Chapter 167: Fear Above the Trees

 

The eagle's talons looked large enough to crush a genin. Lee stopped beneath its body and stared upward.

"A summon?"

Guy laughed. "A secret technique. I mistook it for a summon myself, once."

Lee approached to touch a claw, then jumped high enough to brush the feathers. Everything felt real. That only made the explanation more impressive.

Neji activated the Byakugan. The eagle possessed a physical form and chakra flowing through it. To his eyes it was indistinguishable from a living animal. He had been prepared to insist that Guy was mistaken; after looking toward Tonbo, he kept the objection to himself.

"Will it carry us to the training ground?" Tenten asked.

Flight had been a dream long before she became a shinobi. Tonbo had told her she would have the chance to experience it. Now a creature larger than a house stood ready to prove him right. Someday, she wanted a flying summon of her own.

Tonbo and Guy leaped onto its back. The genin followed. None had difficulty reaching that height, though the height that followed was another matter.

The eagle spread its wings and rose. Konoha dwindled beneath them until familiar streets became tiny lines. For a moment the view filled them with wonder. Then Lee's legs began to weaken.

Tenten grew dizzy. Even Guy's teeth chattered before he brought himself under control. Only Neji remained outwardly calm.

"Quite a view," Tonbo said, enjoying their expressions. "Familiar places look different from up here."

He lowered the eagle. It had been too high; closer to the forest, a fall would be less likely to kill them. The change helped at once, though Tenten was no longer certain that flying was something she wished to do every day.

She patted her chest. "It isn't quite what I imagined."

She had already imagined the landing far too clearly: blood, broken limbs, and scraps of clothing on the ground. There were better ways to die.

Guy looked at his students with a smile he could not quite suppress. "Bringing you out here was the right decision."

"Guy sensei," Lee said, "weren't your legs shaking too?"

"Nonsense. I was making you feel less embarrassed. The Green Beast of Konoha isn't afraid of heights."

He gave Lee an emphatic thumbs-up. Tonbo let the denial pass.

"We'll have to include aerial training," he said.

"How?" Tenten looked at the narrow space on the eagle's back. Fighting here seemed a poor idea.

"I'll take you higher and drop you. Then I'll catch you before you hit the ground. A few repetitions should help."

All four stared at him.

Neji's composure deserted him. The fate imposed by the Caged Bird Seal suddenly seemed less immediate than the fate Tonbo proposed to arrange. He resented the life set out for him, but that did not mean he wanted it to end against a forest floor.

"You are joking," Guy said. "That's dangerous."

Shinobi lived with danger. Throwing students from a great height was something else.

"Just hearing about it makes me dizzy," Tenten said. She had sat down and saw no reason to stand again.

Lee's teeth still chattered, but he raised his head. "I want to train. I trust Tonbo sensei, just as I trust you."

Guy looked at him with sudden pride. "That's the determination I expect from my student. You'll surpass me and protect the people important to you."

Remembering what Tonbo could do, Guy began to share Lee's confidence. Tenten looked toward Neji for support.

Neji drew a breath and steadied himself. If Lee was willing, how could a Hyūga genius refuse? "I'll train too."

"You're all impossible." Tenten looked up at the sky. "Then I suppose I'm doing it as well."

Tonbo smiled. "You'll have to face the fear to get past it."

He was looking forward to their reactions once the aerial exercises began. Guy might cry, though that would hardly be new.

The eagle passed over forest, hills, and broad rivers. As its speed increased, Guy helped Lee and Tenten keep their footing. Their chakra control was not yet precise enough to hold them securely to its back. Neji stood steadily, wind lifting the hair below his forehead protector.

Guy watched the landscape recede and realized he had missed a question. "If aerial training comes later, what are we going to do now?"

A strange bird shot from the forest before Tonbo answered.

It moved with startling speed. Five legs were tucked beneath its body, and two trumpet-shaped organs projected beside its beak. A sharp burst of sound struck the eagle and its riders.

"Enemy!" Guy shouted.

The noise pierced their ears and broke their balance. Guy covered his ears while sheltering Lee and Tenten beneath him. Neji's feet left the eagle's back.

Tonbo caught him by the foot before he could fall.

"Too high and you're uncomfortable," he said. "Too low and you forget to watch for danger."