As the white smoke from the summoning cleared, a toad about as tall as Jiraiya appeared at Qiuyang's feet.
"Huh, you can summon a toad this big on your first try? No wonder—you're from the Uchiha Clan."
Jiraiya said with satisfaction as he looked at the somewhat familiar toad.
But the happier he was now, the more devastated he would be later, when he taught Naruto the Summoning Technique—
There was a huge difference between summoning a toad about as tall as two adults and summoning one the size of a tadpole.
The moment Gamakichi, who had just been summoned from Mount Myoboku by Qiuyang, appeared, he was stunned. Then he noticed Gamachu, who was in charge of the Summoning Scroll, and Jiraiya standing on his head.
So Jiraiya had gone out of his way to summon him?
Gamakichi was quite puzzled. Before this, Jiraiya had never summoned him of his own accord; he usually summoned someone from Gamabunta's branch.
So he asked Jiraiya:
"Jiraiya, it's you. Why'd you summon me today? What's going on?"
"Ahaha, I didn't summon you. It was this young man standing on your head. He just signed the contract."
A newcomer?
Gamakichi heard him and shook his head, only then realizing there was someone standing on it.
And sure enough, a new name had appeared on the Summoning Scroll from their toad sanctuary, which lay on the ground.
Uchiha Qiu Yang, from the Uchiha Clan?
Was he from the lineage of the Sage of Six Paths' descendants that old Fukasaku had mentioned? He did have the right to stand on his head.
"After all this time, Jiraiya, you've finally found another worthy student."
Unlike Gamabunta, who had a fiery temper and flew off the handle at the slightest provocation, this toad merely muttered for Qiuyang to come down and introduce himself.
After all, since this was the first toad he'd summoned, there had to be some kind of mutual affinity between them.
Qiuyang jumped down and greeted the first summoning beast he'd met in the Naruto World with a smile. To be honest, he thought the toad he'd summoned looked pretty cool, and he felt a certain warmth toward him.
When Gamakichi saw Qiuyang, he indeed sensed a spatial energy about him that he liked very much. No wonder he'd been able to summon him.
And in those eyes watching him... there seemed to be even more spatial energy hidden within.
Jiraiya had found him a good one! Gamakichi was overjoyed.
Every time a toad was summoned, the caster had to expend some chakra. Aside from the chakra used for the summoning array, the rest counted as the summoning beast's "appearance fee."
Across the long history of the Ninja World, people with an affinity for Gamakichi's branch of toads had been few and far between.
Now they had Qiuyang, whose chakra carried the properties of Yin Release and space. He was just to their branch's liking.
What Jiraiya saw next was Qiuyang and Gamakichi chatting more and more enthusiastically.
Before long, Gamakichi even suggested that he reverse-summon Qiuyang to Mount Myoboku sometime, so he could introduce him to the special toads from his branch.
Qiuyang readily agreed.
Only after reluctantly ending the Summoning Technique did he suddenly realize that he might have left his teacher waiting for too long. He hurriedly turned back to apologize:
"Teacher, I was just..."
Jiraiya naturally didn't mind. He waved a hand.
"Gamakichi was right. You should find a time to visit Mount Myoboku. The toads from his branch are all special types. Getting to know them will help you a lot."
Then he added with an "Oh,"
"When you go, just bring a few baskets of the bugs toads like to eat. They'll be thrilled, haha..."
Jiraiya's laugh sounded rather forced. He remembered how, every time he went to Mount Myoboku, the warm and hospitable toads would seat him at the table and serve him a feast of bugs.
Bugs. Juicy bugs, the kind that'd make a delicate young woman scream and faint at the sight of them.
Several times, out of consideration for their friendship, Jiraiya had been forced to swallow a few green Exploding Juice Bugs... and spent the whole next day throwing up.
He seemed to feel the disgusting sensation of bug juice bursting in his mouth all over again, and nearly threw up.
"Okay, Teacher Jiraiya, I'll remember. Are you... feeling unwell?"
"Ah, no, no. Just remember to hold your ground against their enthusiasm when the time comes."
Jiraiya answered with an evil grin, slyly keeping the toads' bug feast a secret from his student.
They were teacher and student, after all. The student could go through the same hardship his teacher had suffered back then. Nothing wrong with that, right?
"Also, now that you've used it once, you should know the trick to using the Summoning Technique, right?"
"Mm. I noticed as soon as I finished the hand signs. It used half my chakra."
Qiuyang nodded in reply—
Just as he'd suspected, the size of the creature he could summon depended on how much chakra he had to pay.
That made sense. Without this restriction, wouldn't every shinobi with a summoning beast call all their creatures at once before every fight?
So the problem he still had was a lack of chakra.
If he wanted to summon a creature as large as Gamabunta, whose size rivaled the Nine-Tails, Qiuyang estimated he'd need at least twice his current chakra.
"Mm. Next, study the methods for increasing your chakra carefully. If you have any questions, come find me here."
Without waiting for Qiuyang to answer, he slipped a slip of paper into Qiuyang's hand, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back.
His long, receding silhouette and measured strides made him look rather like a master. Qiuyang stared for a moment.
But when he opened the slip of paper:
Happiness... Happiness Paradise.
It sounded like an unsavory establishment.
Qiuyang looked at the address, sweating with embarrassment, and muttered to himself that the title Pervy Sage really did suit his teacher.
But his teacher had said he'd be leaving in three days, and Qiuyang couldn't afford to waste time. He quickly pulled out the scroll his teacher had given him and began reading it carefully.
He had to increase his chakra, as pitifully meager as his wallet, before his teacher left.
The scroll was divided into three main sections: how to conserve chakra while performing techniques, how to increase one's chakra reserves, and another section that read:
...The hot water from the spring made Yurou gasp, drawing lewd calls from the men next door. A blush crept across her charming face.
She remembered how these men most enjoyed tormenting her from XX...
Uh... what was this section supposed to be?
Qiuyang was dumbfounded. He skimmed just a few lines, then hurriedly tore his gaze away from those words.
Had Teacher Jiraiya casually jotted down some of his manuscripts in here?
Seriously... he was a lifelong single man, and this was making his heart race and his face flush.
Who gets it, folks? The suspected latest original manuscript of Icha Icha Paradise has leaked! Anyone interested, hurry and name your price!
Before you continue