Uchiha Kou's Life-Bound Spirit Beast

The ship pulled up to the shore, its hull colliding gently with the stone pier to produce a dull thud.

The sailors tossed the mooring lines onto the shore, the ropes tracing an arc through the air before settling accurately over the stone bollards.

A wooden plank was laid against the ship's side, hitting the dock with a muffled "thump."

Mei Terumi stepped onto the plank, her footing steady; her black ninja boots creaked slightly against the slick wood.

She walked off the ship and set foot upon the land of the Land of Whirlpools.

Kou followed closely behind her, the hem of his Black Cloak with Red Clouds fluttering softly in the wind.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he couldn't help but speak up:

"Are you really not considering bringing some food?"

Mei Terumi didn't even turn her head, her emerald eyes scanning the jungle ahead as she retorted in a flat tone:

"Are you really a ninja? If you start a fire to cook, you'll easily draw attention to yourself.

Although this place has been abandoned for a long time, it is, after all, the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools; ninjas from any number of countries might come here.

Trouble like that should be avoided whenever possible."

"Tch, so, how many days are we planning to stay here?"

Kou's voice came from behind, tinged with a hint of probing.

"Three days. If we don't achieve our goal within three days, we leave."

Mei Terumi's voice was firm, a flicker of contemplation passing through her emerald eyes.

Three days was the absolute limit she could conceive of without the Mizukage faction discovering her absence.

She had to finish this journey within three days; she absolutely could not cause trouble for Sora.

That man was single-handedly supporting the Reformist Faction in the Mist Village; if she made a mistake here, all his efforts could go to waste.

Kou looked at the back of Mei Terumi with a helpless expression, sighed, and then picked up his pace to follow.

Mei Terumi began to observe the surrounding environment.

What met her eyes was an endless expanse of jungle.

The trees were tall and dense, their branches and leaves layered thick, with vines hanging down like sleeping snakes.

The air was filled with the dampness of soil and the sour scent of rotting leaves.

Only on the land near the sea could one sporadically see remnants of broken bricks and tiles, proving that people had once lived here.

Those stones had been eroded beyond recognition by wind and rain; their edges were worn smooth, their surfaces covered in moss, and some were so completely blanketed by marine algae that one couldn't distinguish the traces of human labor without a close look.

But even these remnants were on the verge of vanishing under the constant erosion of time.

The Land of Whirlpools, a nation founded by the Uzumaki Clan—even in the current Ninja World, many still remembered its name and its former glory.

The power of the Uzumaki Clan was still whispered about in the Ninja World to this day.

Yet, at this moment, what Mei Terumi felt was merely a dead nation, a lost civilization.

But it hasn't even been fifty years since the fall of this nation...

Mei Terumi whispered to herself in her heart, unable to stop her footsteps.

She looked at the stone foundations entangled by plants, at the places that were once houses and now remained only as vague outlines, and a surge of sorrow rose in her heart.

She knew very well that the Mist Village bore a heavy responsibility for why this place had become what it was.

Mei Terumi's fingers tightened slightly, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"What are you standing there blankly for? Let's go!"

Kou's voice came from ahead, his tone carrying a hint of impatience.

He had already walked past her, his footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves:

"Let's get what needs to be done finished quickly so we can head back early. I don't want to eat Soldier Pills for three days!"

Mei Terumi's consciousness was gradually pulled back.

She looked at Kou, who was already walking ahead, and the expression on her cold, beautiful face shifted from sorrow to helplessness. She snapped at him:

"Hey, don't just wander off, follow me!!"

She quickened her pace to catch up to Kou, unfolding the map in her hands:

"According to the map, there is still a long distance to the ruins at the center.

There is a sacrificial site of the Uzumaki Clan nearby; we can go check that out first."

Kou looked at her in surprise, asking with some confusion:

"A sacrifice? The Uzumaki Clan did things like that?"

Kou leaned in toward Mei Terumi, looking at the altar marked on the map, a spark of curiosity suddenly rising in his heart.

Ten minutes later.

Kou looked at the stretch of jungle ahead, speechless, his black eyes filled with confusion.

He turned his head to look at Mei Terumi beside him, his tone laced with suspicion:

"Hey, is this map of yours actually accurate?"

"It should... be correct, right?"

Mei Terumi glanced at the map with some uncertainty, then looked at the nearly impenetrable forest ahead, muttering softly.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, her emerald-green eyes filled with bewilderment:

"Strange, according to the markings on the map, this place should clearly be a flat plain..."

Kou retorted speechlessly:

"It is a map from a thousand years ago, after all; the roads and such shouldn't have much reference value."

"But..."

Mei Terumi murmured, puzzled, a hint of contemplation flashing through her emerald-green eyes:

"According to the last record of Mist Village coming to the Land of Whirlpools, this place didn't have such a vast forest to begin with.

It's been less than fifty years, how could it have grown so quickly..."

"Hiss—I have a bold theory."

Kou drew a sharp breath, looking at the green jungle before him, and spoke to Mei Terumi with a serious tone:

"Do you think it's possible that when the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, their remains, their blood, and such were absorbed by this land?

