Kapitel 225: 224-Let's Do This

The day started with a bit of calm serenity over the floating islands. These ethereal landmasses floated serenely across the skies, hanging far above the world below them, and they swayed softly in the cool breeze.

Teamed by narrow, rocky bridges in some cases and independent in others, they were spread out like pieces of a grand puzzle, blanketed by patches of soft grass and towering trees. A few waterfalls fell from one island to another, their waters disappearing into the expanse of mist that lay ceaselessly below them.

The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves in the wind created a serene atmosphere as if the whole realm lived in symbiosis with nature itself.

"Pop!"

Suddenly, a loud popping resounded in the silence, and a puff of smoke emitted into the thick air. As the smoke dissipated, a figure appeared in its stead-Renjiro.

'It's been a while since I was here,' Renjiro thought as he glanced around, the familiar landscape somehow surreal.

The floating islands filled with bright greens and shining waters almost seemed too perfect. There was something almost unreal about the place as if it existed out of the normal flow of time.

Renjiro sat down on the soft grass and crossed his legs, falling into a meditative position. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, filling his lungs with cool, fresh air. His chakra circulated through him rather smoothly as he started to center himself, pushing out all distractions of the outside world.

'They must already know that I'm here,' he thought.

By this time, Renjiro had long realized the sharp senses the lightning eagles had. So he chose to wait as long as he could for someone to come and collect him. Since the island he had appeared on did not have any bridge to the next. So he was momentarily stranded on the island.

He could have easily summoned Uno or any of the other eagles, but that would be an unnecessary drain on his chakra, considering the purpose of his visit. It wasn't as though Renjiro was concerned with his chakra reserves, exactly; efficiency was always important in situations like this.

It had been a period of minutes in total silence as the breeze pulled lightly upon Renjiro's clothes and hair. His mind was even, calm, and his breathing was smooth and constant.

"Flap!"

Then he heard it, off in the distance a faint, yet unmistakable sound. The rhythmic flapping of wings. With each second passing, it became louder, and Renjiro opened his eyes just in time as a huge shadow was cast over him.

A great eagle swooped out of the sky, heaving its wings through the air to whip the wind across the clearing with such ferocity that Renjiro stumbled over his feet to keep upright.

The young shinobi stood fast as the gusts whipped him savagely and swirled to dance across the clearing. Dust and leaves spiralled into the air as the enormous creature settled before him in grace.

"Thud!"

Its talons sliced into the earth, and Renjiro felt its weight without a single moment's warning. Of course, he didn't have to look twice to recognize this creature as a majestic one.

"Tenjin," Renjiro said, his head dipping in a respectful nod toward the huge eagle.

But he was not alone. Seated upon his back, tiny against the large eagle's bulk, was another figure: Lady Momo, the matriarch of the Lightning Eagles.

Renjiro had asked why Momo had shrunk in size despite being the Matriarch of her clan. This was all because it was a bit comical seeing her riding Tenjin who was technically her husband.

Thankfully, her answer settled the matter. Apparently, Momo was even larger than Tenjin at some point in her life, but after she gave birth to Uno, she used most of her essence and shrunk in size. This made perfect sense to Renjiro.

"Renjiro, it is a long time since I saw you!"

Lady Momo hailed him with warm passion in her voice, soft yet carrying some weight. Her eyes enlarged a bit, quickly assessing the young shinobi that stood before her.

'His chakra. it has almost doubled since the last time he was here! And it's only been some months!'

He gave a polite bow to her as he said, "Lady Momo, I... just had some problems to work out. Since I now have more time to devote to my training, I came to see you all."

His eyes shifted to Tenjin, and Renjiro nodded his head respectfully.

"Tenjin, nice to see you too."

Muffled deep in his chest, Tenjin grunted, his beak clicking softly in acknowledgement.

"That is good to hear. If it wasn't for the summoning contract, I might have thought you were dead," she said.

"Don't worry about her," answered Lady Momo without being bothered, waving the question away with a flick of her wing.

"She's busy with something else."

To that vague response, Renjiro lifted an eyebrow. 'Well, that wasn't weird at all.'

Lady Momo appeared to catch his confusion but didn't dwell on it.

"That reminds me," Renjiro started, "I was speaking with one of the toads from Mount Myoboku, and they mentioned something about different types of Senjutsu. She didn't get a chance to clarify, so I thought maybe you could help shed some light on this."

