Starting Trouble at the Drop of a Hat

"Great Toad Sage, I'm terribly sorry. I accidentally disturbed you."

After some emergency treatment, the Great Toad Sage finally woke up. Jiraiya anxiously held Naruto's head down and apologized over and over.

"Gwahahaha! Jiraiya, you're making too much of it. Since I bear the word 'toad' in my name, I'm naturally a summoned beast as well. It's perfectly normal for me to be summoned."

The Great Toad Sage smiled calmly. His wise eyes met Naruto's gaze, and his stare seemed to pierce through time and space, seeing everything. At the same time, the Nine-Tails and Minato felt a chill run through their hearts. They both sensed that this toad seemed to have just taken a stroll through the Sealing Space.

"What has this kid done to deserve having you as his summoned beast? Please go back quickly, Mount Myōboku is going to fall into chaos."

"Don't be in such a hurry. Since I'm a summoned beast, I should fulfill my duties. I'll help my master with something before I leave."

"Great Toad Sage, you're injured. Are you really okay? You look like you could die at any moment."

Now that it was finally Naruto's turn to speak, he immediately said so. The Great Toad Sage had been badly injured protecting him. Several rocks at the bottom of the valley had pierced his back, and blood was flowing nonstop.

"Just superficial wounds."

The Great Toad Sage did not move at all, still lying in the massive crater from his fall. Yet Naruto sensed something approaching. The wind whistled, water stirred, and a strange presence filled the air, gathering toward the Great Toad Sage like the aroma of food.

"To think that he can sense Natural Energy at such a young age."

Under the influence of Natural Energy, the Great Toad Sage's wounds healed at a visible rate, and the whole toad looked considerably more energetic.

"This brat's just got a sharp nose."

"Naruto, toads rarely dream, but what they dream always comes to pass. While I was unconscious just now, I saw something. In the near future, you will fight a young man with very powerful eye abilities."

"Mm, are you talking about Neji? I know. So, did I win?"

"It will be a contest with neither victor nor loser. Once it ends, it will leave a tremendous wound on your heart. That is all I know."

"Huh? I can't beat Neji? Whatever. What I really want to know is whether Hinata and I get married in the future."

Naruto did not care about what the Great Toad Sage had said. As long as he worked hard with everything he had, winning or losing did not matter. What he cared about more was his future romance.

"You little punk, show the Great Toad Sage some respect! He's not some fortune-teller under a bridge!"

Jiraiya was furious at Naruto's attitude. He wrapped an arm around Naruto's neck and rapped his head. Throughout history, countless scholars and politicians had challenged Mount Myōboku just to meet the Great Toad Sage and receive a single prophecy from him, but this kid treated prophecies as entertainment.

"Ow, ow!"

"I didn't see that much, but I can say for certain that you will marry a girl with the Byakugan in the future, and you will have two children."

"Really? Awesome! I did it!"

"Pervy Sage, did you hear that? Pervy Sage?"

Before Naruto could even share his joy, Jiraiya suddenly vanished. Some toad's Reverse Summoning Technique had called him to Mount Myōboku.

Mount Myōboku

"Jiraiyaaaaa!"

A small old toad with white hair and white eyebrows grabbed Jiraiya by the collar and shook him thirty times a second. Jiraiya felt as though his brains were about to be shaken out. Only after struggling free did he finally get a chance to speak.

"Lord Shima, why did you suddenly summon me?"

"The Great Toad Sage has disappeared! We've searched all of Mount Myōboku and can't find him anywhere. You're the only one out in the outside world, so tell me quickly—have you heard anything?"

"The Great Toad Sage, he's right—"

Just as Jiraiya was about to say that his disciple had summoned him out, a thunderous chorus of croaks erupted. The entire Mount Myōboku trembled. The tadpoles in the ponds huddled together and shook, juvenile toads hid in burrows and peered outside, while the adult toads armed themselves and gripped their weapons, ready for battle.

"Men, that white snake must have ambushed the Great Toad Sage! We must avenge him! Mount Myōboku officially declares war on Ryūchi Cave! I, Toad Boss Bunta, will personally cut off the White Snake Sage's head to avenge the Great Toad Sage!"

"Gwa! Gwa! Gwa!"

A gigantic toad over thirty meters tall drew the short blade from his waist and stabbed it into the ground, shouting to a group of equally massive toads behind him. The toads unanimously approved. With the Great Toad Sage—the ceiling of Mount Myōboku's intelligence—gone, no one was left to restrain these fools, and they immediately began causing trouble.

