], [Earth Release - Earth Flow Wall], [Earth Release - Earth Spear], [Water Release - Water Dragon Bullet Technique], and [Water Release - Water Wall Formation]. Leiyin memorized them all.

Afterward, the tanuki taught Leiyin some secret sword techniques of the [Tanuki Sage Clan], and Leiyin used his two-tomoe [Sharingan] to memorize each of them as well.