As for Manda being gone, Orochimaru didn't care at all.
If he wanted, he could just sign a contract with another snake.
Besides, like Yan said, Manda wasn't much help anymore anyway.
Even getting another summon wouldn't really make a difference.
"Brat…"
After Yan and Orochimaru left, Manda's massive eyes gleamed with a green light.
Just as it started to have second thoughts, its soul trembled again.
Manda immediately went quiet.
Damn it!!
How did it end up being controlled by some kid?!
Being under Yan's control was one thing—Yan was unbelievably strong and could kill it with ease.
Even if Manda was unhappy, it had no choice but to obey.
But Sasuke? That was hard to accept.
Unfortunately, it didn't matter how it felt. Unless it wanted to die or suffer even more, it had no choice but to listen.
"Even though the elder can control you, I hope we can get along peacefully."
"Unless absolutely necessary, I won't summon you, and I won't offer you any sacrifices."
"Remember your promise, Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke had no intention of forcing it to obey or summoning it all the time, which made Manda feel relieved.
Given the situation, this was already the best outcome Manda could hope for.
With that, Manda left.
Sasuke didn't mind. Compared to a reluctant Manda, he would rather train Aoda.
Even though Aoda was still just a baby snake and needed time to grow.
That said, a summon like Manda could be useful as a last resort.
After all, its sheer power could help him deal with problems he wouldn't be able to solve otherwise.
"What? You want me to fight Sasuke tomorrow?"
When Naruto heard this from Jiraiya, he jumped up in shock.
"What are you thinking? I can only summon tadpoles right now! How am I supposed to fight Sasuke?!"
Naruto couldn't help but imagine himself using the Summoning Jutsu, only for a tiny tadpole or small frog to appear.
Then, Sasuke would look at him with cold, disappointed eyes and say arrogantly, "Pathetic."
Ahhhh!!!
No way! No way! He absolutely couldn't let that happen!
"What are you afraid of? Do you really think you're weaker than Sasuke?"
Jiraiya tried to provoke him.
"Of course not! There's no way I'd lose to Sasuke! I just… I just…"
Naruto talked big, but deep down, he wasn't so sure.
He had to admit that Sasuke was more talented than him, especially when it came to learning ninjutsu.
When it came to that, he couldn't even compare to Sasuke.
Competing against him in Summoning Jutsu? That was just asking for trouble.
"Heh, don't worry, I won't let you embarrass yourself too much. Just do your best, kid."
Jiraiya chuckled and encouraged Naruto.
In reality, he had already spoken with the toads of Mount Myoboku in secret. Tomorrow, they would cut Naruto some slack and help him summon something decent.
His goal was to push Naruto to improve, not crush his confidence.
Letting him summon a toad the size of a small house wasn't too much, right?
Maybe it would even boost his self-esteem.
Most importantly, the toads of Mount Myoboku could bend the rules a little. The snakes of Ryuchi Cave, on the other hand, wouldn't.
Those cold-blooded creatures wouldn't make exceptions, not even for Orochimaru.
With Naruto's chakra reserves, as long as he tried hard enough, summoning a strong toad was definitely possible. Orochimaru, you're going to lose for sure!
Jiraiya didn't believe Naruto would be defeated that easily.
He also didn't think Orochimaru would dare let Sasuke summon Manda. Even if Sasuke had enough chakra to pull it off, Manda wasn't the type to just obey orders.
Who knows? The moment it appeared, it might turn against him.
If you compared Sasuke and Naruto in every aspect, Sasuke might have the upper hand.
But when it came to raw chakra and sheer determination, Naruto had him beat.
Sasuke lacked that unshakable spirit Naruto had.
As for chakra, there was no helping it. The Uzumaki and Senju clans naturally had massive chakra reserves.
The Uchiha weren't weak in that regard, but they still couldn't match those two clans.
Fortunately for Sasuke, while his chakra wasn't on Naruto's level, it was enough to summon Manda.
After all, Manda would respond voluntarily rather than being summoned by force.
Forcing a summoning without permission requires a huge amount of chakra.
In the original story, Naruto was thrown into a ravine by Jiraiya. The first time he summoned Gamabunta, it was because he used a massive amount of Nine-Tails' chakra.
Before gaining the summoned beast's approval, trying to summon a powerful and gigantic beast depends on its mood—whether it feels like responding to you or not.
Sasuke was able to summon Manda easily because Manda willingly cooperated, wanting a sacrifice in return.
Without that factor, even if the summoning succeeded, Sasuke would've been completely drained.
"Ahhhh! Jiraiya, why are you doing this?! This is so frustrating! I'm so nervous!!"
Naruto was afraid of losing to Sasuke.
But now that Jiraiya had brought it up and both of them had agreed, backing out wasn't an option. Otherwise, he'd be laughed at.
"I have to work hard. I know I can do this."
After messing around in frustration for a bit, Naruto forced himself to focus and kept trying the summoning technique.
Luckily, he had plenty of chakra, so he could practice without holding back. If it were Kakashi instead…
He probably would've been lying on the ground foaming at the mouth by now.
The next morning, Jiraiya dragged Naruto out of bed while he was still half-asleep.
He had stayed up until late at night practicing, so now he had dark circles under his eyes and looked completely drained.
Yan arrived early at the Hokage's office, only to find that Tsunade was already at her desk.
But she was dozing off, her head nodding up and down.
She had worked until late last night and ended up sleeping in the Hokage office's resting room.
Then, first thing in the morning, Jiraiya woke her up, saying he wanted to watch Naruto and Sasuke's match. She was so angry she wanted to kick him into next week.
"This early?"
Munching on some breakfast he bought from a street vendor, Yan looked at Tsunade in surprise. "It's rare to see you up this early."
"Yeah, right! It's all that idiot Jiraiya's fault! He woke up Shizune at the crack of dawn, then came for me, rambling about watching Naruto and Sasuke's fight. I'm beyond pissed!"
"I swear I'm gonna bash his stupid head in!!"
Fuming, Tsunade slammed the table and kept shouting.
"..."
Poor guy. Yan shook his head slightly. Sleep-deprived women are terrifying.
Hopefully, Jiraiya wouldn't actually get beaten to death.
After silently praying for Jiraiya for three seconds, Yan finished his breakfast and said to Tsunade,
"Well, since we're going to watch, let's go together."
"You didn't bring breakfast for me?"
After all her ranting, Tsunade finally realized Yan hadn't gotten her anything to eat.
"Why the hell would I? How was I supposed to know you'd be up this early?"
"Just grab something on the way. Let's go."
"Damn that Jiraiya! I swear I'm gonna kick him into next week!!"
"Shizune, what are you standing around for? Go buy breakfast! We're going to watch the fun."
"Wait, I'll have Izumi come along too."
Yan and Tsunade both decided to bring their assistants along to the training grounds. The more people, the more fun.
Izumi, of course, was happy to join. She excitedly followed Yan and Tsunade, ready to watch the show.
[Mountains and rivers… Handsome guy, give us some electricity! Mwah mwah!]
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