Summoning Jutsu

So how could he completely avoid getting caught up in the Night of the Uchiha Massacre and ensure his own safety?

Actually, the answer was incredibly simple. In this ninja world, there had always been an inescapable escape technique—Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Aside from the Six Paths—who had sealed Kaguya with the Planetary Devastation technique—there were almost no means of stopping a ninja who had mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu from escaping.

As long as Ito Makoto mastered a Space-Time Ninjutsu technique, he could take his mother and leave Konoha at any time. No one would be able to find out which way they had gone or how far they had escaped.

In the world of Naruto, Space-Time Ninjutsu came in all strengths, from the Flying Thunder God, which could turn the tide of a battlefield, to the Heavenly Transfer Technique, which could only transport objects. They were usually extremely difficult to learn. But as it happened, there was a Space-Time Ninjutsu technique that wasn't hard to learn. It was only C-rank, and even Might Guy and the freshly graduated Naruto Uzumaki could use it. It was also widely taught, not some secret technique; even minor ninja knew it. It was—Summoning Jutsu.

To be honest, Summoning Jutsu was practically the perfect escape technique. You only needed to sign a contract with a Summoning Beast, then use Reverse Summoning Jutsu to teleport to its location and escape danger. Take the Uchiha Clan Massacre, for example. If everyone had prepared in advance and had their own Summoning Beast, the whole clan could have fled Konoha in an instant, then gone into hiding under new identities. How could there have been a massacre?

Unfortunately, it seemed the Uchiha Clan had a screw loose. They would rather be wiped out than prepare a means of escape like this. The only Uchiha to use this method was Uchiha Sasuke.

In the original story, Sasuke had used Reverse Summoning Jutsu to escape Deidara's self-destruction, turning the ultimate art Deidara had traded his life for into a joke. He had lost Manda, but saving his own life was a win no matter how you looked at it.

Therefore, as long as Ito Makoto learned Summoning Jutsu, he could sit back and watch Konoha's fortunes change, without worrying that the Uchiha Clan Massacre would affect him.

However, even though Summoning Jutsu was widely known and many ninja could use it, Ito Makoto couldn't. His mother, Ito Mika, was a medical ninja and didn't know the technique either. Finding a way to learn it was his only real obstacle.

Fortunately, his mother's network of connections didn't let him down. Apparently, one of her former patients knew Summoning Jutsu and was willing to teach it to others.

He was a very kind person, but he often got injured during training and regularly went to the hospital for treatment. Over time, he had received a lot of help from Ito Mika and wanted to repay her.

Though he had been prepared for it, when Ito Makoto saw Might Guy's familiar bowl cut, thick eyebrows, tight green jumpsuit, and dazzling smile, the corner of his mouth still twitched.

I can't take this. Doesn't he find this embarrassing?

"Boy, I've come to teach you a new jutsu, as promised in our contract of youth! Are you ready? Are you prepared to begin a new, passionate training regimen?"

Might Guy stood in the doorway, giving him a thumbs-up and making his enthusiastic declaration.

Ito Makoto couldn't help covering his face. I can't take this. It's fine in an anime, but in real life, it's too painful to look at.

"Hey, hey, boy! How can you keep your head down when you're young? Look up!" Might Guy remained confident and full of enthusiasm.

"Let's hold our heads high and race toward the rising sun in the name of youth!"

With that, Might Guy took off running eastward, brimming with passion and without a care in the world.

Damn it, wait for me! You came to teach me a jutsu, but you're not even bringing your student along. What are you here for?

Ito Makoto had no time to think and hurried after him.

They arrived at an open space on the outskirts of the city, near the edge of the village. Some concrete pipes were piled there, probably leftover building materials. The area wasn't large, but it was more than enough for everyday training. Clearly, Might Guy had done his homework.

Ito Makoto had run himself ragged on the way there. He couldn't keep up with Might Guy's stamina, but once he used the Body Flicker Technique to leap across the rooftops, he finally caught up with the man, who was only jogging.

"Boy, you've got excellent stamina! Have you considered joining my Youth Training Program?" Might Guy beamed as he made the offer.

