After parting ways with Tsunade and the others, Reiji found a quiet, scenic spot outside the village.
He replayed the sequence of Jiraiya's hand seals in his mind and gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Here we go again—can't wait to get myself killed! I don't ask for much. Just give me Shikkotsu Forest!
Soft, squishy slugs... I love them~"
Muttering to himself, Reiji bit down hard on his finger.
No blood.
Seeing no reaction at all, he covered his face in silence.
He finally understood why the Third Raikage never had a summon.
Even if he did, he probably couldn't be bothered to summon it!
I mean, if you have to stab yourself in the hand every time with One Fingered Assault, who the hell can take that?!
Taking a deep breath, Reiji raised his left index finger and muttered under his breath,
"Lazy Stab: One Fingered Assault!"
With a light ripping sound, his left index finger punctured his right thumb.
Grimacing, Reiji wiped the hard-earned blood onto his palm and quickly formed the seals.
"Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
There was a loud bang, but the expected dimensional rift didn't appear.
When the smoke cleared, a massive scroll about a meter long had appeared in front of him.
It looked old-fashioned yet distinctive, somewhat resembling the Scroll of Seals he had seen before.
Scratching his head, Reiji walked over in confusion and picked it up.
When he unrolled it, there were only a few dark red vertical characters at the top, followed by five dark red dots, and then a long blank space.
He couldn't understand a single word.
After thinking it over, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Wait… could this be one of those legendary contract scrolls?!
He remembered that in the original story, Jiraiya had one like this, which he eventually had Naruto sign.
Excited by the thought, he didn't hesitate. Using the remaining blood on his thumb, he quickly wrote his name after the first line.
But the moment he finished the last stroke, something strange happened.
His name vanished off the scroll!
Weird.
Too weird.
Does this thing pick who gets to sign?
I summoned you, and now you won't let me sign?!
Reiji wasn't having it.
No way—he had to find out what this scroll could actually summon. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep, let alone eat.
If he couldn't sign it, maybe someone else could!
Without another thought, a certain face popped into his mind.
The next moment, he picked up the scroll and formed a hand seal with one hand.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
...
Amegakure, Raikage Building, Secretary's Office.
Dressed in Kumo ninja gear, Amai sat at her desk, silently immersed in work.
She hadn't been seen in years, and now in her early twenties, she carried a ripened charm like a fully bloomed peach.
Suddenly, she felt a soft breeze brush past her back.
On instinct, Amai drew the ninja blade from her desk and slashed backward.
But there was nothing behind her—just a paper slip floating gently to the floor, freshly sliced.
Looking around, a trace of anticipation flashed in her eyes.
The only one who could appear behind her and disappear just as quickly was that man.
With a flutter of excitement, Amai picked up the paper.
It read: "Go home!"
Seeing the familiar handwriting, her heart skipped a beat. A smile crept onto her lips.
Clack, clack, clack—her high heels rang crisply as she hurried out of the office.
Standing outside her front door, Amai suddenly felt a bit nervous.
She patted her trembling chest, took a deep breath, suppressed her smile, and put on a cold expression.
Then she pulled out her key and unlocked the door.
Click.
The door opened.
No man stood there with flowers and a tender gaze.
No candles or red wine on the table.
No gentle, romantic "Welcome home~"
Just a jerk sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, gnawing on a massive scroll like some wild animal.
As soon as he saw her, Reiji looked up and waved anxiously.
"Amai, do you have any scissors at home?"
Her face instantly darkened.
Nope!
I must've opened the door wrong!
One more time!
With a scowl, she stepped back, slammed the door shut, crossed her hands, murmured a little prayer, and trembling, opened the door again.
Inside, nothing had changed.
Amai rolled her eyes and marched over to Reiji, squatting down beside him.
"Well? Why'd you call me back?"
Grinning, Reiji handed her the scroll lying across his knees, eyes full of anticipation.
"Here, try this. It's a summoning scroll!"
"How?" Amai asked, clearly annoyed.
Reiji eagerly spread the scroll out in front of her.
"Write your name here, with blood. Then press your five fingertips on it!"
Despite her annoyed expression, Amai didn't hesitate. She bit her right thumb, dipped it in the dripping blood, and signed her name.
