Team 7 sat in a circle in front of the mountain of summoning-contract scrolls, each of them flipping through the parchments one by one.
"How to choose…?" Sakura muttered as she skimmed the descriptions. She paused over one scroll and read aloud, "A snake-type summon… the kind Orochimaru is said to favor."
Three Legendary Sannin? Orochimaru? Who even cares right now.
The snake summon's description was impressive — a massive, ferocious battle beast with venomous techniques. Its taming difficulty was listed as one of the rarest in the ninja world.
If Sensei said it was possible, then maybe it was possible.
But did a snake really suit her?
"So hard to pick." Sakura set the snake scroll at her feet and picked up another one. She intended to shortlist a few candidates, then make the final choice from those. A summoning partner mattered — it needed to fit her style and be useful in combat.
Sasuke, sitting cross-legged, scanned the pile casually until his gaze fixed on an eagle contract.
An eagle summon. Shared vision, covert reconnaissance, long-distance hit-and-run tactics, flight — all very practical. Perfect. He'd considered snake and slug too: snakes for raw power and poison, slugs for their healing jutsu that could patch you up mid-battle. But practicality won — an eagle would suit his tactical approach.
"I've decided." Sasuke's mouth tilted into a small smile as he hefted the heavy scroll toward Ayato.
Sakura glanced up, surprised. "Already? Sasuke, you're amazing."
Two minutes, and Sasuke was done. Efficient as ever.
Naruto held a massive scroll and shot Sasuke a teasing look. "Sasuke, you picked so fast — don't rush, you might pick wrong!"
Sasuke sneered. "Pick what fits you. You wouldn't understand, idiot."
Naruto's forehead scrunched. "I'll pick someone awesome, and you'll be shocked!"
Sasuke ignored him and handed his scroll over.
"An eagle, huh. Flying — a man's dream," Ayato said as he accepted the parchment and skimmed it. He'd expected Sasuke to pick snake, but an eagle was decent — fun, practical.
"Just prick your thumb, press your palm on the contract — the seal patterns are drawn there." Ayato yawned. "The ritual's simple."
A Six-Path-level powerhouse was down here babysitting a pile of scrolls for a bunch of genin. Boring. He needed something entertaining.
Sasuke bit his thumb, spread the blood on his palm, and pressed it firmly to the scroll. The parchment trembled and released a pale-blue chakra.
"Try it. Maybe it'll be spectacular," Ayato said, curious to see what the Uchiha prodigy would summon.
Sasuke drew a blood line across his palm, formed seals with precise motion, and slammed his palm onto the earth. Dark sigils blossomed across the ground, and a pale smoke billowed outward in a thick cloud.
"What will Sasuke summon?" Sakura peered through the billowing white haze, curiosity bright in her eyes.
Naruto's face hardened. That cloud could be the size of the summoned beast — a huge creature, perhaps. He clenched his fists. He couldn't lose to Sasuke.
Ayato coughed, fanning the smoke from around him. The wind sharpened and the white haze thinned until a figure slowly emerged.
When the smoke cleared, everyone stared at the sight before Sasuke.
A pristine, snow-white bird egg lay on the ground where his summoning had appeared.
Ayato couldn't help it — he covered his mouth and let out a short, mocking chuckle. "An Uchiha genius who summons a… bird egg?"
Naruto burst out laughing so hard he nearly doubled over. "Sasuke! Hahaha — you summoned an egg!"
Sakura, suppressing a grin, crouched beside the egg and poked it gently. "I—uh—it's kind of cute."
Naruto kept snickering. "Uchiha genius, more like Uchiha comedian!"
Sakura punched Naruto lightly to shut him up. Naruto tumbled away, shrieking, clutching his head. Even as he rolled, he wailed about Sakura's growing strength of punch. Ayato watched with a smirk.
"See? Summoning is useful — when you're starving it can be a backup snack," Ayato said, patting Sasuke's shoulder with exaggerated sympathy.
