Icha Icha Paradise Draft

As the white mist from the summoning dissipated, a toad roughly the same height as the one beneath Jiraiya appeared at Qiuyang's feet.

"Oh? To summon a toad of this size on the first try—truly worthy of someone from the Uchiha clan."

Seeing this somewhat familiar toad, Jiraiya was quite satisfied.

However, as happy as he was now, he would be just as devastated when he taught Naruto the Summoning Jutsu later—

The gap between summoning a toad the size of two grown men and summoning a mere tadpole was simply too vast.

Gamakichi, who had just been summoned from Mount Myoboku by Qiuyang, was dazed for a moment before spotting Gamachu, who was guarding the summoning scroll, and Jiraiya standing atop him.

So, did Jiraiya summon him on purpose?

Gamakichi was quite puzzled; Jiraiya had never actively summoned him before, usually opting for Gamabunta's lineage.

He spoke up to ask Jiraiya:

"It's Jiraiya. Why did you summon me today? Is something the matter?"

"Ahahaha, it wasn't me who summoned you. It was this young man right here who just signed the contract."

A newcomer?

Hearing this, Gamakichi shook his head and realized someone was standing on his head.

Moreover, on the summoning scroll of their toad holy land laid out on the ground, a new name had indeed appeared.

Uchiha Qiuyang. The Uchiha clan?

The lineage of the Sage of Six Paths that Fukasaku mentioned? He certainly has the qualifications to stand on my head.

"It's been a long time, Jiraiya. You've finally found another qualified disciple."

This toad didn't have a hair-trigger temper like Gamabunta; he simply muttered for Qiuyang to come down so they could get acquainted.

After all, since it was the first summoning, there must be some sort of mutual resonance between the two.

Qiuyang jumped down and greeted his first-ever summon in the Naruto World with a smile. Honestly, he found this toad quite cool and rather endearing.

When Gamakichi saw Qiuyang, he indeed felt a spatial fluctuation emanating from the man that he found very appealing; it was no wonder he had been able to summon him.

Furthermore, looking into those eyes... there seemed to be even more spatial energy hidden within.

Jiraiya had found him a good one! Gamakichi was absolutely delighted.

Because every time a toad was summoned, the practitioner had to expend a portion of chakra. Aside from the chakra used for the summoning formation, the rest served as a "service fee" for the summon.

Throughout the long history of the ninja world, it was rare for anyone to be compatible with Gamakichi's lineage of toads.

Now that Qiuyang had appeared, possessing chakra with Yin Release and spatial properties, it was exactly what their lineage craved.

What Jiraiya saw next was Qiuyang and Gamakichi chatting with increasing enthusiasm.

Later on, Gamakichi even suggested finding a time to perform a reverse summoning to bring Qiuyang to Mount Myoboku as a guest, promising to introduce him to the special-type toads of his lineage.

Qiuyang, of course, agreed wholeheartedly.

Only after he reluctantly released the summoning jutsu did he suddenly realize he had left his teacher waiting for quite a while, and he hurriedly turned back to apologize:

"Teacher, I was just—"

Jiraiya naturally wouldn't hold it against him, waving his hand:

"Gamakichi is right. You should find a time to visit Mount Myoboku later. Their lineage consists of special types; getting to know them will be of great help to you."

He then added with an "Oh":

"When you go, just bring a few crates of the bugs they like to eat. They'll definitely be very happy, haha..."

Jiraiya's laugh was quite forced, as he recalled every visit to Mount Myoboku where the hospitable toads would arrange a bug feast at the dinner table.

Bugs, juicy, succulent bugs—the kind that would make a delicate girl scream and faint.

Several times, out of politeness, Jiraiya had no choice but to swallow a few green Exploding Juice Bugs... which left him vomiting for an entire day and night.

He seemed to feel the disgusting sensation of bug juices bursting in his mouth all over again and nearly retched.

"Understood, Jiraiya-sensei, I'll keep that in mind. Are you... not feeling well?"

"Ah, no, no. Just remember to withstand their hospitality when the time comes."

Jiraiya answered with an evil grin, craftily omitting the fact that the toads would treat him to a bug feast.

Since they were master and apprentice, it was only fair that the student experienced the same hardships the teacher had endured, right?

"Also, now that you've used it once, you should know the trick to the Summoning Jutsu!"

"Yes, I realized it right after finishing the hand signs. It used up half of my chakra instantly."

Qiuyang nodded—

The Summoning Jutsu was exactly as he had imagined: the size of the summon was directly proportional to the amount of chakra expended.

In fact, it had to be this way; if there were no such restriction, wouldn't every ninja with a summon just call them all out at the start of every fight?

Therefore, his current problem remained a lack of chakra.

If he wanted to summon a beast like Gamabunta, who could rival the size of the Nine-Tails, Qiuyang estimated he would need at least twice his current total chakra capacity.

"Hmm, next, study this method for enhancing chakra carefully. If you have any questions, come find your teacher at this location."

Without waiting for Qiuyang to agree, he shoved a slip of paper into Qiuyang's hand, turned, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

The elongated silhouette and the measured, steady gait actually carried a hint of a grandmaster's air, leaving Qiuyang stunned for a moment.

However, when he opened the slip of paper to look:

Happiness... Happiness Paradise.

It sounded like an illicit establishment just by the name.

Qiuyang stared at the address, sweating, and muttered to himself that the title Pervy Sage really did suit his teacher after all.

But since his teacher said he would be leaving in three days, Qiuyang couldn't worry about that now; he hurriedly pulled the scroll his teacher had given him from his robes and began to flip through it carefully.

He had to boost his chakra reserves—which were as thin as his wallet—before his teacher left.

The scroll was roughly divided into three main sections: first, how to conserve chakra when performing techniques; second, how to expand chakra capacity; and another part was:

...Yurou let out a delicate gasp as the hot spring water scalded her, drawing lewd cheers from the men in the next stall, and a crimson flush climbed up her charming little face.

She remembered how these men loved to bully her from the XX...

Uh... what the hell is this part?

Qiuyang was dumbfounded. After only skimming a few paragraphs, he hurriedly tore his eyes away from the text.

Did Jiraiya-sensei just jot down some of his drafts in here by mistake?

It was truly... enough to make a perennial bachelor like him blush and his heart race.

Who understands this, folks? A suspected original manuscript of the latest Icha Icha Paradise has leaked; those interested, make your bids now.