Fujin signed the contract right away with his blood. Ryu carried him away from the peak and flew down the mountain.
As they were flying, Fujin asked, "Ryu, are there others like you guys who can use Senjutsu but can't pass it on to humans?"
Ryu replied, "Of course, there are numerous. The number of species that can use Senjutsu is at least a couple of dozen. And there are numerous wild beasts who managed to learn it on their own. Some of them are very wild and dangerous. Even I wouldn't want to face them in a single combat."
Fujin was surprised to learn that. After all, he didn't see any such creature make a move during the 4th Great Ninja War. But soon he realized, 'Now that I think about it, none of the summons made any major moves during that war. The toads had a larger participation in the fight against Pain rather than against Obito and Madara. Weird considering that they were in danger during the latter rather than the former.'
Ryu continued, "As far as I am aware, only the places you humans consider as the three sacred places have techniques to pass down their methods of harnessing nature energy to humans. Others don't have them or are not interested in passing them down."
A giant cave appeared before them. Ryu stepped into the cave and roared loudly. Surprisingly, his roar had no effect on Fujin. Fujin was impressed, 'What control over his voice!'
Fujin got off Ryu's head. Ryu looked at him and said seriously, "Though we don't have any specified rules, there are a few things you have to follow."
Fujin nodded. Ryu said, "First, none of the Winged Sabertooths you summon should die. While we will give our all to help you, we will undo the summoning and return if we face extreme danger and think death is inevitable. This is especially true for the young ones who still need to grow.
After escaping, we will use Reverse Summoning jutsu to save you unless you specifically ask us not to."
Fujin nodded and said, "That is reasonable. I have no issues with that."
Fujin's main priority was always his own safety. So it was perfectly understandable for him when others have similar priorities.
Ryu said, "Another thing, though you can summon me, don't try it until your chakra reserves get much larger. You will need to have at least 5 times the chakra you currently have to summon me safely. In the meantime…"
Ryu gazed outside the cave. Fujin followed his gaze and saw 3 Winged Sabertooths flying towards them. They entered the cave as Ryu completed his sentence, "In the meantime, you can summon my sons."
Ryu looked at them and said, "This is Fujin. He has become the new summoner of our pride. Introduce yourself."
The 3 Winged Sabertooths stared at Fujin. Though they were smaller than Ryu, they were much bigger than Fujin. The smallest one was almost twice as tall as Fujin while the largest one was half the size of Ryu!
The biggest one said, "I am Kurogane. You can summon me when you are in an intense fight."
He observed Fujin and said, "Though I would recommend at least doubling your chakra before trying to summon me."
The second one said, "I am Kaito. I like going on adventures and flying for a long time. You can summon me when you want to travel long distances."
The smallest one said, "I am Goro. Feel free to summon me whenever you want to."
Fujin nodded and slightly bowed and said, "I will be in your care."
Goro said with a smirk, "Don't worry, I like to protect the ones weaker than me!"
He immediately ran away after saying that as his two brothers stared at him in annoyance. Ryu sighed as Kurogane explained, "He is quite mischievous. You will have to get used to him."
Fujin said, "It's fine."
Kurogane and Kaito also left.
Ryu said, "Everyone here is an expert in using Wind attacks. The nature energy we use amplifies it even further. You can later try to create combination attacks with them. If you aren't compatible with them, you can even summon others from the pride."
Fujin nodded and said, "Alright."
Ryu stared at Fujin and said, "Now, time to discuss the important matter."
Fujin looked into Ryu's eyes. He could feel that Ryu was trying to look into every secret he had.
Ryu said, "I was initially not sure about accepting you and wanted to leave the decision to Granny. I changed my mind after sensing how in tune with nature you became. The reason I was doubtful is that your potential isn't very high."
Fujin furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?"
Ryu said, "From what I can see, your body and chakra should be stronger than most humans that are your age. However, you have only managed to do so with extreme hard work. Isn't that right?"
Fujin was uncomfortable at how easily Ryu gained information regarding his chakra and abilities. Fujin nodded, "That is true."
Ryu said, "Every being has a limit to which they can grow. For some, it is higher, while for others it is much lower. What you have done through intense training is bring forth all your potential in order to gain power quickly. Due to this, you will soon reach your limit and your chakra reserves will stop increasing. In fact, the speed of the growth of your chakra reserves should have already slowed."
Fujin frowned. He thought, 'I have monitored my chakra ever since I became a sensor. My chakra grew by 2-3 times every year during the last two years in the academy. And it exploded under Renjiro's training due to Senju Taijutsu style training and grew by about 4.5 times in a year.
Though I noticed that my chakra growth has slowed and it will grow by less than 2 times this year, I speculated that it was just due to no longer having any gains from training Senju Taijutsu style. If his words are right, doesn't it mean that my growth will drastically slow down?'
Ryu guessed Fujin's thoughts and said, "You don't need to worry about this. After all, you can't control your potential and limits."
Fujin argued, "But can't we exceed our limits and grow beyond them?"
In the 4th Great Ninja War, the strongest ninja was probably the one with the least potential. So though Fujin didn't like what Ryu said, he wasn't discouraged as Guy's example was in front of him.
Ryu was impressed by Fujin's reply. He thought, 'Many will be demotivated on learning that their progress will be halted and might deny that their potential is limited. But he directly thought about breaking through the limits!'
Ryu replied, "It's true, it can be surpassed. However, you will just reach your new limits and stop there unless you can keep breaking your limits. Just breaking limits is rare. But to break it consecutively is almost impossible. Of course, there are still beings who have managed to do it and become immensely powerful, but they are very rare. Anyways, we are getting off-topic. We can discuss this later when you reach it.
What I wanted to say is that your chakra growth will slow down in a couple of years. And when the growth becomes too slow, you will come here and receive my training."
Fujin thought, 'I see. He wasn't trying to demotivate me…'
Fujin asked in a confused tone, "Why do we have to wait till then?"
Ryu answered, "Because your current chakra isn't strong enough. The techniques I plan on teaching you are very chakra intensive and will put an intense strain on your physique. So you will need at least 3 to 4 times your current chakra and a much stronger physique before I can safely teach you. That is why I will not be training you right now.
As for the limit that I mentioned, you don't need to worry much about it. Though your potential isn't very high, your wind affinity is very potent. And we have methods and the resources to make it even stronger.
As for chakra reserves, though it is difficult, even they can be artificially boosted. However, it is very troublesome to do so and the methods that we have are more effective on someone whose growth has come to a halt. In addition, there are various restrictions and limits on those methods, but we will talk about it when you reach the limit.
Of course, if you manage to keep breaking past your limits, then I can begin your training after you reach the necessary levels of chakra reserves and physique."
Fujin consumed all the information Ryu just stated. He was beyond surprised. He analyzed, 'He can do that? Increasing wind affinity is understandable if they have access to Wind Elemental Crystals. But how can they increase Chakra reserves?'
At the same time, his mood became a bit grim, 'Since they are willing to invest so many resources into me, what exactly do they gain from training me in Senjutsu?'
Fujin didn't let his mood reflect on his face. Instead, he showed an excited expression and said, "Alright, that sounds great. Thanks a lot in advance, Ryu!"
Ryu said, "That is all for now. Return to your place and don't attempt to sense Nature chakra without my presence."
Fujin replied, "Don't worry. I won't risk my life pointlessly."
Ryu nodded. Fujin weaved hand signs and returned to his basement.
He looked around himself and let out a sigh, 'Finally! I don't need to experience any more crazy situations like those.'
Fujin was very happy with the summon he signed. However, a thought appeared in his mind, 'Should I keep my summon a secret?'
