The former lair of the Akatsuki was a horde of the greatest value: not in gold, or power, but in knowledge. It outstripped anything Bolt had imagined when he first decided to explore the cave system. There were literally—literally—dozens upon dozens of ancient scrolls kept in racks that lined the walls of the small cavern from floor to ceiling. Each of them stored a different technique, or contained knowledge of arts long since forgotten, or were personal journals and musings of the different leaders of Akatsuki.
There were plans for bringing peace to the Land of Rain, written by Yahiko. There were detailed logs of experiments written by a man named Pain, whose sheer brilliance awed Bolt. A few scrolls, detailing the history of the organization and their true goals, were written by the woman, Konan, who had written the journal at the fore of the cavern.
This was, apparently, her last resort. She feared that Madara Uchiha would take control of the organization and smear their once good name. And she was right, for he did.
Bolt stared at an old photograph, wrinkled and faded from age. It was the trio from their younger days. Yahiko, tall with broad shoulders and wild orange-colored hair. Nagato, a feeble and sickly looking young man with flowing crimson hair—the telltale trait of the Uzumaki, Bolt recognized it instantly—and rippled purple eyes; the Rinnegan. Konan, a true vision of ethereal beauty. She had chin length deep blue hair and amber eyes; the former being a rare genetic mutation caused by an overabundance of chakra in the womb. Yahiko held Konan to his chest with one arm, and hung his other over Nagato's shoulders. All three were smiling broadly.
It was a cruel twist of fate that their smiles would be robbed from them, as they died one by one. Bolt compared what was written in Konan's journals to what was written in the Leaf's history books, and found the latter marred by bias. History was written by the victors, after all. It was little more than a fable that was agreed upon.
For the fourth time, Bolt paged through Konan's journal, re-reading their organization's history. They had lofty goals and even more righteous beliefs. It was interesting how each leader's vision of peace changed from one to the next. Yahiko, who acted as a peacemaker and negotiator, ever trying to stop the spread of violence with peaceful resolution. Nagato, maddened by the death of his friend, who sought to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction and enforce peace by fear. And Konan, who simply tried to keep the broken fragments of her homeland together in the wake of so much death.
A shame that they were slain before they could see the world made peaceful.
With a sigh, Bolt snapped Konan's journal shut and placed it back on the stone pedestal. Hikari was reading through several thick scrolls on water jutsu. Bolt wandered the cavern, simply trying to process the sheer amount of knowledge contained in the small room. It contained more information in an armful of scrolls than the entire library in the Leaf.
"Bolt," Hikari called, drawing him out of his musings. He jogged over to her. "What do you make of these?"
She stood before a towering bookcase filled with what appeared to be ancient scrolls. Bolt recognized their value instantly, for they were written on sealing paper. Sealing paper was vastly different than normal parchment, and by far more expensive. It was made from the pulp of trees who were grown by being fed chakra. In a way, the paper itself became the physical manifestation of that chakra. It helped stabilize and empower any seal written upon it, and was the preferred method of most seal masters.
The scrolls in front of them, inparticular, were written with the highest quality sealing paper available: Wood Release trees. The telltale earthen brown color gave them away as being formed from the pulp of a Wood Release tree. "Wow," Bolt uttered.
So many. Gingerly, he reached out and grabbed one. He unravelled it slowly, being careful not to damage it. His eyes roamed the page as he did so, taking in the writing. It wasn't written in any common language, and was instead transcribed in an older dialect most modern sealing alphabets used. It took him several minutes to understand what they were for. "They're summoning contracts!" Bolt exclaimed, upon finding row upon row of signatures written in blood.
"For what? Who could have possibly had contracts with so many creatures?" Hikari asked, her head tilting backwards as she looked up and down the bookshelf. There were tens, maybe even hundreds, of scrolls.
Bolt shook his head. "I don't know," he said, suddenly grinning. "But I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste! I'm signing one."
"Wait!" Hikari said, grabbing him by the wrist before he could dig through the mountain of scrolls. "These contracts have obviously been down here for a long time. How do we even know they are active anymore? Or if they would be receptive to new summoners?"
Bolt just shrugged. "Worth it," he quipped, and began to sort through the scrolls. He smirked as he opened one and began to read it, trying to find out the name of the creature it belonged to. Hikari sighed audibly behind him.
"Oh," Bolt commented. "Rhino contract!" He placed the scroll down in a neat pile on the floor and moved to the next one.
Hikari left him to his own devices and went back to reading the water jutsu scrolls. "What kind do you want?" Bolt called out to her as she walked away.
