"Uh… you really overdid it." By afternoon, Kakashi's expression twitched as he stared at the cages piled behind Ishikawa.
He had asked the boy to prepare three animals, not a whole zoo. Yet there they were: three medium-sized creatures and a variety of small ones in cages.
Was Ishikawa trying to wear him out as a teacher?
"Hehehe, I'm not in a rush to use them all," Ishikawa scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "I just figured I'd prepare them all at once… so I won't trouble you later!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
'Still… this guy's got a good eye. These three animals are excellent choices.' He glanced at the medium-sized hawk, dog, and snake that Ishikawa had brought. Nodding to himself, he began setting up the summon contract.
Kakashi unrolled three scrolls onto the ground, each filled with dense sealing runes and summoning symbols. Ishikawa immediately understood and placed the three animals into the blank spaces at the center of each scroll.
"Ishikawa. Blood," Kakashi ordered curtly, as expected of someone who didn't waste words.
Ishikawa had anticipated this and made a shallow cut on his fingertip with a kunai, letting the blood drip down.
"…Too little," Kakashi said flatly. Before Ishikawa could react, Kakashi snatched the kunai and made a swift, deep slash across his palm.
"Hisss—!" Ishikawa sucked in a sharp breath, wincing at the sting.
Kakashi, unmoved, gave a cold smile. "Now that's a summon contract."
Without missing a beat, he took Ishikawa's bleeding hand and began inscribing the blood-based technique onto the animals' bodies.
"…Teacher, I suddenly understand why you only let me sign three contracts," Ishikawa muttered, face turning pale as he watched the ritual unfold.
Damn! If it were eight or ten animals, he'd be bled dry! So, summon contracts were this dangerous?
"You're overthinking it," Kakashi replied with a rare smirk. "I'm more worried about your chakra reserves. If you try summoning too many, it'll cause more mistakes than success."
With that, he dragged Ishikawa's hand to the second animal.
"?" Ishikawa blinked, stunned and speechless.
Despite the initial panic, the ritual proceeded smoothly. Within fifteen minutes, Kakashi completed the full summon contract procedure.
As soon as they finished, Ishikawa quickly popped a blood-replenishing pill into his mouth to stabilize his loss of blood. He let out a long breath of relief.
"Looks like you spent your 300,000 ryō well," Kakashi commented, seeing the pill. "Smart kid. Weapons, medicines, and even animals—those are all ninja tools."
Before Ishikawa could reply, Kakashi's hands blurred into afterimages, forming seals at impressive speed.
'Beautiful… When will I be able to form hand seals that fast?' Ishikawa's eyes shone with admiration. He made a note to spend more time practicing hand seals, not just ninjutsu.
"Summoning Contract—Bind!"
As Ishikawa watched closely, Kakashi completed the hand seals and chanted the final phrase softly.
The next moment, the red blood runes drawn on the three animals and the black sealing symbols on the scrolls suddenly began to flow—like living ink. Black and red runes surged toward the animals' bodies and disappeared into their skin in a flash of crimson light.
In one breath, it was done.
"All set," Kakashi said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "You can summon them using the summoning jutsu now. Each animal requires a different chakra output—you'll need to practice to get it right."
"Got it," Ishikawa replied, watching the tired teacher and feeling a little guilty.
'You're not as tough as you pretend to be, huh, Kakashi-sensei?' Why did he suddenly feel… touched?
To be honest, Kakashi had been a great teacher to him. Maybe it was time he started thinking of ways to return the favor.
For example… removing the side effects of the Sharingan? Just a thought.
"This is the summoning jutsu seal pattern," Kakashi continued, still unaware of Ishikawa's internal monologue. "Once you've completed the contract, just smear blood on your thumb, form these seals, and summon the creature."
He demonstrated the sequence, though he didn't actually summon Pakkun—just a clean display for teaching.
"Understood." Eyes blazing with interest, Ishikawa studied the five-seal pattern carefully, then—while his hand was still bleeding—began forming the hand seals himself.
"Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram - Summoning Jutsu!" After completing the hand seals one by one, Ishikawa shouted aloud, and almost all of his chakra erupted in a single instant.
Boom! A cloud of white smoke exploded outward, and the eagle, dog, and snake nearby instantly broke free of their restraints and appeared right in front of Ishikawa.
"Woof woof woof—!"
"Hissss—"
"Chirp—!"
Freed at last, the three animals let out startled cries and bolted in different directions without a second thought.
They had been forcefully captured by Ishikawa before—how could they possibly be dumb enough to run towards him now and risk getting caught again?
"Summoning successful on the first try—not bad," Kakashi commented with a nod, showing no surprise. "But for three ordinary animals, you didn't need to use that much chakra."
Unlike contracted ninja beasts, regular animals didn't have chakra to resist a summoning jutsu—they'd be pulled through unconditionally.
"I'll make sure to practice more, Kakashi-sensei." Ishikawa, panting slightly, made no attempt to chase after the three animals.
No need—he could summon them again anytime. After the first possession, their minds would degrade, leaving them so dull and docile that they wouldn't even think to run.
"Good. That's enough for today." Kakashi glanced at the cages still full of small animals behind Ishikawa and immediately vanished in a blur.
"Learning the summon contract ritual's already exhausting… We'll revisit this some other time." And with that, he was gone—no loyalty, no shame.
"Huh? That's it?" Ishikawa blinked, stunned by how fast his teacher fled. Kakashi's dedication had just touched him—was it all an illusion?
Grumbling, he let out a huff and dragged the cages down the mountain toward Kakashi's house.
Due to blood loss and chakra exhaustion, the trip was slow, with frequent stops. By the time he reached Kakashi's house, the sky was already dark.
Seeing Kakashi's blank, speechless stare, Ishikawa gave a proud grin and casually dumped the cage of little animals right into his front yard—then turned and walked off without a word.
For the first time, Kakashi truly felt the irritation of dealing with a mischievous child.
That night, just as Ishikawa had guessed, Nohara Rin didn't return. She was still participating in the second round of the Chunin Exams—in the Forest of Death.
Without Rin around, Ishikawa dove into his training with reckless abandon.
With the help of a doorknob and some improvisation, he fully grasped the practical mechanics of summoning jutsu by the end of the night.
He also carried out his inhumane plan—applying the Spirit Transformation Technique to all three animals repeatedly, dulling their minds and making them completely obedient.
Well… not exactly obedient—they were just mentally impaired. Too slow to hide or flee when they saw him, they were now perfect vessels for his possession jutsu.
On the second night, Rin still hadn't returned. So Ishikawa doubled down again, refining the spirit Transformation technique even further until his transitions were smoother, quicker, and more seamless.
Then came the big day.
Team 7 gathered at their designated meeting point.
"Wait—why are they here?" As Ishikawa strolled up casually, his eyes widened in surprise, and his pupils shrank.
"Brother Ishikawa, you're finally here! We were waiting for you..." "We've gotta crush them today! That genius Neji or whatever—Team 7 won't lose to anyone!"
His two younger teammates shouted excitedly the moment they saw him, as though the arrival of Ishikawa meant victory was within reach.
Standing opposite them was none other than the third team of graduates from the same year—Team Guy.
And they weren't backing down either.