"Failed…!"
Uchiha Shizuka let out a regretful sigh.
How great it would've been if they had succeeded on the first try.
"No!" Akira Sato shook his head and explained, "It's actually a success. We just need a few more trials, and Mei will be able to regain her sight!"
The effects of the new regenerative serum had been confirmed. Now, it was just a matter of testing more and figuring out the right dosage.
Plus, Akira had confirmed some key things — progress would only accelerate from here.
"That's wonderful!"
Uchiha Shizuka's face lit up with excitement.
She had watched Uchiha Mei grow up since she was little, treating her like a daughter. That's why she was so emotional now.
"But we need to figure out ahead of time how we'll explain this," Akira calmly pointed out.
Healing Mei wasn't the problem. Explaining how she was healed afterward was the real issue.
The regenerative serum and typical healing potions were completely different beasts.
Healing potions were basically just substitutes for medical ninjutsu — and honestly, a "lower-tier" substitute at that.
But regenerating something like a lost limb or restoring sight? That was unprecedented.
At least, no known medical ninjutsu could pull that off. Not even Tsunade, the founder of medical ninjutsu, could manage such a feat.
So if word got out, the consequences would be dire.
Even if the Uchiha clan decided to protect him at all costs, there was no guarantee they'd actually succeed.
"Don't worry," Shizuka said confidently. "I've already used genjutsu to alter the memories of those medical-nin from before. As long as Mei later announces she was healed by some other medical-nin, it'll be fine!"
The medical-nin they had consulted earlier weren't from Konoha, and their memories had already been tampered with.
This way, there was no risk of leaking Sharingan-related intel, and outsiders wouldn't know the true situation.
Even within the clan, only a select few knew how serious Mei's condition really was.
They just needed to say that they had encountered a highly skilled medical-nin who decided to help because they owed a favor to Mei's grandfather.
As long as they had an excuse ready, it would hold.
And if someone tried to press for detailed explanations?
Sorry, Uchiha Mei wasn't some ordinary person.
As the (former) "princess" of the Uchiha clan, she had every right not to disclose everything.
Plus, it wasn't like she was the only one with that privilege — digging too hard into such details would cross a line that all shinobi respected.
"Then I'm counting on you, Aunt Shizuka!" Akira said, clearly satisfied.
As long as no one suspected him, that was good enough.
— Half a month later! —
When Akira finished his fifth experiment and returned to the courtyard, the thing he'd been eagerly waiting for finally arrived.
"This is the summoning scroll you wanted!"
Uchiha Mei tossed over a scroll about as thick as a person's arm.
Although she still had a white cloth bandage over her eyes, her expression had recovered — there was no trace of the lifeless look she'd had before.
Snap!
Akira excitedly caught the scroll.
Sure, having someone else retrieve it carried some risks.
But if he waited until he could go himself, who knew how long that would take? That's why he had decided to use the "power of money" — hiring Kakuzu to retrieve it for him.
And sure enough, with enough money, Kakuzu really could pull off any mission.
"Come on, let's go to the training ground!" Akira said, his voice tinged with excitement.
Because this was going to be his trump card.
Even though Taichi had greater potential, it would still take considerable time for Taichi to grow into something like the Great Lizard of Shuzaki.
Uchiha Mei quietly followed.
For a ninja, even without sight, it didn't mean they couldn't move freely.
Sensory ninjutsu!
Their clan certainly wasn't lacking in that.
Uchiha Mei had already learned one, allowing her to more or less function normally.
Plus, they'd been spreading rumors during this time that her eyes were "slowly recovering" thanks to the help of a highly skilled medical-nin.
Of course, that was just a cover story to conceal the regenerative serum.
The two soon arrived at the private training ground reserved for the main Uchiha family line.
Every major shinobi clan had their own training grounds.
The Uchiha, of course, had several — in fact, they had the most, which was part of what qualified them as a top-tier clan.
The training grounds weren't just equipped with all sorts of training tools; they also had interference barriers to ensure privacy.
