Chapter 4: Hayate's Evolution: Wind, Always by my Side

Later that day:

Kei returned home holding the wooden box in hand. He glanced at the well-behaved Hayate and opened the attribute page.

[Summoning Beast: Hayate]

[Race: Ninja Dog]

[Talent: Speed, Sense of Smell]

[Shared Talent: Intelligence]

[Evolvable]

[Evolution Requirement: Wind Bell Flower (100 plants)]

[Evolve Now?]

The prompt at the bottom made Kei smile faintly.

"Evolve."

As soon as he made his choice, a swirl of gray light emerged from the void and enveloped the wooden box. The box lightened, and a glowing orb of green energy rose from it, flying directly into Hayate.

"Woof!"

Hayate raised his head and howled. Threads of wind spilled from his mouth, coiling around his limbs, tail, and body.

Dozens of wind streams wrapped around him, causing his fur to bristle, exuding a majestic air.

His frame expanded slowly. Muscles rippled with power, bones cracked and reshaped. The sounds of thunder and howling wind echoed for less than a minute.

When it was over, Hayate had changed.

No longer a juvenile pup, he now stood nearly a meter tall—almost eye-level with four-year-old Kei.

With his sturdy build and proud stature, Hayate looked almost like a mount.

His fur remained pure white, but his form radiated energy. His bright eyes glimmered with faint green light, mysterious and powerful.

It was hard not to imagine how cool it would be to ride him.

A cold voice rang out.

[Ding!]

[Evolution complete]

[Opening the Summoning Beast Attribute Page]

[Opening...]

[Summoning Beast: Hayate]

[Race: Wind Speed Dog]

[Talent: Wind Speed, Wind Style Affinity, Wind Sense]

[Shared Talent: Intelligence]

[Evolvable]

[Evolution Requirement: Wind Cutting Iron (100 grams)]

[Ding!]

[Strength and talent shared]

A warm current rushed into Kei's body.

His physical and mental energy rose. His chakra quantity and quality surged. The nature of his chakra shifted.

Wind Speed and Wind Sense—upgraded versions of Hayate's original traits—were now part of Kei's talents.

But the most interesting was Wind Style Affinity.

It made a body naturally suited for Wind Style, enhancing his potential in that element.

Kei raised his hand and slowly grasped at the air.

"Huuu~~"

A soft stream of wind curled between his fingers before fading.

"If I train properly, maybe I can cast Wind Style without seals."

'Is this a kind of Kekkei Genkai?' he wondered.

'And if Hayate evolves again... What kind of talent would come next? I'm really looking forward to it.'

He looked at Hayate wagging his tail excitedly. There was newfound power and reverence in his eyes.

Kei knew exactly how powerful his companion was now. With strength matching a speed-type Chunin, Hayate was formidable.

And thanks to the shared traits, Kei was as well.

He glanced at the evolution requirement:

[Evolution Requirement: Wind Cutting Iron (100 grams)]

Wind Cutting Iron—also known as Wind Chakra Metal.

Rare. Expensive. A refined form of Wind Chakra Metal used to conduct Wind Style chakra.

Even Sarutobi Asuma, a wealthy second-generation ninja, had only made a pair of knuckle blades from it.

100 grams would cost roughly 5 million Ryo.

And Wind Cutting Iron was even pricier.

Money wasn't the issue, though. Kei had allies.

His father's old friend, Tengang, was a skilled blacksmith and owned a ninja tool shop—the same craftsman who forged Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai.

And Tengang had a daughter: Tenten.

Kei once sold him an optimized iron-smelting technique, one he'd memorized from his previous life.

It involved melting pig iron at 1300℃ and carefully layering it over wrought iron, flipping and coating it evenly.

That innovation made Tengang's shop the largest in Konoha within six months. They both profited.

So affording the metal wasn't a concern. Finding it was the issue.

Still, Kei was optimistic.

"I'll check if Tengang has any Wind Cutting Iron in stock. And it's been a while since I saw Tenten. That'll be nice, too."