How Could the Protagonist Not Have an Old Grandfather?

"Summoning Jutsu!"

In Konoha's back mountains, Naruto still diligently practiced the Summoning Jutsu. A week had passed since he began learning from Jiraiya, yet he could only summon half-formed toads with limbs and tails that had not fully disappeared.

"Pervy Sage, don't you want to see the new toad I summoned?"

Naruto glanced mournfully at the half-formed toad. Though it was an improvement, it did not look like a toad capable of fighting no matter how he looked at it.

"It's just another tadpole anyway."

Jiraiya was peeping through a gap in the bushes at girls playing in the water. He waved a hand without bothering to turn around.

"You're wrong. This one grew legs. It can leave the water now."

"Idiot! Summoned beasts are for combat, not pets. Can that thing fight, huh?"

Jiraiya turned back to glance at it and scolded him. By the time he turned around to keep watching the girls, they had already packed up and left.

"You really are stupid, kid."

After mourning the departure of the girls in swimsuits for a while, Jiraiya had to admit that Naruto was not a smart guy. All he had was more Chakra and perseverance than ordinary people.

"I should have told you that the strength of the toad summoned by the Summoning Jutsu is determined by how much Chakra you use. The more Chakra, the stronger the toad. Your toad is so small because your Chakra output is insufficient. But you have several times the Chakra of an ordinary person, so why is this happening?"

"Why?"

"Could the Nine-Tails be interfering? That shouldn't be it. From what you described, your relationship with him should be pretty good. Hold out your hand and gather some Chakra for me to see."

"Okay."

Naruto held out his hand, and a stream of Chakra slowly gathered in his palm. Jiraiya's expression, however, grew solemn.

"Your Chakra is so chaotic. Why is it this messy? It's practically like..."

Jiraiya could not figure it out. Such chaotic Chakra flow was practically the opening motion of the Rasengan. After all, the Rasengan was all about chaos; only wildly surging Chakra could form the destructive force of a Rasengan.

"Huh? Isn't this how it's supposed to be?"

"Idiot, who told you to use such chaotic Chakra? Make it smoother and output it properly."

"Oh..."

Naruto suddenly understood. It seemed he had gotten it wrong from the beginning. Because he had practiced the Rasengan for so long, his body had memorized the Rasengan's circulation pattern. Once he started gathering Chakra, it would automatically make it chaotic to facilitate forming a Rasengan.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

After gathering normal Chakra in his hand, Naruto used the Summoning Jutsu again. This time, after the smoke cleared, it was finally no longer a half-formed toad. Instead, it was an orange-red toad wearing clothes, roughly as large as Naruto when he crouched down.

"It's wearing clothes now!"

"Hello. Are you the one who summoned me? I'm Gama Kichi. Please take care of me."

"Yeah, yeah! I'm your partner, Naruto Uzumaki. Let's work hard together from now on."

Naruto happily hugged Gama Kichi and rubbed against him. This was his first real toad in the truest sense.

"Stop fooling around. This is just an underage toad. It can handle ordinary people, but it can't even beat a genin."

Jiraiya knocked Naruto on the head as he said this, watching him get along with Gama Kichi. With such a strange talent, Naruto might learn the Rasengan rather quickly later on.

"That's true, but toads grow very quickly. Summon me again once I'm stronger."

Gama Kichi nodded. He had a good impression of Naruto and was willing to help him.

"It's okay. How strong you are isn't important. I believe Gama Kichi will definitely be able to help me."

"Alright. To celebrate you finally being able to summon a toad, I'll treat you to a hot spring."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him toward the hot spring inn. With his sharp ears, he had long overheard that those girls planned to soak in the hot springs after returning.

"You're not planning to peep, are you?"

"How could I be?"

Hot Springs

"Yahoo! Gama Kichi, faster!"

Naruto gripped Gama Kichi's back with both hands, having him carry him through the hot spring at high speed, kicking up a huge spray of water.

"Quiet! I can't hear what the girls are saying!"

Jiraiya angrily threw a towel at Naruto's head. He had made a hole in the partition of the hot spring and was desperately peering through it. Though the steam obscured everything, the things that could be seen only faintly were even more enticing.

"Say, Gama Kichi, where do you live?"

"Mount Myōboku. It is a natural holy land, where countless toads live. Under the leadership of the Great Toad Sage, the entire Toad Kingdom is incredibly prosperous."

"The Great Toad Sage?"

"In human terms, he's the boss of all toads."

"Oh, oh. I'd really like to meet him someday."

"That's impossible. Not just anyone can meet the Great Toad Sage. Dad said he's already lived for thousands of years."

