Chapter 34 Sea Eagle

This was the posture he usually used when controlling his chakra and communicating with the Nine-Tails, a posture of meditation rather than prayer.

He opened his hands, placed them on his knees, straightened his shoulders, adjusted his breathing, and let his heartbeat gradually calm down.

As his heart gradually calmed down, everything around him began to change.

Naruto's nearly dried-up chakra container seemed to resonate with the surrounding energy, exerting a strange attraction on external energy.

But this strange phenomenon can be easily interrupted. Whenever Naruto moves a little, or feels agitated, or even just takes a deep breath, the process will stop immediately and the two energies will separate instantly.

Only when Naruto calms down again will everything start over again.

Naruto had never imagined that being able to stay completely still could be so difficult.

His urge to move, to stretch, to blink, was far stronger than he had imagined.

But each time, he forced himself to hold on a little longer.

At first, he couldn't even last a minute, but later, he could last two minutes, five minutes, and even twelve minutes. In the end, he stopped counting the time and focused on feeling the pull, push, and flow of chakra around him.

His empty chakra container seemed to create a kind of negative space, exerting a strong attraction on the surrounding chakra, just like an empty cup being placed directly into a stream.

But if you move it slightly, the cup will tilt, and the stream water can only flow through the mouth of the cup but cannot actually flow into it.

However, as Naruto remained still for longer and longer, it became easier for outside energy to flow into his body.

He could feel his chakra levels rising until he finally reached a balance - no more negative space, no more excessive flow of energy.

When Naruto opened his eyes again and let out a long breath, he felt stronger than ever before.

The fatigue disappeared.

Although the sky in the east was already turning pale and a new day was about to begin, the stag still waited quietly behind the door, steadfast and patient.

A man and a deer set out on the road down the mountain again. Along the way, the deer still accompanied Naruto, but this time, it no longer deliberately protected Naruto from the cold wind, because he no longer needed protection.

It was unusually quiet as they made their way down the mountain, with only the sound of their footsteps and the whistling of the wind overhead.

Naruto touched the deer's neck gratefully. This time, he no longer needed to hold it tightly, and his steps became more steady. The deer seemed to have sensed Naruto's change, and it gently placed its head on Naruto's shoulder, with its golden antlers carefully avoiding his body.

In this way, the man and the deer snuggled together and completed the journey down the mountain.

******

The third encounter came unexpectedly.

The next day, Naruto was sorting through the last few piles of bones in the ruins of Whirlpool Country.

Suddenly, an incongruous shadow on the grass in the distance aroused his vigilance.

It was a tall figure, moving quickly among the green leaves swaying in the breeze, and in an instant it was not far behind him.

Naruto stood up suddenly and turned around, but before he could see who it was, he felt two flashes of light, one black and one white, whizzing past him.

It was a large bird, its wings gleaming in the sun. After circling in the air for a few circles, it swooped down again.

This time, Naruto finally saw its appearance clearly - it was a bird of prey he had never seen before, huge in size, with black and white feathers, and its strong wings easily controlled the sea breeze.

It let out a sharp cry, and Naruto was almost certain he felt claws graze the back of his neck.

There was another cry, and this time, the sound was filled with anger.

The giant bird was circling above Naruto's head.

This time, Naruto was able to see it in its entirety, noting the black and white feathers, as well as the familiar gold at the ends of the wings and the fan-shaped feathers on the tail.

What surprised him even more was that the crown feathers on the bird's head were also shining with dazzling golden light.

Two coincidences may really be coincidences, but when the same feature appears three times, it can no longer be simply explained by coincidence.

What's more, the other two animal spirits on the island showed kindness to Naruto and had no intention of hurting him.

Therefore, when the giant bird swooped down again, Naruto did not choose to dodge, but bravely stood there, waiting for its arrival.

The bird of prey swooped down towards Naruto with great grace, but even at its closest moment it kept its sharp claws retracted, which made Naruto even more confident that he was safe.

Sure enough, at the last moment, the giant bird flapped its wings violently and stopped half a meter in front of Naruto.

It chirped loudly at Naruto, and Naruto subconsciously stretched out his arms as if driven by an instinct.

Just as the giant bird stretched out its claws to grab his forearm, more fragments of memory flooded into his mind, and Naruto finally realized that it was a bald eagle.

In the Land of Whirlpools, the bald eagle was once the pride of the Royal Aviary, renowned for its precise fishing and hunting skills, but also used to pass on state secrets.

The claws that gripped his arm were strong, but did not apply any pressure, which made Naruto realize that the giant bird had no hostility towards him.

"Hello." Naruto said softly, blinking curiously. "Are you here to tell me something as well?"

The giant bird lowered its head slightly, the feathers behind its neck trembled gently a few times, and then it returned to calm.

It is really beautiful, with layers of black and white feathers inlaid with gold edges. The head is mainly white, the neck is black, and there are two symmetrical black stripes above the eyes, like a bandit mask.

It looked at Naruto curiously with its round yellow eyes, moving its head back and forth while making soft noises, before taking off again and gliding to the ruins of a tower not far away.

Naruto walked closer, the giant bird guiding him as he continued towards the top of the tower.

Naruto didn't quite understand why the giant bird brought him here. He had already cleaned up the tower using earth escape technique and his bare hands. Was there something he missed?

Although he was full of doubts, he chose to follow them, just like he followed the stag and the koi before, he chose to believe in the spirit of this island.

The bald eagle led Naruto to a relatively intact room in the tower.

Naruto recognized it immediately - this was where he had found the bodies of the Kazekage and a dozen of her ANBU guards.

The strange thing is that this is the only place in the entire tower without any civilian bodies.