Unseal the Seal

By now, Jiraiya had finished watching every Memory Orb except the one containing the memories formed when Naruto's soul fragment merged with another. With business out of the way, master and student began chatting about everyday things.

"Sensei, have you been alone all these years? Have you ever thought about getting married or anything?" Minato asked.

"What's the point of thinking about it? With Jiraiya-sensei's behavior, how could any woman possibly like him? If that weren't the case, Lady Tsunade wouldn't have..." The voice was quiet, but both Minato and Jiraiya heard it.

Tsunade was Jiraiya's contemporary. Along with Orochimaru, the three of them had been taken on as students by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and had practically grown up together. When Kushina brought up Tsunade, Jiraiya sank into his memories.

He still remembered the first time they met, when he introduced himself with, "I'm Jiraiya. You can give me your love letters later." Back then, Tsunade was just a flat-chested little girl.

Unlike Orochimaru, Jiraiya had been a dead-last as a child, so Tsunade often made fun of him. He would fire back, "Shut up! Your chest is as flat as a washboard." Every time he said that, Tsunade gave him a thorough beating. That was how Jiraiya came to call her "flat-chested little girl," while she called him "perverted brat."

That life went on for a long time, until Hiruzen Sarutobi began teaching the three of them the Summoning Technique. Jiraiya had never signed a contract, but when he formed the Hand Seals required for the technique, he somehow ended up at Mount Myoboku, as if guided by fate.

And so Jiraiya signed a summoning contract with Mount Myoboku and began training under its two great sages. He also met a young Gamabunta there.

After training at Mount Myoboku for three years, Jiraiya returned to Konoha. His strength had caught up with Tsunade and Orochimaru, and Tsunade was no longer the flat-chested little girl she had once been. She had grown into a fine young woman.

After returning to Konoha, the three began taking on missions together. During dangerous assignments, Jiraiya saved Tsunade from harm time and again. He didn't know when he had fallen for her, but he never told her how he felt.

After the Third Shinobi World War ended, Jiraiya met Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. Taking pity on the three of them, he accepted them as his students and stayed in Amegakure to train them.

Back in Konoha, Tsunade proposed to the Third Hokage that they establish a medical corps, so that fewer Konoha shinobi would die on the battlefield.

Naturally, the three elder advisers of Konoha opposed the idea. "Training medical ninja is no easy task. It requires a great deal of manpower and resources, and places heavy demands on the budget. Konoha's funds must be spent on more important things."

"Developing Medical Ninjutsu also takes time and money... So, no."

After her proposal was rejected, Tsunade was left distraught. Then she met Dan Katō. When he learned that her proposal to establish a medical corps had been turned down, Dan told her he supported her, which naturally delighted her.

As time went by, the two became a couple. Jiraiya, still far away in Amegakure, knew nothing about it.

Three years later, after seeing that Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan could protect themselves, Jiraiya returned to Konoha, longing for Tsunade. When he learned that she and Dan Katō were already a couple, he spent a few days training Minato, then left Konoha once again, utterly dejected.

After that, Jiraiya began his journey of healing. He had originally only enjoyed peeping, but over time he developed a taste for drinking. It was worth mentioning that although he often drank at nightclubs, he never did anything out of line.

Coming out of his reverie, Jiraiya sighed softly and murmured, "Tsunade..." All these years, he had never gone to see her. He had simply kept his longing buried in his heart.

Seeing that Jiraiya looked upset, Minato stepped forward and apologized. "I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sensei. Kushina didn't mean it that way."

Kushina knew she had said the wrong thing too, and stood to the side with an apologetic look.

Seeing this, Jiraiya said, "Now, now, it's fine. What Kushina said was true, after all."

Then Jiraiya stood up and continued, "Let's leave it here for today. I'll go out and have Naruto sign the contract."

Jiraiya's consciousness returned, and he lifted his hand from Naruto's stomach. "Naruto, your dad told me everything. I've decided to help you."

"Heh heh, Pervy Sage, I knew you'd agree to help me!" Naruto said happily.

Only then did Jiraiya realize that Naruto had been calling him Pervy Sage ever since they first met. He opened his mouth to correct him. "Naruto, I'm the Toad Sage, not the Pervy Sage."

"I know. You're Konoha's Great Hero, Mount Myoboku's Lingsu Boy, the Toad Sage. But you're still the Pervy Sage," Naruto replied with a grin.

Jiraiya had been smiling proudly at first, but when he heard the last part, his face fell. He soon gave up trying to correct Naruto and instead unrolled the scroll he had been carrying on his back.

