Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 5: Did He Catch Some Illness?!

"Not a 'she,' but a 'he'…"

After leaving the orphanage, Katsuragi explained things to the Three-Tailed Fox in his mind:

"In this world, there are nine extremely powerful creatures. People refer to them as 'Tailed Beasts,' based on how many tails they possess."

"The Nine-Tails is said to be the mightiest among them. It's shaped like a fox, so people call it the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!"

"But it's not like you, Fox Sis; it really is just a fox—only with nine tails," Katsuragi added, noticing how curious the Three-Tailed Fox looked from within the courtyard. He chuckled and continued, "Right now, it's sealed inside a boy about the same age as me."

"I see!" The Three-Tailed Fox nodded, then said to Katsuragi, "If you get the chance, Little Katsuragi, take me to meet him. After all, we're both foxes, right?"

"Uh…"

Recalling how—when watching the anime—Nine-Tails had remained so proud and prickly even after Naruto gradually changed its outlook, Katsuragi was momentarily speechless. Moreover, considering the current Nine-Tails likely still harbored deep hatred for humans, it probably wouldn't bother talking to him at all—it might just swipe at him with a giant paw right off the bat.

"We'll see if we get the chance!"

Still, Katsuragi didn't outright refuse. He also felt some curiosity toward the Nine-Tails. With the Fourth Hokage's seal in place, as long as he didn't do anything stupid, Nine-Tails wouldn't be able to touch him anyway.

Bump!

Because he was too busy talking to the Three-Tailed Fox, Katsuragi hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings and accidentally ran into someone. Looking up, he froze: the person wore a simple, charcoal-gray kimono, had long black hair, and was flanked by two similarly dressed individuals.

All of them wore Konoha's shinobi forehead protectors, but beneath those protectors were pure white eyes without any visible pupils—the Byakugan, one of the Three Great Dōjutsu in the Naruto world.

"S-sorry!"

Overriding his surprise, Katsuragi quickly apologized. In a world where strict hierarchies existed, a careless move could be life-threatening. Although Konoha wasn't as severe compared to some places, if you bumped into a short-tempered ninja, you could still get a beating.

Fortunately, the Hyūga Clan wasn't as haughty as the current Uchiha Clan. Or perhaps they just weren't in the mood to bother with a small child. The person simply gave Katsuragi a brief glance and said, "Watch where you're going next time."

"Okay."

Katsuragi nodded and stepped aside to let them pass. Only after watching them walk away did he suddenly realize: that might have been Hyūga Hiashi, the head of the Hyūga Clan!

"Little Katsuragi, that person's eyes were so strange!"

Because the Three-Tailed Fox was sharing Katsuragi's view, she'd also seen Hiashi's eyes. She asked curiously, "Did he catch some kind of illness?"

"Illness? You could say that." Katsuragi chuckled. "But it's an illness that grants incredible power! The 'White-Eye Disease,' 'Red-Eye Disease,' and the 'Ring-Eye Disease'…"

Gazing at Hiashi's disappearing figure at the street corner, Katsuragi continued explaining to the Three-Tailed Fox: "In this world, such conditions are called Kekkei Genkai. They're passed down through bloodlines. Those eyes you just saw are considered one of the strongest abilities around—when it's in its final evolutionary form, anyway."

"Final evolutionary form?"

"Right." Katsuragi kept walking as he explained, "If we're being technical, many abilities and all chakra in this world originate from a single woman. That man just now inherited her bloodline. Those eyes are called the Byakugan, and their final form is known as the Tenseigan."

The Three-Tailed Fox remained quietly in the courtyard, listening. Not even all the lively performances on the roadside could distract her; she was obviously intrigued by Katsuragi's account.

"There's another clan in this village that also carries her bloodline. Their eyes are a deep red color, and people call it the Sharingan. It's usually categorized by the number of tomoe in each eye—one-tomoe, two-tomoe, three-tomoe. Three tomoe is the strongest normal form, then after that there's the Mangekyō, which has its own unique pattern. Eventually, the final—"

"Wow, that's so complicated!"

