Minato, Why Does Your Summoned Toad Have a Tail?

The accompanying steward had originally wanted to invite Chiyue and the other two to dine, but when he saw them gnawing on roasted rabbit meat, he immediately swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue and obediently went back the way he had come.

Watching the steward leave, Minato felt puzzled.

Was this man being a little too enthusiastic toward them?

Was it just his imagination?

"Chiyue, have you noticed that these people are being a bit overly enthusiastic toward us?"

As he pondered it, Minato nudged Chiyue, who was sitting beside him, with his elbow.

He remembered Jiraiya saying that Konoha had never had a particularly good relationship with the officials at the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence.

Yet the other side had repeatedly tried to curry favor with them, which made him uneasy.

"Because they think we're worth winning over. Or rather, you, Minato Namikaze, are worth winning over."

Chiyue casually replied as he ate the cute little rabbit.

Win me over?

What was there about me worth winning over?

"Why?"

"Because your teacher is Jiraiya, and Jiraiya's teacher is Hiruzen Sarutobi. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

Did he really think the people at the Daimyo Residence were idiots?

If it had been any other squad, those officials would probably have kicked up a fuss long ago.

They might have even immediately demanded that the escort squad be replaced.

But instead of making trouble, they kept trying to ingratiate themselves. Wasn't that worth thinking about?

Chiyue didn't believe those snobbish people at the Daimyo Residence would try to curry favor with them for the Uchiha Clan's sake.

The real reason they were being so friendly was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

At this time, the Three Sannin had yet to make their names known throughout the ninja world. Aside from Tsunade, the Konoha Princess, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were at most considered talented, and their reputations could not compare to Tsunade's. However, their teacher was Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's Third Hokage.

Casually tossing the remaining bones into the fire, Chiyue continued, "These officials may be lofty and powerful within the Daimyo Residence, but once they leave it, they are nothing. Even the daimyo is no exception."

In other countries, the daimyo was the supreme ruler of the nation.

But in the Land of Fire, a single look from Danzo could make the daimyo tremble. That was the difference.

Because Konoha was not heavily dependent on funding from the Daimyo Residence.

Even if it fell out with the daimyo, Konoha could still become self-sufficient and keep functioning in a short time.

Other villages could not do that. That was the gap between them.

Besides, did the daimyo dare fall out with Konoha?

If he did, he would probably be overthrown by other nobles within three days. A new daimyo would take his place and come running to Konoha to negotiate peace.

"Shh! It wouldn't be good if someone overheard that."

Minato kept tugging at Chiyue's clothes.

Uchiha Mikoto also repeatedly signaled for him to stop talking, warning him to be careful of eavesdroppers.

The facts were indeed as he said, but such things could not be spoken of openly.

Otherwise, it would cause a lot of trouble.

"Right!"

Minato clapped his hands and said to Chiyue, "I learned the Summoning Technique Jiraiya-sensei left for me."

"Minato, you've already formed a contract with a Summoned Beast? That's impressive."

Uchiha Mikoto's beautiful eyes lit up. She had always wanted to form a contract with the Ninja Cat Clan, but unfortunately, she had never found the right opportunity.

"Of course."

Receiving praise, Minato could not help feeling smug, flashing a self-satisfied grin.

He rubbed his right thumb across the tip of his nose and lifted his chin proudly.

This brat is actually showing off. If I summon my Summoned Beast, it'll scare him so badly he'll wet himself!

Seeing Minato get cocky, Chiyue sneered. "Don't tell me you summoned a tadpole?"

Give him an inch, and he took a mile.

Others might not know Minato's true capabilities, but how could Yagami Chiyue not know?

Minato would become famous throughout the ninja world as the Yellow Flash, a figure who struck terror into countless enemies.

But Minato at this stage... could only be described as clumsy.

For example, his Summoning Technique.

He was not much better than Naruto had been at the beginning of the anime.

"How could that be?!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Minato jumped high into the air, his face flushing red with urgency. "I already successfully summoned a toad from Mount Myōboku! If you don't believe me, just watch!"

Quickly forming hand seals, Minato bit his finger and slapped his palm against the ground.

Bang!

A puff of white smoke burst from the ground, and Chiyue and Uchiha Mikoto looked over.

"..."

Uchiha Mikoto's eyelids twitched slightly. She raised a hand over her mouth, wanting to laugh but too embarrassed to do so.

"..."

This was his toad?

Chiyue stared at the toad on the ground, its four legs still flailing about. Clearly, it had been summoned by Minato before it had even mentally prepared itself.

But that was not the main point. The main point was that the toad had a tiny tail on its rear.

In other words, it had not fully grown yet.

"Pfft—"

"Hahahaha!"

Chiyue could not hold it in anymore. Clutching his stomach, he laughed so hard that he collapsed onto the ground.

"Minato, are you trying to kill me with laughter? This is your toad?"

"How did this happen... I clearly succeeded. Was it because I didn't use enough Chakra?"

Minato was dumbfounded. He had been secretly practicing precisely because he was afraid Chiyue would laugh at him.

Yet he had still embarrassed himself, summoning a not-quite-toad.

Watching the little toad's sexy little tail wag back and forth, Minato felt the urge to cover his face and cry.

"Forget it. You should go back."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Minato sent the still-confused little toad back with a miserable expression.

He had wanted to show off, but instead he had humiliated himself. Unable to save face, Minato shouted, "Chiyue, don't you already have a Summoned Beast? Summon it and let us see! I don't believe you're better than me."

It was no secret that Chiyue had a Summoned Beast.

Uchiha Mikoto knew that as well, but neither of them knew exactly what kind of Summoned Beast it was, because Chiyue had never summoned it.

Every time, he had brushed them off by claiming it was a secret.

"Forget it. That kind of cheap provocation doesn't work on me. I'm afraid my Summoned Beast would scare you if I brought it out."

"Hahaha!"

Chiyue laughed until his stomach hurt, tears even streaming from his eyes.

Uchiha Mikoto was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath as well.

It was not that she wanted to laugh, but the little toad Minato had summoned was simply too amusing.

"You're lying. I don't believe you."

Minato continued trying to provoke him, but that tactic truly did not work on Chiyue.

He had picked the wrong target.

The convoy continued onward, but Minato remained depressed all afternoon because of the little tailed toad.

If circumstances allowed, Chiyue believed Minato would definitely rush to Mount Myōboku and personally ask why he kept summoning either little tailed toads or tadpoles.

Minato's worries had been justified. After moving for more than half a day, the crowded convoy had not even covered a third of the distance an ordinary person could walk on foot.

Anyone would be anxious at such a slow pace.

Chiyue had to admit that the Third Hokage was truly awful. He actually had the nerve to assign such a mission to a newly promoted Chunin squad.

The daytime was manageable. Nighttime was the truly difficult part. There were too many people, and the campsite occupied a huge area. The three of them had to split up to set traps from different directions, patrol, and investigate possible enemy activity.

"Sister Mikoto, go get some rest. Minato will take the first watch, and I'll take the second."

That night, Chiyue arranged their rest shifts.

The next day, the convoy continued its journey. Chiyue jumped onto a cart loaded with goods to rest and regain his energy, so he would not be exhausted while standing watch that night.

And so, the convoy slowly edged closer to the border of the Land of Rivers.

At the Land of Fire's border outpost, the ninja stationed there continued holding their posts.

Under the cover of darkness, a large force from the Hidden Sand Village crossed into the Land of Fire and gradually approached the outpost.