"Enough!" Sasuke bent his head so his dark hair hid his eyes; his whole body trembled with suppressed fury and embarrassment. How dare a summon humiliate him like this? He'd be damned if he didn't master summoning within days.
"Three days," Sasuke said coldly. "Give me three days and I'll control summoning completely."
Ayato toyed with the egg. "Fine. If you don't master it in three days, I'll swap your scroll for this egg." He tapped the shell and it dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
Sasuke's face paled. "Five days," he muttered after a moment. "Five days and I'll have it under control."
"Suit yourself." Ayato's tone was dry, amused. "Now hurry up. Stop dithering, you lot."
Sakura bent back to the scrolls with renewed focus. Naruto, determined as ever, rummaged through, shouting, "I'll get a summon that blows Sasuke's away!"
Ayato's gaze lingered on Sakura's little flit of movement. He shrugged a little inwardly — then remembered something important.
The slug summon.
There was no need to wait a month and track down Tsunade in Tanzaku Town. If Sakura could contract with a slug summoning, she could simply ask it where Tsunade was. Great idea. He'd push Sakura toward a slug contract — it matched her budding medical skills anyway.
Sakura felt someone staring and turned to see Ayato looking at her with that finger-to-chin "thinking" pose. Embarrassed, she slapped a hand over her backside and glared. "Stop staring, Ayato!"
Pervert. Pervert! The sensei was blatantly staring at his female student's rear — what kind of teacher did that?
"Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking." Ayato glanced at Sakura's chest, feigned disappointment, and added, "No, of course I'm not into that childish figure. How could you think such a thing?"
Sakura's face turned red with indignation. "Ayato, every time you get criticized you come up with eight hundred counterarguments. Please… reflect on yourself for once!"
Ayato shrugged. "Reflect? As if. Why would I have a problem?"
Sakura stomped off, grabbed a scroll, and returned to Ayato. "Sensei, I've chosen!"
He glanced at the parchment in her hands — the snake summoning scroll. Sakura's face bristled as she declared, "A snake summon!"
She'd picked snake for its aggressive power and poisonous breath — useful and fearsome. But Ayato took the scroll, tossed it aside, and, with a small grin, placed a slug contract in her palm.
"A snake… sigh, fine. A slug." Sakura's voice was flat. Why was Ayato forcing a slug on her?
Strange as it seemed, a slug summon had huge advantages: continuous medical ninjutsu, sustained healing support — perfect for someone learning medical techniques like Sakura.
Maybe Ayato had seen something — perhaps he'd judged that slug would suit her better.
Sakura's cheeks softened. Maybe Ayato wasn't entirely terrible after all.
"Okay." She took a kunai, cut her thumb, and pressed her bloody fingers to the seal. Then, with practiced focus, she formed the hand signs and struck her palm to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu—!"
Smoke billowed, and a small slug formed — blue-and-white, about the size of a palm. It was undeniably cute, but Sakura's heartbeat stuttered. A palm-sized slug? How would that help in a real fight?
Sasuke's jaw tightened. Though Sakura's summoning was small, it was still a legitimate summon. He had produced a mere egg instead of an actual beast.
The tiny slug bobbed and wiggled, then turned its head as if addressing someone. "—Tsunade-sama… wait, who are you?" It peered around and blinked at a figure Sakura recognized — a pink-haired kunoichi she'd never seen before — and then it seemed to realize something.
Sakura cradled the slug and introduced herself politely. "Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno."
The slug chirped an appreciative squeak. It looked eager, then abruptly froze, eyes widening as it took in Ayato's presence.
"Ayato… Hyūga Ayato—!?" the tiny slug squealed, shocked.
Ayato had a small bag of salt in his hand and fixed the slug with a playful, threatening stare. "Cut to the chase. Where is that lunatic Tsunade? Lie and I'll sprinkle you with salt."
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