Then, she pressed her fingerprints below it.
Reiji stared wide-eyed, carefully watching her every move.
The reason he chose Amai for the test—
He was convinced that whatever this scroll could summon, it had to be powerful.
And he sure as hell wasn't going to let someone else get their hands on it.
The scene in front of him left Reiji both delighted and furious.
He was thrilled because Amai's name, written in blood, remained clearly on the scroll—it hadn't vanished.
But his anger was just as intense. The scroll hadn't accepted his name.
Grinding his teeth, Reiji jabbed at the scroll in frustration.
So that's how it is, huh? This scroll's a damn pervert—it lets women write on it but not men.
The summoning beast behind it must be a dirty old man too.
Fine then. I'll have Amai summon it, give it a good beating, mark it with a Flying Thunder God seal, track it to its lair, and beat it again.
I'll make it sign a contract with me!
Damn thing, acting like I'm not worthy!
With that thought, Reiji stuffed the scroll away and threw an arm around Amai's waist.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
The world spun.
The next second, the two of them landed on a wide sandy beach, with the endless sea stretching out before them.
As Amai regained her senses, she quickly scanned the area, then paused for a moment. With an expression full of disdain, she pulled Reiji's hand off her waist and scolded,
"Not outside!"
Reiji rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated.
"What are you imagining? I brought you here in case we summon something huge and it trashes your place! Now hurry up and use the Summoning Jutsu!"
Amai froze again, her cheeks instantly flushing red. She shot Reiji a sharp glare, then reluctantly began forming hand seals.
"Ram → Monkey → Bird → Dog → Boar."
As she moved through the seals, Reiji's entire body tensed. Sparks of lightning flickered around him, his eyes flashing with intensity.
You old perv—come on out!
Let's see what kind of beast dares reject my contract!
Just as he braced himself, Amai finished the seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a crisp shout, no bizarre creature emerged.
Instead, Reiji felt a massive force latch onto him, followed by the familiar pull of spatial teleportation.
The next moment—
Bang! White smoke erupted. Reiji, now dazed and confused, appeared right in front of Amai—face to face, eyes locked.
Silence.
Reiji was completely stunned.
Me?
I'm the summon?
You've got to be kidding me!
Ōtsutsuki Hamura, get out here and explain this!
Seeing Reiji's shifting expression, Amai pursed her lips, barely holding back a grin. Her bright eyes sparkled with amusement.
Reiji's face darkened even further. He felt like someone had just sucker-punched him.
We were all supposed to be summoners… and you just pulled out a Master Ball and caught me with it!
What's next? You gonna make me fight Salamence, Metagross, and Dragonite?
This is insane! I'm just a Machoke!
Watching Reiji's increasingly miserable expression, Amai couldn't hold it in any longer. Her bell-like laughter echoed all around.
"This is killing me! O(∩_∩)O Haha~
First time I've ever seen a human summon beast—so weird!
Hahaha~
You're done for! You'll never escape my grasp now!
Haha~ That's what you get for bullying me!"
As Amai laughed so hard she nearly fell over, Reiji frowned. A small, subtle detail suddenly came back to him.
At the time, he'd been fully focused on ambushing whatever might be summoned, so he hadn't noticed. But now it made sense.
With a crooked smile, Reiji stepped back a few paces and challenged her.
"Amai, try the Summoning Jutsu again!"
Still doubled over with laughter, Amai eagerly nodded and quickly formed the seals.
In an instant, Reiji felt a familiar chakra reach across space and lightly brush against him.
Then, it hit him.
If he responded to that familiar chakra, he'd be summoned again.
If he rejected it, nothing would happen.
With that in mind, Reiji ignored Amai's chakra without hesitation.
One second.
Three seconds.
Five seconds passed.
Amai stared at the empty ground in front of her, the smile slowly freezing on her face—while Reiji grinned in triumph.
"Come on, let's have some fun~"
At that, Amai flew into a flustered rage and body-slammed Reiji to the ground.
"I don't care! When I call you, you have to come!"
Feeling her soft chest press against him, Reiji wiped a trickle of blood from his nose with a straight face and shook his head firmly.
