Chapter 3

After I stepped through the door from Kami's place. I took my first breath upon entering a new would. The feelings I have are a mix of fear and excitement. The feeling of excitement of having the biggest adventure of my life and the fear of failing my mission made my heart beat faster than ever before. I took a few deep breaths to get myself under control. I did not have all that training just to lose it now. I checked out the area Kami had put me on. The land of stone lived up to it name, I was standing on a cliff surveying the area and saw only dirt roads, rocky terrain and a few mountains. In the distance I could see a small town. Even reading the manga and seeing the anime there was little information on the land of stone seeing as it did not play a big role in the story. Wondering how long I had to the first event I took out my watch to see I had 4 years to go. I guess the first thing is Hinata getting kidnapped by the cloud ninja. Since I had time on my hands, I decided to sign my summoning contracts and use the owls to find to wind daimyo in order to save him and in do so would help me build my reputation in the ninja world.

The area I was in was already secluded but just to be safe I put up a barrier using seals and genjutsu to keep anyone from seeing or feeling what I was doing. I took the summoning scrolls from their storage seals, signed my full name in blood and put my bloody finger prints on the scrolls. Once done I used a lot of chakra and did the hand signs. My hope was to call the bosses of both clans and see if they would work with me.

"Ninja art: Kuchiyose No Jutsu."

Two large clouds of smoke appeared before me. It took only a few seconds for the smoke to clear and to see what I called fore. The boss of the owl clan was a giant Great Gray owl: a round head with a grey face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. It body was covered with light and dark grey feathers. I knew a lot about owls in school so I was not thrown off by its appearance but what shocked and scared the hell out of me was the boss of the leviathan clan. It made the owl leader look like a runt. The huge leviathan was covered in green armor like scales going up and down it body, a fish like tail, no arms or legs, a large head with long snout with razor sharp teeth and snake like eyes. I did all I could not to lose bowel control in front of this thing (don't laugh; you would be scared to if you saw something that looked like it could make a T-Rex its bitch). Both bosses look at one another and then turned to me and spoke in union.

"Are you the one to summon us human?" they asked.

Hoping not to make a fool out of myself I went with the old standby: fake it till you make it. So I put on a brave face and answered.

"Yes, my name is Haruki Uzumaki Yuki Senju. I wish to be the summoner of both your clans if at all possible. I am ready to take whatever test you have to prove my worth. I have been given an important mission and I will need both of your strengths to see it done. "I said with respectful tone and hoped I would not become tonight's dinner. The owl boss was the one to speak first.

"I believe it is time for introductions, my name is Earl and I am the clan leader of the owl clan." Earl said and waited for the other to speak.

"My name is Mobius. I lead the leviathan clan and as for your wish to summon both clans is granted. The only reason this is being allowed is because long ago our sages had for told a prophecy. That both clans would be summoned by the shining one (my name) with the blood of three clans flowing through his veins and we are to help him keep the world in balance. Be grateful for my clan does not normally take a summoner so easily." Mobius said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. I was shocked that it was this easy and happy that I did not have to take a test. If I had to guess, I bet it was the Kami of this world who give them this prophecy so I could get them to work with me easier. Earl was still a round and looked like he wanted to talk to me.

"There are few things I must say to you on behalf of Mobius and myself before I return home. You cannot call both clans at the same time but you can call for more than one member of the same clan. Only when the other clan leaves can you call another. The owls are not a fighting clan as we are mostly used for information gathering and carrying our summoner from place to place. The best we can do is carrying you above your enemy and let you use Jutsu on them from up high. Mobius and his clan spend most of their time in water and it would be best to call them when you're near a lake or the sea. It is said that they are more powerful then dragons when they are in their environment. They can move on land but not at great speed but make up for that in raw power. By mindful of them for they are proud and short-tempered beings. Lastly, Summon Mobius only when you have a strong enemy for he does not like his time wasted." Earl said.

