Chapter 27 Part 3
The night was moonless, but there were few clouds in the sky. I crept slowly through the shadows along the very boundary of the Inuzuka clan territory. Potentially, due to the dog-breeder clan's peculiarities, infiltrating their lands was even more difficult than the Hyuga's. Even if the white-eyes can literally see through walls, the Inuzuka have their dogs, who can easily catch an intruder's scent.
Only two factors played in my favor. The first, and most important: I didn't need to infiltrate the clan territory itself. My target lay closer to the northern outskirts, and there were far fewer residential areas there. And the second, but no less important, factor: my masking. The suborned wind spirits deflected air currents in a "safe" direction, and the very scent of a human was carefully concealed with the aid of special incense. Perhaps such measures might seem excessive, but one shouldn't underestimate ninken. They're far from ordinary dogs. So, better to play it safe.
"Just what I need!" I thought with satisfaction, slipping cautiously behind a low fence. My target lay beyond it. A graveyard. Or rather: a dog graveyard. Stone grave markers, little obelisks, stretched toward the starry sky, creating a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Before many of them stood bowls with offerings: it was plain to see the Inuzuka cared for their four-legged comrades even in death.
Drawing the cold night air into my lungs, I opened my senses and nodded affirmatively: beyond doubt, there were many spirits in this graveyard. Sensing them, I increased the flow of my spiritual power and looked around: they were everywhere, near almost every grave! For the most part, these spirits looked like simple clumps, spiritual "tadpoles" of sorts: a dimly glimmering "orb-nucleus" and a short "tail-fin." They simply drifted mindlessly above the headstones or, in rare cases, darted rapidly around the area, as if playing tag with one another.
They were clumps that had long since lost their former shapes and memories, simply faceless spirits, wandering in the darkness with no way to depart anywhere. Only the memory of their former masters kept these spirits from scattering and, ultimately, disappearing without a trace. An existence without purpose, cause, or meaning.
And I intended to change that.
The preparation took about half an hour: placing talismans in the correct spots, sketching certain figures toward each cardinal direction, creating the foundation for the ritual.
Now I could begin. Thrusting forward the hand clutching a talisman, I began to weave the incantation. Instantly, the nearest spirits, driven by the remnants of their instincts, scattered in all directions! Even in such a pitiful state, they continued clinging to their existence, tried to flee. But their fate was inescapable: the incantation, gathering strength, swirled like a whirlpool, literally sucking the shards darting in panic into itself. Very soon, the last "tadpole" had been pulled into the vortex, and the incantation collapsed, compressing into a densely packed spiritual sphere that pulsed intermittently with bright flashes.
"Uf, good," I muttered, licking my parched lips. This incantation had demanded significant concentration from me, which was somewhat tiring. Focusing my attention on the sphere, I began conducting the final calculations: "So, one, two... hm?.. A bit less than I'd expected. For one, too much; for two, too costly; but five will come out too weak. Hm, and what if I divide it like this?.. Ah, how difficult it is to sew something tolerable from these scraps!.. Three?.. Ahaa... It'll come out slightly weaker than calculated, but that seems to be the only compromise. Mm! To work!"
Having decided, I proceeded directly to the ritual itself. At a wave of my hands, the spiritual sphere split into three equal parts, which hung frozen in the air before me. With a sharp motion, I placed a symbol-inscribed talisman upon each orb, and they laid evenly upon the spiritual substance, as if it were entirely material. The next half-hour demanded particular attentiveness and especially meticulous control over the ritual from me. Since I had absolutely no experience in anything like this, I nearly committed several critical errors, but I always managed to steer everything back onto the required course in time.
"And... done. Fhh!" I whispered, breathing heavily. Standing still for a moment and catching my breath, I set about the ritual's final phase. "This will be a little unpleasant..."
With the kunai drawn from my pouch, I cut the skin of my palm. Damn! Should've done it sharper! But, be that as it may, the deed was done. Blood flowed. Raising my hand above the spheres, I squeezed my fingers, pressing several drops of my blood onto each.
"Good... And one last effort!" Taking a deep breath, I channeled all my spiritual power into the talismans.
The reaction was instantaneous! The spiritual mass began to tremble and deform, acquiring vague and grotesque outlines. Now, I barely interfered in the formation process: the personal "memory" of the merged shards was fully sufficient for them to assume the most convenient shape within the parameters I'd set. I needed only to supply them with energy.
Unlike the first two stages, this one proceeded quickly, almost rapidly. Very soon before me hovered not glowing spheres or chaotically undulating masses, but three tall canine figures. White-gray fur covered their lean bodies, and their faceless muzzles were hidden by the talismans affixed to them. Then, the papers bearing the incantations ran, tightly enveloping the upper part of the newborn shikigami's heads, and then hardened with a crackle, forming masks covered in red patterns. The patterns flashed with an inner light for an instant, and then the motionless figures stirred into movement.
