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Chapter 59: Raising a Summoning Beast
"Kagejiro, you must know that once someone tastes the ease of a Ninja Loan, it's hard for them not to come back for more," Mitokado Takashi said with a cunning smile. "I've recovered dozens of mortgaged properties this year. I perfectly understand the mentality of these humble people."
"Brother Takashi, can it be faster? I can't wait any longer."
"Don't worry, Kagejiro, there will be results soon. Sasuke has exchanged for a high-level summoning beast. And are they easy to raise? It's one with the blood of a Giant Desert Hawk. The cost of maintenance is a bit unbearable even with our income. Sasuke's capital chain won't take long to break. He will undoubtedly have to borrow again. And then, we'll just have to seize the opportunity... hehehe."
Meanwhile, Sasuke, after hearing the plan, suppressed his killing instinct. He decided that neither of them would survive this war. After gathering some more information, he went to the hospital to visit Hyuga Asuka and ask about Ye. Unfortunately, after Ye paid off the loan, he accepted a confidential mission and disappeared, probably to prevent Sasuke from feeling indebted.
Sasuke could only head to the Summoning Beast Care Base to redeem his voucher.
"This is the hawk... it doesn't look like it," he said, observing the chicks in the cage. Less than half a month old, they already weighed over four kilograms and looked like eagles on hormones.
"They're still small," the caretaker explained as he fed them. "They have the blood of the Giant Desert Hawk. When they grow up, their wingspan will reach at least twenty meters, and they'll be able to fly with seven or eight ninjas on their backs."
The caretaker pointed to a snow-white hawk that was stealing food from its siblings. "Shirotaka, if you take their food again, you won't eat next time!" The hawk, which he called Shirotaka, immediately calmed down, understanding the words.
"Huh?" Sasuke's eyes lit up. As expected of a high-level beast, it possessed great spirituality. The caretaker warned him: "Shirotaka is showing atavism towards its giant ancestors. It will produce chakra soon. But I must remind you that once exchanged, it won't be refunded. And raising such a beast..."
The caretaker explained the costs in detail. Giant summoned beasts were a bottomless pit of expenses. A carnivore like a hawk cost thousands of ryo a day just for food. Annually, the cost could exceed 3 million ryo. That's why, once adult, they were released to feed on their own.
"I plan to take it and raise it myself," Sasuke said, declining the caretaker's offer for the base to handle the raising.
The cost, which was a problem for others, was not for him. In the rich aquatic fauna of the Land of Rivers, with his fishing technique, he would not lack meat.
So Sasuke used his advanced summoning scroll and signed the contract directly with the hawk Shirotaka. At first, the beast was arrogant and defiant. But Sasuke had no intention of letting it sulk. He opened a scroll from which a mountain of the highest quality dried fish fell, while holding the advanced contract scroll in his other hand. With the sweet date in one hand and the big stick in the other, Shirotaka, being a highly intelligent bird, made the wisest decision and accepted its new master.
After completing the contract, Sasuke's purpose on this trip was practically fulfilled, and he finally officially entered his well-deserved day off. Tekudo, in his element, offered them a comprehensive service, guiding them through the bustling streets of Shinano Castle on a complete tour of the places a ninja on his day off might desire. It wasn't until the sun began to set that the four, with a dog and a hawk, reluctantly left the city and rushed back to their patrol area.
The handover with Ebihiko's squad went smoothly, and the Sand ninjas, very considerate, did not choose their defense zone to attack that day.