Naruto is Truly Suited for Summoning Toads

Sasuke looked down at the small tears in his clothes caused by the wind of the punch.

The chakra that had exploded from Sakura's fist was still making the fabric over his chest quiver.

The speed of this girl's progress was abnormal; it was no longer within the realm of what could be explained by hard work.

She was incredibly talented!

"Sasuke-kun! It's not over yet!"

Sakura didn't give him a moment to catch his breath, lunging at him once more.

Two kunai flashed in her hands, alternating strikes; her left hand slashed diagonally toward his throat, while her right hand gripped a kunai in reverse to stab at his ribs.

The angles of her attacks were more devious than before; she had calculated his blind spots with precision.

He took a half-step back with his right foot, simultaneously channeling the black cursed energy within his meridians downward.

The shadow beneath his feet surged, and a massive beastly claw with broad, thick-knuckled fingers emerged from the darkness.

It began to slowly wrap around Sasuke's limbs, giving him the appearance of a werewolf.

Jade Dog, partial manifestation.

Sakura's kunai suddenly swung through empty air, hitting nothing but the dust kicked up by her high-speed movement.

Where?!

With the claws of the Jade Dog, Sasuke's speed and power had undergone a qualitative change.

In the instant he side-stepped, he had already circled half a step behind Sakura.

The phantom claw on his right hand opened and hooked onto the collar of Sakura's neck.

Just as Sakura reacted and tried to turn, her collar was yanked upward by a tremendous force.

Sakura hung in mid-air, her fist still raised before her chest, the inertia of the impact causing her ponytail to whip forward over her shoulder.

Sasuke held her by the collar, the dark shadow of the Jade Dog's claw on his right hand reflecting against the skin of her cheek.

Naruto stood on the sidelines, his mouth hanging open in a wide circle.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest, her brows furrowed tightly.

Since when did Forehead become this strong?

That chakra burst, that speed of hand seals, that Water Style... She subconsciously looked down at her own hands, then clenched them into fists before relaxing.

"Hey, Forehead, who taught you that technique of concentrating chakra into your fist?" Ino shouted.

Suspended in mid-air, Sakura's cheeks flushed slightly, but she answered truthfully upon hearing Ino's question: "No one taught me. I figured it out myself by reading books on medical ninjutsu."

The expression on Ino's face twisted.

Figured it out herself? Was this kind of thing something you could just think up on your own?

Sasuke loosened his fingers and gently set Sakura down on the ground.

The dark phantom claw on his hand slowly retracted into the shadows, and he brushed the sand off his shoulder, looking at Sakura.

"Fast progress."

"Really?" Sakura's eyes lit up, her hands unconsciously clasping together in front of her chest.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded.

Just then, a hearty burst of laughter suddenly rang out from above the training ground wall.

"Hahahaha! Good! Good! Youth is truly wonderful!"

The laughter came from atop the training ground wall, causing everyone to look up in the direction of the sound.

A tall, burly man was squatting on the bricks at the very top of the wall.

He had a mane of white hair reaching his waist that looked like an exploded lion's mane, a forehead protector with the character for "oil" engraved on it, and red face paint running from the corners of his eyes down to his cheekbones.

He wore a bizarre red and green jacket and stepped in a pair of wooden clogs.

Anko Mitarashi hurriedly stuffed all the dango in her hand into her mouth and swallowed, her hands dropping to her sides as she leaned forward slightly, her tone filled with shock.

"Lord Jiraiya?!"

Jiraiya jumped down from the wall.

His physique could be described as incredibly robust, two sizes larger than an average person.

He stood straight, his gaze sweeping across the training ground before finally landing on Anko.

"Oh? It's Anko." Jiraiya scratched his messy hair at the back of his head and grinned. "Long time no see. You look like you've lost some weight?"

Anko's mouth twitched; she didn't know whether to answer that she had or hadn't.

Naruto pointed at Jiraiya and shouted loudly: "Who are you, old man! Laughing so disgustingly!"

Jiraiya pointed a finger in Naruto's direction: "Not an old man, I am the Toad Sage! One of the legendary Sannin, the Mad Ghost Jiraiya himself!"

He struck an incredibly flamboyant pose, one foot planted on a stone pedestal, his left hand on his hip, and his right thumb pointing at his own face.

Naruto narrowed his eyes into slits and pulled the corners of his mouth down. "Toad Sage? What a tacky name. Sasuke, have you ever heard of it?"

"He just said it, didn't he? One of the Sannin, Jiraiya," Sasuke said.

Naruto froze, then turned his head to look Jiraiya up and down, carefully and thoroughly.

"For real? This lecherous old man? That white hair of his is hideous."

Jiraiya took his foot off the stone pedestal, a faint glimmer of chakra surfacing in the depths of his pupils.

The Nine-Tails jinchuriki...

Is that so? So he is...

Anko Mitarashi shook her head. "Rest assured, Lord Jiraiya is a legendary ninja of the highest caliber. He is incredibly powerful."

Upon learning that the man was a powerhouse, Naruto was naturally excited.

But he immediately suppressed that excitement, crossed his arms over his chest, and turned his face away, feigning disdain.

"Never heard of him."

Jiraiya's smile froze on his face.

"Kid, you've never heard of Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin?"

"Sannin? Are they that impressive?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath.

"Kid, I'll teach you a super powerful Summoning Jutsu. Do you want to learn it?"

"With the Summoning Jutsu, you can summon giant toads to help you. Want to learn?"

Naruto's arms, which had been crossed over his chest, slowly loosened. "Summoning Jutsu? Toads?"

"Just like Sasuke's dogs, toads can help you fight!" Jiraiya patted his chest.

Naruto's head couldn't help but nod several times.

Then, suddenly realizing he had agreed too quickly, he hurriedly straightened his face, but the corners of his mouth, which he couldn't suppress, completely betrayed his true thoughts.

Jiraiya laughed, bit his right thumb, and slammed his palm onto the ground with his fingers pressed together. Black sealing patterns spread out from his palm. "Summoning Jutsu!"

White smoke exploded. A half-human-sized green toad appeared at Jiraiya's feet, bulging its eyes as it looked around.

"What is this thing?" Naruto stared at the toad.

White Dog jumped down from the stone pedestal, walked up to the toad, tilted his head to examine it, and then burst into a fit of extremely loud laughter.

"Pfft—hahahaha! You aren't really going to be stuck summoning giant toads from now on, are you?"

Naruto's face flushed red. "Shut up, you stinking dog! What's wrong with toads? As long as the toad is big enough, it's just as useful as your dog fangs!"

Jiraiya looked at White Dog in confusion, then back at Naruto. "What's wrong with toads? Toads are great. This guy is from Mount Myoboku—"

"Naruto, Sasuke, remember to go to the academy to pick up next week's schedule after training ends." Anko interrupted Jiraiya and walked up to him to bow.

"Lord Jiraiya, why have you come to a place like this?"

"Sarutobi asked me to come and take a look at Sasuke Uchiha."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, his gaze drifting past Anko to land on Naruto, who was staring eye-to-eye with the toad, and the two dogs beside the toad that were rolling on the ground with laughter.

"It seems there are some new things that interest me even more now."