"Cawww—!"
A sharp cry echoed across the sky.
Even without using the Mind Transmission Jutsu, Yamanaka Shinno could hear the unmistakable joy and excitement in Pidgeot's call.
But…
Wasn't it a bit too happy?
Had his Pidgeot been mistreated at the breeding house or something?
It wasn't an unreasonable suspicion.
Sure, the unexpected escape was technically the fault of the breeding house, per the original agreement. But they had already suffered losses on both ends—not only did they lose money, but the person in charge had also been hauled off to Root for interrogation. They'd been through a rough time.
What if they were holding a grudge and took it out on his remaining summons?
"Did they treat you badly over there?"
Shinno linked his consciousness to Pidgeot's mind through the Mind Transmission Jutsu.
"Caw! Caw! Cawww—!"
Pidgeot eagerly chirped away, giving a detailed account of its time at the breeding house.
Every meal was a feast, filled with delicacies it had never tasted before.
Mornings consisted of light training exercises with the caretakers, followed by luxurious massage therapy.
After a short midday nap, it could take to the skies, soaring freely to burn off excess energy.
Upon returning in the afternoon, the caretakers would groom its feathers, removing dirt and parasites.
And at night—oh, the nights!—there were plenty of female birds around, some shy and sweet, others mature and alluring, all eager to… well, engage in certain activities.
Pidgeot had never lived such a perfect life!
The only issue? There were just too many females attracted to its overwhelming aura of dominance.
Not only were its mates from Summoning Island still around, but even the female birds from the breeding house were stunningly beautiful.
How was it supposed to choose?!
"I… YOU LITTLE—!!"
Shinno smacked Pidgeot on the head.
"You were running a damn harem at the breeding house?! Where's your shame?! Where's your dignity?!"
Here he was, a transmigrator who had lived in this world for nearly twenty years, still a pure and untouched egg, and yet his bird—his damn bird—was out here living a life of debauchery?!
Three thousand beauties at your beck and call? And you're complaining?!
How have those females not drained you dry yet?!
"Caw?"
Pidgeot tilted its head in confusion, unable to comprehend why it was suddenly being hit.
"Fly properly! If we don't reach the Land of Iron in a day and a half, I'll personally neuter you!"
Shinno twisted Pidgeot's head back forward, his expression dark.
Unbelievable!
This damn bird was living the high life—feasting on his dime, enjoying his paid services, seducing countless females—and had the audacity to brag about it?!
What kind of cruel joke was this?!
"Caw?!"
Pidgeot's pupils shrank in terror, nearly plummeting from the sky.
In a desperate bid to save its future happiness, it flapped its wings frantically, accelerating at an alarming rate.
As the wind howled past his ears, Shinno smirked, watching Pidgeot's tail feathers tremble. Satisfied, he finally looked away.
That's right. Fear me.
Living a more carefree and indulgent life than your master? Fine.
But daring to boast about it?
Oh, you'll see what happens.
Pidgeot, oblivious to its master's devious satisfaction, was too focused on flying as fast as possible, unwilling to slow down even for a moment.
Meanwhile, perched on Pidgeot's back, Shinno pulled out a handful of kunai from his tool pouch. Carefully, he began inscribing the Flying Thunder God markings onto each one, preparing for the upcoming battle.
[...]
The Land of Iron had a unique geography.
Compared to the Fire Country's temperate, four-season climate, this land was significantly colder.
While Konohagakure was only beginning to feel the chill of mid-November, the Land of Iron was already blanketed in heavy snowfall.
Heading north, they made astonishing progress.
With only two brief stops for food and rest, Pidgeot managed to get Shinno to his destination in less than two days.
Before him lay the Mountain Graveyard—his target.
The once-dense forest depicted on the map was now hidden beneath a thick layer of snow. Towering skeletal remains of colossal creatures loomed amidst the landscape, their jagged bones made all the more eerie by the howling wind and swirling frost.
Using the powerful updrafts, Pidgeot hovered at an altitude of one thousand meters.
Shinno narrowed his eyes, carefully analyzing the terrain below, cross-referencing it with his map for several minutes before confirming—
Another six or seven kilometers ahead, and he would reach Uchiha Madara's lair.
"Pidgeot, land here."
Shinno patted its back.
Descending gradually, Pidgeot released a burst of chakra smoke before vanishing back to Konohagakure's breeding house.
With a swift clap of his hands, Shinno activated Wind Release: Turbulent Airflow, negating his downward momentum and landing lightly on the ground.
Raising a hand, he carved a tiny Flying Thunder God seal into the massive rib bone of an unknown creature.
Closing his eyes, he reached out with his sensory abilities, mapping the spatial coordinates stretching south and east, ensuring his retreat paths were secure.
Only then did he move toward the sunken pit at the heart of the Mountain Graveyard.
Unlike natural valleys, ravines, or sinkholes, the terrain here looked deliberately altered—as if someone had forcibly pressed a massive portion of land into the ground using an earth-shaking jutsu.
A telltale sign of human intervention.
Madara had been extremely confident that no one would ever find this place. And those who did stumble upon it? They would never leave alive.
[...]
Ninja Art: Hidden Presence.
Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment.
Upon reaching five kilometers from the target, Shinno suppressed his chakra signature to an almost imperceptible level.
Then, using a stealth technique from Iwagakure, he blended seamlessly into the snowy environment.
With his scent masked by odor-neutralizing spray, only the faintest traces of footprints remained in the snow.
He had barely advanced a kilometer before his instincts screamed at him.
To avoid alerting the enemy, he had restricted his sensory range to a mere hundred meters—enough to detect even the most subtle details.
And yet, he had almost missed it.
There, fused into the trunk of a tree, was a White Zetsu.
Had it not given off the faintest chakra signature, even he might have overlooked it.
"Is it in some kind of dormant state?"
Shinno steadied his breath, cautiously maneuvering around the surveillance network of White Zetsu.
This one was just a basic, mass-produced unit.
But during the war, the White Zetsu army had never been this undetectable.
So the only explanation was hibernation.
[...]
Name: White Zetsu
Role: Soldier
Traits: Degraded Wood (Green), Assimilation (Green)
[...]
Degraded Wood—a clear indicator that it was a byproduct of the God Tree, mass-produced for war.
It could parasitize through spores, merge using a pitcher-plant state, and burrow underground like a mayfly.
Assimilation—it could absorb others' chakra and even transform into their likeness.
Ten thousand of these things?
Just thinking about it made Shinno's scalp tingle.
And that was only the basic White Zetsu.
Who knew what horrors the special ones could unleash?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo