43 Signing! The Slug Forest Contract

Returning to Konoha, Kyōichi thought for a moment then took the key and went to Tsunade's house.

Tsunade's house was easy to recognize.

This was the First Hokage's house from back in the day. It wasn't very big but had a good location and looked very antique, full of history. It was one of the few remaining properties of the Senju clan.

Kyōichi arrived at the front door.

He took out the key, unlocked and entered the house, only to find...

"Who are you? Why do you have the key to this place?"

"Huh?"

Kyōichi turned around to see a white-haired man with an "oil" kanji on his forehead protector, immediately recognizing his identity.

One of the Legendary Sannin.

Jiraiya!

What a coincidence.

Kyōichi bowed and said, "Lord Jiraiya, my name is Kamida Kyōichi. This key... of course Lady Tsunade gave it to me."

"Tsunade gave it to you?"

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment.

Although he came here first after returning, he knew in his heart that Tsunade hadn't returned to the village. Since she wasn't back, where did this kid get the key from?

"Yes, I happened to run into her while on a mission in Shirokumo," Kyōichi nodded.

"Shirokumo..."

Jiraiya sighed. He had returned directly to the village from Sunagakure, missing Tsunade on the way.

Oh well, it wouldn't have made a difference if they met.

But.

Who was this kid...

Kamida Kyōichi?

He didn't remember Tsunade knowing someone by that name.

"To put it simply, I'm Lady Tsunade's cousin."

Just a rather distant one.

Kyōichi thought to himself.

"Cous...cousin? I see, hahaha, let's chat more next time, I have things to do."

Jiraiya was stunned instantly.

After an awkward laugh, he abruptly changed the topic and fled after saying that.

Damn.

He thought this kid was some thief.

Turns out he's Tsunade's cousin.

He almost embarrassed himself.

Jiraiya thought to himself, secretly glad that Tsunade hadn't returned. Otherwise if she saw him staking out her house after coming back from outside, she'd probably beat him to death.

As for the cousin's credibility...

Jiraiya didn't doubt it at all.

Kyōichi was wearing a Konoha forehead protector, and in Konoha, no one would dare falsely claim such kinship. Besides, the Senju clan had intermarried with many clans, and their bloodline was now spread throughout the village.

It wasn't strange for a couple cousins to pop up.

...

"Why is Jiraiya here instead of the hot springs? How odd," Kyōichi didn't know what to say.

Oh well.

He went inside to see why Tsunade had given him the key in the first place.

The yard was quite spacious.

However, compared to Hashirama Senju's status, the house he left behind was small. It was basically the size of a minor clan's head family, impossible to tell the First Hokage once lived here just by looking at the compound.

The First and Second Hokage truly embodied their ideals.

Kyōichi sincerely admired them for that.

Dust covered the front door. No one had come here for years. Kyōichi went inside and saw many things were covered with cloth to avoid dust.

The rooms were large.

But the layout was very clear. After circling around, he basically knew what each area was for.

The most important place was naturally the study.

The study had a separate key, which Tsunade had also given Kyōichi.

There were many books inside.

Some were collections, but more were the Second Hokage's various unorganized notes, fleeting ideas that came to him.

Aside from those, the bookshelf also contained Tsunade's medical notes.

There were many medical texts there. For many medical ninja, these were no less than priceless treasures.

"Hmm? What's this?"

At the very top of the bookshelf representing the First Hokage, Kyōichi saw a cylinder wrapped in cloth. He took it down, unwrapped it, and saw the contents, stunning him for a moment.

A summoning scroll.

To be precise, the Slug Forest summoning contract scroll.

Damn!

Tsunade was too careless, leaving such an important scroll here.

Wasn't she afraid of it being stolen?

He was stunned for a good while, then carefully pondered - she really wasn't afraid.

The Slug Forest was one of the three holy training grounds.

Unlike Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, the Slug Forest didn't have little slugs. The entire Slug Forest only had the Great Sage himself, and Tsunade and Sakura could only summon parts of him.

If someone dared to steal the scroll without permission...

The consequences could be imagined.

Did Tsunade give him the key and tell him to come to the study to find this?

He hesitated a little.

This wasn't something to mess around with.

As Kyōichi hesitated, the symbols on the scroll suddenly lit up. After a moment, a small slug crawled out from the scroll onto his hand, conveying a message.

"You've probably found the scroll by now, so I asked the Great Slug Sage to pass on a message. This is the Senju clan's Slug Forest summoning contract. If you're interested you can sign it, if not then forget it."

Tsunade's voice was very casual.

As if this wasn't a summoning contract, but some unimportant object.

As for the slug appearing here...

With the contract scroll's symbols, it wasn't difficult for it to manifest.

Kyōichi thought for a bit.

There were few summoning beasts in the entire ninja world that could match the slugs.

The opportunity was right in front of him...

Sign it!

He didn't hesitate any longer, biting his finger to start signing.

In just a short moment.

Kyōichi could feel a connection forming between himself and the slugs.

"I am called Katsuyu," it gently said.

"Greetings, Lady Katsuyu," Kyōichi didn't forget to be respectful, because he knew its main body was probably larger than Konoha itself.

This was an ancient sage that had lived since ancient times.

"No need to be so polite. You have the Senju clan's power in you. When you become stronger, you can come visit the Slug Forest... If you need to, you can summon me with the summoning jutsu."

"Yes!"

Kyōichi lowered his head.

The next moment, the slug's manifestation disappeared.

He pondered for a few seconds.

The slug's words meant...

Could it be.

That when his physique became stronger, he'd have a chance to learn the sage mode of the Slug Forest?

If so, then he struck gold!

Kyōichi neatly wrapped up the scroll and returned it to its original place, then looked towards the other books and notes - mainly the Second Hokage's.

Before he realized it, the light had dimmed and it was dusk outside.

"There are too many books, can't get through them all. I'll just send a shadow clone to read them tomorrow," Kyōichi thought.

But.

The gains were tremendous.

After reading a few notes on Genjutsu, plus the knowledge of the Leaf-Style Willow gained from the previous rewards, Kyōichi already knew how to integrate Genjutsu with the Leaf Style Kenjutsu.

Sword gleam!

Release a blinding flash of light with chakra when slashing to blind the enemy, then use that moment to cut them down.

He had the concept figured out.

As for the Dance of the Willow...

It was a movement-guiding Genjutsu, which could also guide the sword's movements, but that was another train of thought.

They could be developed side by side.

Anyway, he had the theory down. Testing them out wouldn't be too complicated.

In fact.

Kyōichi had already grasped the basics. All that was lacking was seeing the actual effects, which required a partner to practice with.