Summoning Contract

The next morning.

After a good night's rest, Qiuyang jolted awake from a beautiful dream and nearly fell out of the tree where he had been sleeping.

A very serious problem suddenly occurred to him:

Where exactly was the "usual place" Jiraiya had mentioned before leaving yesterday?

Strictly speaking, yesterday had been the first time the two of them had met as master and student. So what place could possibly count as their usual spot?

Was it where they had eaten fish together yesterday? Or the hot-spring bathhouse Jiraiya had peeked into?

Qiuyang racked his brains for a while, but came up with nothing. In the end, he could only form Hand Seals and create a Shadow Clone.

"Go wait at the fish place from last night. It's less likely to be the right spot. I'll go wait at the hot spring, since that's more likely. Any objections?"

This time, the clone had no objections. It nodded and agreed, then vanished from sight with a few leaps.

Qiuyang returned to the street from the day before, avoiding the spot where he and Jiraiya had overturned a stall, then reluctantly spent a little more money to enter the hot-spring bathhouse.

Looking at his already empty wallet, Qiuyang felt like crying.

This couldn't go on. Once this training was over, he had to take on some B-Rank Missions in the village.

Ideally, he'd get a mission with some money in it, like wiping out bandits.

As someone who had transmigrated with advance knowledge of the plot, he shouldn't be held back by something as trivial as money.

In the same spot where he had soaked yesterday, Qiuyang used simple Medical Ninjutsu to treat the scar on his right hand from their fight, while patiently waiting for Jiraiya to show up.

He waited from morning until noon, but Jiraiya still didn't appear.

His Shadow Clone hadn't sent any news either. If it saw Jiraiya, it would notify him by dispelling itself.

Fortunately, there was no time limit at this hot-spring bathhouse, and no one else was in his section. Otherwise, Qiuyang might have felt awkward.

Just as he wondered if there were any other places they might have meant, Jiraiya's relaxed voice finally came from behind him:

"Oiyo, you're here early, kid! After our long fight yesterday, I thought you'd show up late."

"..."

It was already noon, old man!

Almost at the same time, they both received the memories from the clone waiting at the place where they had eaten fish last night.

Clearly, both master and student had come to the same conclusion about the "usual place," worried that the other might go to the wrong spot...

The atmosphere grew a little awkward and strange. At last, Jiraiya, the source of all their trouble, scratched his head and laughed, saying they must have been thinking along the same lines, hoping to brush the matter aside.

Qiuyang could only shake his head.

Could you be more specific next time?

Still, the little mix-up brought them closer.

After formally accepting Qiuyang as his student, Jiraiya took his teaching very seriously and began by asking about Qiuyang's situation.

Aside from having peeked at the Scroll of Sealing and the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes, whose ocular power had yet to recover, Qiuyang told his teacher everything about his current circumstances.

As for how he had escaped the night of the massacre, he said his parents had used a teleportation array to send him away at the cost of their lives, allowing him to survive.

Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh as he listened.

He felt especially awful hearing that, after returning to Konoha, Qiuyang had to conceal his identity by posing as a refugee.

The poor kid's life was almost as tragic as that of Jiraiya's other three students.

It was hard to imagine that something like this had happened in the peaceful village of Konoha.

That old man. I told him ages ago that the Uchiha Clan needed a conciliatory policy, not opposition and division. How many gifted children has that cost us?

Jiraiya muttered under his breath, complaining about his teacher. When he looked up at Qiuyang's white hair again, it just didn't sit right with him.

Black hair and red Sharingan were what the clan was known for, after all.

So he grabbed Qiuyang by the collar, dragged him out of the bathhouse, and found a barber. He told the owner to dye Qiuyang's hair back to its original black.

Qiuyang went along with it, letting the barber restore his hair to its natural black.

Afraid Qiuyang might read too much into it, Jiraiya kept explaining himself to his student as they went:

"As my student, you won't have to hide your identity like you used to. I'll be your rock."

"You don't need to fear Uchiha Itachi, even though he awakened the Mangekyō. Your teacher is every bit as strong as he is."

Qiuyang's heart filled with warmth, and he smiled as he replied:

"I know, Jiraiya-sensei. Since last night, I've also decided I won't hide my identity as a member of the Uchiha Clan anymore."

Since Jiraiya had taken him on as a student, Qiuyang couldn't bring shame to his teacher's legendary reputation as one of the Sannin.

Hearing this, Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction. He liked this student he'd picked up along the way more and more.

Once Qiuyang had finished dyeing his hair, Jiraiya took him back to the place where they had eaten fish the night before.

As usual, Jiraiya got Qiuyang to cook another delicious meal of grilled fish and beer. Then he folded his arms and continued asking about the Ninjutsu Qiuyang knew.

Qiuyang naturally didn't hide too much. Leaving out the other techniques he had learned from the Scroll of Sealing, he told Jiraiya about the rest.

"Not bad, kid. You know quite a range of Ninjutsu."

Jiraiya didn't have that many suspicions about people from his own village. It never occurred to him that Qiuyang had learned such outrageous techniques as the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God by sneaking a look at the Scroll of Sealing.

After thinking it over, he had a general idea of what to teach:

"Listen up. Your teacher has a mission to take care of, so this time I can only teach you for... about three days."

Qiuyang nodded seriously.

Three days was enough. For now, all he wanted to learn was the Summoning Technique and ways to increase his chakra reserves.

With his extensive experience, Jiraiya had of course noticed during their fight the day before that Qiuyang was short on chakra.

He pulled a scroll he had prepared in advance from inside his robes and said:

"This contains some insights I've gained about chakra control over the years. I don't know how much it'll help you, but I'm sure it'll be useful."

Qiuyang's face lit up with unconcealed delight. He solemnly accepted the scroll from Jiraiya.

"I'll study your experience carefully, sensei. Honestly, this is exactly what I've been missing. You're giving me the chance to see the world from the shoulders of a giant!"

I'm a giant? Hahaha!

Jiraiya was thrilled to receive another flattering compliment from Qiuyang. His eyes narrowed happily.

Having a student who knew how to praise him felt pretty nice—not like those other students...

"Take your time studying it and thinking it over. Now... the Summoning Technique."

A giant toad wearing a necklace with the character "loyalty" appeared in front of Qiuyang. It stuck out its tongue and placed the Summoning Scroll from its mouth in front of him.

"Now that you're a student of the Toad Sage, you'll of course sign a summoning contract with my summoned creatures."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei."

Qiuyang didn't refuse. Following Jiraiya's instructions, he bit his finger and wrote "Uchiha Qiu Yang" beside Namikaze Minato's name.

After successfully signing the contract, Jiraiya, who had been standing atop the toad's head, sat down.

"Listen up. The Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique are Boar, Dog, Rooster..."

Was he finally about to summon his first summon in the Naruto World?

Qiuyang nodded excitedly. He bit his finger, smeared the blood on his palm, formed the Hand Seals his teacher had taught him, and slapped his hand against the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"