"I don't want one," she said tersely.
"Aw, come on! Don't be like that," Bolt pouted.
Hikari sighed. "You do know that whatever beast you sign with has a right to refuse the contract, right? There are hundreds of summoning clans, but only a select few summoners at one time. Some have allegiances to villages, or to certain clans. They won't even consider the contract with you in that case," she informed him.
Bolt frowned, reading between the lines. He had gotten exceedingly good at that skill with his stoic friend. "You're scared that they won't choose you to be their summoner?" Bolt asked.
He could see the way she rolled her eyes, even from across the room. "I'm not scared, I am just being realistic. It is highly unlikely that I would be accepted as the summoner for any creature. You, on the other hand, would likely have several handfuls who would fight over the privilege to be yours," she said.
Bolt scoffed. "You'll be accepted, don't worry! And if they don't, then I'll force them to!" Bolt declared loudly.
Hikari sighed. "You'll see," Bolt muttered. "Ox contract!"
And so it went. The hours were whittled away as Bolt went through the entire stack of scrolls. There was one for nearly every type of creature imaginable, and even some that weren't. In particular, some sort of demonic bird species with thick beaks and several pairs of wings and legs, as well as a breed of dog that grew multiple heads.
None of them drew Bolt's interest. He wanted something that spoke to him. Something that embodied his path in life. He wanted... something that could fly. To give him the wings of freedom that he had sought all his life. Plus, flying was a rare ability in the ninja world. He would be one of the few people who could. That alone made his decision easy.
So far, his pile of flying creatures consisted of: the strange demonic birds, a type of gull, and a species of dove. None of which he particularly liked. His pile for Hikari included a species of pufferfish, a crustacean creature that resembled a shrimp-lobster hybrid, and a species of shark whose skull was shaped like a hammer. She really wasn't into the whole shopping for summoning contracts thing.
Moving a scroll, Bolt caught sight of another one beneath it. Unlike the others, who were coated in a thick layer of dust, this scroll appeared to be somewhat clean by comparison. Opening it up, he quickly navigated down the archaic script.
He saw a diagram of a bird; a hawk. "Hawk contract!" Bolt declared, standing up immediately. This was it. He wouldn't accept any other contract than the one with the hawks.
Hikari trudged over, hearing his excitement. Bolt quickly withdrew a kunai and sliced the palm of his hand open. He wrote his name—his handwriting perfect by product of months of intensive sealing jutsu training—and signed with a bloody palm print.
"Bolt, wait!" Hikari cried, as he slammed his palm down.
He disappeared in a wisp of smoke, along with the contract. In his place was a small hawk hatchling who eyed Hikari with clear animosity.
Hikari sighed.
Bolt blinked and found himself staring at the clear blue sky. Wispy white clouds drifted lazily overhead, growing smaller and smaller—and shit!
He was falling. Bolt flailed as the wind roared past him. The hawk contract fell with him, and he lashed out to grab it. Clutching it close, Bolt contorted his body midair. A few dozen feet away was the side of a mountain. There was nothing else for miles and miles in every other direction. "Fuck," Bolt swore, his curse lost to the wind.
He shoved the scroll into his shirt and quickly began to weave hand seals. The wind tore the jutsu's name from his lips, but it worked all the same. A blast of wind from his palms shot forth, sending him careening into the mountain. Bolt thanked whatever gods there may be that his weakest element had been strong enough to save him. Sometimes he regretted his primary element being lightning, and his secondary being water.
Bolt grit his teeth as sharp protruding rocks tore his jacket and shirt to shreds and slashed at his flesh. With a quiet whimper, he kicked off the mountain and righted himself. He pushed the scroll into his pants, securing it with his belt. His shirt, now shredded, hit him in the face as he continued his descent. Fighting through the pain and the uncomfortable warm, sticky sensation on his back, Bolt withdrew a kunai.
Lightning danced across his blade as he sank it into the stone and channeled chakra through his feet. The kunai caught a boulder and was knocked loose, sending Bolt tumbling backwards. Righting himself, Bolt tried again. The soles of his boots was rapidly worn down until he could feel every flaw in the mountainside through them.
Bolt's fall slowed, but not soon enough. His boots gave out, and sharp stone tore into his feet. He cried out as pain lanced up his legs. Bolt clenched his jaw and shut his eyes, fighting through it. He knew that if he let go, he would fall to his death. Mercifully, his descent came to an end a short minute later.
His kunai had held fast in the rock, leaving a winding, jagged trail up the mountain. His feet, bloody and shredded, found a hold in a crack in the stone. Bolt shivered as his muscles burned from exertion and pain. The only thing that kept him from falling to his death was a precarious grip with his toes and a now dulled kunai.
A piercing cry cut the air. Bolt felt his hair stand on end as his instincts screamed at him. Cursing, he leapt from his perch and climbed the mountain. A gust of wind shredded the mountainside where he had been standing, cutting deep into the stone. A large, crimson colored hawk dived at him, screeching a battle cry. "You've got to be kidding me!" Bolt yelled.
He released his grip on his kunai and flashed through the hand seals. He spat several lances of water at the approaching hawk, who dodged them with expert precision. This was not what he had expected when he signed the contract. He should have listened to Hikari.
The hawk paused in its dive and beat its wings furiously as it kicked up another gust of wind. Gritting his teeth, Bolt jumped again. He managed to find purchase on a small ledge, barely a few inches wide. Again, the wind cut into the stone. Bolt knew that if even one of those blades of wind caught him, he would die. Not even his Lightning Armor would save him.
Bolt quickly grabbed his kunai before he could fall. Steadying himself again, he let go and weaved more hand seals as the crimson hawk came around for another dive. Lightning arced down his arm and leapt at the bird. Bolt smirked as the attack headed straight for the hawk.
His grin fell as the hawk beat its wings once, destroyed the jutsu with a gust of wind, and then descended upon him. A large, leathery claw snapped shut around his body. Bolt grunted as he felt the hawk squeeze him tightly and flap its wings. It began to ascend.
"Destroy this, you bastard!" Bolt yelled as he gripped the hawk's thin legs and channeled lightning into them.
The hawk squawked, more in alarm than pain. Then he was falling, again. Bolt's vision swam as he was assaulted by vertigo and blood loss. He didn't have the strength of chakra to slow his descent again. He didn't even think he legs would hold up if he had to endure the mountainside grinding against his feet.
Bolt saw the hawk descending upon him, its beak parted in a battle cry. He felt it bite into his shoulder. The pain was almost too much to bear. Then, the hawk tossed him skyward. Bolt's stomach lurched for a moment before two claws clutched him.
Then he knew only darkness.
Bolt blinked languishly as the first wisps of conscious thought returned to him. He grimaced as he felt a great many somethings poking into his back. With a groan, he turned his head. He flinched, as his eye was nearly poked by a stick. Looking around, he appeared to be in... a nest.
With a strength of will Bolt didn't know he had, he managed to drag himself to his feet. The nest was large, larger than a house. Clearly not made by normal sized birds. A handful of eggs rocked back and forth in one corner.
"Oh, fuck no," Bolt swore. He was not going to be the first meal of some hatchlings. No fucking way.
He ran to the nearest wall of the nest and began to climb. He managed to climb all about two feet before the pain in his feet was too much to bear, and he fell backwards. Bolt whimpered in pain as he lay there for a moment, before opening his eyes. Above him loomed an utterly titanic hawk. It was a pretty shade of brown-gray, with bestial yellow eyes that were trained on him.
Bolt and the hawk locked eyes. Neither moved. Neither breathed. Neither blinked. Swallowing, Bolt broke the deadlock. "Don't eat me," he said.
"Don't give me reason to, little one," the hawk spoke.
Bolt nodded several times. He didn't have the strength to kill this creature, slay its children, then fight his way through the other hawks and escape whatever nightmare he had been summoned to. Especially not with the way his feet ached. "Your—your kids won't eat me either, right?" Bolt asked for clarification, watching as the eggs rocked back and forth ever faster.
The hawk laughed—which was an odd sound. Bolt didn't know how animals could laugh. "No. You humans are too crunchy. Too many bones," she answered.
Bolt laughed nervously. That didn't exactly assuage his worries. "So, uh, why am I in here?" Bolt asked, keeping one eye on the eggs and the other on the hawk looming above him.
"You are a hatchling. Hatchlings belong in nests," she answered, her slitted eyes never wavering. It was unnerving.
Bolt felt as if he should have been insulted for being called a "hatchling," but wisely kept his mouth shut. Bolt tensed as the hawk slowly bent and peered at his wounds. He was ready to leap away at the slightest aggression. "You are injured. Do not move," the hawk commanded.
He went rigid as the hawk's head rose ever so slightly.
Then the hawk vomited on him.
"What the fuck!" Bolt screamed in impotent rage. He was covered in a pale gray goop made of sticks, bones, scraps of fur, and some kind of plant matter.
