Hope of Going Home

"Summoning Technique!"

Poof!

As the white smoke cleared, a translucent blue slug about as thick as an adult's arm appeared on a rock in the training ground.

It slowly raised its front end, and a soft voice sounded directly in Tianyi's mind:

"Little Tianyi, what did you summon me for?"

Tianyi bowed slightly. "Lady Katsuyu, sorry to disturb you.

"I've been practicing a space-time ninjutsu recently, but I've hit a bottleneck.

"I was hoping you could use the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon me to Shikkotsu Forest.

"I'd like to experience the entire process of traveling through space firsthand.

"It would help me a great deal. Sorry for the trouble."

"I see." There was a gentle smile in Katsuyu's voice.

"Using the spatial principles of a summoning contract to deepen your understanding—few ninja would think to do that.

"It's no trouble. I'd be happy to help.

"Now, please get ready—"

As Katsuyu finished speaking, a soft milky-white glow spread across her body.

Then, with a quiet poof, she vanished into white smoke and returned to the Summoning Realm.

Silence settled over the training ground again. Tianyi stood still and steadied his breathing.

He sharpened his Byakugan and Magnet Release Sensory to their limits, concentrating as he waited for the Reverse Summoning Technique.

A moment later—

Poof!

Without warning, a gentle yet irresistible force surged from within Tianyi's body.

More precisely, it came from the mark on his soul that bound him to Shikkotsu Forest!

He felt the point in space he occupied

gently seized by something beyond his understanding and pulled toward a fixed destination.

For an instant, he felt himself separate from everything around him—his connection to the Leaf Village's soil, air, and ambient chakra blurred.

Then came weightlessness and streaks of light. There was no sense of direction,