{Kind of got mixed reactions in the last chapter but, I, myself am still confused if I want to expand further on the issue, but the next time we see something like this, it would most likely be with Juichi. Anyway, summons.}
~~~
As soon as Ren's vision cleared, he found himself standing in the middle of a jungle. A very normal-looking jungle, filled with vibrant flowers and lush trees. Strangely, even the Forest of Death felt more dangerous than this place.
Ren frowned slightly as he surveyed the area. 'Even though I'm not really interested in summoning creatures, I wouldn't mind having a strong summon. But this forest, it feels too peaceful. The summoning animal here must be pretty weak. If that really is the case, I'd rather just have them break the block and let me make a contract with the toads later. At least they'd be somewhat useful.'
Seeing no sign of danger or hostility, he began walking deeper into the jungle from his summoning point. The further he moved, the more mundane the place appeared, trees, bushes, colorful flowers, and not a single animal or creature in sight.
'Is this a summoning realm for bees or something? Something related to flowers and trees maybe?' he wondered, but no answer came.
As he continued walking, he suddenly felt a sharp prickle at the back of his mind. 'Genjutsu. Someone's trying to use Genjutsu on me.'
This signal was something Ren had trained himself to recognize. It had taken considerable practice to even feel it, since his S+ rank Genjutsu resistance made most illusions ineffective. That prickling was the only clue he ever got.
Even though he'd detected the Genjutsu, he gave no outward sign and continued moving calmly. All the while, he scanned his surroundings subtly to identify the source. The prickling sensation didn't fade, it only grew stronger. Ren's eyes narrowed as he carefully examined the air.
Finally, he noticed it. Minute particles floating gently. He focused his chakra into his eyes and saw it clearly.
'Pollen...'
Just as he made the connection, a gentle, soothing voice echoed from ahead. Feminine, melodious, and calm.
"What do you see?"
Ren looked up and saw a butterfly gently flying toward him. It was large, with bright pink wings that shimmered in the light.
'So this is a test. They want to see if I'm affected by their Genjutsu. Hmph. Butterflies are new, though.'
Without hesitation, Ren narrowed his eyes and responded with mock anger, "You damned Nine-Tails fox! How dare you appear before me?! I will kill you!"
He leapt forward, channeling a huge amount of wind chakra and launched a powerful jutsu.
[Wind Style: Great Breakthrough]
A massive gust of chakra-infused wind surged forward, aimed directly at the butterfly.
However, just as the jutsu neared the butterfly, it casually flapped its wings. With a surprisingly powerful gust, it released wind that completely nullified Ren's attack. He landed softly, looking mildly surprised.
'I used a lot of chakra in that jutsu, but it countered it so effortlessly?'
As soon as he touched the ground, another voice echoed. It carried the same gentle tone. "Fufu, it's as if I'm back in the past. Wouldn't you agree?"
Several soft "Yes" responses followed from various directions.
Ren looked up to see dozens of butterflies fluttering around, some no larger than his hand, others as large as he was. They circled above and around him gently, not menacing but present.
The pink-winged butterfly sighed softly. "Yes. At least this one stopped after one attack. But she continued to bombard us until we had to put her down."
Then it turned to Ren and fluttered closer.
"Welcome, Sayaka's son. I have been waiting for you for ten years."
Ren raised an eyebrow, intrigued. That name wasn't one he heard often but now he was being referred to from his mother's name. "You knew my mother?" he asked.
The butterfly nodded in midair. "Yes. She was our previous summoner. She was also the one who allowed us to place the summon block on you. If that caused you trouble, then I apologize."
The butterfly tilted slightly, as if bowing midair.
Ren waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. But why did she let you block me? What happened?"
He was very interested now. His mother had died during the time of his birth and he didn't even know anything about what happened, when the original Ren tried to ask Juichi he would always deflect in some way and since after transmigration he wasn't interested in the dead mother he didn't bring this up. But now that same mother was the one who was responsible for him getting blocked by the three holy lands.
At his question, the entire forest seemed to still. The butterflies around him stopped fluttering, their wings stilling in the air. Then, a new voice came from much closer than expected.
"I will answer that for you."
Ren flinched and instinctively shrugged his shoulder, trying to shake off whatever had spoken. But the weight didn't move. He looked down and realized that a small butterfly was perched lightly on his shoulder.
"Please, calm yourself, child. I've no intent to harm you."
With that, the butterfly flew gently off his shoulder and settled in the air before him.
It had shimmering wings with a mix of blue and green that reflected the sunlight softly. The aura it exuded wasn't threatening, but something about it was different. Older. More powerful. Like the feeling he got from Fukasaku or Katsuyu.
Sitting down on the soft forest floor, Ren studied the butterfly quietly. The butterfly had the most beautiful wings out of all the others. It had a mix of royal blue with sea green colour wings which were separated by black patterns.
'This one's dangerous, most likely someone of elder status in this summoning realm.'
The butterfly hovered in place and began in a calm, respectful tone.
"My name is Cho. I am the last remaining elder of the Butterfly Summon Land, aside from our Sage."
Cho continued, "The Butterfly Summoning Land is special in a way that at any given time, only one summoner may contract with us. This is why it either takes a very long time to get a new summoner, or we are passed down from a parent to their child, or from a teacher to their student."
Ren interrupted, "So my mother was your contractor, and she asked you to place a block on me so that you could contract with me when the time came. Is that correct?"
Cho went silent for a moment, then gave a soft, amused laugh. "Fufu, you are far more perceptive than your mother. I thought I would have to explain things to you step by step like I had to do with Sayaka."
