The campfire gradually dimmed. The last piece of bear bone was tossed into the flames, letting out a faint crack as it burned.
Dinner in the forest ended in silence.
Shinichi wiped his hands and took out a rather large blank scroll from his ninja tool pouch.
The scroll was made of a special material, its surface giving off a supple sheen under the fading firelight.
At the same time, his clone Isshin wordlessly handed over a small glass vial he had prepared in advance. Inside it was a dark red, slightly viscous liquid.
It was his own blood.
Shinichi pulled out the stopper, took a specially made brush used for drawing talismans and sealing formulas, dipped it into the blood as ink, and let the tip soak until it was saturated with crimson.
His expression was calm, his gaze focused. He spread the blank scroll flat before him, then lowered his wrist steadily and began to write upon it with a specific rhythm and structured pattern of symbols.
The brush tip glided across the scroll, leaving behind streaks of blood imbued with chakra fluctuations, gradually weaving into a complex yet orderly array of patterns and contractual script.
If an experienced ninja were present, they would immediately recognize it—
He was drafting a new summoning contract.
The origins of summoning contracts were ancient, said to trace back to the Three Great Sage Regions of legend. Yet their core principles had long since spread throughout the shinobi world, partially mastered and further developed.
At its core, once successfully established, a summoning contract creates a stable connection that transcends space. Through the use of the Summoning Technique and the consumption of chakra, the contractor can ignore distance entirely and call forth the other party—the summoning beast—directly to their side.
This spatial summoning convenience is not limited to the highly intelligent and ancient summoning clans of the Three Great Sage Regions.
In fact, all widely circulated summoning contracts in the shinobi world possess this effect—whether they are ninja beasts raised and fought alongside by clans for generations (such as the Inuzuka clan's ninken), or powerful creatures discovered and subdued in the wild by formidable shinobi (such as Hanzo's salamander, Ibuse).
As long as a summoning contract is successfully established, one gains access to this instantaneous, cross-spatial summoning ability.
However, a long-standing mystery—or rather, a consensus within the shinobi world—remains:
Humans seem capable of forming summoning contracts with nearly any creature in nature that possesses chakra or special abilities… yet they cannot establish the same kind of summoning connection with other humans.
If humans wish to achieve similar spatial movement, the only recognized method in the current shinobi world is through space-time ninjutsu—most notably the Flying Thunder God Technique developed by the Second Hokage.
This further highlights the uniqueness and transcendence of the summoning contracts of the Three Great Sage Regions.
To a certain extent, their relationship with their contractors is mutual. Not only can the contractor summon the beasts, but the summoning beasts themselves can, through the contract, reverse-summon the contractor to their location or to the Sage Region itself.
This is the Reverse Summoning Technique.
In the original timeline, it seemed only Mount Myōboku's contract system had consistently demonstrated this bidirectional summoning ability. The other two Sage Regions—Shikkotsu Forest and Ryūchi Cave—had not shown it clearly.
Shinichi had previously asked Tsunade and learned that Shikkotsu Forest does possess this capability as well. The Slug Sage can reverse-summon contractors to its side.
And now, what Shinichi was attempting—was an act that, if known to the outside world, would overturn conventional understanding. Something wildly unconventional.
He was trying to form a summoning contract with a human.
Isshin, the clone, was fundamentally different. He was created from Shinichi's origin, fused with the bloodline of the powerful summoning beast race—the Monkey King—and shaped by system-based rules.
He was both a "human" derived from Shinichi's origin…
And a unique being whose lifeform incorporated the traits of a top-tier summoning beast race. His physical strength was overwhelmingly powerful, far beyond that of ordinary humans.
So then—
Could such a being, existing between "human" and "beast," carrying the bloodline of a summoning beast, be recognized by a summoning contract? Could it establish that kind of spatially transcendent connection?
This was the possibility Shinichi intended to test—a challenge to convention.
He understood clearly: if successful, the implications would far exceed a mere tactical enhancement.
Isshin was immensely powerful. He possessed the Monkey King clan's naturally robust physique and combat instincts. He was a highly reliable and formidable combat force—perhaps even surpassing Shinichi's original body in raw physical strength.
If he could be summoned instantly through a contract, it would mean that Shinichi could deploy this power from the distant Land of Iron to any battlefield at his side, creating absolute localized superiority—or responding to sudden, life-threatening crises.
More importantly, Shinichi knew time was running out.
From the intelligence he had deliberately gathered and analyzed through various channels, the Third Kazekage had not appeared in public for quite some time.
Shinichi could even assert with certainty—
The man known as "the strongest Kazekage in history" had already been killed.
And with that as the trigger, the Third Great Ninja War, which would sweep across the entire shinobi world, was imminent.
To that end, Shinichi had even submitted a second report, further solidifying his image as a genius strategist in the eyes of the Third Hokage.