"So toads are such long-lived creatures!"

"Friendly reminder: if a toad soaks too long, it'll get cooked."

"Ah... Gama Kichi, Gama Kichi!"

The moment Jiraiya finished speaking, Gama Kichi floated on the hot spring with his eyes rolled back, causing quite a commotion.

The next day

"Pervy Sage, why did you bring me here?"

They were still at Konoha's back mountain, but not by the stream—this time, they stood beside a massive waterfall. Hundreds of meters below Naruto lay the valley floor, while the roaring cascade crashed down, leaving the surrounding cliff walls wet and slippery.

"Naruto, even though you said you don't want to casually borrow the Nine-Tails' power, you'll face many dangers in the future. I can't stay by your side forever. When that time comes, the Nine-Tails' power may be your only support."

Jiraiya raised a finger, shedding his usual lecherous manner as he spoke seriously.

"Yeah."

"However, the Nine-Tails' power isn't something you can use whenever you want. A small amount might be fine, but if your body is suddenly flooded with a massive amount of the Nine-Tails' Chakra, you might not be able to withstand it. So what you need to do is gradually get your body used to it."

"Even if you say that, I can't use it right now."

Naruto scratched his head in frustration. To borrow its power, he first had to enter the Sealing Space and meet the Nine-Tails, but he couldn't do that while awake. At the very least, he had to be asleep.

"Naruto, if the Nine-Tails really is your friend like you said, then survive."

Jiraiya revealed a strange smile and lightly tapped Naruto on the forehead. A sensation of weightlessness instantly swept through Naruto's body as Jiraiya shoved him off the cliff.

"Waaah... AAAAAAH!"

The howling wind in his ears made Naruto scream. The sheer cliff face beside him offered nothing to grab, not even a single branch. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm definitely going to die! As the thought of his own death filled his mind, Naruto's consciousness gradually blurred.

"Kid, do you really enjoy jumping off buildings that much?"

When Naruto came to his senses, the Nine-Tails' enormous face was already before him. The fox bared its fangs in displeasure as it questioned him. Their first meeting had also been when Naruto had free-fallen from a great height, and now it was happening again.

"I couldn't help it. This time, someone pushed me."

"Hmph. So that's the good teacher you were talking about?"

The Nine-Tails glanced at Minato. Ever since Minato had learned that Jiraiya had taken Naruto as his disciple, he had been incredibly excited, reminding Naruto every day to listen to his teacher.

"Teacher Jiraiya is a little extreme, but he trusts you too."

"Kid, if you want to use my power, then take it."

The Nine-Tails, who had been watching the outside world from within Naruto, understood Jiraiya's purpose. That bastard had actually used this sort of method to force him to lend Naruto power—what a shameless trick. Still, since Naruto had called him a friend, even if he was unwilling, he had to show some goodwill.

"Really?"

"Quit yapping. If I'm giving it to you, then take it properly."

The Nine-Tails condensed an immense amount of Chakra, precisely at the limit Naruto's body could withstand. Crimson Chakra instantly enveloped Naruto's body and flowed into him without end.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto opened his crimson eyes. After forming Hand Seals, he spread his fingers, and visible red Chakra erupted violently from his hand. After a cloud of smoke, a gigantic toad appeared in midair.

"?"

The toad appeared to have been dozing off, its pale belly facing the sky and its eyes slightly shut. It took a long while to understand what was happening. By then, they were only a little over ten meters from the ground. It immediately hugged Naruto, shielding him against its belly and taking the impact against the ground with its back.

BOOM!

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out. Only then did Jiraiya appear at the bottom of the valley. Smoke and dust swirled everywhere, making it impossible to see clearly for a moment.

"Naruto, are you alive?"

Using a small Wind Release to blow away the smoke, Jiraiya saw Naruto's back and a toad. He asked with a smile. This counted as a success, more or less.

"Pervy Sage... this toad is dying!"

Naruto's tearful voice rang out. The toad that had protected him during the fall was now lying in the huge crater with its eyes rolled back, its fate unknown.

"An adult toad won't die from falling from that height, idiot. This toad looks kind of familiar."

Jiraiya laughed as he scolded him, then stepped closer to inspect the toad Naruto had summoned. It was thinner than he had imagined. Though its body was huge, its skin looked somewhat aged. Around its neck hung a bead inscribed with the character for "oil," and it wore a rectangular doctoral cap on its head.

"...G-G-G-G-G!"

Jiraiya was so shocked that his jaw dropped, repeating the same word over and over.

"G?"

"Great Toad Sage!?"

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PS: Received Grandfather ×1