Animal Path

The deal was done. Mika paid, and the vendor handed her the Golden Eagle, its feet and wings bound tightly together. She held it upside down by its feet.

When he learned it was meant to become a Summoning Beast, the vendor even gave them a Contract Scroll for binding Ninja Beasts.

But Ito Makoto didn't dare use a Contract Scroll that had been given away for free. What if it was fake? The Golden Eagle might escape the moment it was summoned.

So he tossed the free scroll and went out of his way to buy a Contract Scroll from a scroll shop.

The three of them returned home. Mika set the Golden Eagle down, and Ito Makoto prepared to perform the contract.

Sakura was even more excited than Ito Makoto. She circled the Golden Eagle, stroking its wings and feathers again and again, clearly enamored with it.

Children were naturally fond of little animals.

With the Contract Scroll, most of the preparations for binding a Summoning Beast were complete. All that remained was to drip the blood of both the Golden Eagle and Ito Makoto onto the scroll, and the contract would be sealed.

Ito Makoto fetched a kunai and a small basin.

Mika found it amusing.

"Xiao Cheng, what do you need the basin for? You only need to make a tiny cut for the contract. There's no need for that much blood."

"To avoid wasting any," Ito Makoto said solemnly.

Whether in his previous life or this one, this was his first time cutting something to make it bleed. Modern people no longer slaughtered animals themselves, and he'd never even killed a chicken. Naturally, he was nervous about using a blade for the first time.

First, he lifted the Golden Eagle by its legs. When it saw the glint of the kunai, it struggled frantically. Fortunately, the vendor had tied it securely, and Ito Makoto had enough arm strength to hold it by the legs.

Not wanting to hurt the Golden Eagle too badly, Ito Makoto made a tiny cut on its leg with the kunai and squeezed out some blood.

The drops pattered into the basin.

"Mom, hurry! The blood's coming out. Time to heal it!"

Mika gave him an exasperated look. It was only a shallow scrape on the surface. What was there to make such a fuss about?

"Enough. It's already healing. What's there to treat?"

Ito Makoto relaxed, dipped his finger into the blood in the basin, and pressed it onto the Contract Scroll. The writing on the scroll began to glow blue-white.

Next came his own blood.

Ito Makoto placed the kunai against his finger and steeled himself before lightly poking it. He didn't even break the skin.

Sigh. With a personality like this, I'm definitely no protagonist. Just look at the other Transmigrators. They all turn into iron-blooded warriors after crossing over, hacking and chopping without even batting an eye. They'll lose all four limbs or have their internal organs smashed to pieces and still won't cry out in pain.

And here I am, such a wimp that I can't even make a small cut without making a fuss.

He tried again. The kunai lightly nicked his fingertip, and blood welled up. He hurriedly pressed his finger to the scroll, then raised his hand and shouted,

"Mom, quick! Disinfect it with alcohol!"

"Enough. It's already healed. Why disinfect it?" Mika shook her head. What a silly boy.

"Hurry up and channel chakra into it to seal the contract. If you wait too long, all that blood will have gone to waste."

At her words, Ito Makoto quickly lowered his hand and pressed it against the Contract Scroll, steadily channeling chakra into it.

The blue-white glow on the scroll grew brighter and brighter. As he continued to pour chakra into it, the light reached a certain intensity, then faded away without a trace.

"That seals the contract. If someone else wants to make a contract later, they won't need to channel chakra. They'll only need to drip their blood onto it," Mika said. She rolled up the Contract Scroll and placed it in Ito Makoto's hands.

"Keep this scroll safe. If it's destroyed, the contract will cease to exist."

Ito Makoto nodded. He hadn't learned about this weakness of the Summoning Technique until after he had studied Summoning Jutsu.

"Even though the contract's sealed, from what I know of the Summoning Technique, a contractor still can't force a Summoning Beast to obey, right?"

Mika had been a ninja herself, so she had naturally seen plenty of Summoning Beasts. It was common for them to refuse their masters' orders.

"Exactly," Ito Makoto said with a nod. "For now, I can only summon it with Summoning Jutsu. I'll still need to train it and build a bond with it."

"In that case, don't send the Golden Eagle away. I'll buy some chicken, and you can spend the next few days with it. Try to build a bond. I've heard of a technique called Eagle Taming, used to train eagles to obey. If nothing else works, you can try that." Mika said.

"I'll help, too," Sakura said.

But the Golden Eagle was exceptionally stubborn. Even when Ito Makoto tried to tempt it with food, it refused to cooperate.

That evening, after a full day of trying, Ito Makoto still hadn't managed to train it. The Golden Eagle was incredibly stubborn. The moment he loosened its bindings even slightly, it attacked the people around it. No wonder the vendor had been willing to sell it for half price. The bird had probably given him a terrible time.

After taking the Golden Eagle back to his room, Ito Makoto opened his eyes. Purple patterns appeared in them.

After signing the contract and mastering Summoning Jutsu, Ito Makoto realized that the power in his eyes was gradually awakening. He knew it was one of the Six Paths abilities of the Rinnegan—the Animal Path.

It seemed that mastering Summoning Jutsu had triggered the awakening of the Rinnegan's Animal Path.

Until now, Ito Makoto had kept his abilities hidden, training the Golden Eagle using ordinary methods. But he'd made very little progress. Now that there was no one else around, he could try out his new ability.

Surging chakra gathered inside his body. Under the influence of the Rinnegan, the vast chakra underwent a unique transformation in nature.

The originally pale blue chakra gradually turned purple and, at Ito Makoto's thought, flowed into his palm.

He reached toward the Golden Eagle. Purple light cast its feathers in a violet hue.

As if it sensed what was about to happen, the Golden Eagle struggled frantically, but it was useless.

His palm touched the Golden Eagle's forehead. Purple chakra rushed into its body, enveloping it and forming a giant purple cocoon.

As the chakra flowed, Ito Makoto could feel his eyes gradually connecting with a soul.

A moment later, the purple cocoon shattered, and the Golden Eagle emerged.

It looked almost exactly as it had before. Only its eyes had changed, now marked with the same purple patterns as Ito Makoto's.

They were the markings of the Rinnegan.

At that moment, Ito Makoto suddenly became aware of a new perspective within his consciousness.

From this perspective, he was very low to the ground, and his own body appeared in view—but it was seen from below.

It was as if he had gained another pair of eyes.

Ito Makoto knew this was the Golden Eagle's point of view. After activating the Animal Path ability, he could share its vision.

Furthermore, through his connection with the Rinnegan, Ito Makoto realized that he could directly control the Golden Eagle's body and make it perform whatever movements he wanted, like a remote-controlled robot.

Whatever he wanted, the Golden Eagle would do. If he wanted to look east, the bird would turn its head east. If he wanted to look west, it would turn west.