Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction:
"Orochimaru is right.
Since your Ninja Academy teachers only taught you knowledge and not techniques, I'll demonstrate it for you today."
He rose to his feet and walked to the center of the clearing.
"Watch carefully."
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised both hands and began forming hand seals.
His movements were unhurried, and he paused briefly at each seal to ensure the three students could see clearly.
"Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram—"
As the final seal fell into place, he bit his right thumb, drawing blood.
Hiruzen Sarutobi bent down and pressed his bloody palm to the ground, chakra surging into it.
"Summoning Technique!"
A massive black formula abruptly appeared on the ground and spread outward.
White smoke burst forth, and an enormous figure appeared out of thin air.
As the smoke cleared, a white ape wearing a brown vest crouched on the ground, leaning on an iron staff.
He blinked, looked around, and finally turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen?"
Enma's voice carried a hint of confusion. "What is it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled apologetically:
"Sorry, Enma. I disturbed you.
I'm explaining the Summoning Technique to the children and needed a demonstration, so I called you out to make an appearance."
Enma followed his gaze toward the three youngsters—a blonde girl, a black-haired boy, and a white-haired brat staring wide-eyed at him.
He snorted.
"That's all?"
Enma stood and shook out his fur. "Fine. If there's nothing else, I'm going back."
"Mm. Thanks for your trouble."
The moment he finished speaking, Enma's figure turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
Silence returned to the streamside.
Tsunade and Orochimaru watched the gradually dispersing white smoke, their eyes gleaming with thought.
They had only read descriptions of the Summoning Technique in textbooks before. Now that they