While trouble brewed at the foot of the mountains, Xue Ge made his way through their mist-shrouded heights. There were no paths, so he could only stick to places where the vegetation was thinner.
Honestly, Madara's request that he find a Ninja Beast had come far too suddenly.
He had never thought about Ninja Beasts before, so naturally, he had no idea what kind he wanted. Fortunately, Xue Ge was adaptable. Over the past two days, he had narrowed down his requirements: fast, aggressive, and possessed of a killing aura.
Speed would let the Ninja Beast fight alongside him, while aggression suited Xue Ge's own style-his future development would have virtually nothing to do with defense.
As for the killing aura, honestly, Xue Ge didn't expect a Ninja Beast to be all that powerful. In a real fight, he would still have to rely mostly on himself. If the beast could provide some support, that would be good enough.
That ruled out wild boars and the like. Rats would be useful for gathering intelligence, but they felt a little too low-key for a Ninja Beast. A tiger or leopard would be ideal, though a wolf would work too. There should be some in these mountains.
Xue Ge decided to leave it to fate and choose the first beast of that sort he encountered.
After climbing to a summit, Xue Ge sat on a bare rock for a short rest. At a glance, this range had somewhere between a dozen and twenty-odd peaks. He could even hear muffled roars in the distance.
"Was that a tiger?" Xue Ge narrowed his eye at the distance. "I'll head over there in a bit..."
Whoosh!
A sudden gale swept toward Xue Ge's head. He immediately threw himself sideways, then rolled several times, putting a few body lengths between himself and the spot.
An enormous shadow loomed over Xue Ge. He looked up to find a giant eagle staring straight at him. The inky feathers on its black wings gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, and its eyes were a vivid yellow. Its two steel-like talons had crushed a patch of rock beneath them-the very spot where Xue Ge had been resting.
"An eagle? Wait..."
Fast, aggressive, and possessed of a killing aura.
Looking at the eagle, which was bigger than he was, Xue Ge's eye brightened. Wasn't this exactly the sort of Summoning Beast he had been looking for?
"Screee!" The eagle shrieked and beat its wings, soaring dozens of meters into the air in mere seconds. The wind it stirred up flung sand over Xue Ge. By the time he looked up, the eagle was already diving toward him.
Poor, helpless Xue Ge flicked his right hand. Five translucent threads lashed out, knocking the ferocious eagle aside and slamming it to the ground.
"..."
The eagle and Xue Ge stared at each other.
Xue Ge was already among the strongest ninja students. For someone who regularly fought Jonin, a wild eagle's combat strength was nothing special, no matter how majestic it looked.
Ordinary flesh and blood couldn't withstand the destructive power of Strangling Line. If he hadn't held back, the eagle probably would have been sliced clean in half. It had picked the wrong opponent.
Xue Ge walked over to the eagle. Seeing it about to take flight again, he hurried forward and pinned its head down.
"Screee!" "Don't move!" Xue Ge shouted. Keeping his knee on the eagle's neck, he raised a hand and formed a Rasengan.
He threw the Rasengan, instantly blasting a large rock to pieces. The eagle immediately became docile.
"Can you understand me?" "..." "Hmm?" Xue Ge studied the eagle's guileless expression, thought for a moment, then raised his hand again.
"Screee!" The eagle hastily flapped its wings and blinked furiously.
"Looks like you don't understand much," Xue Ge said thoughtfully. Then, under the eagle's bewildered gaze, he expressionlessly flicked Strangling Line and cut a chunk of flesh from his own thigh.
"..." The eagle watched blankly as Xue Ge dangled the meat, shook off the blood, and held it to its beak.
"Sorry, I didn't bring any food. If you're hungry, you'll have to make do," Xue Ge said sincerely. "I want to form a contract with you. I hope you'll agree."
Whether or not the eagle understood him, its animal instincts still drove it to swallow the meat.
Xue Ge nodded, took the contract from his waist, and laid it before the eagle. "So you agree?"
The eagle looked at Xue Ge with uncomprehending eyes. An awkward silence settled over them.
Xue Ge rubbed his chin. So this fellow can't understand anything too complicated and doesn't know what this contract is for?
Should I just force it to sign the contract and figure out how to win it over afterward? Maybe give it more food or something... Xue Ge was at a loss. He had no experience taming beasts.
So he pointed at the contract, then at the wound on his thigh. "This, and this. Together. Understand?"
The eagle seemed to understand something and began crying out again.
"Uh..." Xue Ge realized there was a major problem: he couldn't understand what the eagle meant.
The eagle's cries grew frantic, and it began struggling violently. Irritated, Xue Ge patted its head. "Quiet down, quiet down. I'm not going to hurt you..."
A chilling sensation made Xue Ge shudder. A fierce gust rushed at him from behind!
He sprang to his feet and turned immediately, but before he could see what was happening, a powerful force smashed into his chest and abdomen, sending him flying!
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage."
Kakuzu's robes were still billowing. His eyes lit up as he watched Xue Ge tumble several times before steadying himself.
Black hair, one eye, young, distinctive clothes... Isn't this the brat with a twenty-million bounty on his head?
Having just climbed to the summit, Kakuzu had spotted someone there and casually fired off a Pressure Damage.
He had meant to blow the person straight off the mountain. Unexpectedly, his target had reacted in time to soften the impact and barely stopped himself from going over the cliff.
Good thing I didn't get serious just now! Twenty million! If I'd blown him to death with that Pressure Damage, I'd be the one regretting it! Kakuzu still remembered that the missing-person notice had specified he must be brought back alive!
Kakuzu chuckled as he approached Xue Ge. "Xue Ge, the brat worth twenty million. Never thought I'd run into you here..."
A bounty? Twenty million?
Xue Ge struggled to his feet, clutching his abdomen. His old injuries hadn't fully healed, and now he had taken another Ninjutsu hit. He had barely kept himself from coughing up blood. He glanced behind him, where the cliff edge was just two or three steps away. If he hadn't stayed clearheaded enough to fling out his Chakra Threads and anchor himself, he would probably have fallen off the mountain by now.
Remembering the eagle's strange behavior, he wondered, Was it trying to warn me?
Who is this green-eyed guy, anyway? And what's this so-called
bounty all about...?
Seriously... why does trouble keep coming, one thing after another...?
"Cough, cough... Who are you?" Xue Ge coughed twice and swallowed the blood rising in his throat.
"I'm Kakuzu, but that doesn't matter. Hey, brat, don't struggle. Just come with me." With that, Kakuzu reached for Xue Ge's head. "I don't want to hurt you..."
A piercing cry suddenly rang out. While neither of them was paying attention to it, the eagle lunged hard into Kakuzu's back. Kakuzu stumbled, then frowned and swung his arm back in a vicious blow at the eagle's head.
If that blow landed, the eagle was dead.
"Wait!" Xue Ge instinctively reached out to stop him. Seeing someone move against him, Kakuzu instinctively lashed out with a kick. By the time they both realized what had happened, the kick had struck Xue Ge square in the chest and sent him flying over the cliff.
"..." Kakuzu froze, staring at Xue Ge in stunned disbelief. Xue Ge, meanwhile, looked as though he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"-You idiot brat!!! My twenty million!!!"