"Summoning beasts? I thought you'd always looked down on that sort of thing," Ebizo said in response to Keiko's question.
"Looked down on it? Why would I?"
"When you were a Jonin, didn't you always control Iron Constructs and Shukaku in battle? I thought you..."
"Come on, it wasn't that I looked down on them. You know I came from an orphanage. The village paid for my schooling, and before my Jonin instructor Doxi Da could teach me summoning techniques, he died in the line of duty. After that, I became the Second's guard..."
"Mm, I knew that. The Second truly rarely used summoning beasts. So you genuinely didn't know how? Hehe." Ebizo found it amusing.
"I really don't know how." Keiko spread his hands.
"It's fine if you don't. We can learn it now. Let me first tell you about Sunagakure's major summoning beast clans."
"I'm all ears."
"There's no need to introduce the smaller clans. I doubt you'd choose them anyway. Sunagakure has three major summoning beast clans: the Yellow Weasel Clan of Ken'en Mound, the Lizard Clan of Komodo Island, and the Scorpion Clan of Poison Enemy Mountain."
"Ken'en Mound? Isn't it Weasel Mound?" Keiko had barely finished voicing his confusion when he received a light smack on the head.
"You deserve that. That's an insulting name outsiders use for the Yellow Weasel Clan. How can we call them that ourselves?"
"Oh, I see. Then I did deserve it. Which clan do your summoning beasts belong to?"
"My sister and I are both skilled with poison, so our summoning beasts are from the Scorpion Clan of Poison Enemy Mountain."
"Then which clan do you think I should choose as my contracted summoning beasts?"
"That depends on what you need them for. Each of the three clans specializes in different things."
"I have two purposes. First, learning Sage Jutsu. Second, defending against genjutsu."
"In that case, you'd be best off choosing the Yellow Weasel Clan. The Lizard Clan focuses on stealth and reconnaissance, while the Scorpion Clan focuses on poison and assassination. The Yellow Weasel Clan is the one truly proficient in Sage Jutsu and genjutsu. Incidentally, my brother-in-law's summoning beasts are Yellow Weasels as well."
"Lord Reto's summoning beasts are Yellow Weasels too?"
"That's right!"
"Then where is the Yellow Weasel Clan's contract scroll?"
"It should be with my nephew."
"Akasuna Guimu?"
"That's right!"
"Lord Kazekage, it's not impossible for you to contract with the Yellow Weasel Clan, but there is a ritual that differs from those of other summoning beasts. I must make it clear to you first." Akasuna Guimu spoke patiently to Keiko.
"Oh? Go on."
"Everyone making a contract must, upon their first summoning, reverse summon a live chicken to Ken'en Mound. Only after offering chicken blood to the Yellow Immortal there and receiving the Yellow Immortal's approval will the contract be officially established."
"Oh, is that so? Do you have a live chicken in your residence?"
"Uh, yes, but Lord Kazekage, there's no need to be in such a hurry, is there?"
"Sigh, this kind of thing shouldn't be delayed. The longer it drags on, the more uneasy I feel. Sasori—ah, my good godson, go! Catch one of your family's chickens for me." Keiko cut his finger and wrote his name on the scroll. Just then, he caught sight of Sasori flashing past the doorway and immediately called him over to catch a chicken.
Sasori was at the age when he was mischievous and troublesome. The moment he heard his godfather's words, his little eyes spun as a wicked idea came to him. He immediately ran to the coop and grabbed the crowing rooster that woke him from bed every morning.
"Godfather, here." Sasori of the Red Sands stuffed the chicken into Keiko's hands as though presenting a treasure.
"Are you messing around? Isn't this the rooster that crows at dawn? Go get another one."
"Forget it, this one will do. Send Pakura the receipt later and get reimbursed. Charge it to office expenses." Keiko smiled at Guimu.
"Reverse Summoning Technique." With a poof, Keiko vanished in a cloud of white smoke before Sasori of the Red Sands.
"Ancestor, have some of mine."
"Ancestor, have some of mine."
"Ancestor, eat this one."
In the brightly lit hall, a grand banquet seemed to be underway. Countless tables stretched as far as the eye could see, each bearing a large longevity character. It appeared to be the birthday feast of some highly respected elder, and the air was thick with the aromas of wine and meat.
Yet the atmosphere was far from peaceful. At that moment, every guest's gaze was fixed upon the two seats of honor at the head table.
A fat, yellow-bearded old man dressed in birthday robes hugged his knees and sat sideways in a grand chair, sulking. He huffed and glared like a child denied his favorite toy, his lips pouting high. The people around him, who seemed to be his many children, held various things as they tried to persuade him to eat.
Looking closely, what they held were all kinds of—chicken. Roast chicken, stewed chicken, boiled chicken, braised chicken, fried chicken, stir-fried chicken, shredded chicken, pan-fried chicken, curry chicken, poached chicken, gourd chicken, beggar's chicken, salt-baked chicken, three-yellow chicken, and even chicken sashimi—a raw chicken!
Each one gave off an enticing fragrance that made mouths water. Yet the fat old man remained extraordinarily stubborn, shaking his head like a rattle drum and muttering over and over, "Take it away. Not eating."
"Hey, you old fool! The children put so much effort into preparing this ten-thousand-chicken feast for your three-thousandth birthday because they wanted to honor you. You should have said something earlier! Insisting on drinking the blood of a dawn-crowing rooster at a time like this—aren't you just making things difficult for everyone? I say pick one you like and eat it. Don't put the children in such a spot!"
An old woman dressed like an elderly matron tried to persuade him. But the fat old man still refused to budge, continuing to mutter, "Take it away. Not eating."
Just as everyone was at their wits' end, a poof sounded amid a cloud of white smoke, and a blue-haired young man appeared before them. It was none other than Keiko.
He was holding Akasuna Guimu's dawn-crowing rooster.
The chicken had been sleeping soundly in its coop when its young master suddenly dragged it out. Before it could understand what was happening, Keiko had brought it to this brilliantly lit hall. The lights were as bright as day, so the chicken thought dawn had arrived. Thus, right before everyone's eyes, it began to crow!
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" After three cries, the entire hall fell silent. Every gaze locked onto the rooster in Keiko's hand.
"Hahahaha! My wish has been fulfilled! My wish has been fulfilled!" The yellow-bearded old man squatting on the chair clapped his hands delightedly. His mouth split wide, his eyes bulged round, and drool dripped from the corners of his lips as he muttered, "Give it to me. Give it to me."
Not understanding the situation, Keiko obediently handed over the chicken. The old man snatched it away, clamping its wings tightly with his left hand while swiftly plucking the feathers from its neck with his right. In no time, he had stripped the neck bare.
A vicious gleam flashed through the fat old man's eyes as he bit down on the chicken's neck. It all happened so fast that before the chicken could even cry twice, all it could do was kick its legs.
As the fat old man sucked down the chicken blood, his appearance began to change. His hands turned into claws, his ears gradually grew larger, and a great tail burst from behind him! In an instant, he transformed into a massive yellow-bearded, white-furred weasel!
"Refreshing! Refreshing! Refreshing!" The yellow-bearded, white-furred weasel domineeringly tossed aside the dawn-crowing rooster whose blood he had drained, then shouted three times in satisfaction. He pointed at Keiko with one claw.
"Good lad! Well done. From today onward, you may tell those outside that you are the godson of me, the Yellow Immortal." The crowd could not help letting out a chorus of startled cries upon hearing the white-furred weasel's words!
"Ah?!" Keiko was even more bewildered.
Before you continue