"Big bro… I feel like I'm completely drained. Can I take a break?"
Sarutobi Fūma, his steel helmet askew, collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
"You haven't even mastered Sticky Syrup Substitution yet, and you're already whining about rest? Get your ass back up!"
"But I already learned it! Shouldn't I focus on mastering stronger techniques like Mizuame Swamp instead?"
"That pathetic excuse for a substitution can barely block kunai and shuriken. A single explosive tag would still shred you to pieces. Or did you forget how even the Grandson of the God of Shinobi got blown up by one?"
Sarutobi Sasuke wasn't having any of his excuses. With a merciless grin, he shoved a honey-coated energy pill into Fūma's mouth.
This wasn't just any pill—it was an upgraded version of their clan's secret formula, packed with summoned beast meat, royal jelly, deer antler extracts, and most crucially, infused with Yang Release: Gluttony chakra.
The effect was instant.
Fūma's eyes shot open, his fatigue vanishing as if he'd been electrocuted back to life.
"Fūma—INCOMING!"
Aerial Assault
No sooner had Fūma scrambled to his feet than Shukaku Kin, perched atop his desert falcon summon, rained down a barrage of kunai and shuriken from above.
"KIN, YOU BASTARD! SNEAK ATTACKING AGAIN?!"
Fūma twisted and dodged, but one shuriken still thunked into his lower back—
CRACK.
A layer of hardened syrup armor shattered, the embedded shuriken clattering to the ground.
"Tch… At least it wasn't a kunai."
Fūma wiped cold sweat from his brow. Kunai packed just enough extra force to pierce through his current level of Sticky Syrup Substitution, and these blades were laced with pain-enhancing toxins—a single drop of blood would light his nerves on fire.
"Sensei! I hit him! Where's my reward?!"
Kin leapt down from his falcon, landing eagerly in front of Sasuke.
"Here. Keep it up."
Sasuke tossed him a dark crimson pill. Kin caught it with reverence, immediately feeding it to his crimson-feathered falcon, "Little Red."
"Just you wait… I'll earn enough Beast-Nurturing Pills to make you as big as White King one day!"
Kin stroked his summon's head with determination.
The Rise of the Beast Clans
The Shukaku Clan had changed.
No longer content with their low-profile past, they'd gone all-in on desert falcons as their hereditary summons, buying out Konoha's entire stock from the logistics division.
Why?
Simple—most flying summons couldn't handle the Shukaku's… unique physique (read: chonky ninjas). Desert falcons, with their massive size and strength, were one of the few options.
And after seeing White King—Sasuke's own monstrous falcon—grow to outclass even Suna's adult breeds, the Shukaku were sold.
Of course, raising these birds wasn't cheap.
In exchange for 30% of their weapon business profits, the Shukaku had secured Sasuke's expertise in falcon cultivation—hence the Beast-Nurturing Pills, a special concoction laced with Gluttony chakra that supercharged summon growth.
(The only side effect? Ravenous appetites. But for the wealthy Shukaku, that was a bonus—bigger birds meant more imposing battle mounts.)
Not to be left out, the Inuzuka Clan had also come knocking, offering their secret dog-food recipes in exchange for the pills.
As allies, Sasuke obliged.
Now, between the Sarutobi's syrup techniques, Shukaku's falcons, and Inuzuka's war hounds, the three clans were earning a new reputation:
Konoha's Three Beast Clans.
The Hound's Instinct
"Arf! Arf arf!"
Inuzuka Gaku's ninja hound, Orange Maru, wagged its tail furiously, drooling at the sight of the Beast-Nurturing Pill.
Sasuke chuckled, tossing one over before turning to Gaku.
"Keep training his Wild Instinct."
Unlike Inuzuka Ryō, who specialized in Human-Beast Fusion, Gaku had higher potential—his natural combat intuition was off the charts.
It reminded Sasuke of Rock Lee's drunken fist—a style that relied entirely on subconscious reflexes.
"Maybe… this is why Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Minato were so strong?"
Not just reaction speed, but precognitive instinct.
The more battles Sasuke fought, the more he believed it.
Even himself—lately, his movements had started outpacing his thoughts.
Like that time he ambushed Hanzō.
The man had sliced through an army of spore clones on pure instinct, nearly foiling the trap. If not for Hanzō's rage blinding him at the last second, even the Flying Thunder God: Chain Detonation might not have landed.
And yet—even with his leg blown off, Hanzō had instinctively severed it to survive.
That was the power of true battle genius.
And now…
Gaku had that same spark.