Kawakita Town is located at the foot of a small mountain, pretty much as Mutsuki imagined it—remote and impoverished. Most of the houses here don't even look like they belong in the same era as the ones in the main area of Konoha.
"The scenery seems quite nice," Obito said as he reached the rooftop, placing his hand on his forehead to scan the surroundings.
"Ninja-sama, Daikuro usually stays in the highest part of the mountain. If possible, please try not to kill it. Just drive it away," Tojiro pleaded with a sincere expression.
Tojiro's words instantly dampened Obito's mood, who had just been enjoying the scenery.
The thought of helping that despicable mayor made Obito extremely displeased.
"I understand, but the giant eagle is still a bird with the ability to fly. We need to prepare some extra time. We'll notify you once we're done," Mutsuki nodded in response.
After saying that, Mutsuki led his disciples away from Tojiro's house.
"Yumi-sensei, are we really going to help that mayor?" Obito couldn't help but ask as he saw Mutsuki leading them towards the mountaintop.
"What else can we do? A Ninja is nothing if they don't complete their mission," Kakashi replied first.
Although he was also displeased with the so-called mayor, he would still choose to drive away the giant eagle and complete the mission.
"Let's investigate thoroughly first, see what the real situation is like, and not believe everything others say," Mutsuki shook his head.
It's good to be enthusiastic, but one shouldn't blindly follow someone's words. If the giant eagle is really harassing the residents and the mayor isn't a bad person, then blindly taking action would be doing more harm than good.
"Kakashi, you narcissist, I didn't ask for your opinion." Seeing that Mutsuki didn't say they would help the mayor, Obito was somewhat pleased and took the opportunity to retort at Kakashi.
Relying on the powerful vision of the Byakugan and the strong mobility of a Ninja, Mutsuki soon found the giant eagle described in the mission.
Possibly due to its large size, this giant eagle didn't nest on trees or cliffs like ordinary eagles but instead lived in a cave.
Mutsuki roughly estimated the height and wingspan of the giant eagle, feeling that its body length should be around four meters, while its wingspan could exceed ten meters.
After seeing the black eagle's body, Mutsuki was certain that this black eagle was a summon beast; ordinary eagles could never grow to such a size.
"Daikuro, Daikuro."
Obito and the others, lacking Mutsuki's powerful vision and insight of the Byakugan, hadn't yet discovered the location of the giant eagle. Obito even attempted to call out its name to lure the black eagle out.
Although they were his disciples, Mutsuki couldn't reveal the existence of his Byakugan at the moment. Therefore, he didn't directly mention it but continued to lead his disciples in the search, gradually approaching the cave where the giant eagle resided.
Suddenly, a sharp and piercing eagle cry echoed.
Then, a black shadow flashed by, and a black giant eagle appeared at the entrance of the cave, staring intently at Mutsuki and his companions with its sharp eyes.
"That's one big bird." Obito exclaimed in amazement, his eyes widened.
Seeing the giant eagle described in the mission and seeing an actual eagle several meters tall were completely different experiences.
Kakashi's muscles tensed, and he discreetly reached into his ninja pouch to retrieve two kunai.
Unlike Obito, Kakashi's first impression upon seeing the giant eagle was that its sharp claws could easily kill a person.
"It's indeed huge," Guy pondered, "What if it just flies away?"
Whoosh!
The giant eagle suddenly spread its enormous wings, flapping them while emitting a terrifying screech. The powerful flapping generated strong winds, causing grass, leaves, and sand on the ground to swirl in the air.
Kakashi thought the giant eagle was about to attack and immediately prepared to throw the sharp kunai in his hand.
Mutsuki pressed down on Kakashi's hand, stopping him from throwing the kunai.
Kakashi looked at Mutsuki with a puzzled expression. Although they had promised not to kill the giant eagle as per the client's request, considering its size, it wouldn't cause much harm if they didn't attack its vital parts.
"Don't rush to take action, look over there," Mutsuki shook his head and pointed to the charred wound on the right wing of the giant eagle.
Because the eagle's feathers were already black and its size was large, Kakashi didn't notice this at first.
"Is there another ninja in the village that caused this injury?" Kakashi speculated cautiously while staring at the giant eagle. Being proficient in Lightning Release Ninjutsu, he immediately recognized that the wound on the eagle's wing was caused by Lightning Release.
"Could it be that the mayor hired other ninja to retaliate against Daikuro?" Obito guessed after some thought.
At this point, Mutsuki could probably confirm that the giant eagle's temperament was relatively gentle. Even in its injured state, it only seemed to intimidate rather than launch a direct attack upon seeing strangers.
With a smile on his face, Mutsuki approached, startling the giant eagle, which swiftly flapped its wings again.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I just want to help you heal," Mutsuki continued fearlessly as he walked forward. If it was a summoning creature, it might understand what he was saying.