"Nope. You'd definitely mess around with it for fun."
"I won't!" Amai looked into his eyes with feigned innocence, making a solemn vow.
"Then let's set three rules.
First, unless you're in serious danger, you can't summon me.
Second, during wartime, you're forbidden from going to the battlefield or the frontlines.
Third… I haven't thought of it yet. I'll let you know when I do."
Amai paused to think, then her eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly.
Seeing her sly little smile, Reiji sighed and added,
"One more thing—when you get back, help me set up a meeting with the Raikage. I need to talk to him."
"You actually dare go see my uncle?!" Amai, still lying on top of him, gasped. "Aren't you afraid he'll beat you to a pulp?"
"Not really." Reiji shrugged nonchalantly. But at that moment, the body he usually controlled so easily suddenly felt... off.
Amai clearly felt the change too. She pushed herself up, clutched her chest, and blushed deep red.
"Not in the wild! And not during the day! At... at home."
Reiji gave her a blank look and sat up, ignoring her nonsense.
"Cut it out. This time it's serious business."
"What kind of business?" Amai muttered gloomily.
"Pig iron."
Reiji hadn't even finished when Amai suddenly jumped up.
"I knew it! I knew you were behind the mess in the Land of Iron!
No wonder the mission teams reported seeing signs of the Two-Tails there.
So it was you, Reiji! Using your immortality to let the Two-Tails run wild in the Land of Iron, wrecking everything so you could take control of all the iron mines yourself, huh?
I knew it—the price of pig iron's been skyrocketing nonstop!"
Hearing that, Reiji paused for a second, then a strange glint flashed through his eyes.
This woman… her mind is fast. No wonder she's the brain of Kumogakure.
I really underestimated her.
With that, he looked at Amai with interest and casually said,
"Go on. Let's see what else you can figure out."
Amai frowned slightly, then slowly squatted down in front of Reiji, staring into his eyes as she analyzed.
"You want to talk business with Lord Raikage, which can only mean one thing—you're looking to make serious money.
So, in what kind of situation would iron sell for even more?"
As she continued, her expression suddenly shifted. She dropped to the ground with a stunned look, staring at Reiji in disbelief.
"War!
You want a war!"
Reiji sighed slightly in his heart. Close... but not quite there.
"Wrong. A fake war."
Amai, who had started to panic, froze at his words.
Moments later, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but exclaim,
"Reiji, you're so wicked!
If a war breaks out, you can drive the iron price way up!
Then clans like ours, who depend on iron and have massive stockpiles, will start buying like crazy!
Because we know the price is strong, and with war comes the need for ninja tools—which means even more iron!
We'll buy all your stock at a premium and flip it to the villages about to go to war at an even higher price!
But since the war's fake, you can crash the price right after and buy it all back cheap—then raise it again and sell it off slowly!"
After listening to her breakdown, Reiji couldn't help but clap lightly and grin.
"Not bad. You're getting sharp."
Then he added,
"Tell Raikage the two countries will stage a war twenty days from now.
Once the first round of sales is done, I'll halt all pig iron exports from the Land of Iron.
Then the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire can shake hands and make peace.
The profits from this round will be my cut for both villages."
In truth, Reiji's real aim was to use this massive trade deal to reshape his image in the eyes of the two Kage, laying the groundwork for his future plan to take over the Land of Rain entirely.
That's right—he didn't just want to reclaim Amegakure. He wanted to swallow the whole country.
Being a village leader only meant military power, but to keep expanding, he needed to become a daimyō.
With that, Reiji stood up and extended a hand to Amai, who was still on the ground.
"Let's go."
Amai nodded, grabbed his hand tightly, and in the next moment, both of them vanished.
...
After dropping Amai off at home, Reiji teleported to the outskirts of Konohagakure.
Just as he was about to head back, a clear yawn suddenly echoed in his mind.
Reiji broke into a grin.
"Hey, kitty, you're finally awake."
In his mind, the lazy voice of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, purred to life.
"Of course. I couldn't miss your summoning fiasco~
It was hilarious. I've lived for so long, and this is the first time I've seen a living person get summoned!"
At that, Reiji stumbled and fell flat on his face.