The Loulan remnants looked less like a merchant caravan and more like refugees from the Middle East… both came from the desert, both were heading towards a wealthy country… After Habara left, Sara led her people eastward. They bypassed cities without entering, cooked their meals in the wild, and slept in tents at night, enduring a truly arduous journey.
Civilians couldn't match the speed of ninjas. Moreover, these five hundred people were traveling with their entire families – the elderly, the young, the injured, and the sick. No matter what, they couldn't move quickly. So, even after entering the Land of Fire for half a month, they still hadn't reached Konoha.
However, Konoha wasn't their destination. Their eastward trek was primarily to find a signal, to contact Konoha.
As time passed, Sara increasingly felt deceived. She regretted letting Habara go so easily. What if he never returned? What if he wasn't a Konoha ninja? What if…
But she had no choice but to leave the desert. A Sunagakure ninja had died in their home. If they hadn't left, what if the next Suna ninjas who arrived were particularly bloodthirsty? They wouldn't even need many – a single squad of ninjas could easily annihilate this entire nation, leaving no one alive.
While Sara was lost in these anxious thoughts, a crackling sound reached her ears. Was this a signal? Then she heard a voice from the small metal piece, "Habara? No, you're not Habara. Let me think… Koharu Biyori?"
Sara instinctively replied, "Kiki Ippatsu."
Wait a minute, that didn't seem right. Had the code phrases been reversed…? Was the person on the other end of this communicator also unreliable?
Well, reliable or not, she had finally contacted Konoha. Sara quickly explained their situation and Habara's promise.
...
During the time the Loulan people were migrating, Habara followed the borderlines of the Land of Wind, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Earth, searching the areas where Tailed Beasts were recorded to have been frequently active in the past, looking for suitable summoning animals.
The location of the ancient Loulan kingdom, the Ryumyaku, and the ancient activity sites of Tailed Beasts were all concentrated in one area, which made a certain amount of sense. Unfortunately, that era was too long ago. Even if there were truly beasts that had developed the ability to use chakra due to the spread of Tailed Beast chakra, they would have certainly been subdued by ninjas long ago.
After searching for a long time, Habara managed to find a small oversight. At this moment, he was accompanied by a large feline, which, according to classification, should be a tiger. It had a yellow coat with black stripes, a rather average appearance, but it was enormous, standing a full meter and a half tall at the shoulder. It possessed some chakra, making it much stronger than an ordinary tiger, but it probably couldn't even defeat Kakashi's ninken.
To increase its combat power, Habara would have to raise it properly back home.
The lack of chakra not only indicated that this feline summoning animal was weak in combat but also that it wasn't very bright. For example, this tiger with mixed fur kept trying to turn its head and lick Habara's face… After signing the summoning contract, this feline had seemingly defected to the canine family.
As soon as Habara noticed this behavior, he smacked the tiger on the snout. What was wrong with it? It really did have an intelligence problem.
At this point, Habara had quietly entered the Land of Earth. As far as the eye could see, there were only red plateaus, making him want to sing a Shaanbei folk song…
Habara planned to continue westward for a while longer. If he still found nothing, he would have to return to Konoha. Collecting wild summoning animals was indeed unreliable. Who knew where Pain's Animal Path had gathered its summons?
Two days later, Habara still hadn't found anything. He decided to give it one last fifteen-minute effort. When he entered his sensory mode, he quickly detected something unusual.
"Hmm?"
This felt like playing a gacha mobile game. He was ready to quit, and then suddenly he drew a five-star gold card. Would he quit, or would he not?
In any case, Habara immediately rushed towards the location. When he arrived, he was instantly stunned. It wasn't that the scene was terrifying, but rather that it looked remarkably familiar.
A giant gray eagle was battling a green snake.
Brother Eagle, Brother Eagle, is that you?
This eagle was enormous, with a wingspan that appeared to exceed ten meters. The green snake was as thick as a water bucket. In terms of size, the eagle should have the advantage, but the snake's movements were incredibly agile, and its large, sharp fangs were exposed, making it clear that it was no pushover. However, since this snake was able to appear here and move around independently, it theoretically shouldn't have a Ryuchi Cave residency permit.
The eagle looked beautiful, and crucially, its feathers were a single, uniform color – it wasn't a bald eagle, which was a relief. The green snake was also beautiful; the color of its scales seemed to carry a certain elegant and alluring quality… Well, Habara was ready to pull out his Poké Balls.
Seeming to sense its master's intention, the mixed-fur tiger beside Habara prepared to pounce. Then, Habara slapped it back down. You idiot, could you even win? Did felines also know how to act tough when backed by someone powerful? "Dog-bullying people based on power."
Habara raised his arm. With his movement, a large amount of Iron Sand was drawn from the ground. This Iron Sand instantly transformed into two hands, separately grabbing the eagle and the snake.
"Come, come, I have an offer here from a Fortune 500 company… A labor contract, a labor contract. Interested?"
What Habara did next, of course, had nothing to do with the two animals' wishes. He pulled out two scrolls and forcibly signed summoning contracts with them. Because Habara's chakra was sufficient, the summoning contract acted as a forced restraint. He could now summon them regardless of their will.
These two summoning animals were clearly much smarter than the previous mixed-fur tiger. After signing the summoning contract, it was evident that they understood what had happened to them. So, after Habara released the Iron Sand, they neither fought each other nor tried to escape.
The three summoning animals sat in a row. Except for the mixed-fur tiger, which kept its head raised, the eagle and the snake both hung their heads, clearly in low spirits.
"Very good. In the future, you will all become very powerful summoning animals. So, you need powerful names…"
Habara looked at the three of them and decided to give them names. But it had to be a set of names, with a pattern, all neat and tidy.
"Um… Jenny, Amy, Lily?"
Then he shook his head. "Not good. Too soft. Doesn't convey lethality."
Habara thought for a while longer and finally decided on the summoning animals' names. His finger traced over the eagle, the snake, and the tiger, in turn. " Rock, Scales, Stripes. That's it."
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