At the same time.
On the outskirts of Konoha.
After completing the Summoning Technique, a cloud of smoke erupted in front of Shinju.
Through the smoke, Shinju could faintly make out the outline of a massive orange figure.
Jiraiya stepped forward and rubbed Shinju's small head.
"Not bad, kid. To summon such a huge toad on your very first try… seems I wasn't wrong about you after all—"
Halfway through his words, Jiraiya froze!
The toad Shinju had summoned… looked strangely familiar.
That orange skin, the scholar's cap on its head, and the prayer beads hanging around its neck…
Jiraiya: (ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!
The very next second—thud!
Jiraiya dropped to his knees!!
"Great Toad Sage!!!!"
Shinju stared blankly, his face full of confusion. (‧_‧?)
This old toad… was that big a deal?
Why was Jiraiya-sensei reacting like this?
Still, since his own teacher had already bowed, it probably wasn't wrong to follow suit.
Over by the river, Naruto, who was still training his chakra control, looked utterly dumbfounded.
(￢‸￢) ?
What the heck?
Why were Shinju and the Pervy Sage both on the ground?!
And what was that giant toad in front of them?!
"Hey, Pervy Sage! Why are you kneeling?!"
Naruto scratched his head and shouted in bewilderment.
Jiraiya quickly stood, shooting him a sharp look to shut him up.
Then, carefully attending to the Great Toad Sage at his side, he said,
"Great Toad Sage, forgive my student's mistake. He accidentally summoned you here…"
The aged Great Toad Sage narrowed his eyes as he sat on the ground and spoke, one deliberate word at a time:
"Little Jiraiya… who did this?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Jiraiya's forehead.
The Great Toad Sage was the true ruler of Mount Myoboku.
A legendary toad who had lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
And somehow Shinju had summoned this living ancestor?!
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
"It was my new disciple, Shinju."
Jiraiya smiled awkwardly, gesturing at Shinju as he spoke.
The Great Toad Sage followed his finger and laid eyes on Shinju's striking red hair. He froze on the spot.
He had just dreamed of a blazing red vision—only to now meet a red-haired boy in reality.
Could this child… be connected to his dream?
After a long silence, the Great Toad Sage finally said:
"Jiraiya, take him to Mount Myoboku to train in senjutsu."
Jiraiya was stunned.
"But… he's still just a child—"
The Great Toad Sage spoke slowly:
"The fact that he was able to summon me means his chakra reserves are vast. He meets the threshold for senjutsu. Let him try. I sense this boy is no ordinary child…"
Hearing this, Jiraiya could only nod.
After that, Shinju dispelled the Summoning Technique, sending the Great Toad Sage back.
Jiraiya turned, looking at Shinju with a gaze that was a mix of awe and shock.
At this point, Shinju might very well be the prophesied savior of the ninja world—the one the Great Toad Sage had once foretold to him.
In all his years, Jiraiya had never seen anyone summon the Great Toad Sage himself!!
"Shinju, you heard the Great Toad Sage just now, didn't you? Come with me to Mount Myoboku to learn senjutsu," Jiraiya said.
Shinju's eyes lit up with interest.
"Senjutsu? Sounds badass already. What is it?"
Jiraiya patiently explained:
"You know that ninjutsu is powered by chakra, right?"
"Ordinary chakra is formed by mixing your physical energy and spiritual energy."
"But senjutsu chakra… is created by taking that base chakra and fusing it with natural energy."
"Once you master senjutsu, you merge with nature itself. Both your strength and speed can increase several times over…"
Shinju's eyes gleamed.
This was the first time he'd heard of the senjutsu system.
And just by the sound of it, it was amazing—completely badass!
He answered without hesitation.
"Alright! I'll learn it!"
"Good. Then training will be at Mount Myoboku. Naruto, you'll be coming too."
Jiraiya turned and called to Naruto, who was still balancing on the water.
Startled, Naruto lost his hard-earned balance of chakra and immediately splashed into the river.
Climbing out drenched, he muttered,
"Mount Myoboku, huh? Doesn't sound that useful for me. Isn't it just training in a different spot to stand on water? (*￣3￣)"
Anyone with ears could hear the jealousy in his tone.
Jiraiya sighed helplessly.
"You'll train in senjutsu alongside Shinju. I'll personally supervise your progress."
Naruto: "Heck yeah! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Soon after, Jiraiya summoned one of his contract toads to spit out the blood pact scroll.
"Naruto, sign your name here."
"Once you've signed the contract, the toads of Mount Myoboku can use the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon you there."
...
Mount Myoboku.
When the Great Toad Sage returned safely to his seat, Fukasaku and Shima both sighed in relief.
"That scared me half to death, Great Toad Sage. What happened just now? Why did you suddenly vanish?" Fukasaku asked.
"And it even felt like you'd been summoned…"
"Impossible!"
Shima cut him off, glaring at her husband.
"Are you losing your mind? The Great Toad Sage being summoned? No one in this world has that kind of chakra!!"
But as the two bickered, the Great Toad Sage interrupted them.
"I was indeed summoned… by an interesting child."
Fukasaku and Shima: ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!,∑（〟〇О〇）
Wha—what?!
How was that even possible?!
The Great Toad Sage was the founder of Mount Myoboku, a being from the same era as the Sage of Six Paths!
And yet he had been summoned away…
By a child???
Not even the Sage of Six Paths himself had ever summoned the Great Toad Sage!
"H-he…"
Fukasaku tried to speak, but faltered.
He wanted to ask who that child was, but the words wouldn't come.
This was beyond comprehension!
A shock toad-kind would never recover from!
The Great Toad Sage continued:
"Use the Reverse Summoning Technique later. Bring Jiraiya and those two children here."
"I've already asked Jiraiya to bring that boy to Mount Myoboku for senjutsu training."
Neither Fukasaku nor Shima dared refuse. They nodded, gathering toads to perform the Reverse Summoning.
When they left, the Great Toad Sage yawned and drifted into a deep sleep on his chair…
...
Outside Konoha.
Two plumes of smoke erupted beside Shinju.
He turned his head, only to find Naruto and Jiraiya had vanished!
So he would be the next one summoned. Shinju closed his eyes and waited.
One minute…
Two minutes…
Ten minutes…
∑(°Д°)
What was going on?
Why hadn't he been summoned?
Did the toads of Mount Myoboku reject him?
Or… had they forgotten him entirely?
Shinju was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, over at Mount Myoboku, the toads gathered by Fukasaku and Shima were in total chaos.
"What's with this kid?! Why can't we summon him?!"