"Will you or Mobius teach me the sage arts?" I asked

"Mobius's realm is under water so it is impossible for you to learn from his sages. The sages of my clan and I live in a forest realm and they will teach you as soon as you are ready. The time it takes to finish depends on you but when you're done you will gain new powers: The ability to use natural energy, super strength and my clan's night vision when you are in sage mode. Tell one of my clan when you want to learn and I will reverse summon you. I am known for my wisdom so call me for when you need advice or a strategic plan" Earl said before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Once he was gone I ran to the nearest rock cover and used it as a bathroom. The only thing I could think about was when I die I am going to kick Yue ass for not training me how to deal with something like that. I had never been that afraid in my new life. I may have been afraid during training but this was on a new level. When I was done and the fear was gone I walked to the cliff edge, sat down, took out bar of soap and a bottle of water from my seals and washed my hands. Well I better get used to this soon so I don't freeze up when I fight someone who can summons I thought. Ok, that was enough seating around, time to find me a feudal lord. I stood up did the same hand signs as before only with less chakra.

"Ninja art: Kuchiyose No Jutsu." I said. Once done I stood up and waited for the smoke to clear.

What stood before me was a small male Desert Eagle Owl. It had mottled plumage with large orange and yellow eyes. It was a mix of different colored feathers: black, white, and brown. This was the perfect owl I needed for this area because he looked like he could blend in.

"Hello Haruki-sama, my name is Gyan (means full of knowledge in Hinduism). How may I help you?" Gyan asked.

"Gyan, I want you to fly around the area and keep an eye out for the wind daimyo. He most likely to be in a horse carriage surround by ninja or samurai. I will be in that town below us. When you find him come to me, if I am not alone give me a loud hoot to let me know your there and not tip people off on what you are. I will meet you outside of town as soon as I can get away without being seen. Do your best not to be spotted. If you think you're in danger fly away or cancel the summoning, I don't want you hurt or killed." I said

"I will do my best Haruki-sama." Gyan said as he flew off into the sky.

Once he was gone, I stared at the town below me. The only things I could remember about it were that it was called Post Town; it was a home for low-life characters, full of shady bars, motels and businesses. I looked down at my cloths and decided to change. I could tell just walking in with new cloths would get me mugged. Looking through the box of seals I had I found the one labeled cloths on the bottom, I took it out and opened it. Three chests appeared with words craved into each lid. They said: normal, work, and formal. I open all three to see what I was working with. In the work chest was mostly dark type cloths for blending in on missions and a reinforced gray full robe, the formal was full of folded expensive kimonos (mostly yukata and hakama) and accessories that go with them. The normal one was casual: jeans, t-shirts, underwear and so on. I can't use the formal or the normal chests so I seal them back up and picked a pair of gray pants, black long sleeve t-shirt and switched out my cloak for the robe. After I got dressed I took out $10,000 ryo ($1,000 in U.S. dollars) from the money seal and seal the rest back. Once done I used chakra to make my way down the cliff and to the town.

The first thing to come to my mind when I looked at the town was that it looked like a cheap rip off of a Wild West movie. Most of the buildings were two story high made out of wood with balconies and two windows on the first and second floors. I swear I saw a tumbleweeds roll by. Even most of the people were dressed like they were from the west with their cowboy hats and bandanas. I got the feeling most of these guys were bandits and they were giving me the eye. I ignored them and made my way to the nearest bar. My plan was to pay off the barman for so information or get the nearest fool drunk and make him spill is guts. The bar was in the center of town in a one story building. It would seem even in here the Wild West theme was going on with all the round card tables and a bar full of alcohol against the wall. The place was barely full. The barman was a short middle age man with brown hair and moustache. He was wearing a pair of black pants with a light green shirt and dark green vest. The people in the room watched me as I made my way to him.

"What do you want stranger?" the barman asked when I got to him.

"I want what most man want: food, beer, sex, and information. I don't need it in that order." I answer with a smirk under my hood.

"You came to the right place for the once three but the last one won't be cheap and before we start talking price, I would like to know who I am dealing with?" the barman said. It seemed like I was the center of attention as people in the room listened in.