The black giant eagle, whether it didn't understand or didn't believe Mutsuki's words, saw Mutsuki ignore the warning and continue to approach, and swung its huge left wing towards Mutsuki.
Swoosh!
Mutsuki disappeared from the giant eagle's sight. Just as the eagle wondered where the little person had gone, it suddenly felt a heavy blow to its head, causing it dizziness and making it collapse to the ground.
"So when Yumi-sensei hits me, it's already considered light," Obito said as he saw Mutsuki knock down the giant eagle with just two fingers, subconsciously touching his forehead, which was often hit.
Making the unruly giant eagle a bit more obedient, Mutsuki extended his hand and used the Mystical Palm Jutsu on the eagle's injured area.
The green healing light enveloped the eagle's wounded area, and the wounds on the eagle's body quickly healed.
"Goo~" Suddenly, the pain in its body disappeared, and the eagle couldn't help but let out a comfortable cry.
Although it didn't know what had happened, the eagle understood one thing: the unfamiliar little person in front of it was not to be trifled with, and moreover, held no ill intent towards it.
The giant eagle folded its wings and lowered its head to nuzzle Mutsuki, showing friendliness.
Obito looked at the thick fur on the giant eagle's head and felt that it would be very comfortable to touch. So he walked to Mutsuki's side, wanting to pat the giant eagle's head.
However, when Obito reached out his hand, the giant eagle quickly dodged and stared at Obito vigilantly.
"Don't worry, they are all my disciples, they won't harm you," Mutsuki said.
Next, Mutsuki led his disciples to set up a tent nearby.
Although there were dwellings downhill, Mutsuki chose to live on the mountain to deepen the bond with the future Summon Beast.
At lunchtime, perhaps as a gesture of gratitude, the giant eagle caught an injured wild boar and placed it near Mutsuki's tent.
Mutsuki didn't hesitate, he killed the wild boar and made it into roasted meat.
After repaying Mutsuki's kindness, the giant eagle returned to its cave to rest. However, it was soon attracted by a scent it had never smelled before.
The giant eagle quickly came out of the cave, tracked the scent, and swiftly arrived at the location where Mutsuki and the others were having their meal.
Smelling the enticing aroma it had never experienced before, the giant eagle stared eagerly at the wild boar on the grill, not daring to make too much noise.
It really wanted to eat, but the little person had treated it, and was also not easy to deal with.
"Could it be? Does the eagle also like roasted meat?" Obito couldn't help but quip as he watched the giant eagle staring intently at the roasted pig.
'Indeed, the cooking skill is quite impressive' Mutsuki felt that this life skill was simply a god-tier method to build rapport, even Summon Beasts couldn't resist the temptation.
The giant eagle stood in front of the roasted meat for a few minutes, then suddenly flew away. After a while, it returned carrying various prey, placing them next to Mutsuki.
"Goo-goo~" The giant eagle made a gentle sound, gesturing with its wings towards the prey, then towards the roasted pig, and finally looking at Mutsuki with excited eyes, it lowered its head to nuzzle him.
Mutsuki cut two-thirds of the roasted pig with a kunai and smiled at the giant eagle, saying:
"I can't give you all of it, my disciples and I also need to eat."
Finally able to eat this enticing food, the giant eagle, ignoringeverything else including the pats on its head from Obito, hastily devoured its food.
After taking a bite, the giant eagle's eyes instantly lit up. It didn't expect this thing to smell good and taste even better. It had never eaten anything so delicious before.
"Wow, Yumi-sensei, Daikuro seems to really like your roasted meat," Obito, finally getting to stroke the giant eagle's soft feathers, showed an excited expression.
Obito felt quite enlightened; it turned out that birds liked eating roasted meat.
Mutsuki smiled without saying a word. He felt like he didn't need to do anything himself. Maybe if he stayed a few more days, this black giant eagle wouldn't be able to resist following him.
"After eating, let's investigate Kawakita Town. Be careful; there may be hostile ninjas here," Mutsuki brought up the main topic.
With Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand at war, it was normal for Hidden Cloud ninjas to be in the Land of Rivers, which bordered the Land of Wind. Since the giant eagle had Lightning Release injuries, it was highly likely that Hidden Cloud ninjas had caused them.
However, Mutsuki speculated that the opponent's strength wouldn't be high. If it were a powerful ninja, the giant eagle would have difficulty escaping even if it could fly.
Kakashi was unsure of what to say. It turned out that Obito's pessimistic remarks were right again, encountering ninjas unexpectedly.
Before joining Mutsuki's team, Kakashi had completed so many C-Rank missions without encountering a single ninja. However, since joining Mutsuki, he had already encountered two C-Rank missions, both of which had unexpected twists.
---
Don't forget to check out my patreon where you can read up to 50 advanced chapters https://www.patreon.com/CrazyNinja