Chapter 9 — The Smallest Contract
Jiraiya's visit had been a disaster disguised as a profound insight. Not only had he created a paper trail for the "Seduction Jutsu" in Konoha's archives, but he had left Aaron with a literal magical contract.
Aaron stared at the tiny scroll Jiraiya had given him—the Toad Contract. It was sealed with a single, almost-invisible drop of blood: Minato's, presumably from some long-forgotten training drill.
My first legitimate jutsu, Aaron thought, his Meta-Awareness working overtime. The Summoning Jutsu! I could summon Gamabunta, or even Fukasaku! This is my chance to gain a real edge!
His goal was simple: Sign the contract and summon a real, powerful toad.
His obstacle: He was still a five-month-old baby with the motor skills of a broken Roomba.
The Contract Signing
Aaron waited until Minato and Kushina were both busy—Minato reviewing a mission report, Kushina attempting to master a new recipe that smelled faintly of burning chakra.
He stretched his tiny arm, reaching the scroll. It took him two minutes of strained effort, complete with small, frustrated grunts (which Minato documented as "Chakra Compression Seals").
Finally, he grabbed the paper. Now for the blood.
Okay, Aaron. Just a small bite. Gotta break the skin. Think of the power! Think of Gamakichi!
He managed to shove his thumb into his mouth.
He gnawed at it with his single, barely visible tooth, working up enough effort to make a tiny pinprick. The pain was minimal, but the effort was Herculean.
A single, microscopic droplet of blood appeared. He mashed his thumb onto the paper, leaving behind the smallest, messiest, and most important thumbprint in the history of the contract.
Contract Signed!
Now for the summoning. Aaron remembered the iconic poses. He needed the hand signs.
Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram!
He tried to form the first sign, Boar, by crossing his two index fingers. His fingers flopped against each other. He tried again. His hand clenched into a useless, baby fist.
Failure, Aaron realized with crushing Emotional Irony. I can sign the contract, but I can't do the jutsu.
Driven by pure anger and the memory of Truck-san's smug face, Aaron pushed his hands together in a crude, desperate parody of the final Ram seal, concentrating on the words: "Summoning Jutsu!"
What came out was a slobbery, furious yell: "Gah-TOAD!"
The Smallest Toad
A small puff of white smoke, smelling faintly of baby powder and ozone, burst into the nursery.
When the smoke cleared, there was a toad. It was not a giant, mountain-sized warrior.
It was roughly the size of a gummy bear.
It was a brilliant, neon-green color and sat there, blinking slowly, looking utterly confused by its surroundings. It was small enough to fit comfortably on Aaron's pacifier.
Aaron stared at it. The toad stared back.
My personal chakra reserve is literally only enough to summon a toad that is smaller than my own eyeball, Aaron narrated internally, defeated. This is not the toad sage legacy. This is a cruel joke.
The toad opened its mouth and let out a sound like two pebbles tapping together: "Plip."
The sound, however, was immediately misinterpreted.
Minato burst into the room, alerted by the small puff of smoke. He looked at the baby, then at the minuscule, neon-green creature.
"Kushina! Come quick! Aaron has initiated the Micro-Summoning Technique!"
Kushina arrived, gasped, and immediately began to coo. "Oh, he's so tiny and cute! He's like a little jewel!"
"It's not cute, Kushina, it's genius!" Minato was frantic, grabbing his notes. "The toad is small enough to be chakra-infused and deployed as a sensor-spy! It's undetectable! A perfect infiltration tool!"
Jiraiya's influence was now complete. Aaron's weakest summoning was being hailed as a revolutionary S-Rank Spy Jutsu.
The Naming Controversy
The final, devastating blow to Aaron's ego came during the naming ceremony for his toad.
"He needs a strong, powerful name," Minato insisted. "Something befitting a new strategic weapon. Gamagami! Gamamaru! Gamakage!"
"No, no, he's too adorable for that," Kushina argued. "Look at him! He needs something sweet and powerful! Like Tadpole!"
Aaron tried to protest the absurd cuteness. He managed a gurgle that sounded exactly like: "No-no-no!"
Kakashi, who had been leaning against the doorway observing the chaos, sighed. "It seems the baby objects to the name 'Tadpole.' He wants to name it himself."
Minato was ecstatic. "He wants to choose the name through the Goo-Gaa Seal!"
Aaron thought of the names of the most useless, annoying characters from his old anime life. I'll name it after the worst one. The most annoying.
He opened his mouth and said, with perfect, clear intentionality: "BORUTO."
The actual sound that left his baby mouth was: "Bwuuu-toooo!"
Minato misheard the sound entirely. "Bwuu-to? No... wait... it sounds like 'Flash!'" Minato's eyes watered with pride. "He wants to name his first summon 'Flash'! After his older brother!"
Kushina hugged Minato tightly. "That's the sweetest thing! Our prodigy loves his big brother!"
Aaron, the tiny toad (now named Flash), and the entire room were swallowed in a wave of golden-haired affection.
Aaron's true summon, the most useless spy-toad in the world, was now named after the technique of his older brother, ensuring that the Emotional Irony of his life would continue forever.
I am now the proud master of Flash, the Micro-Toad. If I ever need to scout a crack in the pavement, I'm set, Aaron concluded, already feeling a headache coming on.
End of Chapter 9
Next: Chapter 10 — The First Mission of Flash the Spy Toad