Fujin observed Mount Muteki carefully. He could feel that the chakra around the mountain felt different as compared to Konoha and other villages.
Ryu asked, "So, how are you feeling?"
Fujin replied, "I am feeling great. I have never felt better!"
Ryu said, "Of course. What you just experienced was a special state. And the chakra you feel is nature's chakra. I believe you humans also refer to it as Senjutsu."
Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'That was nature's chakra?'
He fell into a thought as he realized, 'No wonder I felt so comfortable and my mood was so tranquil.'
Ryu noticed that Fujin was in thought and said, "You only sensed Nature's chakra and didn't absorb it. In the future, don't try to absorb nature's chakra or even try to feel it yourself. It can be very dangerous. Especially as you aren't ready to handle it yet."
Fujin nodded. He knew how dangerous nature's chakra was. He replied, "Thanks for the warning. I won't try it without guidance."
Fujin wanted to ask a few questions but something caught his eye. He looked ahead to see 4 sabertooths flying in the sky while playing around. However, compared to Ryu, they were much smaller with heights in the range of 3-4 meters.
They noticed Ryu and quickly flew towards him. However, their attention soon fell on Fujin as this was the first time they ever saw a human. Fujin too was observing them.
They were about to land on Ryu, when he said, "Run along kiddos. I'll be busy."
The four sabertooths immediately flew away.
Ryu said, "Don't mind them. You are the first human they saw. So expect a lot of curiosity-filled gazes if you manage to sign the contract."
Fujin chuckled, "Alright."
Ryu flew to the very top of the peak. However, instead of a pointy peak, there was a shallow crater surrounded by the rocks. It looked quite similar to the opening of a volcano, except that the crater wasn't very deep and instead of lava, it was covered in snow.
Ryu landed in the crater in front of another sabertooth. This one wasn't as big as Ryu but was still about three-fourths of his size. And it looked a bit older.
The Sabertooth noticed Fujin and asked in a gentle voice, "Which guest have you brought here, Ryu?"
Fujin was surprised by her voice. Unlike Ryu, it was much more gentle and pleasing to the ears.
Ryu said, "This is Fujin. He came here to sign a summoning contract. Fujin, get off and introduce yourself."
Fujin nodded and jumped down from his head. He landed between the two Sabertooths. He bowed slightly and respectfully said, "I am Suzuki Fujin from Konohagakure. I used the summoning jutsu to find a summon and appeared in front of Ryu."
The sabertooth observed Fujin carefully. Ryu said, "Fujin, she is the leader of our pride. And the Sage of Mount Muteki and all Winged Sabertooths!"
Fujin had already expected it to be so. The sage looked into Ryu's eyes before looking at Fujin and said, "Ryu has a habit of being too dramatic. I am Gahyou Murasaki. Everyone in this pride is my descendent."
Fujin memorized her name. She continued, "Did Ryu inform you about the conditions of signing a summoning contract with us?"
Fujin replied, "He informed me about needing a strong affinity to Wind nature. But I don't know about other criteria."
Murasaki said, "Alright. Before I inform you about the criteria, do you have any questions you want answered?"
Fujin replied, "Yes, quite a few. Is it fine to ask them all?"
Murasaki said, "Sure, ask."
Fujin asked, "When I used the summoning jutsu, why did I arrive so far away from Mount Muteki?"
Murasaki replied, "The summoning jutsu you humans use isn't to find a group of summons but instead a specific summon. In your case, that was Ryu. That is why you appeared in front of him instead of the mountain.
Since most summons live in their sacred lands, I believe that you have the misconception that you appear in sacred lands.
That information surprised Fujin. He analyzed, 'I never thought of it that way. But I guess it makes sense. Though I don't remember well, I think Jiraiya did fall in front of Gamabunta who became his main summon.'
Fujin looked at Murasaki and asked the most important question, "Can you teach me Senjutsu?"
Murasaki didn't answer and instead stared at Fujin for a minute. She finally said, "This question is a bit complicated to answer."
Fujin furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?"
Murasaki replied, "We do have the ability to harness and use Nature's energy. However, this technique is only for us Winged Sabertooths. A human can't learn it."
Fujin thought, 'Even Toad Sage Mode was a technique for toads. But humans could still learn it. Why can't their method be learnt?"
