Training Begins

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone said their goodbyes to Jimo.

"Are you not going home?" Jimo asked, staring deadpan at Anko, who was sprawled drunkenly across the sofa.

Half an hour into the dinner, the three adults had moved on to the wine. That drunken woman had somehow dug out the liquor he'd distilled, and after that, things had gotten out of hand...

"Drink... drink!"

Anko drunkenly flailed around on the sofa, shouting.

"I, Jimo, swear to the heavens... I will never hold another gathering at my house..." Jimo carried Anko to the bed, but he had no idea what kind of drunken fit she was having. She pinned him beneath her and clung to him like he was a pillow, squeezing him tight...

The next morning...

"You little pervert! I'll kill you!"

Jimo caught the furniture Anko hurled at him while dodging the Kunai and Shuriken she threw.

"I already told you, you were the one who hugged me!" Jimo protested.

"I hugged you? As if I'd ever go for a shorty like you!" Anko chased after Jimo in a fit of rage, while the nearby ninja started gossiping.

"That Chunin guy's got guts, asking Anko out for a drink..."

"Doesn't he know she's famous for being a terrible drunk..."

"Keep your voice down. I heard she and that guy got together back when he was a Genin."

A rumor repeated often enough became the truth. No matter where they were, people always loved this sort of gossip... It spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred, until the final version had the two of them already living together.

"Oh, you want to train alongside Naruto too?" Jiraiya asked, looking at Jimo, who had come to seek his guidance.

"With your current abilities... it's hard to think of another technique I could teach you..." Jiraiya considered the matter. "Would you be willing to sign the Summoning Contract?"

As he spoke, he summoned a Toad patterned with markings resembling blue flames. He took a large scroll, almost as tall as a person, from its tongue.

"Can I sign it too?" Naruto spotted something new and quickly leaped out of the river, bare-chested.

"Sure!"

The two of them signed their names in blood.

"When you use the Summoning Jutsu, you need to maintain a steady output of Chakra! Then you'll be able to summon the Toads of Mount Myoboku to help you fight..."

"Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram! Summoning Technique!"

Naruto bit his finger, formed the Hand Seals, and summoned. A cloud of smoke appeared, but after it cleared, everyone searched around and couldn't find a Toad anywhere.

"That's strange. The technique definitely worked!" Jiraiya said, puzzled.

"Ah! There it is!" Jimo pointed at the ground.

A tadpole was hopping around on the ground, looking like it was about to die... Jiraiya hurriedly had the Toad take the tadpole back to Mount Myoboku...

"You idiot! That's not a Toad!" Jiraiya grumbled.

Jimo did the same, biting his finger and forming the Hand Seals. When the smoke cleared, a massive figure blocked the sunlight over Naruto and Jiraiya, who were still standing on the ground... A Toad as big as a small hill appeared before them...

"Who are you?"

A vermilion Toad with a pipe in its mouth glared up at Jimo, looking displeased.

"How did this kid summon him... Oh no, this is bad... He's got an even worse temper than Gamabunta..." Just as Jiraiya tried to sneak away, Naruto—unwilling to be outdone—triggered the ability that summoned a second Toad whenever he clapped his hands.

Another Toad as big as a small hill appeared before them.

"My big mouth..."

Jiraiya stared at the two Toads, his face dark.

"Isn't that Gamabunta? What a rare sight!" The vermilion Toad puffed out a cloud of smoke that blanketed an area nearly a hundred meters wide.

"Your taste in smoking is still as bad as ever, Gamamo." Gamabunta glanced at the vermilion Toad's pipe, then took a puff from his own tobacco pouch and blew smoke back at him.

"Cough, cough! You're the one with the problem!" The Toad named Gamamo coughed a couple of times.

"By the way... what happened? We've both been summoned..." Gamabunta looked around. "Jiraiya! What did you summon me for?"

"Yeah! Jiraiya, what did you summon me for?"

Jiraiya, hiding in the treetops nearby, wore a deeply troubled expression.

"One of them was bad enough. Now both of them have been summoned."

After looking around, the two Toads noticed the pair on their heads.

"Hey, kid. Where's Jiraiya..."

The two Toads introduced themselves. The one with bandages wrapped around his waist was named Gamabunta, the current leader of the Toad Clan.

The vermilion Toad with the pipe was the second-in-command, who had never been fond of moving around.

When Gamabunta learned that Naruto had summoned him, he was deeply skeptical...

He challenged Naruto to a bet. If Naruto could stay on his body until nightfall without falling off, he would take Naruto on as his underling... and lend him his strength.

Gamamo, on the other hand, was much more reasonable.

"Kid... I can tell you're strong..." Gamamo curled his tongue around Jimo and lifted him onto his nose.

"Go on, tell Lord Gamamo what you need help with!"

Unexpectedly, the Toad was quite gentle.

"It's nothing major... When Lord Jiraiya taught me the Summoning Jutsu... I wasn't sure how much Chakra to pour in... I added just a tiny bit too much." Jimo pinched his thumb and forefinger together to show how much.

"Ha ha ha ha! Is there anyone in the world as stupid as you?" Gamamo laughed, clutching his stomach.

"All right, kid. It's been a long time since anyone summoned me... Since you gave me a chance to breathe in the mortal world, just call me whenever you need help! It'll give me a chance to come out and have some fun too!"

Man and Toad chatted idly, watching Naruto in the distance, who was being pushed so hard by Gamabunta he was nearly at death's door.

"That kid sure is persistent..."

Gamamo fished a few fish out of the river and stuffed them into his mouth as a snack.

"You can say that again..."

"By the way, big brother Gamamo, which of you is stronger, you or Boss Gamabunta?"

"Obviously me! Don't let that guy fool you with his pipe and sword. I could beat him in a few minutes!" Gamamo proudly hefted the two giant nunchaku tucked into his waist.

"Then why doesn't anyone want to summon you?" Jimo asked curiously.

"You can tell from our size. I'm even bigger than Gamabunta, so I need more Chakra... Most people don't have that kind of monstrous Chakra... After all, we're mainly summoned to fight..."

After hearing that, Jimo glanced at Gamabunta in the distance. He looked to be about thirty meters tall... while Gamamo was at least forty meters tall.

"I see..."

"Those two are getting along pretty well..." Jiraiya glanced at Jimo, who was sitting atop Gamamo's head.

He tossed the scroll bearing their names to Gamabunta, who had finished his bet.

"Jiraiya... you're such a meddler..."

Gamabunta glanced at Naruto, who had fainted from exhausting his Chakra, and smiled with satisfaction.

"Gamamo! Quit fooling around! It's time to go home!"