Not even the Byakugan could see through these barriers.
That's just how it was.
Intel was everything for ninjas, so it wasn't surprising they'd set up these kinds of defenses.
Standing in the center of this massive, forest-surrounded private training ground, Akira slowly unrolled the summoning scroll.
Right now, he was dying to know if one particular name was written on it.
"Kishimoto Masashi…"
When the scroll was fully unfurled, he saw only a few scattered names. The first one listed was "Shuzaki Gōsuke."
"Phew… good."
Akira let out a quiet sigh of relief — he had been worried that certain other names might show up.
He bit his finger and signed his own name on the scroll.
Once his name was down, Akira could vaguely sense a connection forming.
Boar — Dog — Bird…!
His hands moved slowly through the hand seals.
Now, here was something important to note:
Just because you signed a summoning contract didn't mean the beast would automatically fight for you.
Getting the summoning scroll was only the first step — you had to earn the creature's recognition before it would obey you in battle.
And each summoning beast had its own temperament.
Just look at Naruto and Gamabunta in the future — it was totally normal for a summoned beast to not listen to you at first.
While the Great Lizard of Shuzaki was supposed to have a loyal personality, Akira didn't want to take any chances.
That's why he came to the training ground to summon it, rather than trying it in the underground lab.
"Summoning Technique!"
Akira poured out all the chakra he had.
Different summoning targets required different amounts of chakra.
For small creatures, even a genin could summon them easily.
But for giant summoning beasts, a genin shouldn't even dream of it — unless, of course, they were an Uzumaki, or better yet, a jinchūriki.
Akira had less than a full "chakra card" in his body, but even so, he was burning through reserves on par with a special jōnin, draining himself nearly dry.
Boom!
A massive cloud of white smoke exploded outward.
Uchiha Mei, standing to the side, immediately drew a kunai and gripped a signal flare.
From her sensory perception, she could feel a vast and overwhelming chakra presence suddenly fill the training ground — she was extremely on edge.
What kind of summoning beast is this?!
Just from the chakra signature alone, she could tell it was far stronger than the summoning crows used by the clan — in fact, no other summoning beast in the Uchiha's arsenal could compare.
As the white mist cleared…
A giant lizard, pure white with crimson eyes, appeared in the middle of the training ground.
It stood over ten meters tall and stretched at least several dozen meters long.
What did that mean?
It meant you had to physically back up just to see the full outline of its body.
Powerful.
You could tell just from its size.
Because for summoning beasts, the larger they were, the more chakra they could carry — and the more destructive power they had.
"So… the Gōsuke line has ended, and you're the new contractor?"
The white giant lizard lowered its massive head, its crimson eyes studying Akira Sato.
Looks like it won't be hard to deal with!
Seeing that the lizard didn't attack right away, Akira silently let out a breath of relief and introduced himself:
"I'm Akira Sato. Please take care of me!"
Thank goodness the lizard wasn't stubbornly rejecting a new contractor — otherwise, this would've gotten really complicated.
If the creature didn't want to cooperate, Akira honestly didn't have the strength to force it.
"I am Chūbyōmaru. From now on, I will assist you in battle. However, my chakra has been depleted, so I will leave for now."
The Great Lizard of Shuzaki gave its name and signaled that the summoning was over.
Yes.
With Akira's current chakra reserves, he hadn't even been able to cover half a minute of the beast's "appearance fee."
But then again, with a powerhouse like this, even half a minute was more than enough.
At least in terms of raw destructive power, it was no weaker than a Kage — maybe even stronger.
Plus, the chakra cost would decrease as their bond strengthened.
Normally, the summoner bore all the summoning cost. But once you built a good relationship, the summoned beast could shoulder most of the burden.
For example, Taichi's summoning was mostly supported by the beast's own chakra.
In Chūbyōmaru's case, Akira had to bear the full cost himself, which was why the duration was so short.
(End of Chapter)