Summoning Butterfly

The small interlude passed quickly, and when he returned home, Shiraishi Eizawa was unexpectedly there.

"More than two years have passed. Your Butterfly Seed and theoretical knowledge are both sufficient; it is time to start learning the secret techniques."

Shiraishi Yoshijo had indeed felt recently that the Butterfly Seed within his body had calmed down, no longer fighting him for chakra.

In the beginning, the Butterfly Seed would devour his chakra almost every day, and there were even several instances where it gnawed at his heart.

Fortunately, he survived without incident, thanks in large part to Shiraishi Eizawa channeling chakra to him every day.

Perhaps he could give it a try. Shiraishi Yoshijo tucked the book into his robes and began to weave hand seals.

Clone Technique!

Another version of himself appeared before his eyes, and a smile tugged at the corner of Shiraishi Yoshijo's mouth.

In the past, the Clone Technique had never succeeded due to his chakra issues, but now, it was effortless.

Transformation Technique!

A second Shiraishi Eizawa appeared. Shiraishi Eizawa raised an eyebrow as he watched the boy transform into him, but he said nothing.

He tried to control the clone to attack himself, and the clone rushed forward with a clenched fist.

Substitution Technique!

A log hit the ground as the clone vanished, and not far away, Shiraishi Yoshijo appeared with a frown.

The Three Basic Techniques were the most fundamental ninjutsu taught at the ninja academy; Shiraishi Yoshijo had long since memorized the hand seals, so succeeding was no surprise.

However, as he performed the techniques, he sensed the flow of chakra within his body and realized that the seals were merely auxiliary. It seemed he could perform them without weaving seals at all.

Thinking of this, Shiraishi Yoshijo attempted to use the Clone Technique without seals. With a "poof," the clone appeared once more.

Success.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had indeed managed to use the Clone Technique without seals, but another problem arose.

It took too long.

Weaving seals took only two seconds, while doing it without seals took five—a three-second gap.

Do not underestimate those three seconds; in a battle between high-level ninjas, one second can decide the outcome.

If he used this in combat, Shiraishi Yoshijo estimated that the grass on his grave would already be sprouting.

Shiraishi Eizawa had been watching quietly from the side, and when Shiraishi Yoshijo successfully used the Clone Technique without seals, he was slightly surprised.

He could, of course, use the Three Basic Techniques without seals, but this seemed to be Shiraishi Yoshijo's first time using them, and yet he had found a way to bypass the seals so quickly.

Was it because of the Butterfly Seed?

No, although the Butterfly Seed had calmed down, it would still take several years to form a second soul; it was impossible for it to provide such assistance this quickly.

A smile appeared on Shiraishi Eizawa's lips. This kid didn't seem as hopeless as he had thought.

"Alright, stop there. Your chakra is limited, and there is still the secret technique training ahead. Don't exhaust yourself."

With that, Shiraishi Eizawa turned and walked into his room, returning with an oversized scroll slung over his shoulder.

He opened the scroll and gestured for him to come over and sign his name.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was not surprised. The Butterfly Manipulation Secret Technique was, at its core, a form of summoning. All ninjutsu were built upon the foundation of the Summoning Technique, so naturally, it was of the utmost importance.

After he signed his name, Shiraishi Eizawa began to teach him the hand seals for the Summoning Technique.

Five seals—quite simple.

After familiarizing himself with them, Shiraishi Yoshijo began his first summoning.

"Ninja Art, Summoning Technique!"

He bit his finger and slammed his hand onto the ground. Black markings spread across the floor, and with a "poof," a white butterfly flew out from the smoke.

The white butterfly circled Shiraishi Yoshijo once before landing on his shoulder. It suddenly spoke: "Lord Eizawa, Lord Yoshijo, do you have any instructions?"

This voice...

The corner of Shiraishi Yoshijo's eye twitched violently. After much hesitation, he asked, "Are you the butterfly my father turned into?"

"That is correct. My name is Qiu. Lord Yoshijo, please look after me in the future."

At that moment, Shiraishi Yoshijo felt a sense of temporal displacement.

He frantically reminded himself in his heart that his father was dead, but he couldn't stop his eyes from staring fixedly at the butterfly named Qiu.

Shiraishi Eishuu—his father's name. So that was why this butterfly was called Qiu?

This was the first time Shiraishi Yoshijo understood why the clansmen were all so obsessed with the butterflies.

After a muffled greeting, Shiraishi Yoshijo fell silent.

Shiraishi Eizawa understood his feelings and did not let the strange atmosphere linger.

"Qiu, release the Summoning Technique, then use Reverse Summoning to bring us to the Butterfly Habitat Valley."

The Butterfly Habitat Valley was where the clan's Ninja Butterflies lived.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had seen it mentioned in the clan records many times, and he knew full well why he was being taken there.

In short, he had to go there to cultivate his own Summoning Butterflies.

This was a rather troublesome affair, and it was extremely time-consuming.

"Poof." The Summoning Technique was dispelled, and Shiraishi Yoshijo immediately felt the world spinning. When he regained his senses, he had already appeared in the Butterfly Habitat Valley.

Arriving here for the first time, Shiraishi Yoshijo curiously examined his surroundings.

The place where he stood was a plaza, and directly ahead were layers upon layers of stone steps.

The steps led to a magnificent palace, while wooden houses were arranged neatly around the plaza, and he could occasionally see figures moving about.

This place was just like a human village; basically everything one could see in the human world could be found here.

"Don't just stand there in a daze. I'll take you to pay your respects to Lady Mei first."

Mei, a strange name.

"Who is Lady Mei?"

"I don't know. The clan has no records regarding her either. She is a very ancient and noble existence."

Could she be an existence similar to a Sage?

Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. Over the past two years of studying the clan's classics, the Shide Clan had refreshed his understanding time and time again, making him suspect more than once that he had been watching a fake Naruto.

Having their own summoning grounds, the magical functions of the Butterfly Seeds, and hundreds of types of Summoning Butterflies—now, the appearance of someone suspected to be a Sage seemed quite reasonable, didn't it?

In any case, this clan that never appeared in the plot was very mysterious, and behind all this rationality, there seemed to be some hidden secret.

Walking up the steps, Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Can one practice Sage Mode here?"

"Sage Mode?" Shiraishi Eizawa gave him a strange look. "Where did you learn about Sage Mode?"

"I saw it in a book."

This question was unsolvable and impossible to explain clearly. Shiraishi Yoshijo just blurted out a lie; he couldn't exactly say he could foresee the future.

"I've read all the books you've read. Can you tell me which book recorded Sage Mode?"

Having his lie exposed, Shiraishi Yoshijo panicked and quickly said, "I forgot. Anyway, I just saw it in a book."

Since he couldn't explain it, he simply refused to admit it.

Fortunately, Shiraishi Eizawa didn't intend to get to the bottom of it and instead began to explain.

"Sage Mode is a unique ninjutsu of the First Hokage. Every ninja clan in Konoha has records regarding Sage Mode, but as for what Sage Mode actually is, perhaps only the Senju Clan knows. Our clan does not have that kind of heritage."

Fine, it seems one really cannot practice Sage Mode here.

But that was normal; Sage Mode was a rare heritage. Throughout Naruto, only the three great holy lands possessed it. As for Jugo, he should be considered a special individual.

After entering the palace, a silver-haired woman fast asleep appeared before their eyes.

To be honest, even by Shiraishi Yoshijo's aesthetic standards, this silver-haired woman belonged to the level of existence that could topple kingdoms and cities.

With just a single glance, he felt his heartbeat begin to accelerate, and he hurriedly averted his gaze to the sides.

There were many bookshelves on both sides, filled with books.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was thoughtful; all the clan's classics were likely here.

Seemingly awakened by the footsteps, the silver-haired woman—that is, Mei—opened her eyes, and a crisp, melodious voice echoed through the great hall.

"Eizawa, you haven't been here for a long time. Is this little brat the last descendant of your clan?"

As Mei spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Shiraishi Yoshijo.

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt a chill run down his spine under her stare and hurriedly hid behind Shiraishi Eizawa.

What the hell? Shiraishi Yoshijo was secretly shocked. Since coming to this world, he had never shown cowardice in front of anyone.

But being stared at by this woman, for a moment, he felt as if he had been seen through completely.

It was like running naked in a snowstorm; a chill couldn't stop rising from within.

"What is this? He really is just a little brat, and he's actually shy. Is he really going to be okay?"

Mei yawned, seemingly having lost interest in Shiraishi Yoshijo.

"It will be fine. Konoha is very peaceful. As long as he grows up safely, the Shide Clan will surely be able to regain its former glory."

"Peace, what a boring thing. Fine, let him choose for himself."

After Mei threw out a scroll, she began to close her eyes and rest.

Shiraishi Yoshijo opened the scroll. It recorded all the types of Summoning Butterflies in the clan, and what he had to do was choose a few from these hundreds of types to begin cultivating.

His hard work over the past two years hadn't been in vain; he already had a clear idea of what kind of Summoning Butterflies he wanted to cultivate.

"Multi-Eye Butterfly, Explosion Butterfly, Seven-Colored Butterfly, Gluttony Butterfly, as well as the Thunder Butterfly, Water Butterfly, Spirit-Peering Butterfly..."

A string of names spilled from his mouth.

Mei opened her eyes and looked at Shiraishi Eizawa with interest. Shiraishi Eizawa's eyelid twitched, and his face gradually turned green. "You can only choose three."

"Why?"

He had barely started; Shiraishi Yoshijo indicated he had only said half of them, but the reason Shiraishi Eizawa gave was very powerful, leaving him unable to refute it.

"No money."

Yes, raising butterflies is not only troublesome and time-consuming, but also incredibly expensive.

Take the Gluttony Butterfly that Shiraishi Yoshijo just mentioned as an example; it is a type of butterfly that grows faster the more it eats.

Once it grows to a certain size, it can carry a person in flight, and it was precisely because of this flight capability that Shiraishi Yoshijo chose it.

However, the Gluttony Butterfly feeds on meat, and it consumes at least a million ryo a year at a bare minimum. Even more absurd is its life cycle, as it only has a lifespan of three years.

Therefore, if Shiraishi Yoshijo wants to maintain the ability to fly, he cannot just raise one, which means the money required would multiply several times over.

As for money, Shiraishi Yoshijo only has his allowance, and that amount is barely enough for him to have one barbecue meal.

Thinking of this, he said quite bluntly: "Then the Multi-Eye Butterfly, Explosion Butterfly, and Gluttony Butterfly."

"Drop the Explosion Butterfly and Gluttony Butterfly, and replace them with the Thunder Butterfly and Water Butterfly."

Shiraishi Yoshijo was dumbfounded and said incredulously: "The family doesn't even have this much money, and you still have the nerve to brag to me about being the strongest ninja clan in Konoha?"

At this moment, Mei spoke up: "The Explosion Butterfly is a suicide-bombing butterfly; the more chakra it absorbs, the greater the power of its self-detonation. Given your chakra levels, you might as well just buy Explosive Tags."

"The Gluttony Butterfly is considered the most expensive type of butterfly, and I'm afraid your family's current financial strength can't even afford to raise one."

Shiraishi Eizawa said gloomily: "We are the strongest, poorest, and hardest-working ninja clan in Konoha."

Is it because we are poor that we work hard? Shiraishi Yoshijo, having fallen completely into a trap, felt despair.