Four names were written on it. The first two were illegible; the third was Mad Demon Jiraiya, and the fourth was Namikaze Minato.

Naruto said nothing. He bit his finger, wrote down his name, and pressed his thumbprint onto the scroll. Once Naruto had done so, Jiraiya taught him the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.

Naruto formed the Hand Seals rapidly. As soon as he completed the last one, he slapped his right hand onto the ground and channeled the spiritual energy inside him. Runes quickly spread out from beneath his palm in every direction, forming a summoning array.

With a bang, a huge figure appeared where Naruto stood. It was a toad crouched on the ground, with green skin and two great swords strapped to its back. Its forelegs were crossed in front of it. This was Gamahiro, one of the three great toads of Mount Myoboku, and Naruto was standing on his head.

As soon as he appeared, Gamahiro spotted Jiraiya standing in front of him. "Jiraiya, why'd you summon me? It doesn't look like there's a battle going on."

"I'm not the one who summoned you. It was my new student," Jiraiya replied.

Only then did Gamahiro realize there was someone standing on his head. Naruto jumped down from Gamahiro and waved at him. "Hello, Gamahiro. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, oh. If you ever need me to do something, just come find me," Gamahiro said.

"Gamahiro, go tell Old Man Fukasaku that I've taken on a new student. I'll bring him to Mount Myoboku in a few days," Jiraiya said, stepping forward.

Gamahiro nodded to show that he understood. Naruto then released the Summoning Technique, and Gamahiro disappeared from the spot.

After Gamahiro returned to Konoha, Jiraiya looked at Naruto and said, "Not bad. You've got great talent. You summoned Gamahiro on your first try."

Hearing Jiraiya praise him, Naruto scratched the back of his head bashfully.

Then Jiraiya summoned Gerotora from his body. After Minato had placed the key on Gerotora's scroll, he had Gerotora use the possession contract to attach himself to Jiraiya.

Unlike ordinary toads, Gerotora looked like a scroll rolled up into a coil.

After Gerotora appeared, Jiraiya said, "Go on, Gerotora. Give the key to Naruto, then return to Mount Myoboku." Then he told Naruto to open his mouth wide.

As Naruto watched in confusion, Gerotora quickly shrank and leaped toward his open mouth. Even after shrinking, though, he was still too large to jump straight inside.

Once inside Naruto's mouth, Gerotora crawled deeper with all his might. Naruto clutched his throat and tears streamed down his face.

At last, Gerotora successfully crawled down Naruto's throat, leaving Naruto choking and coughing.

"Now you can enter the Sealing Space and remove the seal tag, Naruto," Jiraiya said, watching him gag.

Naruto ignored the strange feeling in his throat and forced back his retching. He let his consciousness sink, and soon arrived in the Sealing Space.

Kurama had been waiting for a long time. He stood behind the massive iron gate, waiting for Naruto to arrive.

Without greeting Minato and Kushina, who stood nearby, Naruto went straight to the gate. He floated up to the keyhole where the seal tag was attached.

Naruto raised his hand and tore it off. As the seal tag fell away, the lock quickly retracted. Naruto pushed hard, and the massive iron gate that had sealed Kurama away for so long disappeared. Kurama let out an excited roar.

After the roar, Kurama quickly came up to Naruto and raised his right paw.

Seeing Kurama reach out to him, Naruto grinned and raised his right hand too. As his hand met Kurama's paw, Naruto's consciousness swiftly returned to his body. Kurama's spiritual energy connected with Naruto's, and since Naruto had far less spiritual energy than Kurama, Kurama's energy poured into him nonstop.

As Kurama's spiritual energy flowed into Naruto's chakra vortex and spread throughout his body, Naruto began to change. His entire body turned golden, his pupils became cross-shaped, and markings appeared around his eyes. His spiritual energy formed a cloak over his body. A black circle appeared over his heart, and strange patterns spread from it across his body. Four black spheres appeared behind him, but vanished almost immediately.

Naruto had absorbed Asura after devouring the soul fragment. Once he had absorbed him, Naruto had awakened the Sage Body. As a result, he and Kurama were now using Sage Fox Mode.

The Sage Body was essentially a spiritual body. The spiritual energy Naruto had awakened mainly increased his training speed, while providing only a slight boost to his attacks.

Jiraiya's Sage Mode, on the other hand, involved absorbing spiritual energy to temporarily turn his body into an offensive spiritual form. That was why his attack power increased several times over when he entered Sage Mode.