Chapter Four (Patreon)

If there was a word to describe the land Hua Jing found herself in, it was controlled. The fields of grass, the great lakes where cranes gathered by the dozen to fish and wade through water, the weeping willows that bowed before the streams, even the mountain that rose in the distance–all of it was too perfect to be natural. This was no mere landscape. It was a garden, crafted on an unimaginable scale.

The crane Jing followed did not stop for her reflections. Its black-taloned feet simply walked on. If Jing fell behind, she would be lost. Beautiful as the realm was, Jing had too much she loved in Konohagakure to lose herself here.

They walked for hours. Through manicured forests and past designed waterfalls, over the grassy fields interspersed with flowers and around the lakes and ponds. At last they came to the mountain. It was an unstoppable structure of stone. At the lower levels cliffs and boulders were held in place by wiry trees. Past that, the mountain grew sharper. The path was more narrow, more winding. Then came the clouds, monuments of vapor that concealed the peak of the mountain.

The sun passed, and for a brief moment Jing could see the summit. It gleamed jade beneath the sunlight, a hint of perfection atop the heavens.

“Welcome to Mount Tai,” the crane beside her declared. “This is your goal; to climb as high as you can. You will face the aspiring sages who sit upon the path. Those you defeat will answer your summons. You will return once every year, that your growth may be recognized. Fail to do better than the year before, and the contract will end. We are the Cranes. We do not tolerate stagnation.”

Jing nodded. She closed her eyes. She took a breath. She opened them, and let lightning course through her veins.

“The climb starts now.”

*

The first fight was easy. A young crane perched only a few hundred feet along the path that fought with more ferocity than skill or planning. Jing laid him out with a single Raiton: Lariat, her Exact control allowing Jing to render the bird unconscious without any risk of death. The second fight was only a little more difficult. The same was true for the third, the fourth, the fifth . . . 

Jing was panting heavily as she came upon the twelfth crane. The eleventh had dealt her a serious blow, his Taijutsu swift and unrelenting in the face of her Lightning Release.

“I am Jade Plum, she who blooms in adversity,” the crane introduced herself. “Who challenges me for the right to climb Mount Tai?”

“Hua Jing,” Jing replied. “She who endures and excels.”

“A worthy foe,” Jade Plum said. She bowed her head for a brief moment, then launched herself at Jing. Wings extended, swooping down for rapid blows. Jing ducked beneath them, exactly as Jade Plum had planned. Talons raked down Jing’s cheek, slicing through her childish body. Jing ignored the pain, the warm blood upon her skin. She fought. She threw a punch, a Raiton: Lariat. Jade Plum moved back, wings flapping to gain distance. Jing landed a grazing hit, but that was enough for the jutsu to work.

Lightning flared across Jade Plum’s body, scorching the feathers on her chest. Jade Plum’s lights twitched, and Jing seized the moment. She leapt forward, another Lariat on each hand. Jade Plum twitched, meeting fist with beak. Jing did not falter. Even as the sharp beak tore through her skin and broke her fingers, Jing released the jutsu. Once more lightning coursed through Jade Plum’s body. Then it happened again, the second Lariat landing unhindered.

Jade Plum struggled to her feet. Jing let her. It was a kindness she would not extend to her foes, but Jade Plum was not her foe. This was not true combat, no fight for life or death. This was a test, and Jing would not dishonor the test by seeking unnecessary advantage. She would win against Jade Plum, or she would summon the eleventh crane.

Jade Plum stood. She stepped forward. Lightning flared in Jing’s hands.

Jade Plum stopped. “I yield.”

Jing let go of the lightning. She fell to the ground, finally allowing herself to notice the pain. Her cheek was torn and bloody. Half the fingers in her right hand were broken. Her chakra was almost out. She could climb no further.

“I have reached as far as I can,” Jing acknowledged.

“Good,” her guide said. “You know your limits. Skill and power can be taught, but wisdom is a far more difficult subject.” He stepped forward. “Allow me to heal you.”

Jing nodded. Bright green light flared over the crane’s wings and beak. It hovered over Jing. She felt her bones repairing, knuckles reforming from splinters. She felt her cheek healing over, new skin growing over the cuts. Then the light was over. Jing reached up, feeling her cheek with her hand. The blood was still there, the only sign of combat. Not even scars remained.

The crane turned to Jade Plum next, and healed her as well. Scorched feathers fell off, white ones replacing them. Her beak was fully restored as well. Then the guide took off, flying up Mount Tai. For a moment Jing sat in silence with her new summon.

“Introductions?” Jing offered.

Jade Plum nodded. “I am Jade Plum of the Crane Clan. I have learned Crane style Taijutsu and the basics of Medical Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu. I remain a sage-aspirant.”

“I am Hua Jing of Konohagakure,” Jing said next. “I have no clan of my own, but am part of a team with Hyuga Hakuro and Uchiha Fugaku. We are Genin apprenticed to Hatake Sukamo. I have learned the Searing Lightning style of Taijutsu. I am skilled at Lightning Release and chakra control.”

“How skilled?” Jade Plum asked.

Jing hummed. She stood, noting that her legs no longer felt sore. She took a breath, and prepared to do the impossible.

She stepped. Not onto the stone mountainside, not the bark of the nearby tree. She stepped up, onto the air. Her feet connected with chakra, each individual molecule bound and reinforced by her power. Jing took another step. Then another. She stood half a meter off the ground, feet wobbling from the effort. Carefully, she stepped back down.

“I will teach you,” Jade Plum declared.

“I eagerly accept your teachings,” Jing agreed. Then grimaced. “Alas, I must be heading back. I do not know how long I have been here, only that I have no wish to be late to my sensei’s training.”

“Before you leave,” Jade Plum said. “You must sign.” A scroll soundlessly appeared beside them. Jing took it up. She read it over. She signed, using the blood still drying on her cheek.

“I will call upon you when I can,” Jing said. “But for now, I must return.” Her hands moved, seals weaving instinctively. “Reverse Summoning Jutsu!”