Isshin sat quietly across from him. The flickering glow of the fire danced across his sharp features as he watched his original body use his (the clone's) blood to inscribe ancient, mysterious symbols onto the contract scroll.
His gaze remained calm.
If this worked…
It would grant the clone an extremely convenient rapid deployment capability.
No matter what kind of training he was undergoing in the Land of Iron, what plans he was executing, or what dangers he might encounter—
As long as the original body used the Summoning Technique, he could appear at Shinichi's side instantly, no matter the distance.
The strategic value and flexibility of such a system were immeasurable.
And going further—
If this contract, based on Isshin's unique nature, could—like the legendary system of Mount Myōboku—achieve a certain degree of bidirectional summoning…
If the clone could also reverse-summon the original body to the Land of Iron or another safe location when necessary—
Then its value would become almost unimaginable.
In the brutal and chaotic Third Great Ninja War to come, as long as Shinichi did not deliberately throw himself into certain death—
With this trump card, it would be nearly impossible for him to die.
After all, he and Isshin fundamentally shared a single mind controlling two bodies. This connection ignored distance, allowing both sides to clearly perceive the exact state of each body at any time.
In comparison, even the summoning beasts of the Three Great Sage Regions—despite possessing reverse summoning—could never constantly monitor their contractor's condition like this.
A few minutes later—
The final stroke was completed.
The intricate blood-drawn symbols on the scroll were finished, the entire contract text flowing with a dim sheen, exuding an ancient and profound aura.
Shinichi took a deep breath, then bit his right thumb. Fresh blood welled at the tip of his finger.
He pressed it onto the reserved signature area at the bottom of the scroll and, using blood as ink, steadily wrote his name:
Higashino Shinichi.
The moment the name was completed, all the symbols on the scroll flickered faintly, as if infused with a directional will.
Immediately afterward, Shinichi formed the standard hand seals of the Summoning Technique.
Almost at the same moment—
Isshin, sitting across from him, felt his body tremble slightly.
He clearly sensed a strange, indescribable "call" emerging within his consciousness.
It was like a coordinate anchor and a request for summoning permission—originating from bloodline and contract, directly acting upon the essence of his existence.
Isshin did not hesitate.
The moment he perceived the call, he responded with clear and affirmative intent—
The next instant—
Bang!
A burst of white smoke—not dense, but clearly visible—exploded in the open space before Shinichi.
The smoke quickly dissipated.
Isshin, tall and broad, stood firmly there—only about ten meters away from where he had been sitting by the fire.
Yet both Shinichi and Isshin allowed faint smiles to form at the corners of their lips.
This short distance of ten meters—
The method of movement, however, was completely different.
This was a genuine spatial teleportation.
The summoning contract's mechanism had successfully worked on Isshin.
"Success," Shinichi murmured softly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
The first test was confirmed: the clone could be treated as a summonable unit.
"Let's try reverse summoning next."
Shinichi looked at his clone, preparing for the next crucial test.
If both sides could achieve bidirectional summoning, the strategic value would increase exponentially.
Isshin bit his finger as well, forming the same Summoning Technique seals as the original body. Chakra surged as he attempted to act as the contracting party and reverse-summon his original body.
The seals were completed. Chakra was consumed.
However—
Nothing happened.
The forest remained silent.
No white smoke. No spatial fluctuations.
Shinichi still stood where he was, watching his clone, a slight frown forming.
Reverse summoning had failed.
Shinichi carefully analyzed the moment Isshin activated the technique—
He had not sensed that strange "call" within his own consciousness like before.
Still, one-way summoning was already enough.
He did not dwell on it further.
Being able to summon the clone to his side at any time was already a trump card capable of changing many outcomes in the chaos ahead.
Moreover, since Isshin's fundamental origin came from Shinichi himself, when Isshin used the Transformation Technique to assume the original body's appearance, it was practically a perfect replication.
This might prove unexpectedly useful in combat.
As for reverse summoning—
Perhaps it could be researched indirectly through the principles of the Three Great Sage Regions' contracts or through space-time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God Technique.
With that in mind, Shinichi took out another storage scroll.
Looking at it, his usually calm and composed eyes revealed a rare trace of pain.
Inside it lay almost all his accumulated wealth over the years—
Mission rewards, medical fees, prize money from cooking competitions, manga royalties—almost everything was in there.
And not just his own savings.
To complete the plan, even Isshin would have to suffer a major financial loss.
Shinichi placed the scroll on the ground, then created two shadow clones and handed them an item.
Soon, the two clones departed one after another, heading toward the northwest of the Land of Fire.
After finishing everything—
Shinichi's figure flickered slightly, merging into the shadows of the forest as he silently disappeared from the clearing.
The night wind passed through.
Only the cooling air and the dying embers of the campfire remained.
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