Understanding lit Lady Momo's eyes. 'Ah, so that is why he came here,' and she glanced toward the knowing stare of Tenjin, who stood rigidly beside her.

'But how did she even meet them? Did he get any summons with them? No, from his soul, we should be the only summon he has.' The Matriarch eagle thought.

"I was about to tell you something like that, anyway," Momo said with a hint of mirth in her voice.

"But before that, shall we try to see whether you're compatible at all with Senjutsu? I would say that from what I can tell, your chakra levels have increased to an appropriate amount, so now's as good a time as any to find that out."

Renjiro blinked in surprise. 'Test for Senjutsu compatibility?'

That was just not what he had expected to hear, really. "You could just tell me what I need to know," Renjiro muttered, feeling a bit apprehensive due to the change in plans.

Lady Momo's sharp stare did soften slightly, but she remained firm.

"Moreover, it would be a shame to reveal such information if you aren't able to use Senjutsu yourself. Best try now instead of wasting any more time."

Renjiro was indecisive for a while, considering his choices. Not because he was actually quite the opposite. But he was here to gain more information about what Shima told him, and the test somehow didn't feel like a part of it. But Momo did make some sense. He couldn't use Senjutsu anyway, so it would be torturing him to be training it.

"Okay," he said finally, giving up. "Let's do it."

Lady Momo let out a soft cry of approval, and Tenjin's wings flared out behind her, casting an enormous shadow over Renjiro. "Good," Momo replied, her voice now taking on a more serious tone. "Prepare yourself, Renjiro. This will not be easy."

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Kapitel 226: 225-Purple Lightning

The serene atmosphere of the floating islands seemed to intensify as Lady Momo began flapping her wings, gracefully lifting herself into the air.

Unlike what Renjiro had grown accustomed to with other eagles, her wings didn't produce the usual gusts of wind. Instead, there was a strange and almost eerie sound, like something slicing cleanly through the air.

It wasn't the whoosh of wind or the beat of wings but a sharper, more refined sound, one that hinted at something more mystical.

Renjiro's eyes followed her movements carefully, his senses on alert.

Suddenly, he heard a sound around him.

"Thud!"

Four large wooden poles, each at least ten feet tall, landed on the ground, surrounding Renjiro at the four cardinal points—north, south, east, and west. The ground trembled slightly under the impact.

Renjiro sharp gaze took in their size and the intricate patterns carved into the wood, their surface rough yet shimmering faintly with latent power.

'Is that wood style?' Renjiro thought as he observed the poles.

The idea of wood-style jutsu was rare, almost mythical, a technique that harkened back to the era of the First Hokage. But before he could contemplate it further, his attention snapped to Lady Momo as her eyes began to glow with an intense, otherworldly purple light.

As Renjiro watched, that same purple glow spread from Momo's eyes to the four wooden poles. The glowing intensified, casting a surreal hue across the floating island, and then, to Renjiro's astonishment, the space between him and the two eagles began to stretch and widen.

What had been only a few meters of distance between them quickly expanded, until Renjiro found himself nearly a kilometer away, surrounded by nothing but empty space and the looming wooden poles.

'What? How is this happening?' Renjiro muttered, feeling the reality around him begin to warp.

Instinctively, he activated his Sharingan, hoping to make sense of what was happening. His eyes glowed red with the iconic three tomoe spinning in his irises, searching for whatever signs he could recognize.

His first thought was that this might be some kind of Genjutsu, but that was impossible. Renjiro's Chakra Seinou made him immune to Genjutsu, and his enhanced senses told him that this was no illusion.

There was no subtle manipulation of his mind, no chakra-based trickery. Everything around him was real, and whatever was happening was beyond his immediate understanding.

His brow furrowed as he focused on the wooden poles again. The purple light surrounding them intensified even more, and slowly, thin strands of shimmering paper began to materialize, hanging from the poles like ancient streamers.

These were no ordinary decorations, though—they were shide, sacred paper streamers often used in rituals. The air around Renjiro hummed with a strange, foreboding energy, and he couldn't shake the growing feeling that he was in the middle of some ancient rite.

Renjiro's awe quickly shifted to alarm as his senses began to scream at him, his instincts flaring with danger. The air around him felt charged with a massive build-up of energy, as if the very fabric of the atmosphere was bristling with electricity.