The smell would haunt his nose until his dying day. Shuddering violently, Bolt tried to clean himself. He flinched as the hawk's claw pinned him to the ground. "Do not move, hatchling. The salve will speed your recovery," she said.
Bolt was tempted to tell her to fuck off. He would rather suffer the pain than be covered in disgusting hawk vomit. However, given that he was facing what seemed to be a hostile clan of hawks, he bit his tongue and suffered through it. "Why are you helping me? I was attacked by one of you," Bolt asked.
The hawk peered at him. "That was Suzakumaru. You will have to forgive him. He's always looking for a reason to fight," she answered.
"Am I in some sort of trouble? I didn't mean to offend your clan," Bolt said.
The hawk quirked its head. "Perhaps. But it is not my place to say. Our leader will explain once you are well again," she explained.
"When is that, exactly?" Bolt asked. He didn't know how long he had been wherever he was, but he didn't want to overly worry Hikari.
"Now," the hawk answered, scraping and licking off the gray paste. Bolt marvelled as he was, for the most part, healed. Granted, he was filthy and smelled foul, but healed nonetheless. "Come," she bade. "Our lord will see you now."
The hawk took flight. Bolt pumped chakra into his legs and leapt onto the wall of the nest, quickly climbing the rest of the way. He stared in amazement as he gazed out upon an expanse of flat, stony gray rock. Nests dotted the landscape, with pairs of hawks watching over them. One set of eyes from each pair was always upon him as he walked through the maze of nests.
Bolt resisted the urge to shiver. Some of the gazes were downright predatory. Bolt had no disillusions that they would eat him, despite what the earlier hawk had told him. He was glad this "lord" of the hawks was to judge him, for whatever sin they had pinned on him.
He was led to a cave that towered for hundreds of feet above him. Swallowing his fear, he wandered into the depths. There were holes in the cavern's ceiling that allowed light to filter in, so at least it wasn't totally dark. Bolt marched onwards in silence until they came to the rear of the cave, where he could see the crimson hawk that had attacked him. Suzakumaru, as he had been informed, stared at him with thinly veiled aggression.
"Calm yourself, son," a voice echoed through the cave. What Bolt thought was the cavern wall moved. A hawk, if it could be called that, larger than any animal he had ever seen—bigger than the boss of the toads, even—turned its great eye on him. The slit of his eye was large enough that Bolt could have walked through it without bending at the knees. Suzakumaru was nothing but a hatchling before this hawk.
Bolt took an involuntary step backwards. The pair of bestial eyes glowed in the twilight of the cave, and moved skyward as the hawk raised its head and stepped forward. It was simply too massive to be real. Its plumage alternated in colors, ranging from rusty red to bright vermillion. In the light filtering through the ceiling, it almost appeared to be coated in blood. Bolt's eyes snapped to its wings and tail feathers—they were on fire. They burned with a pleasant yellow flame, flickering in some invisible wind.
The lord of all hawks chuckled at him. "Most humans have the same reaction," he spoke.
Bolt mentally berated himself and forced himself to focus. Now was not the time to marvel at an aberration of nature. "I am Suzaku, Lord of the South and Ruler of Summer," it said.
Bolt bowed respectfully. It couldn't hurt his odds of survival any. "I apologize for my son's actions," Suzaku said. "He assumed the worst when you returned with our ancestral scroll in tow."
"A—ancestral scroll?" Bolt questioned. He didn't understand.
"Yes," Suzaki spoke. "The scroll you signed was an ancient one, one we have long since thought lost. It was stolen from us many decades ago. You understand, then, that young Suzakumaru thought you a thief."
Bolt nodded nervously. He was most definitely not a thief. Nope. "Instead of feeding you to our young, as my son had wanted, I have decided to hear your tale of how you came to possess our scroll. Speak the truth, and you have nothing to fear," Suzaku told him.
"Well, you see, I'm not the thief," Bolt said, clearing that up right away. "I found your scroll in a cave in the Land of Rivers. My friend and I wanted summoning contracts, and your scroll was the one I chose."
Suzaku and his son peered down at Bolt, who swallowed nervously. "The one you chose?" Suzaku asked.
"Ah, yeah," Bolt said, relieved that they hadn't decided to eat him yet. "I found a bunch of old summoning contracts in this cave. I've been going through them."
From the way both hawk's eyes narrowed, Bolt knew they were either interested, or angered. He hoped it was the former.
