'You are actually nearsighted...' Logan felt weak, and the gap between reality and his imagination was getting bigger and bigger. He looked at He glanced at Akiyama and Kotonami, who seemed accustomed to the situation.
'Well, a 'benevolent' leader isn't a bad thing.'
"Sorry about that, young man." After the old clan leader looked at Logan intently, the conversation could start normally, "I hope you can bear with me. After all, as I get older, there are many inconveniences."
"No problem at all." Logan exchanged polite greetings. The fact that the leader wasn't exuding a domineering aura made the atmosphere relaxed. The characteristics of a group's leader can hint at the group's development stage.
An aggressive and assertive leader often signifies a rising group, while a more mature and established group moves past the 'might makes right' phase. Judging by what Logan had seen, the Divine Birds were a group with a rich history and depth, a community beyond mere survival instincts.
The opening conversation went smoothly, easing Logan's worries. As they made small talk, Kotonami relayed the information she had gathered about Logan to the old clan leader.
"This guest is... Raiden Hattori." The old clan leader pondered for a while. With everyone still unfamiliar, it was time to get to the point. Akiyama, who had left earlier, had returned with a stack of thick scrolls at this moment.
"May I ask where you are from?"
'He should be asking where the Reverse Summoning Technique was connected to, right?' Logan pondered about it, after all, the way the old clan leader asked is very ambiguous. After a brief pause, he answered with a normal expression, "I come from the Ninja World, where Chakra is wielded."
After he finished speaking, Logan had a sudden realization, 'Wait, would a summon creature ask this question? Shouldn't it be obvious, given that Chakra is part of the Summoning System?'
Logan realized that he should have answered with 'Konoha Village in the Land of Fire' instead.
However, Logan was surprised again, as the old clan leader's expression did not show any confusion about his strange answer.
"Chakra, Ninja..." The old clan leader appeared to be lost in memory.
"He's lying." Akiyama, who was flipping through the thick scroll, said coldly. He raised his head, and his red eyes pierced through Logan, "I heard it."
'What the…? He can detect lies?' Logan is no longer calm, 'Or is it an animal instinct? The Divine Bird Clan has intelligence, so has this aspect also been strengthened accordingly?'
Just as the conversation began, Akiyama's sudden accusation chilled the room. The elder chief remained calm, Kotonami watched silently, and Akiyama, after speaking, returned to look at the thick scroll.
'Hey, why is no one reacting?'
Logan scratched his face. Just as he was about to speak, Akiyama, who kept unrolling the scroll and looking for something, spoke again. At this time, the scroll scattered under his feet had fallen to the ground. The surface of the scroll was densely packed with texts that Logan could not understand.
"Found it, the abandoned entrance." Akiyama showed a scroll with information to the old clan leader and Kotonami. Due to the height, Logan could only look up in frustration.
"Hey, it is indeed a world with Chakra." After seeing the words in the record clearly, Akiyama was stunned. He glanced at Logan below, wondering if there was something wrong with his own perception, making him feels a little embarrassed.
Seeing the addition to the record, Akiyama quickly said, "But we've closed the summoning connection from both sides. It should be impossible for anyone from that world to be summoned here."
Akiyama looked at Logan suspiciously. At this time, Kotonami's expression turned curious. Facing this contradiction, Logan calmly came up with a solution. Extending his hand in front of everyone, he directly used Rasengan.
"This should be enough to prove it." In Logan's right hand, a blue, rotating sphere formed. The Rasengan's power was evident from the wind it generated.
However, the present Divine Birds seemed to ignore the threat posed by the Rasengan, and instead, they feel its energy and compared it to the descriptions in the scrolls. Akiyama was left speechless. After all, there was no better way to prove the existence of Chakra than with a technique composed of pure Chakra like the Rasengan.
With their doubts dispelled, Logan dispersed the Rasengan and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He began to realize that the Divine Birds' summoning connections might not be limited to the Ninja World, and there could be other worlds as well.
Considering his own experience of crossing dimensions, this wasn't too hard to accept. Logan pressed his lips together, feeling he was a step closer to uncovering the truth behind his crossing between worlds.
"That's not right. If the summoning path is closed, then how did he find Paulownia Forest?" Akiyama muttered, unwilling to let the issue go.
"It's also possible that there are still Space-Time imprints of the summoning left there." Kotonami suggested, trying to help her companion accept reality.
"Even so, people from that world shouldn't be able to sense those Space-Time fluctuations, unless..."
"Unless nothing!" Kotonami snapped and said angrily, "You can't guarantee anything one hundred percent, not even theoretically. While it's rare, it's possible there were remnants when the summoning was closed."
"Fine." Akiyama, facing Kotonami's irritation, could only direct his pride towards Logan, "You heard her, human. Hmph, it seems you got very lucky, stumbling upon the Paulownia Forest."
"He has a name, you know. Can't you speak properly?" Kotonami retorted with dissatisfaction
Logan wiped his sweat, thinking that Akiyama was not an endearing bird at all. He didn't mind Akiyama's last bit of obstinance, as it clarified some of his earlier questions about sensing the shrine. It made sense that no one else had noticed the Space-Time fluctuations because the Paulownia Forest's connection to the Ninja World had been severed long ago.
'Unless...' Logan mentally completed the thought Akiyama hadn't, 'Unless that person wasn't originally from the Ninja World.'
'Only I can trigger the summoning imprint of Paulownia Forest... Akiyama's pride was justified, I am indeed very lucky.'
While Kotonami and Akiyama chatted animatedly, the old clan head remained calm, leaning on his cane and wearing his reading glasses, unperturbed by anything. Logan glanced at the elder, whose deep eyes watched him inscrutably, 'Was it just my imagination, or was there something off? The elder had listened to everything, had he noticed something? Given his vast experience, the Divine Birds likely didn't confine themselves to one world... However, even if he had noticed, it shouldn't be an issue, right?
As Logan's half-truths and half-false answers successfully misled the young Divine Birds, the old clan leader finally spoke in his gentle, aged voice.
"Well, Raiden Hattori is indeed a Ninja with Chakra. Aki-chan, Koto-chan, be quiet now."
With the elder speaking, Akiyama fell silent, and Kotonami was content to quietly observe. Then, the old clan head asked Logan to recount his journey to the Paulownia Forest.
Logan thought for a moment and then explained truthfully, including his use of the reverse summoning technique to find a potential Summoned Beast. This was not something that could not be made clear. After all, the shrine's situation aligned with the Divine Birds' old imprints left in the Ninja World.
'There should be no problem.' Logan thought, wishing they had asked this earlier. The old clan head also gave a brief description of the Divine Bird Clan, which was pretty much what Logan had expected.
With mutual understanding, Logan grew hopeful about forming a summoning contract with the Divine Bird Clan. He can see that this is a very powerful clan and will definitely not be weaker than the three Great Summoning Holy Places. Having a high-level Summoned Beast wasn't just about having a combat partner, as the summoner could also gain or learn abilities related to the Summoned Beast.
"Excuse me, may I form a contract?" But after saying this, Logan felt that he might have sounded too eager. He quickly corrected himself, trying to think of something less juvenile, but struggled for the right words.
Before Logan could come up with something eloquent, the elder calmly nodded and said, "I think that can be arranged."