The Summoning Butterfly

A little incident soon passed, and when Shiraishi Yoshijo returned home, Shiraishi Eizawa was unexpectedly there.

"More than two years have passed. Your Butterfly Seed and theoretical knowledge are about where they need to be. It's time to start learning the Secret Technique."

Lately, Shiraishi Yoshijo had indeed felt that the Butterfly Seed inside him had settled down and stopped competing with him for Chakra.

At first, the Butterfly Seed had almost drained all his Chakra every day. It had even bitten into his heart several times.

Fortunately, he'd made it through unscathed, thanks in no small part to Shiraishi Eizawa supplying him with Chakra every day.

Maybe I can give it a try. Shiraishi Yoshijo put the book away in his robes and began forming Hand Seals.

Clone Technique!

Another version of himself appeared before his eyes. Shiraishi Yoshijo smiled.

Because of his Chakra problems, he'd never managed to use the Clone Technique successfully before. Now it was effortless.

Transformation Technique!

A second Shiraishi Eizawa appeared. Shiraishi Eizawa raised an eyebrow at the sight of him transforming into his likeness but said nothing.

He tried to make the clone attack him. It clenched its fist and charged.

Substitution Technique!

A log hit the ground. The clone vanished, and Shiraishi Yoshijo appeared some distance away, frowning.

The Three Basic Techniques were the most fundamental Ninjutsu taught at the Ninja Academy. Shiraishi Yoshijo had long since memorized the Hand Seals, so it wasn't surprising that he'd managed to use them.

But as he performed the Three Basic Techniques, he sensed the flow of Chakra inside him and realized that the seals only served as an aid. It seemed he might be able to do without them.

With that in mind, Shiraishi Yoshijo tried using the Clone Technique without Hand Seals. With a poof, the clone appeared again.

He'd done it.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had indeed managed to use the Clone Technique without Hand Seals, but another problem had come up.

It took too long.

The Hand Seals took only two seconds. Without them, it took five—a difference of three seconds.

Those three seconds were nothing to scoff at. In a battle between elite ninja, a single second could decide the outcome.

If he tried that in a fight, Shiraishi Yoshijo figured the grass on his grave would already have taken root and started growing.

Shiraishi Eizawa had watched quietly from the sidelines. When Shiraishi Yoshijo successfully used the Clone Technique without Hand Seals, he looked a little surprised.

Of course he could use Ninjutsu on the level of the Three Basic Techniques without Hand Seals. But this seemed to be Shiraishi Yoshijo's first time using them, and he'd already figured out how to do it.

Was it because of the Butterfly Seed?

No. Although the Butterfly Seed had settled down, it would take several more years for it to form a second soul. It couldn't possibly be helping him already.

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

"All right, that's enough. You don't have much Chakra to begin with, and you still have to train in the Secret Technique. Don't use it all up."

With that, Shiraishi Eizawa went into his room, then came back carrying an enormous scroll.

He unfurled it and motioned for Shiraishi Yoshijo to come over and sign his name.

Shiraishi Yoshijo wasn't surprised. The Butterfly Manipulation Secret Technique ultimately fell under the category of Summoning. All Ninjutsu was built on the foundation of the Summoning Technique, so naturally it was of utmost importance.

After he signed his name, Shiraishi Eizawa began teaching him the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique.

Five seals. Simple enough.

Once he had them down, Shiraishi Yoshijo began his first summoning.

"Ninpō: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

He bit his finger and slapped it against the ground. A black summoning array spread across the surface. With a poof, a white butterfly flew out of the smoke.

The white butterfly circled Shiraishi Yoshijo once, then landed on his shoulder and suddenly spoke. "Lord Eizawa, Lord Yoshijo, what can I do for you?"

That voice...

Shiraishi Yoshijo's eye twitched violently. After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, "Are you the butterfly my father turned into?"

"That's right. My name is Qiu. Lord Yoshijo, I look forward to working with you."

At that moment, Shiraishi Yoshijo felt as though time had gone out of joint.

He kept reminding himself that his father was dead, but he couldn't stop staring at the butterfly called Qiu.

Shiraishi Eishuu. That was his father's name. So this butterfly was called Qiu?

For the first time, Shiraishi Yoshijo understood why his clansmen were all so obsessed with butterflies.

After offering a stiff greeting, Shiraishi Yoshijo fell silent.

Shiraishi Eizawa understood how he felt and didn't let the awkwardness linger.

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

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

Shiraishi Yoshijo had read about it many times in the clan's records, and he knew exactly why they were taking him there.

In short, he was going to raise his own summoning butterflies there.

It was a troublesome process, and it would take a great deal of time.

With a poof, the Summoning Technique was released. Then Shiraishi Yoshijo felt the world spin around him. By the time he came to, he was already in Butterfly Habitat Valley.

It was his first time here, and Shiraishi Yoshijo looked around curiously.

He stood on a plaza, with tier upon tier of steps directly ahead.

The steps led to a magnificent palace. Neatly arranged wooden houses surrounded the plaza, and every so often he caught sight of people moving about.

This place was practically a human village. It had just about everything one could find in the human world.

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

Mei. What an unusual name.

"Who is Lady Mei?"

"I don't know. There are no records about her in the clan, either. She's an ancient and highly revered being."

Could she be something like an immortal?

Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't help letting his imagination run wild. Over the past two years, studying the clan's records had repeatedly expanded his understanding of the Shide Clan, making him wonder more than once if he'd been reading a fake Naruto.

They had their own summoning ground, the Butterfly Seed had amazing abilities, there were hundreds of varieties of summoning butterflies, and now there was a being who might be an immortal. Wasn't that all perfectly reasonable?

In any case, this clan—which hadn't appeared in the story—was shrouded in mystery. It seemed there was some secret hidden behind all these things that made sense.

As they walked up the steps, Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't resist asking, "Can you learn Senjutsu here?"

"Senjutsu?" Shiraishi Eizawa gave him a strange look. "Where did you hear about Senjutsu?"

"I read about it in a book."

There was no way to answer that question. It was impossible to explain, so Shiraishi Yoshijo made something up. He couldn't exactly say he could predict the future.

"I've read the books you have. Can you tell me which one mentioned Senjutsu?"

Caught in his lie, Shiraishi Yoshijo panicked and hurriedly said, "I forget which one. I just saw it in a book."

There was no way to explain, so he decided to deny everything.

Fortunately, Shiraishi Eizawa didn't seem intent on pressing him. Instead, he began to explain.

"Senjutsu is a Ninjutsu unique to the First. The clans of Konoha all have records of it, but only the Senju Clan might know what Senjutsu actually is. Our clan has no such legacy."

Well, it seemed he really couldn't learn Senjutsu here.

That made sense, though. Senjutsu was a rare inheritance. In all of Naruto, it could only be found in the Three Great Sage Regions. As for Jugo, he was probably an exceptional case.

After they entered the palace, a silver-haired woman appeared before them, fast asleep.

To be honest, even by Shiraishi Yoshijo's standards of beauty, this silver-haired woman was the kind who could bring a nation to ruin.

Just one look at her made his heart race. He quickly looked away, turning his gaze to either side.

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

Shiraishi Yoshijo mused that the clan's entire collection of records was probably here.

The sound of footsteps seemed to wake her. The silver-haired woman—Lady Mei—opened her eyes, and her clear, melodious voice echoed through the hall.

"Eizawa, it's been a long time since you last came here. Is this little brat the last descendant of your clan?"

As she spoke, Lady Mei fixed her gaze on Shiraishi Yoshijo.

Her stare made Shiraishi Yoshijo uneasy, and he hurriedly ducked behind Shiraishi Eizawa.

Good grief. Shiraishi Yoshijo was startled. Since coming to this world, he'd never once shown fear in front of anyone.

But under this woman's gaze, for a moment he felt as though she could see right through him.

It was like running around naked in a snowstorm, with the chill pouring out of him uncontrollably.

"What? He really is just a kid. He even got shy. Is he going to be all right?"

Lady Mei yawned, apparently losing interest in Shiraishi Yoshijo.

"He'll be fine. Konoha is peaceful. As long as he grows up safe and sound, the Shide Clan will surely regain its former glory."

"Peaceful? How boring. All right, let him choose for himself."

Lady Mei tossed out a scroll, then closed her eyes to rest.

Shiraishi Yoshijo opened the scroll. It listed every kind of summoning butterfly in the clan, and his task was to choose a few of the hundreds of varieties to raise.

The lessons he'd studied over the past two years hadn't been for nothing. He'd already decided what kinds of summoning butterflies he wanted to raise.

"Multi-Eye Butterfly, Explosion Butterfly, Seven-Colored Butterfly, Gluttony Butterfly, and Thunder Butterfly, Water Butterfly, Spirit-Peering Butterfly..."

One name after another came out of his mouth.

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

"Why?"

He'd barely gotten started. Shiraishi Yoshijo had only named half of them, but Shiraishi Eizawa gave him a powerful reason he couldn't argue with.

"We don't have the money."

Yes, raising butterflies was not only troublesome and time-consuming, but extremely expensive.

Take the Gluttony Butterfly he'd just mentioned, for example. The more it ate, the faster it grew.

Once it reached a certain size, it could carry people in flight. Shiraishi Yoshijo had chosen it precisely for its ability to fly.

The problem was that the Gluttony Butterfly ate meat, and feeding one cost at least a million ryō a year. That was the bare minimum. Even worse, it lived for only three years.

So if Shiraishi Yoshijo wanted to keep the ability to fly, he couldn't raise just one. That meant the cost would multiply several times over.

Money. Shiraishi Yoshijo had only pocket money, and it was barely enough to buy him one barbecue meal.

With that in mind, he said decisively, "Then I'll take the Multi-Eye Butterfly, Explosion Butterfly, and Gluttony Butterfly."

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

Shiraishi Yoshijo stared at him in disbelief. "Your family can't even afford that? And you still have the nerve to boast about being Konoha's strongest ninja clan?"

Lady Mei spoke up. "The Explosion Butterfly is a self-destructing butterfly. The more Chakra it absorbs, the more powerful its explosion. With the amount of Chakra you have, you'd be better off buying explosive tags."

"The Gluttony Butterfly is one of the most expensive kinds. Given your family's finances, you probably can't afford to raise even one."

Shiraishi Eizawa said mournfully, "We're Konoha's strongest, poorest, and most hardworking clan."

So they worked hard because they were poor? Shiraishi Yoshijo had fallen right into the trap, and now he was utterly despairing.