"The Great Heist," Suzaku mused aloud. "How fascinating. How many scrolls are in this cave of yours, hatchling?"
Bolt closed his eyes for a moment as he did his best to recall the exact number. "Maybe one hundred, give or take a handful," Bolt guessed.
Suzaku bobbed his great head. "Yes," he said. "I believe you have found the cache of one of the greatest thieves in history. Many decades ago, a man stole scrolls from nearly every summoning clan in existence and forced himself into a contract with us. Whoever he called upon was enslaved to his will, and were never the same again. I believe you have discovered the scrolls he has stolen."
Bolt just nodded, unsure of what else he could say or do. "I apologize for my son's brash actions," he said. "For returning the scroll to us, we would be honored to call you our summoner."
Suzakumaru squawked indignantly. "Father, we already have a summoner! We have never had more than two living at the same time!"
Suzaku, with a single beat of his wings, sent Suzakumaru crashing into the wall of the cavern. Bolt willed his heart to stop hammering in his throat, thankful the lord of the hawks' anger was not directed at him. "Who is your other summoner?" Bolt asked hesitantly.
Suzaku gestured to the wall of the cavern closest to him. Walking closer, Bolt saw that there were countless names etched into the stone. Bolt assumed they had been scratched there by Suzaku himself. Towards the end of the list, came a name Bolt knew very well. "Master Sasuke?" Bolt yelped.
"Oh?" Suzaku said, moving his mass to peer at the wall. "You know our summoner?"
"Yeah," Bolt answered. "I... trained under him." He frowned. He couldn't sign the hawk contract. His master could reverse summon him at any time. Bolt had no doubt that the Hokage would command Sasuke to do so the moment he discovered Bolt had signed the contract.
"What is wrong, hatchling?" Suzaku asked.
"What is your policy on loyalty to multiple summoners?" Bolt asked. Maybe they wouldn't let Sasuke reverse summon him?
"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked, exhaling a great plume of smoke.
"I am not on the best of terms with the man my master reports to," Bolt explained. "Could Master Sasuke reverse summon me, if asked?"
Suzaku bobbed his head. "Yes," he answered.
Bolt frowned. Of course. "Then I'm, uh, afraid I can't agree to be your clan's summoner, Lord Suzaku," he said, trying to be as courteous as possible. It couldn't hurt to be respectful.
Suzaku beheld Bolt for a moment. "What is your name, child?"
Bolt blinked. "Bolt Uzumaki," he answered.
Suzaku's eyes trailed to his son, who sat quietly in the corner where he had been cowed. "What would you do in my stead, Suzakumaru?"
The much smaller version of Suzaku hobbled over to glare at Bolt. His slitted eyes darted between the blonde, and the stone wall. "We have always only ever had one summoner, father. It is tradition. We should not take a second," he advised.
"But?" Suzaku prompted.
"But," Suzakumaru continued. "We owe this Bolt a debt of gratitude for returning us our original scroll. Perhaps... given our other summoner's eccentricities, we could come to a compromise?"
"What kind of compromise, exactly?" Bolt asked, a little weary of how the hawks were speaking of him and his master.
"Tell me, young Bolt, what do you know of the contract between man and beast?" Suzaku asked.
"... Not much," Bolt admitted. Summoning contracts were a closely guarded secret among those who held them. Such information was not shared lightly.
"You do not think we enter a contract with a human out of the goodness of our hearts, do you? We assist them, and they assist us," Suzaku explained.
Bolt nodded. That made sense. "In return for the service of my clan, our summoners have assisted us in various matters. In the same manner that you can summon us, we can summon you. Summoners have been called upon to fight our mortal enemy, the owls, on many occasions. Assistance during nesting season. Treatment of wounds beyond which we cannot heal. Use of jutsu which we ourselves cannot cast. Any many, many more."
"Our current summoner has not called upon us since the end of your last great war, and neither has he heeded our call when we have asked for his assistance. His continued affiliation with the snakes," Suzaku spat the word. "Is a disgrace to one who calls themselves a hawk."
"What we offer is this: for your return of our scroll to us, we shall allow you to become our second summoner. If you adhere to your duties as our summoner, we shall not allow your master to call upon you without your permission," Suzaku offered.
Suzakumaru made a small squawking noise. "In addition," he said. "If you would return the other stolen scrolls, we would be willing to be more lenient in your future duties."
