"Damn it!"
A loud BOOM! echoed throughout one of the many forests dotting the landscape of Fire Country. Swirls of chakra mingled with a gigantic dust cloud that appeared to have been kicked up as the result of some powerful jutsu. As the the manmade fog cleared there stood a young man alone in the center of a large clearing. Dressed in casual clothing with a bandage secured firmly around his forehead and covering a single eye. He was rather heavily and a single bead of sweat dripped from his brown down the side of his face. "Still not right..." the thought dug into his head like a tick and stayed there. It was clear to anyone that he was training and hard by the looks of it. The Leaf ninja sucked his teeth in frustration and rolled the sleeves of his jacket up, intent on redoubling his efforts. His fingers moved in a blur forming hand seals at a quickened rate the speed of which was likely impacted by his current mood.
Tora. Ushi. Uma. I. Tori.
Wisps of chakra once again swirled around the clearing, centering on the chūnin just as he finished his set of seals. Daiji extended his right hand as if to flick the air before him with his middle finger but held the position. At first an orange spark started just in front of his fingernail. Then a light green colored gust. Both of the base elements swirled around each other as the ninja continued to pour more chakra and concentration into the mix. "Just a little more!" his entire arm began to shake and his hand even visibly glowed due to the immense amount of chakra all being routed to a single focal point. After a few moments of charging the chūnin gripped his right bicep with his left hand, bracing the limb as he flicked his finger. "Kinesis Release!" all of the pent up energy was focused into the tip of his middle finger. For a moment the entire forest was still... and then? BOOM!
A spiral consisting of air gushing in every direction streaked with flickering flame shot forth from his finger, crashing into a set of trees on the edge of the clearing and cleaving its way several layers deep into the woods (Fireball + Air Bullet). Cracking and splintering of wood echoed for several yards before the jutsu lost its momentum and finally dissipated. Daiji stood there, his breathing ragged after this latest attempt. "Not good enough... not even close." To be fair, it wasn't for lack of trying. His own chakra was neither Fire nor Wind aligned. Simply utilizing Fire Release or Wind Release was a feat all on its own for him. Attempting to combine these two natures together? Was one of the most difficult challenges he had faced as a shinobi. Daiji brought a hand up to cradle his head and winced as a sudden pain shot through his skull. The strain he was putting on his body was starting to take its toll. What started as a dull ache behind his right eye had grown into a pounding that wouldn't quit. Even the usual anti-inflammatory pills he had been eating like candy lately weren't doing the trick. As much as he could he refrained from taking trips to the hospital as being put on medical leave was more of a hassle than whatever ache or pain he was feeling a lot of the time... but if these migraines kept up he might just have to check himself in. He shrugged the pain off as best he could and was about to ready himself for another attempt when a faint noise caught his ear. Just barely at the edge of his hearing range.
It almost sounded like... barking?
No. Whining was more like. Within a minute or two he arrived at the source of the disturbance. In a smaller clearing than the one he was previously at was a tiny brown figure huddled at the edge. It looked to be an animal of some sort and it was scared. It's ochre-colored fur was matted and even from this distance he could see that scuff marks covered its entire body. His eyes scanned the surroundings briefly and after confirming that the coast was clear he hopped out of the tree, sandals clacking as he landed in the clearing. "Poor thing." was all he could say as he slowly approached the animal which upon closer inspection looked to be some sort of canid. Unfortunately he didn't have much time to think because as soon as he neared the animal a loud cracking sound grabbed his focus. He barely had the chance to fix his gaze on the direction it came from before something massive crashed into the right side of his body "What the-?!" whatever it was ran with him, picking him up and carrying him a ways before flinging him like a ragdoll towards the center of the clearing.