Barking, all three familiars rushed toward me.
"Good, good. Good boys!" I say, smiling, stroking the hard muzzles of the spiritual beings. To the touch, the masks felt like something between ceramic and bone, slightly rough and warm. The shikigami themselves behaved just like ordinary dogs: they wagged their tails, whined fawningly, nudged with their foreheads, and licked the hand offered to them. And I answered this sincere delight, stroking the cool fur between their sharp ears with pleasure. "There, there! Alright, that's enough. Home, boys! Home!"
The shikigami obeyed unquestioningly. Howling shortly, the entire trio leaped behind my back in one bound, dissolving into a shadow barely visible in the starlight. Oh-ho-ho... first the carp, and now these fellows too... It seems I should start getting used to the fact that my spiritual space is gradually turning into a dormitory for my familiars. Speaking of which, I'll need to name my new acquisitions sometime later.
But I'll think about that later. Right now, I need to clean up after myself and leave the Inuzuka territory as quickly as possible. And then, home and sleep! I need to recover my strength, and then I still have to set off for the tower with the jonin squad.
I slept deeply for the remainder of the night.
Checking the set of scrolls once more, I nodded to myself with satisfaction: everything's ready. Having woken early in the morning, I immediately launched into feverish activity, gathering everything necessary. Food, medicine, tools, drafting supplies, talismans... The kit was turning out quite impressive, and I once again rejoiced at the existence of fuinjutsu. I also checked on my doggies: and here, too, everything was excellent. The newly created spirits were stable, cheerful, and friendly. I confess, I'd been considerably worried that the spirits forcibly created by the ritual might run wild, but the fears had been unfounded. That's good. The presence of doggies (I really must come up with a name for their kind and names for them personally!) would substantially raise my combat potential. Though they were considerably lower in level than Hora and Horo, and also lacked an innate attribute, they were a serious asset. Now I had someone who could act autonomously and keep enemies at a distance while I prepared to strike with something lethal. In my new shikigami's abilities, I was confident: having originally been ninken, they'd retained their basic instincts and lifetime skills. They cooperated well and acted in concert. I could tell as much from how this trio played with each other, creating chaos in my little apartment. Pure puppies, though, in fact, they'd been born a little under twelve hours ago. Kami, how good it is that they're obedient! I'm afraid to even imagine what it'd be like raising three massive, half a meter at the shoulder, spiritual dogs!
"So, you're heading out with us?" an unfamiliar jonin asked me when I arrived at the Hokage's tower at the appointed time. "You're right on time. Or rather, even a bit early."
"Yes, sir... I prefer having some time in reserve." I bow slightly in greeting. "Thank you for the trouble."
"It's nothing." The apparent group leader waved it off. The other four simply nodded. "But I hope there won't be any trouble from you on the way. Orders are orders, but you'd do best not to get into any messes in the Forest of Death. It might happen that we can't pull you out in time."
"On that account, you needn't worry." I hasten to assure the jonin. It was clear they weren't especially thrilled about "ballast" in their group. "I sometimes gathered medicinal herbs in the Forest, so I know the territory to some extent. But I promise: I'll follow step for step, won't lag behind or veer off anywhere, and won't produce unnecessary noise."
"Well, good, if so," the leader nodded seriously. "Everyone ready? Then, we move out!"
And we moved out. It must be said, the route through the training ground was quite peaceful. Though everything began with a small oddity, when the forest spirits wanted to greet me: naturally, in doing so, they hid from the shinobi's eyes, so the swaying tree branches in windless weather caused my companions instant tension. Especially when, upon a quick reconnaissance, they found no one. We had to linger in place for a while until the paranoid shinobi decided to continue the journey. Oh dear...
Moving forward, I clearly sensed the path was well-trodden: along our route, we encountered neither poisonous plants, nor nests of forest creatures, nor any other dangers of this mutant forest. Evidently, this path to the tower was the main one, and therefore it had been thoroughly "cleansed" of any more-or-less dangerous filth.
So, one could say I traveled with comfort and fairly quickly: just over half an hour. Parting ways with the group at the entrance, I immediately went inside the tower and headed for the nearest nook, settling in to wait. Even sealed, I was still capable of sensing the Fox's chakra at short distances, so my knowledge was absolute: Naruko's group hadn't arrived yet. Gaara, on the other hand, was here! For me, it was harder not to notice those swirls of malevolent bloodlust somewhere overhead. Hm-hm... I wonder how she assessed my gift? Well, I'll see at the preliminaries.
For now... All that remained for me was to wait.
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