Naruto Really Was Suited to Summoning Toads

Sasuke lowered his eyes to the few small tears the force of the punch had ripped into his clothes.

The chakra that had burst from Sakura's punch had left the fabric over his chest trembling slightly.

Her progress was abnormally fast. Hard work alone couldn't explain it.

She was talented!

"Sasuke-kun! We're not done yet!"

Sakura didn't give him a moment to catch his breath before charging at him again.

She alternated between slashing with the two kunai in her hands: her left hand struck diagonally toward his throat, while her right hand held a kunai in reverse grip and thrust it toward his ribs.

Her attack angles were even trickier than before. She'd calculated the blind spots precisely.

He stepped back half a pace with his right foot while channeling the black Cursed Energy within him down through his meridians.

The shadow beneath his feet began to churn. A huge beast's paw emerged from it, its broad back covered in shadow and its knuckles thick.

Then it slowly wound around Sasuke's hands and feet, giving him a somewhat wolf-like appearance.

Jade Dog: Partial Manifestation.

Sakura's kunai suddenly cut through empty air. Where it had struck, there was nothing but sand kicked up by her rapid movement.

Where was he?!

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

In the instant he dodged to the side, he had already moved half a step behind Sakura.

The phantom claws on his right hand spread open and caught the collar at the back of Sakura's neck.

Sakura had just realized what was happening and started to turn around when a tremendous force lifted her by the collar.

Sakura hung in midair, her fists still raised in front of her chest. The momentum of her charge sent her ponytail swinging over her shoulder.

Sasuke held her by the collar, the shadowy Jade Dog claws covering his right hand reflected on the skin of her cheek.

Naruto stood at the edge of the training ground with his mouth hanging open in a huge O.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest, brows drawn together.

Since when had Forehead such incredible skills?

That chakra burst, that speed with Hand Seals, that Water Release... She instinctively looked down at her hands, then clenched her fists and relaxed them again.

"Hey, Forehead! Who taught you that trick for concentrating chakra in your fists?" Ino called.

Sakura hung in midair, her cheeks faintly red. Still, she answered honestly when she heard Ino's question. "Nobody taught me. I figured it out myself by reading books on Medical Ninjutsu."

Ino's expression twisted.

She'd figured it out herself? Could someone really come up with something like that on their own?

Sasuke released his fingers and gently set Sakura down.

The shadowy claws on his hand slowly sank back into the darkness. He brushed the sand off his shoulder and looked at Sakura.

"You've improved quickly."

"Really?" Sakura's eyes lit up, and she instinctively clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded.

Just then, a hearty laugh suddenly came from above the training ground's wall.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Good! Excellent! Youth is wonderful!"

The laughter rang out from above the wall, and everyone looked up toward the sound.

A tall, burly man crouched on the topmost row of bricks.

His waist-length white hair fanned out like a lion's mane. He wore a Forehead Protector bearing the character for "oil," and a pair of red markings ran from the corners of his eyes down to his cheekbones.

He wore a strange red-and-green jacket and a pair of wooden sandals.

Mitaraishi Anko hurriedly stuffed all the dango in her hands into her mouth and swallowed them. She let her hands fall to her sides, leaned forward slightly, and exclaimed in shock,

"Lord Jiraiya?!"

Jiraiya jumped down from the wall.

He was incredibly muscular, built a couple of sizes larger than an ordinary man.

He straightened up, swept his gaze around the training ground, and finally settled it on Anko.

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

Anko's mouth twitched. She didn't know whether to say she had or hadn't.

Naruto pointed at Jiraiya and shouted, "Hey, old man! Who are you? Why are you laughing so creepily?"

Jiraiya pointed in Naruto's direction. "I'm no old man. I'm the Toad Sage! One of the legendary Sannin, the Wild Ghost Jiraiya!"

He struck an outrageously dramatic pose, planting one foot on a stone block, resting his left hand on his hip, and pointing his right thumb at his own face.

Naruto narrowed his eyes to slits and turned down the corners of his mouth. "Toad Sage? What a lame name. Sasuke, have you heard of him?"

"He just said he's Jiraiya, one of the Sannin," Sasuke said.

Naruto froze, then turned and took a good, long look at Jiraiya again.

"Seriously? That creepy old man? His white hair is so ugly."

A faint layer of chakra light appeared deep in Jiraiya's eyes.

The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki...

So he was the one...

Mitaraishi Anko shook her head. "Don't worry. Lord Jiraiya is a genuine legendary ninja. He's incredibly strong."

Now that Naruto knew the other man was powerful, he was naturally excited.

But he quickly forced down his excitement, crossed his arms, and turned away, putting on a look of disdain.

"Never heard of him."

Jiraiya's smile froze on his face.

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

"The Sannin? Are they impressive?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath.

"Kid, I'll teach you an incredibly powerful Summoning Technique. Do you want to learn?"

"With the Summoning Technique, you can summon a huge toad to help you. Want to learn?"

Naruto's arms slowly loosened from their crossed position. "Summoning Technique? Toads?"

"Just like those dogs Sasuke has, toads can help you fight!" Jiraiya thumped his chest.

Naruto's head was already nodding uncontrollably.

Then he suddenly realized he'd agreed too quickly and hurriedly put on a stern expression again. But the corners of his mouth, which he couldn't keep from rising, gave away what he really thought.

Jiraiya burst out laughing, bit his right thumb, brought his fingers together, and slapped his palm against the ground. Black Cursed Technique markings spread out from his palm. "Summoning Technique!"

White smoke burst open. A green toad half a person tall appeared at Jiraiya's feet and looked around with bulging eyes.

"What's that thing?" Naruto stared at the toad.

White Dog jumped down from the stone block and walked up to the toad, tilting his head as he examined it. Then he burst into loud laughter.

"Pfft—ha ha ha! You're not really going to be stuck summoning huge toads, are you?"

Naruto's face flushed red. "You stupid dog, shut up! What's wrong with toads? If they're big enough, they're just as useful as your dog teeth!"

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

"Naruto, Sasuke, remember to pick up next week's class schedule at the Academy after training," Anko interrupted Jiraiya, stepping in front of him and bowing.

"Lord Jiraiya, what brings you here?"

"Teacher Sarutobi asked me to check on Sasuke Uchiha."

Jiraiya scratched the hair at the back of his head. His gaze passed over Anko and landed on Naruto, who was staring wide-eyed at the toad, and Sasuke's two dogs, who were rolling around laughing beside it.

"Now that I'm here, though, there are some new things I'm even more interested in."