Training with Might Guy? Ito Makoto was instantly tempted. Guy might not be reliable, but his Taijutsu skills were beyond question. And with the Rinnegan, Ito Makoto's weak point was Taijutsu. If he could learn the Eight Inner Gates from Might Guy, he could shore up one of his weaknesses.

"Can I do it without wearing a green jumpsuit?" Ito Makoto asked timidly.

"Absolutely not! The jumpsuit is essential equipment for youth training."

"Then I'll think about it." Ito Makoto backed down. Though he wanted to learn the Eight Inner Gates and become stronger, he still didn't want passersby to mistake him for a pervert.

"Shouldn't we be learning Summoning Jutsu?"

"Right!"

Might Guy clenched his left fist and smacked it into his right palm, suddenly realizing what he had forgotten. "We're here to learn Summoning Jutsu. No wonder I felt like I'd forgotten something."

Ito Makoto could only watch helplessly as the man acted the fool.

"Summoning Jutsu is a Space-Time Ninjutsu that allows the user to summon a Summoning Beast after signing a blood contract with it." Might Guy finally began teaching the technique in earnest. "And the first step in learning Summoning Jutsu is to sign a contract with a Summoning Beast."

With that, Might Guy took out a scroll and unrolled it,

He bit his right thumb, formed the Hand Seals—亥, 戌, 酉, 申, 未—and slapped his right hand onto the scroll. A jutsu formula resembling a spiderweb appeared across it.

Bang—

A thick cloud of smoke billowed out.

But nothing happened.

"Sorry, sorry." Might Guy stood up and gave an awkward laugh. "I only learned Summoning Jutsu recently, so I'm still not very good at using it."

Ito Makoto sighed. As expected, Guy was still Guy. He was only seventeen, and in every respect, he was still a long way from the man he would become. The fact that he could use Summoning Jutsu at all was impressive enough.

Might Guy pulled himself together and repeated the same sequence of Hand Seals, then slapped his hand onto the scroll again.

Bang—

A thick cloud of smoke billowed out.

A figure appeared.

It was a gigantic tortoise, red from head to toe, with a shell more than a meter in diameter. A Konoha Forehead Protector hung around its neck.

Standing beside the tortoise, Might Guy pointed at it with his thumb.

"This is my partner, Ningame. Once you sign a contract with him, you can start learning Summoning Jutsu just like me."

"Pleased to meet you." The red tortoise seemed very polite. It could even speak, which clearly marked it as an excellent Ninja Beast.

"What do you think? Impressive, right? You won't find many tortoises this big in all of Konoha. And being able to talk is a sign of an advanced Ninja Beast." Might Guy took out a Contract Scroll. Only his name was written on it. "If you want to sign the contract, all you have to do is press your handprint onto this scroll."

Clearly, this Contract Scroll was different from Mount Myoboku's. Mount Myoboku already had many contractors, while Might Guy was the first to sign this one.

Looking at the enormous tortoise, Ito Makoto was in a bind. He wanted to learn Summoning Jutsu to avoid the Night of the Uchiha Massacre. That meant his Summoning Beast had to be fast, so it could get him far away in a short time and keep him safe. This tortoise, though it could talk and was obviously an advanced Ninja Beast, didn't meet his needs at all.

Also, he couldn't sign the contract in front of ordinary people right now. Ito Makoto still remembered that he had a pair of Rinnegan. Summoning Beasts contracted by someone with the Rinnegan had their eyes transformed into Rinnegan.

If he signed a contract with this giant tortoise, and the Rinnegan affected its eyes, turning them purple and making them look like Rinnegan, wouldn't that expose his own Rinnegan?

So, even though it might hurt Might Guy's feelings, Ito Makoto had no choice but to refuse the offer.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Guy, but I'm afraid I can't sign a contract with Senior Tortoise," Ito Makoto said apologetically. "I'd rather sign a contract with a fast-moving Summoning Beast that can act as my eyes and ears for reconnaissance, making up for my shortcomings in my future career as a ninja. Senior Ningame can't meet my needs in that regard."