The brief interlude passed quickly, and when he returned home, Eisawa unexpectedly appeared.
"Over two years have passed. Your butterfly seed and theoretical knowledge are about ready. It's time to start learning the secret technique."
Recently, Gisei had indeed felt the butterfly seed within his body settle down; it no longer fought him for chakra.
In the beginning, the butterfly seed would devour his chakra completely almost every day. There were even several terrifying instances where it bit his heart.
Fortunately, it ended up being more startling than dangerous, thanks to Eisawa transferring chakra to him every day.
Maybe I can give it a try.
Gisei put the book into his chest pocket and began to form hand seals.
Clone Technique!
Another version of himself appeared before his eyes. A smile touched the corner of Gisei's mouth.
Previously, due to his chakra issues, the Clone Technique had never succeeded, but now he could use it effortlessly.
Transformation Technique!
A second Eisawa appeared. Eisawa raised an eyebrow seeing Gisei transform into himself but said nothing.
Trying to control the clone to attack himself, the clone rushed forward with a clenched fist.
Body Replacement Technique!
A log fell to the ground, and the clone vanished along with it. Not far away, Gisei reappeared with a frown.
The Three Basic Techniques were the most fundamental ninjutsu taught at the academy. Gisei had memorized the hand seals long ago, so succeeding was no surprise.
However, when he performed the techniques and sensed the flow of chakra within his body, he discovered that the seals only served as an aid. It seemed... he didn't actually need to form them?
Thinking of this, Gisei attempted to use the Clone Technique without hand seals. With a "poof," the clone appeared again.
Success...
Gisei had indeed managed to use the Clone Technique without seals, but another problem arose.
It took too long.
With seals, it took only two seconds. Without seals, it required five seconds—a difference of three seconds.
Do not underestimate these three seconds; in a battle between high-level ninjas, one second can decide victory or defeat. If he tried this in combat, Gisei estimated the grass on his grave would already be sprouting roots.
Eisawa had been watching quietly from the side. When Gisei successfully used the Clone Technique without seals, he was slightly surprised.
Of course, he could also use ninjutsu of the Three Basic Techniques level without seals, but this seemed to be Gisei's first time trying it. To find the method for seal-less activation so quickly...
Was it because of the butterfly seed?
No, although the butterfly seed had settled down, it would still take several years to form a second soul. It couldn't possibly provide assistance this soon.
A smile appeared at the corner of Eisawa's mouth. This kid didn't seem as bad as he had thought.
"Alright, stop there. You don't have much chakra to begin with. Next is the training for the secret technique, don't use up all your chakra."
After speaking, Eisawa turned and went into his room, then came out carrying a massive scroll on his shoulder.
Opening the scroll, Eisawa motioned for him to come over and sign his name.
Gisei wasn't surprised. The Butterfly User secret technique fundamentally belonged to the category of summoning. All their ninjutsu were built upon the foundation of the Summoning Technique, so naturally, learning to summon was the top priority.
After signing his name, Eisawa began teaching him the hand seals for the Summoning Technique.
Five seals. Quite simple.
After becoming familiar with them, Gisei began his first summoning.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!" (Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!)
Biting his finger and slapping it on the ground, the black formula spread across the surface. With a "poof," a white butterfly flew out from the smoke.
The white butterfly flew a circle around Gisei and then landed on his shoulder, suddenly speaking.
"Lord Eisawa, Lord Gisei, do you have any orders?"
This voice...
Gisei's eyelid twitched frantically. After hesitating repeatedly, he still asked, "Are you the butterfly my father turned into?"
"That is correct. My name is Aki. Lord Gisei, please take care of me from now on."
At this moment, Gisei felt a sense of temporal dislocation.
He frantically reminded himself in his heart that his father was dead, but he couldn't control his eyes from staring fixedly at this butterfly named Aki.
Shiraishi Aki... his father's name was Aki Shiraishi, so this butterfly was called Aki?
For the first time, Gisei understood why those clan members were so infatuated with butterflies.
After greeting him in a muffled voice, Gisei fell silent.
Eisawa understood his feelings and didn't let the strange atmosphere linger.
"Aki, release the Summoning Technique, then use Reverse Summoning to transport us to Butterfly Habitat Valley."
Butterfly Habitat Valley—that was where the clan's ninja butterflies lived.
Gisei had seen it mentioned many times in the clan records, and he knew perfectly well why he was being taken there.
Simply put, he had to cultivate his own summoning butterfly there.
This was a rather troublesome matter, and very time-consuming.
"Poof." The Summoning Technique was released, and then Gisei felt the world spin. When he came to his senses, he had already appeared in Butterfly Habitat Valley.
Coming here for the first time, Gisei looked around at the environment with curiosity.
He was standing in a square, and directly in front were layers upon layers of steps.
The steps led to a magnificent palace, and around the square were neatly arranged wooden houses. Occasionally, he could even see figures moving about.
It was practically like a human village; basically everything you could see in the human world was here.
"Don't space out. I'll take you to pay respects to Lady Mei first."
Mei. A strange name.
"Who is Lady Mei?"
"I don't know. The clan has no records of her. She is a very ancient, very noble existence."
Could she be an existence similar to the Sages?
Gisei couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. Over the past two years studying the clan records, the Butterfly User Clan had refreshed his understanding time and time again, making him suspect more than once that he had watched a fake Naruto.
