Summoning Beasts

Hui arrived at the training ground and looked around at the wide-open space. She unrolled the scroll and scanned its contents. Although Orochimaru didn't plan to teach her himself, the instructions in the scroll were very detailed.

Hui first familiarized herself with the steps, then released her chakra. But at the beginning, she couldn't control it and failed.

The summoning array on the ground vanished. Hui tried several more times without much success, then kept at it. She finally managed to summon something, but only a few small snakes.

Hui suddenly remembered that Orochimaru had a technique for summoning many snakes. Following the feel of that forbidden technique, she tried summoning again. In an instant, countless little snakes appeared around her, crawling densely across the ground.

Hui jumped in fright. The snakes slithering across the ground made her scalp tingle. As expected, the Summoning Technique brought forth a huge number of snakes.

She released the summoning and sent them all back, then could only begin practicing the most basic summoning technique.

Several of her fingers had been bitten, and all she could summon was a snake a little taller than she was. Worse, the snake bit people.

Hui felt completely overwhelmed. She looked at her fingers with a pang of heartache, but the stinging pain still wouldn't go away.

Helpless, Hui sat down on the ground. She figured she'd probably be looked down on if she couldn't succeed today. As she looked around, she spotted the high mountain in the distance, and an idea flashed through her mind. "Should I copy Naruto and jump off a cliff?"

Hui climbed to her feet and really did decide to go for it. The moment the idea came to her, her heart began pounding with excitement. She bounded toward the mountain and, after a great deal of effort, finally reached the summit.

Looking down at the distant ground, Hui let out a long breath and took a few steps back. Then she sprinted forward at full speed and leaped high into the air at the cliff's edge.

"Ah!!"

Hui jumped off the mountain and plummeted straight down. The fierce wind slapped her face, and the overwhelming sensation of falling wiped away all of Hui Youling's enthusiasm. She really thought she must have a screw loose.

"Whoa!"

Hui couldn't control her expression as the wind stung her face. She hurriedly bit her finger and formed Hand Seals, releasing chakra like mad, but no miracle happened.

"Ah!!!"

Watching the branches rushing toward her, Hui resigned herself to her fate and shielded her body. She landed in the trees, scraping against branches and crashing into them several times before finally reaching the ground after multiple impacts slowed her fall.

Hui landed on her back and felt a sharp pain in her tailbone. At least she'd managed to adjust her position; otherwise, she would have landed face-first. Even so, the rest of her body didn't feel much better.

"Ow..." Hui rubbed her lower back and curled up miserably. Her tailbone felt like it was about to break.

"That's certainly an unusual way to train."

A cool, mocking voice came from behind Hui. She turned around and saw Kimimaro. He looked different somehow, though she couldn't say what had changed.

"Kimimaro?!!" Hui stared at him in surprise. It felt like she hadn't seen him in ages.

"With your abilities, I thought you'd have no trouble learning this Summoning Technique. Yet you used such a foolish method." Kimimaro walked toward Hui, not a hint of emotion in his eyes.

Hui grimaced in discomfort. "I think I can get the hang of it, but something feels strange when I release my chakra."

Green chakra rose over Hui's hands as she began healing her injuries.

"Hui, do you remember how you released chakra when you used Wind Style: Instant Kill?"

Hui furrowed her brow and thought it over. Back then, she had released all her chakra outward. She had felt something similar when using the Summoning Technique.

"Summoning beasts are brought forth by Space-Time Ninjutsu. It's not a wide-area attack. You need to gather the chakra in your palm before releasing it over a wide area." Kimimaro glanced at her. Seeing her bow her head in thought, he knew she understood what he meant.

"Think it over yourself. I'm leaving." Kimimaro stopped talking and turned away. Hui looked up at him, then noticed the Cursed Seal of Earth. So that was what had changed.

A strange feeling suddenly passed through Hui's heart. Orochimaru's Cursed Seal had succeeded after all. She didn't know whether she felt excited or afraid. It was complicated, but after thinking for a while, she decided not to dwell on it.

She should take care of her battered-looking injuries first. Medical Ninjutsu really came in handy at times like this.

She tried the Summoning Technique again, and this time she finally summoned a giant snake. Its cold eyes stared at Hui. She activated Mind's Eye of the Kagura and met its gaze. How could she have forgotten? If these summoning beasts didn't accept the person who summoned them, why would they serve them?

The giant snake opened its jaws and lunged at Hui. Having sensed it in advance, Hui leaped aside and quickly formed Hand Seals. The snake changed direction and snapped at her, while several Wind Blades shot toward it from all around her.

"Hiss!" The Wind Blades struck the giant snake and carved several gashes into the ground, but only left a few wounds on its body. That showed just how thick its skin was. Hui didn't stop moving; with a Body Flicker, she appeared at the giant snake's head and kicked it hard.

The giant snake crashed to the ground, then vanished with a bang. Hui landed on the ground, but she wasn't looking where the snake had disappeared. Her gaze was fixed in another direction. Sure enough, she spotted Orochimaru.

"Teacher Orochimaru."

Orochimaru smiled faintly, still looking somewhat eerie. In his hoarse voice, he said slowly, "Not bad, Hui. You can experiment with more Wind Release Ninjutsu now."

Hui thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Teacher, is it possible to fly by controlling the wind?"

Hearing Hui Youling's question, Orochimaru chuckled mysteriously. "Of course. I once kept a scroll about that technique."

Orochimaru pulled out another scroll from somewhere and tossed it to Hui. She hurriedly raised a hand to catch it.

"Also, you've been experimenting with Drilling Air Bullet. I've found a suitable chakra ratio."

"Drilling Air Bullet?" Hui felt as if she didn't remember that name.

"What, you've forgotten? The technique you could only use once." Orochimaru sneered, his eyes narrowing as he watched Hui.

Hui finally remembered the technique—the one she had first used to make Kimimaro defend himself. "That was called Drilling Air Bullet? There was also a technique from the Demon Wind Clan. What was it called?"

"Fierce Slash. You simplified that technique into several Wind Blades." Orochimaru chuckled, surprised that Hui had such a talent for learning.

"That's right. Ordinary Wind Blades are too weak and easy to dodge. That technique is extremely fast and deals a lot of damage," Hui said honestly.

"Good. For now, learn everything in the scroll. I think the techniques you mentioned today can still be improved." Orochimaru's eyes shone with excitement at the prospect of developing new techniques.

Hui nodded. "Understood. Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."

Orochimaru smiled mysteriously, then turned and left without looking back at Hui.

Hui turned away from Orochimaru and looked down at the scroll in her hands, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. These techniques had suddenly caught her interest too. They had plenty of weaknesses, but their power was undeniable. If she could improve them, they would surely become one of her signature moves.

In less than a week, Hui had finally mastered the chakra ratio for Drilling Air Bullet. Orochimaru had offered suggestions the whole time, and she had made rapid progress. Her wind-controlled flight had improved as well. It had taken her quite a while to master her balance in the air, but with Orochimaru's guidance, she had progressed at an astonishing rate.

After that, Hui Youling followed Orochimaru to a new base on a small island. They traveled there by walking straight across the surface of the water, and Orochimaru simply taught her how to control her chakra.