Summoning Technique

The Summoning Technique is a technique that allows the user to manipulate the space-time continuum by bringing to the user either an animal summon or an inanimate object specially utilized by the user. The user creates a circular, web-like seal where the summoned animal or object appears after a puff of smoke. The summoning is usually preceded by a blood sacrifice if it is an animal being summoned, Pain's Animal Path being the only summoner who never gave blood to summon animals. If it is an object, the creation of the seal is enough.

Animal Summons
Before an animal summoning can be performed, a prospective summoner must first sign a contract with a given species. The contract can come in the form of a scroll or a tattoo, which is signed in the contractors own blood. After this, they need only perform the hand seals, offer an additional donation of blood, and use the same hand they signed the contract with to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how big the summoned creature can be. It should be noted that anyone can summon the animal as long as they have the blood from someone who has made a contract, along with sufficient chakra of their own. If a user attempts to summon an animal without first signing a contract, the user will be teleported to the home of the animal they have a natural affinity for.

While most summoners have only been shown capable of summoning one type of creature, Pain (through the Animal Path) has been seen summoning several different animals and even people. Pain does not provide a blood offering when performing a summon. Sasuke Uchiha has summoned snakes and hawks at different points, but unlike Pain he can apparently only summon one species at a time.

Summoning can serve as a base for other jutsu, as is the case with Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique and Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance.

Summoning Objects
In some cases, summoning may not be restricted to creatures. Some Shinobi have developed jutsu where they summon defensive structures such as Orochimaru's Summoning: Rashomon or specialized equipment or tools unique to the user such as Ibiki Morino's Summoning: Iron Maiden and Summoning: Torture Chamber.

Some items are not summoned from anywhere, instead only being released from storage, no blood is needed and thus it is not a conventional summoning.

Use
The Summoning Technique is flexible in use, as the summoned animal or object can perform different uses, depending on the summoned animal or objects ability.

It is usually used as an ally by the summoner in battle. The summoned animal can provide brute strength as shown in the battle by the three Sannin where Orochimaru summoned Manda, the snake, while Jiraiya and Tsunade summoned Gamabunta, the toad boss, and Katsuyu, the giant slug, respectively, or fighting skill, such as when Orochimaru used Summoning: Impure World Resurrection to bring forth the First Hokage and the Second Hokage and the Third Hokage calling on the Monkey King: Enma.

Summons such as Kakashi's Ninken can be used for tracking. Jiraiya had been shown using toad summoning to trap shinobi, such as Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind and Summoning: Toad Shop Technique.

The ability to use the Summoning Technique can be undone via the Contract Seal.