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The weather was bright and sunny.
In the village of Konoha, under the warm sunlight, birds chirped and fluttered around on telephone poles. Occasionally, they preened their feathers and cocked their heads to watch the figure on the street.
Sōsuke turned his head slightly, a smile on his lips, and glanced toward where the birds were looking.
"Flap! Flap!"
As he watched them, the birds were suddenly startled into flight, scattering a few feathers before disappearing from sight.
Seeing this, Sōsuke's eyes twinkled with amusement, and he muttered softly, "Even you cannot accept me, can you? Well, after all, this is the home you depend on for shelter. But unfortunately, this is not the world I desire."
Leaving behind these words, Sōsuke slowly walked away.
In a secluded corner of the Konoha forest, where lush trees grew densely, huge rock walls and uneven boulders stood among the trees, their ancient traces blending seamlessly with the verdant forest.
"Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!"
As the sound of unhurried footsteps arose, Sōsuke arrived at this place.
As if sensing his presence, the ground suddenly began to shake violently, the frequency increasing rapidly. The forest echoed with the sounds of birds taking flight and trees snapping and falling.
"Crash!"
Several giant trees were suddenly toppled, and an enormous creature emerged from the forest, its furry head peeking out. On seeing Sōsuke, its black nose twitched slightly, as if sniffing the air.
Then, like a dog seeing its master, it appeared extremely excited. Its massive maw, dripping with saliva and revealing sharp, white fangs, rapidly approached Sōsuke.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
With each step it took, the ground trembled violently, dust flew up, and the earth cracked. Sōsuke, seeing the creature, also had a smile in his eyes and a relaxed expression on his face.
"You've grown so big, haven't you?"
As the giant bear rapidly approached, almost like a huge ball of fur nearing Sōsuke, it suddenly crouched down, its furry hind legs tensing up with muscles like coiled dragons.
"Boom!"
The ground within a hundred meters instantly cracked and collapsed, and the bear's body shot up high into the air like a cannonball, casting a shadow that seemed to cover the sky momentarily. It then plummeted toward Sōsuke, like a meteor, creating terrifying shockwaves in the air.
Seeing this, Sōsuke maintained his smile and gently extended his hand, chanting, "Bakudō #37. Tsuriboshi!"
As he finished speaking, a giant blue net made of Chakra materialized in the sky.
"Thud!"
The bear landed on it, causing the net to sag deeply. The surrounding Chakra strands were stretched to an eerie length but did not break. After reaching its lowest point, the net suddenly sprung back up, sending the massive bear flying into the air again.
The intense sensation of flying seemed to excite the bear immensely. It opened its mouth wide and let out a thunderous roar.
"Roar!"
After playing for a while, the bear finally came down contentedly, waddling its round backside and climbing in front of Sōsuke. It stuck out its tongue slightly, its big eyes filled with happiness as it looked at Sōsuke, its short, furry tail wagging behind it.
Compared to Sōsuke, the bear's size was enormous, with just its eyes nearly as large as Sōsuke himself. It lay down, its head close to Sōsuke, and the air it exhaled was like a fierce wind.
However, its expression was like that of a curious child, its large eyes wide open.
Seeing its behavior, Sōsuke smiled softly and slowly reached out his hand.
"Pat"
Sōsuke gently placed his hand on the bear's large, black nose.
Clearly curious about Sōsuke's action, the bear obediently lay its massive paws in front of it, staring with its erect beastly pupils at its own nose tip.
It almost looked like a cockeyed expression, somewhat comical.
Sōsuke's lips curled into a slight smile, and he chuckled softly, "Little Bear, I never expected you to grow so big."
The Little Bear seemed to understand Sōsuke's words, its mouth slightly opening and its rough tongue attempting to lick Sōsuke, but then it seemed to remember something and became scared to do so.
Mom said not to treat humans in that way.
Seeing the bear's slightly frightened expression, Sōsuke couldn't help but laugh and continued, "Would you like to become my summoning beast? If it's you, I think you might go even further."
Hearing Sōsuke's words, the bear paused, then shook its fuzzy short ears and quickly nodded its head.
Mom said that if it's Sōsuke, I could choose to stay by his side, and then the bear clan would have hope.
Satisfied with this response, Sōsuke smiled contentedly, gently touched the bear's nose, and said softly, "It seems your mother has told you something, but I like your straightforwardness."
After speaking, Sōsuke gestured for the Little Bear to stand up straight, then bit his finger.
Bright red blood quickly flowed from his finger, but Sōsuke paid it no mind and stepped forward, astonishingly walking step by step into the air.
The Little Bear, with its big beastly eyes, stared dumbfoundedly at Sōsuke, who was standing in mid-air in front of it. Although it wanted to tilt its head to see if there was anything beneath him, remembering Sōsuke's instruction, it stayed obediently seated in its place.
On its chest, a tuft of white fur contrasted starkly with its overall brown fur, looking like a little bell hanging around its neck, giving it a somewhat endearing appearance.
Sōsuke gently traced his finger over the white fur, and intricate crimson seals quickly formed on the bear's chest.
As the seals were completed, Sōsuke stepped back and unfolded a blank scroll. He wrote several seals on it with his bloodstained finger.
Then, looking at the Little Bear, he smiled slightly.
For some reason, the Little Bear felt uneasy seeing his smile.
Sure enough, Sōsuke gently grabbed one of its paws.
"Pop!" A splash of blood appeared.
Sōsuke continued writing intricate seals on the scroll with the bear's blood. The Little Bear, having been nicked and bled a little, hugged its paw tightly, its short ears drooping and its face looking tearful.
The large bear face looked pitiful, and it almost shed a few bear tears.
"Boom!"
Sōsuke completed the summoning seals with both their blood and then formed hand signs. With the rise of white smoke, the scroll officially became a summoning contract.
Putting away the scroll, Sōsuke glanced at the bear and couldn't help smiling softly, "Little fellow, are you afraid of pain? From now on, you can't be so timid. Let's give you a name – how about Kumamoto?"
Hearing Sōsuke's words, the Little Bear's expression brightened, and its short ears perked up, suddenly excited. It energetically jumped about, the tuft of white fur on its chest bearing a striking, red eerie rune.
Sōsuke watched it with a smile, a gentle twinkle in his eyes.
'Kumamoto, I'm looking forward to seeing how much you will grow.'
Meanwhile, in another part of the Konoha forest,
A team of shadows rapidly moved through the shade of the trees. Each ninja in the team was skilled and serious, clearly elite amongst the ninjas.
Leading them was a rather short middle-aged man with a weathered face, sharp eyes, and a large nose. Their attire was markedly different from that of the Konoha ninjas, yet they made no effort to hide their identities.
The old man at the forefront thought to himself, "Konoha, it's time for you to bear the shame of what happened years ago."
Their destination was pointed directly at the village of Konoha!