Murasaki broke Fujin's thoughts by saying, "This is one of the criteria for accepting a summoner. We only accept summoners who we believe could learn Senjutsu. Though you won't be able to use our technique, we will use it as a reference to help you learn Senjutsu."
Fujin was confused. He couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
Murasaki replied, "You human body can't handle our methods."
Fujin said, "No, not that. Why would you go through so much effort to make a summoner learn Senjutsu?"
Murasaki stayed silent for a few seconds before saying, "I can't tell you the reason but it has become a tradition here. However, I can't give you any sureties in learning Senjutsu. After all, in the past 500 years, we have trained many humans. Unfortunately, no one managed to learn Senjutsu."
Fujin became silent on hearing it and fell into thought. He was very conflicted. He sighed in his mind, 'What a mess. Looks like learning Senjutsu from here will be very difficult.'
Murasaki and Ryu noticed Fujin thinking and didn't disturb him. Fujin analyzed and reached the conclusion, 'I guess this isn't bad though. Other than the Toads teaching Jiraiya, Minato and Naruto Senjutsu, I am not sure if any other summons teach Senjutsu. Though Kabuto did get it, I don't recall exactly how he convinced the snakes to teach him. And Hashirama's sage mode didn't have any explanation.
So if these guys are serious about training me to learn Senjutsu, that will probably be my best chance. Of course, their help is definitely not unconditional or selfless. I am sure they have their own goals for wanting to train their summoners to use Senjutsu. Besides, using summoning jutsu blindly is too risky. I'd have to sign a contract even if they didn't know Senjutsu.'
Fujin said, "Alright, I will be in your care. However, I have one more question. Am I allowed to sign more summoning contracts?"
This time Fujin heard Ryu's jagged voice from behind and he sounded offended, "Kid, why do you want to sign other contracts when you have us?"
Fujin looked back and calmly said, "When I learnt about the summoning jutsu, I planned to sign at least 3 summoning contracts. One for fighting on land, one for fighting in the air and one for scouting and spying. But, since you have the ability to fly, I don't need to find another summon to fly. Of course, it was just some plans I made when I was a kid. If you have conditions of not signing other contracts, then I won't."
Ryu calmed down on hearing Fujin's answer. He replied with a deadpan tone, "You are still just a kid."
His reply made Fujin feel awkward. Murasaki answered, "I don't care if you sign other summoning contracts. But you can't sign a contract with a group that can use Nature chakra. Even if you tried to sign one, they won't agree if you have already signed a summoning contract with us.
Also, though your plan seems good, don't try it until your strength grows considerably. With your current strength, there are many summons that can kill you with ease. So it will be pointless and risky."
Fujin nodded. He didn't need to be told again how risky it was as his memories were still very fresh.
Muraski continued, "Instead of trying to form another summoning contract, I would recommend raising wild animals and signing them as your contract. That way you won't be under any restrictions and can raise them to do what you want."
Fujin was intrigued by the idea. He thought, 'I never thought of this option. But, to be honest, raising animals will be a lot of work. Especially when I am out on missions. However, I do have a lot of space around my home and I have a lot of money that I don't have any use for. I need to see if I can employ someone to do the work for me.'
Fujin looked at Murasaki and said, "That's all the questions I had, Lady Murasaki."
Ryu watched awkwardly at Fujin as he called her a 'lady'. He wondered, 'This 'Lady' is over 800 years old. I wonder when was the last time anyone called her lady!'
Murasaki said, "You can call me Granny. As for your criteria for signing a contract, there are just two."
She looked at Ryu and said, "The one in front of whom you appear should agree to accept you as a summoner."
She looked back at Fujin and said, "And you should show talent to be able to learn Senjutsu in the future."
Fujin thought, 'As I thought. They gain something from teaching me Senjutsu.'
Ryu said, "I agree. And Fujin has passed the second criterion as well."
Fujin looked at Ryu in surprise. Ryu said, "The flight to this place was a test to see how in tune you can become with nature. My goal was to calm you down and make you experience peace and tranquility by showing you that scenery. As you managed to sense nature chakra, you have passed the criteria."
Fujin was left speechless. He thought, 'First I needed a good wind affinity. And then I needed to feel nature's chakra which I coincidentally managed to do. I guess good luck does follow bad luck!'
Fujin replied with a smile, "That's great! When do we sign the contract?"