The Three-Tailed Fox was swaying her big, fluffy tails, head spinning at the ever-growing list of details.

"Uh…"

Seeing her dizzy expression, Katsuragi let out a chuckle. He decided not to provide more granular details and instead simplified: "Anyway, just know that those two special eyes are among the world's top abilities, alright?"

"Hmph! Our yokai powers are absolutely stronger than any of these silly eyes!" the Three-Tailed Fox declared, sounding slightly unwilling to concede.

"Mm-hmm!" Katsuragi nodded earnestly. He then thought of those powerful—and sometimes adorable—yokai ladies (ahem, powerful yokai) from the game he used to play, and his excitement for the future swelled.

"Little Katsuragi, I wanna see you play that…!"

But the Three-Tailed Fox, with her lively personality, didn't dwell long on the topic. She quickly became distracted by the various interesting events in the market, pestering Katsuragi to try them out for her entertainment.

Time flowed on. Unnoticed by most, winter soon arrived in Konoha. A couple of months after Katsuragi's birthday, it started to snow heavily.

"It's still snowing!"

In the morning, Katsuragi got up and pulled the curtains aside, gazing at the silver-white world outside with a quiet sigh. Then he sank into the courtyard in his mind. Oddly enough, the weather in the courtyard seemed to match the outside world, so the pink petals of the cherry blossom tree were covered by a thin layer of snow.

Meanwhile, the Three-Tailed Fox seemed to be lazing about because of the chill. She stayed holed up in her room all day, sleeping as though she was hibernating—Katsuragi was starting to wonder if foxes actually did need hibernation.

He checked the Bounty Seal missions that had refreshed earlier that morning. Several months had passed, and thanks to his daily persistence, he'd earned a considerable sum of gold. After subtracting the 20,000 he'd spent to raise the Three-Tailed Fox to three stars, he still had over 60,000 remaining.

He wasn't too far from four-star now. As far as his strength was concerned, the main change upon hitting three stars was that he'd gained a single special move. Other aspects, like speed, had only improved slightly. But if he'd once been unsure before, at this point Katsuragi felt confident his speed had reached roughly Genin level.

For a four-year-old to have Genin-level speed would definitely shock Konoha. Even the so-called prodigies like Kakashi or Itachi in their prime years probably hadn't been this monstrous.

During this period, Katsuragi had also discovered something about the Bounty Seal missions: they adjust according to his power level. Early on, before he ranked up the Three-Tailed Fox, they'd all been simple training tasks.

Not long after she reached three stars, however, he got his first non-training task. Of course, it wasn't as outrageous as fighting ninja or bandits. Instead, it involved going into the forest to kill certain aggressive animals—like snakes, wild boars, or bears.

Even so, at first Katsuragi had a tough time. He was scared, for one thing, and also worried about being caught in the act. He vaguely recalled that the Third Hokage often used his "Crystal Ball" jutsu to monitor the village.

Later he discovered that fully killing the animals wasn't strictly required—rendering them unable to fight was enough for the mission. However, actually killing them could sometimes make them drop gold coins.

After a few failed attempts, Katsuragi gradually got used to it and gained much-needed combat experience. This was also why he'd managed to save up so much gold.

Opening the Bounty Seal and scanning the missions, he furrowed his brow. "Another bear quest?"

Because of the winter snow, many animals had decreased activity, and some were already hibernating. That went for bears and snakes, too. Several times over the past two months, Katsuragi had failed to complete quests involving bears.

"Well, guess I'll head out and see what I can find…"

He sighed, exited the courtyard in his mind, got dressed, and prepared to head into the forest.

As he stepped outside into the silvery-white world, Katsuragi extended a small hand to catch a crystalline snowflake. It landed on his warm skin, only to gradually melt, dissolving into a droplet that soon disappeared.

End of Chapter 5