With their own summoning grounds, the magical functions of the butterfly seed, hundreds of types of summoning butterflies, and now a suspected Sage-like existence appearing—it all seemed reasonable?
Anyway, this clan that didn't appear in the plot was very mysterious. Behind all this reasonableness, there seemed to be some secret hidden.
Walking up the steps, Gisei couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart and asked, "Can Senjutsu be cultivated here?"
"Senjutsu?" Eisawa looked at him strangely. "Where did you hear about Senjutsu?"
"I saw it in a book."
This question had no answer and couldn't be explained clearly. Gisei made up something on the spot; he couldn't exactly say he could predict the future.
"I've read all the books you've read. Can you tell me which book records Senjutsu?"
Having his lie exposed, Gisei panicked and quickly said, "I forgot. Anyway, I just saw it in a book."
Unable to explain clearly, he simply refused to admit anything.
Fortunately, Eisawa didn't intend to get to the bottom of it. Instead, he began to explain.
"Senjutsu is a ninjutsu unique to the First Hokage. Every ninja clan in Konoha has records regarding Senjutsu, but as to what Senjutsu actually is... perhaps only the Senju clan knows. Our clan does not possess that kind of heritage."
Alright, it seems Senjutsu really can't be cultivated here.
But that was normal. Senjutsu was a rare heritage; throughout Naruto, only the Three Great Sage Regions possessed it. As for Jugo, he should be considered a unique individual.
After entering the palace, a sleeping silver-haired woman appeared before their eyes.
To be honest, even by Gisei's aesthetic standards, this silver-haired woman belonged to the level of beauty that could bring ruin to a nation.
With just one glance, he felt his heartbeat begin to accelerate. He quickly looked away to the sides.
There were many bookshelves on both sides, filled with books.
Gisei fell into thought. It was likely that all the clan's classics were here.
Seemingly awakened by their footsteps, the silver-haired woman—Mei—opened her eyes. Her crisp and melodious voice echoed in the great hall.
"Eisawa, you haven't been here for a long time. Is this brat the last descendant of your clan?"
As Mei spoke, her gaze was fixed tightly on Gisei.
Stared at by her, Gisei felt a chill in his heart and quickly hid behind Eisawa.
What the hell. Gisei was greatly shocked inside. Since coming to this world, he had never shown fear in front of anyone.
But being stared at by this woman, for a split second, he felt like he had been seen through completely. It was like running naked in a snowstorm; the chill kept seeping out uncontrollably.
"What? He really is a brat. He's actually shy. Is he really going to be okay?"
Mei yawned, seemingly losing interest in Gisei.
"No problem. Konoha is very peaceful. As long as he grows up safely, the Butterfly Clan will definitely be able to recreate its glory."
"Peace... boring stuff. Alright, let him choose himself."
Mei threw out a scroll and then closed her eyes to rest.
Gisei opened the scroll. It recorded all the types of summoning butterflies in the clan. What he had to do was choose a few from these hundreds of types to begin cultivating.
His homework over the past two years hadn't been in vain; he already had an idea of what kind of summoning butterflies he wanted to cultivate.
"Multi-eyed Butterfly, Explosive Butterfly, Seven-colored Butterfly, Gluttony Butterfly, and also Thunder Butterfly, Water Butterfly, Spirit Peeping Butterfly..."
A string of names came out of his mouth.
Mei opened her eyes and looked at Eisawa with interest. Eisawa's eyelid twitched, and his face gradually turned green. "You can only choose three."
"Why?"
He was just getting started. Gisei indicated he was only halfway through, but the reason Eisawa gave was powerful, leaving him unable to refute.
"No money."
Yes, cultivating butterflies was not only troublesome and time-consuming but also burned money considerably.
Take the Gluttony Butterfly Gisei just mentioned as an example. The Gluttony Butterfly was a type that grew faster the more it ate.
Once it grew to a certain size, it could carry people in flight. It was precisely for its flight ability that Gisei had chosen it.
However, the Gluttony Butterfly was carnivorous, and the money it would eat up in a year was at least a million ryo—and that was the minimum. Even more outrageous was its life cycle; it only had a lifespan of three years.
So if Gisei wanted to maintain flight capability permanently, he couldn't raise just one, which meant the cost would multiply several times over.
Money... Gisei only had pocket money. That little bit was only enough for him to eat barbecue once.
Thinking of this, he said decisively, "Then Multi-eyed Butterfly, Explosive Butterfly, Gluttony Butterfly."
"Remove Explosive Butterfly and Gluttony Butterfly. Change them to Thunder Butterfly and Water Butterfly."
Gisei was dumbfounded and said incredulously, "The family doesn't even have this much money? And you have the nerve to brag to me about being the strongest ninja clan in Konoha?"
At this moment, Mei spoke up: "The Explosive Butterfly is a self-destructing butterfly. The more chakra it absorbs, the greater the power of the self-destruction. With your chakra levels, you'd be better off buying explosive tags."
"The Gluttony Butterfly counts as the most expensive butterfly type. With your family's current financial power, I'm afraid you can't afford to raise even one."
Eisawa said faintly, "We are Konoha's strongest, but also poorest, and definitely most hardworking ninja clan."
Because we are poor, we work hard?
Gisei, realizing he had completely fallen into a pit, despaired.