He could feel it—the wooden poles were gathering energy, focusing it inward toward him. The purple glow around the poles became blinding, and before Renjiro could react, he felt his feet leave the ground. He was being lifted into the air, his body weightless and suspended in the middle of the glowing poles.

The sensation of floating was soon replaced by something much more terrifying. The air cracked and hissed, and in an instant, purple lightning exploded from the four poles, converging on Renjiro.

"CRACK!" The sound was deafening.

Renjiro had only a split second to brace himself before the purple lightning struck him, coursing through his entire body.

"Aargh!" he groaned, the pain immediate and overwhelming.

It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, his skin felt like it was burning from the inside out, and his bones rattled under the force of the energy ripping through him. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony.

Renjiro was no stranger to pain. His training as a shinobi had exposed him to physical and mental torment, but this... this was different.

This was a searing, white-hot pain that felt as though it was tearing him apart from the inside. His mind struggled to comprehend the intensity of it, like molten lava surging through his veins, or as though his very chakra network was being torn to shreds by the raw, untamed power of the purple lightning.

Unbeknownst to him, his body responded instinctively. From every possible place in his body, adamantine chains began to manifest, their silvery, metallic surfaces glinting in the purple lightning.

The chains burst from his body like a swarm of snakes, wrapping themselves protectively around him. But the chains didn't stop there.

They lashed out violently, smashing into the ground and anything within their reach. Renjiro's control over them had slipped—his mind was too consumed by the pain to regulate his chakra.

The chains were a blur of motion, writhing and snapping as they created a barrier around Renjiro, shielding him from further harm. They coiled tightly around him, acting on pure instinct, protecting him from the continued assault of the purple lightning.

But they weren't just defensive—they were also rampaging. They lashed out wildly, slamming into the ground, uprooting trees, and cracking the earth beneath them. Anything within their radius was obliterated by their sheer force.

Renjiro barely registered what was happening. His mind was clouded, on the verge of losing consciousness as the pain threatened to overwhelm him completely.

Lady Momo, observing the scene from a distance, grew alarmed. Her sharp eyes narrowed as she watched the adamantine chains encircle Renjiro, wreaking havoc.

"Are they trying to stop the process?" she wondered aloud, her voice tense.

This was her first time since this type of ability, and from what she could tell, the chains were certainly not behaving normally—they were reacting to the immense energy of the ritual, and Momo knew that if something wasn't done soon, the entire process could fail.

The chains continued to rampage, smashing into everything around them, and creating a chaotic maelstrom of destruction. They whipped through the air, tearing into the ground with ferocious strength, creating craters in their wake.

Lady Momo glanced at Tenjin, her eyes filled with urgency. "Do it!" she commanded.

Tenjin wasted no time. His massive frame tensed, and his pupils dilated, shifting into a complex pattern. With a swift and decisive motion, he stamped his talon onto the ground.

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the earth, but it wasn't just a physical force—it was something far more potent. An invisible wave of energy travelled from Tenjin's talon to the barrier of chains surrounding Renjiro.

In an instant, the shockwave collided with the chains, and the effect was immediate. The chains, which had been thrashing violently, stilled. The barrier they had formed around Renjiro began to dissolve, and one by one, the chains retracted, slithering back into Renjiro's body like snakes returning to their den. Leaving the lighting to continue striking Renjiro's body.

After a few moments, the lightning subsided. Renjiro's body, now limp and suspended in the air, gently floated back to the ground. The purple glow from the wooden poles faded, as the wooden poles and paper streemers disappeared. The energy that had filled the air dissipated, leaving behind a tense, eerie silence.

For a moment, everything was still. Then, Renjiro stirred, his body aching from the ordeal. He groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred.

He felt weak, his limbs heavy, but the pain had subsided, leaving only a dull throb in its wake. His head spun as he tried to piece together what had just happened.

Lady Momo approached him, her gaze calm yet probing. "How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice soft but filled with concern.

Renjiro blinked, struggling to find his voice. "I... I'm okay, I think," he muttered, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. His body still felt like it had been through a grinder, but at least the pain had lessened.

Momo's eyes narrowed slightly, her next question catching him off guard. "Tell me, Renjiro—how close are you to the Nine-Tails?" she asked, her tone both curious and cautious.