Ren shifted awkwardly. 'Though I don't really care, but, is this butterfly calling Sayaka an idiot?'
Cho continued, "Yes, the situation happened just as you said. Before you were born, Sayaka had already requested us to place a block on you. It wasn't anything serious, it could've been broken through easily, but it was our only reliable choice to ensure a summoner after her. Otherwise, we would have had to wait for someone to randomly reverse summon themselves here, which could have taken decades."
She paused, then added with care, "Even though we placed a block on you, that does not mean you are forced to form a contract with us. It is entirely up to your discretion. If you choose otherwise, we shall honor your wishes."
At those words, Ren noticed the butterflies around him shifting slightly. Their wings fluttered awkwardly.
'Even though they say it's my choice, it's pretty clear they can't wait any longer for a summoner.'
He asked directly, "So, what can you guys do? Do you have a special ability?"
Cho responded, "As you already experienced, we are very skilled in Genjutsu. However, due to your bloodline, we weren't able to demonstrate our full capabilities. For your understanding, our strongest Genjutsu is comparable to that cast by a wielder of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Aside from that, we are highly proficient in Wind Style jutsu. Large-scale or small-scale, our mastery over wind is comprehensive. And lastly, our information gathering is exceptional. While normal butterflies are not native to our land, we are able to communicate with them to gather any kind of intelligence you wish."
Cho continued explaining, detailing numerous other applications, but Ren tuned out most of the fluff.
'So those are the three main abilities, Genjutsu, wind release, and intelligence gathering. Looks like they're mistaking my talent for a bloodline, but still, EMS-level genjutsu? It's possible only the sage can use that, but even if Cho can use MS-level Genjutsu, that alone makes them a solid tactical option. If I can't deal with someone, I can just summon Cho, hit them with a Genjutsu strong enough to paralyze them, then finish the job with my own jutsu or Taijutsu. Wind release fits my main affinity, and having access to butterfly spies, that's actually extremely useful.'
Even though he knew most of the stuff about the future, the future was also ever changing, so he would have much more assurance if the butterflies could keep an eye on some important things.
As Cho continued explaining with elaborate detail but still circled back to the same three points, Ren thought dryly, 'Feels like I'm about to fall for a scam the way she's talking.'
He asked, "Alright, I agree. But, do you guys know senjutsu?"
That was the most important thing. If a summoning land couldn't offer Senjutsu, its value drastically dropped.
Cho stopped midair, then looked Ren in the eyes and answered calmly, "Yes, we have our own version of Senjutsu. But you cannot learn it yet. First, your chakra reserves are not sufficiently large. Second, our Sage is currently recuperating from some problems we encountered."
Ren frowned slightly at that. 'So I need chakra on an S-rank level at least. Makes sense. But I really hope their Sage recovers soon. Otherwise, I'll need to find other ways to learn Senjutsu. It might not be essential against regular shinobi, but it's practically the only thing that works against Obito and Madara in the late stages.'
Cho, seeing Ren nod in acceptance, fluttered around before disappearing behind a tree. A moment later, she returned, carrying a large summoning scroll with her.
She unfurled it before Ren and said, "Please sign your name here. After that, you will be able to summon every butterfly except me, as your chakra is not yet sufficient to summon me directly. However, Ko" she pointed to the pink-winged butterfly from earlier "is the strongest after me. You should be able to summon her freely. And if the situation ever becomes dire enough to require me, just send a message through any butterfly. I shall summon myself to you."
Ren nodded and signed the scroll without hesitation. This time, the blood didn't vaporize, it stayed.
Cho handed the scroll to him, and he tucked it away. Then his eyes lit up with a curious glint.
"Do you guys have a butterfly-specific jutsu of some kind? Like, maybe a butterfly clone?" he asked excitedly. Itachi's crow clones had always looked incredibly cool to him, so he was hoping for something similar.
Cho, seeing his excitement, nodded and began teaching him the Butterfly Clone Jutsu. Ren picked it up quickly with his usual sharp learning curve.
Once he had mastered it, Cho commented, "It looks like you came here using a Reverse Summoning Seal. You should return soon, before the seal's active window closes."
Ren nodded. Utakata had already informed him about the time limit. He dusted himself off and prepared to leave.
"Alright. I'll go for now. But I'll come again later. We have things to discuss about the future," he said, then vanished in a puff of smoke.
As the space he disappeared from returned to stillness, Ko flew up to Cho's side and asked softly, "Cho-sama, why didn't you tell him the truth? That the Sage went for recuperation due to the effects of saving him?"
Cho remained quiet for a few moments, then finally replied, her voice gentler than before.
"Ko... I know you might blame the boy for the Sage's condition. But it was the Sage's own decision. She couldn't bear to see Sayaka, a mess, shattered from the sight of her near-dead child. She made the choice to intervene, and she would do it again."
Ko fluttered silently in place as Cho stared up at the sky, her wings glowing softly in the sunlight.
~~~~~
{Finally the summons are here. I hope that I can make them more useful than the original story but no promises.}
{Anyway, how did you guys like the butterfly summon, I don't think I have ever seen or read a summon like butterfly so it'll be brand new and much more interesting.}
{We also saw some information about Sayaka and we'll see more in the future, so please wait.}
{Also, a double release today too, since this arc is ending. BUT, like yesterday, I need corresponding motivation.}
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{Thanks, Nassim, Brandon, Eren, David, Ibrahim, Alex and MSSC for joining my pat-reon.}