Ever since his defeat by Hidden Cloud's Darui, Naruto had been whisked away by Jiraiya-sensei for a new round of special training in the lead-up to the Chunin Exams.
At the edge of a cliff, Jiraiya-sensei, with a blade of foxtail grass in his mouth, casually asked Naruto, "Have you mastered the hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu?"
Naruto nodded confidently. "Yup, piece of cake!"
Jiraiya-sensei continued, "Good. Don't mess up the sequence later!"
Naruto blinked, puzzled. "How could I forget? I'm not an idiot!"
Jiraiya-sensei led Naruto a step closer to the cliff's edge. "Look down there!"
"What's down there?"
Without suspicion, Naruto craned his neck to peer at the cliff's base.
With a swift kick, Jiraiya-sensei sent Naruto plummeting off the cliff, shouting, "You've got twenty seconds to save yourself with the Summoning Jutsu! Don't forget the hand sign order!"
"Wha—!?"
Naruto's face twisted in shock as he plunged into the abyss.
Atop the cliff, Jiraiya-sensei averted his gaze, suppressing the unease in his heart. He didn't want to resort to such extreme methods to train Naruto, but time was running out. Naruto couldn't even hold his own against the new generation of other villages, let alone protect himself from Akatsuki. Jiraiya-sensei had to do whatever it took to make Naruto stronger, even if it meant taking risks.
"There's a small stream below the cliff. If Naruto can summon a decent-sized toad, he'll pass this test with ease," Jiraiya-sensei thought.
Boom!
As Jiraiya-sensei pondered, a massive crash echoed from below, followed by a tremor that shook the cliff wall beneath his feet.
"What the—?! Did that kid get so scared he went full Tailed Beast mode?" Jiraiya-sensei's heart skipped a beat as he leaned over the cliff to look down.
"What?!"
What he saw was the familiar white smoke of a successful summoning—but its scale was clearly off. Then, a massive, familiar figure leaped out of the smoke, bracing itself against the cliff walls with outstretched arms to halt its descent.
"Gamabunta?!"
Jiraiya-sensei's jaw dropped. He never imagined Naruto would summon Gamabunta, one of the strongest toads from Mount Myoboku.
Below, Gamabunta's booming voice roared, "Who the heck summoned me to a place like this?!"
Perched atop Gamabunta's head, Naruto cheered, "Hahaha, I did it!"
In the original timeline, Naruto hadn't earned the Nine-Tails' approval, yet he still managed to summon Gamabunta in a crisis. Now, after multiple rounds of special training, Naruto had begun to master Tailed Beast transformation. The Nine-Tails, through Naruto, had also learned of Akatsuki's plan to collect Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails. With improved chakra control and a stronger bond with the Nine-Tails compared to his original self, summoning Gamabunta wasn't such a surprising feat.
Gamabunta's eyes rolled upward, noticing Naruto. "Who's this kid?"
Naruto grinned proudly. "I'm your master, Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Master?!" Gamabunta snorted.
Atop the cliff, a gust of wind accompanied the arrival of Tsunade, leading Hinata, Ino, and Shion to the cliff's edge.
Seeing Jiraiya-sensei standing alone, Tsunade asked, "Where's Naruto?"
Jiraiya-sensei smirked. "How'd you find us?"
Tsunade sighed helplessly. "Sound Village shinobi are blocking the hospital gate, issuing challenges. I had no choice but to call on Naruto!"
Jiraiya-sensei froze. "What? Sound Village this time?"
Tsunade nodded. "It's that Kidomaru who beat Kiba. He's no pushover. Yakumo and Sasuke are injured and can't fight, so after some thought, Naruto's the best bet."
Shion scanned the area. "Jiraiya-sama, isn't Naruto training with you? Where is he?"
Jiraiya-sensei chuckled. "Naruto? He's right—"
Before he could finish, a colossal figure leaped from the cliff below, looming over them and blotting out the sky.
Boom!
The giant landed nearby, shaking the ground. Shion, Hinata, and Ino stood dumbfounded, their jaws dropping further when they spotted Naruto atop the creature's head.
Tsunade, equally shocked, glanced at Jiraiya-sensei. "Naruto summoned that?"
Jiraiya-sensei grinned. "The kid's got more talent than I did!"
...
At Hidden Leaf Hospital, a dull thud rang out as Tenten was sent flying.
Rock Lee leaped forward, catching her mid-air and landing steadily.
Kidomaru, who had kicked Tenten, laughed. "Hey, stop sending these weaklings out! They're no match for me. Where are your so-called Hidden Leaf prodigies—Uchiha Shinji, Kurama Yakumo, Uchiha Sasuke?!"
"Damn it!" Rock Lee, unable to hold back, prepared to charge.
Shikamaru grabbed him, shaking his head. "He's clearly stronger than us. You'd just be throwing yourself at him."
Rock Lee gritted his teeth. "Then what do we do?"
"We wait," Shikamaru said flatly.
Tenten fumed, "If Neji weren't injured, this guy wouldn't be acting so cocky!"
Kidomaru kept taunting, "What, a whole Hidden Leaf Village, and not one person dares to fight me?"
In the distance, Sakon and Ukon, Tayuya, and Jirobo watched with disdain. Before coming to Hidden Leaf, they'd heard endless tales of its strength, but now it seemed the village was all bark and no bite.
As Kidomaru's taunts drew a growing crowd, the topic exploded. Yesterday, Hidden Grass had blocked the gates with their challenges; today, it was Sound Village's turn. Hidden Leaf villagers seethed with anger, while shinobi from other villages pointed and jeered, reveling in the spectacle.
Basking in the attention, Kidomaru relished the moment. He'd endured Orochimaru's inhumane experiments and training for this—to make a name for himself and stand at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
Whoosh!
A figure landed in the arena.
Kidomaru glanced over, raising an eyebrow. "Hidden Leaf's Jinchuriki?"
Naruto declared, "I'll be your opponent!"
...
In the Hokage's office, an Anbu reported to the Third Hokage, "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama has returned to the village with Uzumaki Naruto. Currently, Naruto has accepted Kidomaru's challenge from Sound Village, and they're engaged in a fierce battle!"
"Dismissed," the Third Hokage waved his hand.
Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sat nearby, sipping tea in silence, as if waiting for something.