Jiraiya knew Naruto was nervous, but that was exactly what he wanted.
Naruto was the type who wouldn't realize his full potential unless he was pushed to his limits.
So, he needed a little outside pressure.
And Sasuke was the perfect candidate.
As long as Sasuke was involved, Naruto would get fired up.
Jiraiya didn't plan to give Naruto much time to prepare. He also knew Naruto hadn't rested well last night, but he had no intention of reminding him.
If you're nervous, then be nervous—that's exactly what I want.
Go for it, Naruto. You won't let us down.
"Y-Yes, Grandpa Jiraiya!"
Nodding nervously, Naruto took a deep breath and started forming hand seals.
But just from his technique, Tsunade was already shaking her head.
He was way too unskilled. There was no comparison between him and Sasuke.
When it came to using summoning jutsu, Naruto had already lost.
With how clumsy his hand seals were, in an actual battle, the enemy could interrupt him countless times.
Even if he managed to summon a powerful beast, it would be useless if he couldn't execute the technique properly.
Enemies weren't fools. They wouldn't just stand there politely and wait for him to finish his jutsu.
Because of his nerves, Naruto's hands were shaking, making his hand seals even harder and slower.
The only good news was that despite the slow and shaky movements, at least he hadn't messed up the order.
After just one summoning jutsu, Naruto was already drenched in sweat from nerves.
What are you up to?
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a look, signaling him to explain. Jiraiya scratched his head and gestured for her to be patient and just watch.
"Boom!!"
The summoning jutsu finally worked—though painfully slow, clumsy, and looking like a mistake was bound to happen at any moment.
But in the end, Naruto still managed to pull it off.
As the smoke cleared, a toad appeared on the ground.
A fairly big toad, about the size of a millstone.
Why me?
The toad Naruto summoned looked completely resigned.
Jiraiya had already contacted Mount Myoboku beforehand, but none of the toads there wanted to deal with Naruto.
So, they kept passing the responsibility around until one unlucky toad got picked.
"You're Naruto, huh?"
The summoned toad, Gamakichi, was about to say something when suddenly, it jumped up in shock, leaping right next to Naruto.
It stared nervously at Aoda beside Sasuke.
"Damn it! You guys never mentioned there'd be a snake here!!
And of all things, it had to be a snake—Toads hate snakes the most!!!"
The snakes of Ryuchi Cave and the toads of Mount Myoboku were basically sworn enemies.
The snakes loved sneaking into Mount Myoboku to eat toads, which had caused endless tension between the two sides.
"Oh, great, he summoned an idiot toad."
Jiraiya raised his hand and smacked his forehead, already sensing trouble.
"Naruto, Jiraiya, since you're bending the rules and helping Naruto out, you better make sure I stay safe.
I, Gamakichi, am not a battle toad!"
Seeing Aoda, Gamakichi started shouting in panic.
Jiraiya slumped over, his arms hanging loosely at his sides.
At this point, he was completely speechless.
No one even needed to guess anymore—Gamakichi had already blurted out the truth himself.
Well, this is interesting.
Yan chuckled silently.
Tsunade, veins popping on her forehead, shot a furious glare at Jiraiya.
Look at what you've done. Do you even realize how much of a psychological blow this is for the kid?
If you're going to cheat, at least plan it properly first!
Is this really how you do things?!
Some things never change. Even at his age, Jiraiya was still as unreliable as ever.
"Cheating... What do you mean?"
Naruto didn't quite understand.
Sasuke, in his usual cold tone, replied:
"It means they set it up so you could summon a toad without actually doing it properly."
"....."
Sasuke's explanation sent Naruto's heart crashing to rock bottom.
Just moments ago, he had been overjoyed to see himself summon a big toad.
But before he could even celebrate, Gamakichi got scared of Aoda, blurted out the truth, and completely exposed Jiraiya.
Did I say something wrong?
At this moment, Gamakichi finally realized something was off.
Aoda didn't seem to want to hurt him but was just staring at him with his vertical pupils, like he was looking at food.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Jiraiya's expressions…
Oh no, he let something slip. He was definitely going to get beaten up when he got back.
"Uh… I just remembered I have something to do at home. I need to go find the Mother Toad. You guys carry on, don't mind me…"
Having caused a huge mess, Gamakichi didn't know how to clean it up. He quickly decided to bail. With a *poof*, he disappeared right in front of everyone.
"..."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, wanting to comfort Naruto, but Naruto just kept his head down, completely silent. He didn't even look angry.
This wasn't good.
"Do you still want to continue?"
Noticing something was off with Naruto, Sasuke frowned and asked.
Yan stepped forward and patted Naruto on the shoulder.
"I remember you said you wouldn't lose to Sasuke. Besides, is losing to Sasuke really that embarrassing?
Not being able to accept defeat is the real problem.
So keep going. Even if all you summon is a little tadpole or a tiny frog, it still means you're improving."
Hopefully, this wouldn't push Naruto over the edge.
Well, you wanted to play with fire. Now you're getting burned.
Jiraiya smiled bitterly, unable to say a word.
"I won't lose."
Naruto clenched his fists, lifted his head, and started forming seals again.
"Hey, brat, do you really need someone to cheat for you just to use a summoning jutsu?"
"Hahaha…"
Inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tails kept mocking Naruto.
Especially when it noticed Naruto's emotions were all over the place. That made it even happier.
Because when Naruto's emotions fluctuated wildly, it had a better chance of escaping the seal.
"Hahaha, go on, brat. Use my chakra to finish this fight. Don't you really want to beat Sasuke?"
Mocking him, then tempting him—Nine-Tails even generously offered its chakra to Naruto.
Naruto, already at his lowest, didn't care anymore. He just kept gathering chakra from within, completely ignoring where it was coming from.
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