Chapter 27: Chapter 27: You Want Art, Not Me!
"So much money, yet not a single extra ryo is given to Yugakure. Daimyo, what a fine Daimyo..." Shangguan Mo's eyes narrowed into slits. Looking at his teammates, who were getting along like a family, a sense of unwillingness flashed in his heart. "Such a united and loving village shouldn't be in this war-torn state!"
Thinking of the Jashinists running rampant through the country, he sighed and suppressed his unrealistic thoughts. He was just an academy student who hadn't even graduated yet. The Daimyo was too far out of his reach.
The continuous vigilance in the sky was mentally taxing. After a quick dinner, the group found an open space to rest. The sky was darkening; night was approaching. Even with the Windhawk's chakra shielding them from the wind, the subtle chill still seeped into their bones.
"Big Brother Mo, let's go find some wood for a fire!" Li said, rubbing her reddened hands as she came over to him. Looking at his aging teammates, he had no choice but to accept the task. "Let's go." He nodded at the dopey-looking Earth Dragon Beast, then pulled Li down to sit with him. He had unlocked a new use for his summons.
The Windhawk lifted its head disdainfully at the small creatures vying for attention. It was the Eagle King. It didn't need to curry favor with Shangguan Mo like these simple-minded summons.
"Little Wind, go catch some rabbits or wild boars!" Shangguan Mo shouted, lounging with his legs crossed.
The Windhawk: "Oh..." Swoosh! It reluctantly flew off.
In just a few minutes, the Earth Dragon Beast returned with bundles of damp branches, piling them into a small mountain. The Iron Hedgehog also puffed out its chest, carrying a few branches. Even the Earth Beetle, not to be outdone, scurried across the ground, its passive invisibility active, making it look like a thumb-sized branch was running towards them on its own.
"Ah! A ghost!" Li screamed, throwing herself into Shangguan Mo's arms.
"Hahaha! That girl Li is so timid!" the first-year instructor, Izumi, laughed heartlessly.
"You don't get it. This is called throwing herself into his arms. That girl isn't timid at all..." Inoshita Rino said, winking slyly at Izumi.
"Ohohoho..." The other old-timers snickered. Even Watanabe Mousse couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, hey, that's enough! Li is still a young girl!" Shangguan Mo chided, unable to watch any longer. He looked down at Li, who was now even more embarrassed, her face bright red. She was too scared to lift her head from his chest. "Those disrespectful old guys are just joking. It's okay now, Li," he whispered in her ear.
Only then did she quickly get up, her red face turned to the side. Seeing that someone was already preparing to start a fire, "Don't move, let me do it!" Shangguan Mo shouted, beginning to form hand seals. He took every opportunity to practice his fire jutsu.
"Hah!" A few seconds later, he spat out several balls of fire onto the branches. The damp wood surprisingly caught fire. As the moisture evaporated, the fire grew stronger, driving away the darkness and bringing a gentle warmth to the group.
Even his strangely-shaped summons curiously gathered around. The Earth Dragon Beast coiled its body, its reddish-brown skin glowing in the firelight. The Iron Hedgehog stood on its back, its two chubby front paws extended towards the fire, just like Shangguan Mo.
Suddenly, he noticed something and looked at the motionless Earth Beetle on the Earth Dragon Beast's back. The little guy was almost the same color as the beast, and he had almost overlooked it. It was less than a foot from the flames, and its brown shell was already starting to smoke, a burnt smell wafting from it.
"You idiot!" he cursed, then kicked the beetle away. "How did I end up with such a stupid summon! Even the flies know not to get close to the fire..."
Buzz! Before he could finish his complaint, he saw one of the Self-Destructing Flies that had been circling the fire suddenly dive into the flames...
Art is an explosion! Like a moth to a flame, its small body was filled with a sense of martyrdom.
Pop! The orange flame flickered for a moment. A tiny, burning fly fell from the fire, quickly turning to ash. At that moment, in the darkness of the night, the Self-Destructing Fly finally bloomed in all its splendor.
Shangguan Mo: "..."
"Right, right! You want art, not me!" he said silently.
"Heeheehee..." Li covered her mouth and giggled. The others also smiled, finding his summons quite interesting.
"All of you, get away from here! No more self-destructing! You hear me!" he shouted at the hundred or so flies still buzzing overhead.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
"Buzz my ass! Don't you dare go extinct on me..." he muttered. He quite liked these summons that could reproduce infinitely. If they could just focus on breeding, he would soon have a massive suicide squad, perhaps even reaching the scale of Konan's six hundred billion exploding tags in a few years. But these guys were as clueless as that kid Deidara, always chasing after art. They were giving him a headache.
"Shangguan Mo, can your summons understand you?" Watanabe Mousse asked curiously.
"Uh... probably because of the contract, I can understand what they want to express, and they can understand my commands," he said vaguely. The existence of the system was something he didn't plan to tell anyone. And in reality, he had never signed any contract with these summons.
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