Because it absorbed the immense life force of the Uzumaki Clan, that's why it turned into this?"

Mei Terumi: "..."

"...Although it makes sense, it sounds weird somehow."

Kou looked at the strange expression on Mei Terumi's face, a glint of mischief flashing in his black eyes.

He tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into an eerie arc, his voice intentionally lowered:

"Ho ho, who knows, maybe there are even spirits here formed by the countless grievances left after the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed?"

His voice grew lower and lower, as if he were telling an ancient, sealed secret:

"Perhaps... those squads from your Mist Village were finished off by the restless souls of the dead Uzumaki Clan?"

Mei Terumi: (ᗒᗩᗕ)՞

Her feet moved back a small step involuntarily, her calves trembling slightly.

Her cold, beautiful face wore a rare look of panic:

"Stop! Don't say another word!!!"

Kou watched Mei Terumi's trembling calves, his black eyes filled with amusement.

He let out a loud laugh, explaining with a smile:

"Well, I'm joking, I'm joking. Of course, spirits of the Uzumaki Clan couldn't possibly exist."

He added silently in his heart:

"After all, if spirits really existed, those two guys, Uchiha Chu and Kamui Nantsanglei, would have long since been dragged into the Pure Land by the spirits of the Uchiha Clan."

A moment later, Mei Terumi recovered.

Her cheeks still held a lingering flush, and her emerald-green eyes were filled with resentment as she stared fixedly at Kou.

Kou coughed awkwardly, his expression instantly switching to one of "serious work":

"Alright, alright, let's end this childish chatter here."

"Don't waste time on such trivial things; let's get moving as soon as possible!"

"Hmph!"

Mei Terumi frowned and snorted coldly, her cold, beautiful face full of disdain and dissatisfaction.

But she still refocused her attention on the mission, her emerald-green eyes scanning the jungle ahead:

"However, with the density of this forest, if we rush in blindly, it will be very easy to lose our way and fail to recognize the paths on the map."

She said helplessly, sighing, clearly finding this a major headache.

Kou nodded in agreement, a glimmer of thought flashing in his black eyes.

"I see."

"The Byakugan, with its x-ray vision and extreme long-range sight, really does have a huge advantage in an environment like this."

"No wonder Ao and Mei Terumi were able to successfully find that ruin in the original timeline..."

He murmured in his heart, the light in his eyes deepening:

"But... could it be that Konoha never sent ninjas from the Hyuga Clan to investigate this place?"

This question rose in Kou's mind, but facing the current situation, he temporarily suppressed it, then turned his head to look at Mei Terumi and asked:

"Is there anything iconic near the altar shown on the map?"

"Preferably something with a distinct scent or the like."

"A scent?"

Mei Terumi lowered her head to look at the map in her hands, her emerald eyes scanning the lines and markings with rapid precision.

Her finger stopped at a corner of the map, and her eyes lit up:

"There seems to be a grove of osmanthus trees near that altar.

It's the blooming season right now; if that grove is still there, it should match the distinct scent you just mentioned."

She looked up, her emerald eyes filled with a hint of probing and a touch of anticipation:

"Since you're asking this, does that mean... you have a way?"

Listening to Mei Terumi, a confident smile appeared on Uchiha Kou's handsome face:

"I don't have a way—"

He paused, a flash of cunning light crossing his black eyes:

"But my friend does."

"A friend?"

Mei Terumi's brows furrowed slightly, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.

Uchiha Kou did not answer; he simply raised his hand, bit his right thumb, pressed his hand to the ground, and shouted in a low voice:

"Summoning Jutsu!!"

A burst of white smoke exploded outward, thick and dense, like a cloud rising from the ground.

The smoke churned and spread through the air, completely shrouding the area in front of Uchiha Kou.

Mei Terumi held her breath, her emerald eyes fixed intently on the dark shadow within the smoke.

Uchiha Kou's summoning beast... it must be someone very powerful.

She murmured to herself, the light in her eyes becoming serious.

A giant ninja hound? A ferocious bird of prey? Or perhaps even a toad from the legendary Mount Myoboku?

What on earth could it be...

Mei Terumi watched the dissipating smoke with intense curiosity.

The smoke slowly cleared, and emerging from it was a small, pitch-black cat.

It was not large, perhaps even petite, its fur as black as ink, shimmering with a satin-like luster under the sunlight.

Its eyes were golden, the pupils slightly constricted, carrying a laziness etched into its very bones.

All of Mei Terumi's expectations shattered in that instant.

"Uchiha Kou, you bastard, why did you summon this cat right now!!"

The black cat spoke, its voice not a "meow," but a super-distinctive, gravelly bubble voice.

"I was just voice-chatting with a super-duper gorgeous tabby cat girl! I was about to land a date!!

Now look, it's all ruined! It's all your fault, you jerk!!

Do you have any idea how sweet that little kitten was?! How are you going to compensate me?!!

You better have a damn good reason for this, you wretch! Otherwise, I'm not done with you!!"

Before Mei Terumi's eyes, everything went dark.

"This is... a summoning beast?"

She looked at the black cat before her, her emerald eyes filled with bewilderment:

"Is this... the end of my life?"