Daiji hit the ground hard, tumbling for a few feet before he finally oriented himself and came to a crouched, sliding halt. by dragging his hand to stop his momentum. When he finally stopped was the pain set in. It felt like he had just been run over by a freight train... and to be honest that assessment wasn't that far off. His one visible eye finally settled on the culprit and widened in shock as a result. Before him stood a gigantic hog-like creature. Sleek black fur covered it from head to toe and two gigantic tusks protruded from either side of its mouth. "Panther Boar..." he cursed to himself, his breathing more inconsistent than ever. These things were apex predators. Experts at stalking their prey which would explain how it managed to catch him by surprise. Nobody did that. Instantly the creature continued its attack this time pouncing with all its awesome weight once he got close enough. If he let it hit him again he was a goner. The Leaf shinobi dove forward instead of back just narrowly passing underneath the boar's titantic frame and sliding away to relative safety. He had to end this quickly. Focusing his one free eye on his target the chūnin rose to his feet and steadied his breathing (Cruel Hand). As the animal turned on its hooves and charged again he stood fast. "Fifty-two blessings upon you." In a flash he was gone from where he stood, limbs moving like lightning. Jabs, elbows, knees, kicks-- he attacked faster than could be seen by the naked eye. The Panther Boar's massive hide hit from every angle with every manner of strike, small wisps of chakra flowing off of his every movement. Daiji finished his combo of fifty-two strikes and then used the momentum from the last punch to push himself away, coming to a sliding halt a few feet from the beast. After a few seconds of the boar standing completely still in place... it collapsed to the ground on its side. The hunter had become the hunted. (Noble Eightfold Path: 52 Blessings)
Sighing was all he could muster after the beast fell. His head was pounding and now half of his body felt like it had been put through a threshing machine. Just great. "T-... thank you." a small voice piped up from behind him and instinctually the shinobi brought a hand up to wave it off. "Sure." he said, examining a new gash he had gained on the right side of his waist when-- "Wait." instantly he spun around, spotting what was clearly now a tiny pup of some kind with brown fur looking up at him with the most adorable eyes. He looked around quickly to make sure he wasn't going crazy. "... did you just talk?" Daiji's one visible eye squinted at the helpless thing and after brief moment that was entirely too long and definitely made him question his own sanity the miniature canine nodded its head. "Yeah... don't all puppies talk?" The ninja's eyebrow twitched in utter disbelief at this response. Just what in the heavens had he stumbled across out here?
Minutes passed as Daiji... had a conversation with a small dog. It explained to him that while going out to play with some its friends the small animal had gotten lost and that's when the Panther Boar began stalking it. Apparently it had been on its trail for quite some time so the mere fact that the dog was still alive was a testament to its own craftiness. Eventually the much larger predator cornered the pup and that's when he happened across it. His enflamed brain was still processing all of this ridiculous information when the pup stood on its hind legs and mashed its front paws together several times in various shapes. "What are you-" he started but was cut off immediately, "Paw seals." his head sank and he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his noggin. "Of course." He should've known. After the last 'paw seal' a poof of smoke appeared before the canine between himself and Daiji. When it cleared a large green scroll with a dark paw print stamped on the front lay before him. The pup walked around and unclasped the thing with its mouth, taking care not to rip the parchment as the scroll unfurled itself to reveal some intricate kanji detailing a very strict agreement of sorts that needed to be agreed upon by both parties and signed in blood. "Now if me or my family ever gets in trouble again I can summon you to help out!" his visible eye drifted upwards in thought as he recalled that wasn't quite how the Summoning Technique worked... but he didn't want to dash the lil guy's dreams. Upon instruction the chūnin bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and dabbed the tips of his fingers in the liquid, but before he got to his pinky he was stopped by a nuzzle on his arm. "Just four, like a paw." the tiny dog said, holding its own paw out and turning it over as an example. The Leaf ninja could not help but to chuckle and obliged. "Like a paw." he echoed, writing with his bloody thumb the kanji:
五島 ′ ′ 大事
Afterwards he stamped the document underneath his signature with only four fingers in the shape of a paw print. The two sat there a while which gave the Gotō time to dress the wound on his side. Luckily it was just a superficial cut and nothing serious. It also allowed the two of them to get acquainted further with the tiny animal eventually introducing himself as Naka the Ninken. He went on to explain that the Ninja World was full of animals such as himself who could communicate with humans and perform jutsu, which Daiji had of course known prior to this but his initial reaction must have spelled otherwise. Being spoken to by an animal when you weren't expecting it was enough to pop even the most stoic person's eyes out of their head. As they sat and conversed Naka even demonstrated the appropriate 'paw seals' used in the Summoning Technique... though Daiji wasn't exactly sure how much would be lost in translation from paws to hands. Space-Time Ninjutsu was never a strong suit of his and this was likely to his own detriment. It was very tricky stuff. Elements had their own challenges but were easy enough to understand... this jutsu would require a little more work. Luckily it was only a D-rank technique and with a little practice he was sure to get it down pat. I. Inu. Tori. Saru. Hitsuji. He nodded towards Naka and shook the pup's paw. A contract all of his own... this would open up a world of possibilities when it came to battle. Not to mention the utility of having a few companions on hand with a sharp sense of smell. Combined with his sharp eyesight there was likely nothing he couldn't track now.
Something that was sure to come in handy in the very near future...
[Contract Search for Canine]
[Using Discovery of Contract of Your Choice purchased Here]
[WC: 2,026]
[mft]
*Edit: added what Contract I was searching for because I forgot
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