Hirofumi Ito couldn't help but swallow hard.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from Uchiha Madara was just too much!
He wasn't even a genin yet, and the sheer aura Madara gave off was almost unbearable!
When he first summoned Uchiha Madara, Hirofumi had been thrilled. But then it hit him—how could a legend like Madara ever willingly become his summoned beast?!
If Madara found out the truth, would he just slap Hirofumi into oblivion?!
"System!!!" Hirofumi called out in his mind.
[I'm here!] the system responded.
"Madara's my summoned beast now, right?!"
[Correct!]
"Will he… you know, try to attack me? Like, accidentally crush me or something?!"
[Summoned beasts formed from spirits follow the same rules as regular summoners and their summons! The system guarantees that a summoned beast cannot harm its host, but it cannot control their thoughts or actions! Due to the unique nature of spirits, a summoning space will form within the host's body. The summoned spirit will reside temporarily in that space. And because the host carries the system, if the host dies, the summoned beast will return to the spirit world!]
"A summoning space? Like the sealed space inside Naruto Uzumaki?"
[Exactly!]
Hearing the system's explanation, Hirofumi let out a sigh of relief. As long as Madara couldn't attack him, he was safe! No need to worry about Madara getting annoyed and wiping him out with a single blow.
Plus, Madara had a vested interest in keeping him alive. If Hirofumi died, the system would vanish, and Madara would be sent back to the spirit world as a soul again.
Sure, Madara was his summoned beast now, but in a way, this was like a form of resurrection for him. After all, wasn't Madara's ultimate goal to come back to life? This setup was probably halfway there…
"Hey, kid!" Madara's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I'm talking to you!"
At that moment, Madara had already assessed his condition. It was… strange, but he was undeniably alive, his body fully flesh and blood again! And not just any body—this was him at his peak!
But there was a catch. His chakra felt off, like it was somehow connected to the kid standing in front of him. It reminded him of the bond he'd once shared with his own summoned beasts…
Who was this kid? And how had Madara been brought back in this state?!
He'd sensed the kid's chakra earlier, and it was pathetically weak! Madara could probably crush him without breaking a sweat.
"Uchiha Madara!" Hirofumi took a deep breath and faced the legendary ninja.
"You know my name?!" Madara raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Could this kid be a descendant of the Uchiha clan? He was pretty good-looking, with a certain flair that could pass for Uchiha style. But his strength… was this really what the Uchiha clan had been reduced to?!
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Hirofumi Ito!"
"Ito?!" Madara's brow furrowed deeper. Not an Uchiha, then. That made sense—how could an Uchiha be this weak?!
"That's right! Hirofumi Ito, from the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire!"
"The Hidden Leaf Village?!" Madara's expression grew complex—anger, nostalgia, and a faint longing for better days flickered across his face.
"Kid from the Hidden Leaf," Madara continued, "care to explain what's going on here? If I'm not mistaken, we're still in the spirit world, aren't we? Why's a kid like you here? And why am I… alive like this?!"
Hirofumi paused, wondering how to explain this to Madara. He couldn't reveal the system—that was a secret he'd keep from everyone, no exceptions. But how was he supposed to explain that Madara was now his summoned beast?!
After a moment of thought, Hirofumi spoke up. "I know you're freaking out, but hear me out! I was reverse-summoned to the spirit world."
"Reverse-summoned?!" Madara knew what that meant, but he'd never heard of the spirit world summoning a living person! And what did that have to do with his resurrection? He could sense a faint connection between his chakra and the kid's—clear as day. This boy was definitely tied to his revival. But how could someone so weak pull off something like that?!
"Exactly, reverse-summoned!" Hirofumi continued. "I made a contract with the spirit world. By paying a certain price, I can form a summoning bond with spirits from this realm. And you, Uchiha Madara, are the first one I've contracted! You were just a soul before, but after I summoned you, you were brought back to life!"
Madara had been listening intently, almost enjoying the sound of a human voice after so long. But then the bombshell hit—he, Uchiha Madara, was a summoned beast?! Summoned by this kid?!
A joke! An absolute, ridiculous joke!
The mighty Uchiha Madara! The Shura of the Ninja World! One of the founders of the Hidden Leaf! The sworn brother of the God of Shinobi! One half of the legendary Twin Heroes of the ninja world!
Reduced to a… summoned beast?!
Madara couldn't accept it. A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from him, shooting into the sky like a blazing pillar!
Hirofumi's heart raced at the sight, but he calmed himself, remembering that Madara couldn't harm him. That thought alone steadied his nerves… slightly.
"Kid!" Madara growled, stepping toward Hirofumi with murder in his eyes. "Do you even know what you're saying?!" He reached out, intending to strangle the insolent brat who dared call him a summoned beast. Unforgivable!
But then, Madara froze. His body wouldn't move. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch Hirofumi's neck. His body was… stuck, completely out of his control!
"Grr… Kid! What did you do to me?! What's wrong with my body?!"