"It's chaos, complete chaos! Those meatheads won't listen to a word! Husband, think of something quickly."

Shima Toad, Lord Shima's wife, hopped over to them and asked for help. The giant toads had already gone mad and were about to head out.

"What can I do? Those big guys have nothing but muscles in their heads. Let them go. I also think the White Snake Sage is behind this. He's the only one in the world capable of quietly abducting the Great Toad Sage."

"Um, let me say something. The Great Toad Sage is actually in the outside world."

Faced with such an atmosphere, Jiraiya found it extremely difficult to speak. He could only answer weakly.

"?"

"Well, I recently took on a new disciple and taught him the Summoning Technique. Somehow, he ended up summoning the Great Toad Sage..."

"Jiraiya, if you keep joking around, I'm going to get angry."

"I-I'm not joking. It's true. Let me go back first, then I'll use the Summoning Technique to call you over and you'll see for yourselves."

Facing Toad Shima's grim expression, Jiraiya felt miserable. Naruto, that foolish brat, had caused this mess, yet Jiraiya had to clean it up.

"Husband, is that even possible? The Great Toad Sage being summoned by someone..."

"I've heard that the Great Toad Sage himself was the summoned beast of the first contractor, and that he was the one who invented the Summoning Technique contract. But after the first contractor died, the Great Toad Sage never appeared as a summoned beast again for thousands of years. It can't be said to be completely impossible."

Lord Shima was an old toad who had lived for centuries, so he knew a little about the Great Toad Sage's past. He had heard that the Great Toad Sage was born with the power of prophecy and had even invented the ultimate ninjutsu known as Sage Mode. In short, he was extremely powerful, but no one knew who his contractor had been.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!"

Seeing Jiraiya still standing there in a daze, Lord Shima and Shima Toad each gave him a kick, sending him out of Mount Myōboku.

"Hahaha, go on."

Naruto had no idea that the two sacred lands had nearly come to blows because of him. Right now, he was listening to the Great Toad Sage recount his past and his tangled grudge with a snake.

"Back then, I used my own wisdom to make that white snake tie himself to a tree. Who told him to be so long? Gwahahaha."

"You two are having quite a good time."

After returning to Naruto's side, Jiraiya practically wanted to bite him to death. He had risked life and limb at Mount Myōboku, while this old one and this young one, both utterly shameless, were laughing away here.

"Pervy Sage, you're back! The Great Toad Sage's stories are super funny."

"Fine, fine. As long as you're happy."

Jiraiya gave up thinking. After using the Summoning Jutsu to summon two toads, he crouched in a corner.

"Huh?"

Naruto only had time to see two black shadows rush out of the smoke before his body was restrained. The two toads pawed him all over, feeling up every inch of his body before finally letting him go.

"He looks like nothing more than a brat. How could he summon the Great Toad Sage?"

"He has a bit more Chakra than usual, but not enough to summon a sage. Maybe there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance that his Chakra happened to synchronize."

After examining Naruto's body, Fukasaku and Shima stood to the left and right of the Great Toad Sage. They could only chalk the matter up to something incomprehensible.

"Great Toad Sage, please return. Mount Myōboku is already in chaos."

The two toads spoke in unison. How Naruto had summoned the Great Toad Sage no longer mattered. What mattered now was getting the Great Toad Sage back to stop those toads from causing trouble.

"Mm, goodbye, Naruto. We'll have plenty of chances to meet again."

The Great Toad Sage also knew roughly what Mount Myōboku was like after his departure. He nodded at Naruto, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Brat, you're forbidden from summoning the Great Toad Sage again! Otherwise, I'll eat you!"

Fukasaku was alarmed. From the Great Toad Sage's words, it seemed he still wanted to come out again. Fukasaku immediately made a terrifying face and threatened Naruto. He did not want to go through that again.

"Eek..."

Naruto jumped at the toad's frightening face and hid behind Jiraiya, only coming out after they had left.

"Who were they?"

"They're among the current sages of Mount Myōboku. You'd better be careful if they've set their sights on you."

"Come to think of it, wasn't this all Pervy Sage's fault for pushing me down? Huh?"

Naruto suddenly remembered that Jiraiya pushing him down had started this whole affair. He puffed out his cheeks and spoke unhappily.

"Ahem, ahem. Let's leave this matter at that. I'll treat you to ramen."

"I want ten bowls!"

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PS: I'm taking my wives to tackle the autumn event, so I'll do my best to keep updating. Yep.