Bolt's eyes narrowed. The hawks were shrewd negotiators. But Bolt had seen better in his time with the Crimson Tide. The hawks were clearly upset about Sasuke's treatment of their contract, judging by the way they spoke of his association with the snakes—which made sense, given that they were natural enemies. They also wanted help in numerous ways, least of which was war with another summoning clan and its summoners. And... though Suzakumaru had tried to hide it, they were interested in the other stolen contract scrolls. Perhaps, if the hawks were this grateful for theirs, the other clans would be as well?
Bolt smirked. "I have a counter offer," he proposed, seeing a path for mutual benefit.
"Oh?" Suzaku questioned, eyebrows raised—how did a hawk even have eyebrows?
"You're obviously upset that my master has a contract with your natural enemy, the snakes. From what you've told me, skirmishes with the owl clan is at least somewhat frequent. And, even though Suzakumaru has tried to hide it, the rest of the stolen scrolls are extremely valuable. I bet the other summoning clans would be just as grateful as you to get their scrolls back, am I right?" Bolt explained.
Both hawks remained silent. "How about this," Bolt offered. "I'm a budding master of sealing jutsu. I can set up seals all over the mountain that would make your war with the owls child's play. In addition, whenever they attack, I will fight on your behalf—against the owls themselves, or their summoners. As a gesture of good faith, I will return the stolen scrolls to you, which you can then use as political clout against the other clans—which was your plan anyway."
"And in return?" Suzaku prompted.
"And in return, you accept me as your summoner, negotiate for a friend of mine to receive a contract of her choosing, and dissolve my master's contract—which you would be happy to do, due to his contract with the snakes, if he wasn't your only summoner," Bolt said, a pleased grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
He felt a little guilty about betraying his master like this, but he had to be sure. Just the word of the hawks was not enough. If there was even the slightest chance that Sasuke could reverse summon him, it was too risky. This way, he was safe.
Bolt watched as Suzaku and Suzakumaru spoke with each other silently. After a few minutes, they turned their heads to face Bolt again. All three were silent for a moment, before Suzaku, with a single beat of his wings, sent a gust of wind at the wall of the cavern. A deep slash in the stone obliterated his master's name. "Agreed," Suzaku crowed, clawing his name into the stone after Sasuke's.
Bolt immediately felt a drain on his chakra as the contract was finalized. He sunk to his knees, not expecting it. "We shall call upon you tomorrow, at the same time. When you are summoned, bring the rest of the stolen scrolls and the contract your friend wishes to be bound to," Suzaku spoke. Before Bolt had the chance to respond, a sealing matrix spread beneath his feet. "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
Bolt blinked at the sudden change from light to darkness as he was whisked through time and space back to the Akatsuki hideout. Bolt's knees buckled as he was struck in the face. "You idiot!" Hikari seethed. "Do you listen to anything I say? No, no you don't!"
Bolt chuckled as she kneeled and began to heal what little wounds he still had. "And you smell like shit," Hikari hissed at him.
"True. But I do have good news," he said.
Even though she was angry at him for doing something as reckless as signing a summoning contract with a potentially dangerous clan, Hikari still cracked a small smile underneath her mask as he regaled her with his adventure. Bolt could tell. It was in the eyes.
He grinned when she gasped involuntarily upon learning he had negotiated for a contract for her.
A/N:
This chapter was mainly dedicated to expanding upon the lore of the Summoning Jutsu, as well as giving Bolt and Hikari their own contracts. Some things about the hawks explained: Suzaku is the Vermillion Bird in Japanese, who is one of the Four Symbols in the Chinese constellations. It always bugged me that everyone had these summoning contracts to help them, but the animals themselves never got anything out of it. That was touched upon in the chapter. The natural predator of young hawks are owls, which explains the war with them. Snakes are both a predator of young hawks, and prey of older ones. Same thing, there.
For those that didn't read between the lines: the cave is the first Akatsuki hideout we see in the series, where Gaara "died." Konan hid as many of the Akatsuki treasures there as she could before she died. Of these, Nagato's Animal Path contracts were stored. He was the thief who stole the contracts that was mentioned in this chapter.
Some people might dislike that I've removed one of Sasuke's powers, but that is just the way the cookie crumbles. Sorry. I mean, really. He's strong enough. Literal demigod. Next thing you know, he'll be using eye hax to propel Amaterasu out of his feet and fly like Ironman. He can afford to lose one summoning contract.
This chapter (and the last one, to an extent) were slower paced than the previous two/three. We're done with the "big" conflicts for a few chapters now, so we're back to the slower adventurous pace momentarily.
Next chapter features Hikari, and our duo finally ventures forth to the Land of Rain! Huzzah!