"My name is Haruki, 18 years old and I am a wandering ninja and the reason I need information is for work. I use to work with a group of rogue ninjas, they picked the jobs but I ran afoul of the female leader and had to run for it." I lied

"What did you do to piss her off that you had to run?" the barman asked

I shrugged and answered

"She and I were dating at the time; I got drunk and slept with her younger twin sister by mistake and she walked in on us (most had nose bleeds by now). I got to admit I should have been able to tell it was not the leader because she was always smooth down there and this one wasn't (add more blood). She then threatened to castrate me after she kicked her sister ass. Good thing for me that her sister was strong even naked and the cat fight lasted long enough for me to get my clothes on, get my gear and run. To save my manhood I fled to another nation. As the old saying go: beware a woman scorned." I lied through my teeth. Most of the men in the room were nodding their heads and quietly say that a man most protect his goods.

"I have taken a liking to you kid, why do you wait in the back room and I will be there in a few minutes." The barman said as he pointed to a door on the right side of the bar. I nodded at him and walk through the door. The room was full of wooden barrels and bottles. There was a table in the middle with two chairs. I check the room for traps before sitting down and waiting. You can never be too careful with these types.

10 minutes later

The barman come in, sat down and faced me.

"Well Haruki, you caught my interest. I don't get many wandering ninja around here. The price for information is 5000 ($500) ryo. If you got it we will talk"

I pulled out the money and put it on the table. The barman reached for it but I keep my hand it and looked him in the eyes from under my hood.

"This Information had better be rock solid or you and I are going to have a problem." I said in a cold voice and let go of the money.

"I don't cheat my customers. As I know that is not good for my health. So what is it you want to know?" The barman asked after counting the money.

"I need work, as you can guess all the decent jobs go to the hidden villages. The life of a wandering Nin is not easy. I don't want to join a village because I like my freedom and I don't want to deal with all their political bull shit. I have heard that even the most loyal ninja will be sold out at the first sign of trouble if the village is ever in danger. What I want is a list of villages or persons that need high level missions done without the hidden villages knowing or can't afford them." I said

"I got a few names I can give you but they won't hire you without a show of skill. Most rogue ninja are in the bingo book, that gives credit to how strong they are and so most people hire them for jobs. You have to find a way to get into the book or show your power in a big enough incident to get people's attention" said the barman.

"Let's make a deal. You found me a job that lets me show my stuff and from every job you give me from now on I will give you 30% of the money I make and even the S rank mission pay. You're better off either way. If I die you get rid of some useless guy, keep the money I gave you or I succeed and you make even more money from all the jobs I do for you." I said doing my best to work the man's greed.

For just a second the barman eyes turn into money signs.

"You got yourself a deal Haruki and I know just what mission you need. I'm sure you figure out by now that most of the people in this town are bandits or low level thugs. Well two of my regulars by the names of Gosunkugi and Michizo Manaka have come up with a plan to kidnap the wind daimyo for ransom. Now most would think this was a crazy plan because all lords do not travel without a high number of bodyguards but the monk who rules the land of stone is having a meeting with the lords of earth and wind and both cannot bring to many guards as it can be seen as in act of aggression. This fact will give those two and an army of bandits a better chance to succeed. Your job is to save the daimyo and show your skills at the same time. Michizo Manaka looks tough but has little skill. The one you need to watch out for is Gosunkugi as he is a C rank in the bingo book, can use ninjutsu and has a bounty of 3 million ryo. Beat him and you will get a place in the book." Said the barman

"Do you know the where and when this is going to happen?" I asked

"It going to happen tomorrow but I'm not sure where. Michizo Manaka let it slip accidently about the time but not the place." Said the barman

"Then I had better get ready. I will stay in the motel on the corner of town and move out in the morning. If this works out you will see me again." I said.

I walked out of the bar and went to a different motel than the one I said in case the bar man sells me out. I checked into the room on the second floor and left the window open in case Gyan comes back. Tomorrow was my first big battle and I needed to rest. Once I had eaten and had shower I got ready for bed. The last thought I had before fell asleep was that the next day my legend will be born.

(Next time readers. Reviews needed.)