*Thud*
"Ow," I mutter, hitting the floor. It wasn't really painful, but at that point, it was more for the sentiment. The fresh air and atmosphere of Mt Myoboku hit me as the familiar large lily pads were in front of me.
They were honking huge.
Just a few meters away was a familiar toad who was five times my size, who was chilling by a lakeside. He seemed to have grown a little, which made sense, considering the size of his future son.
And comparing it to how Naruto and Gamaken grew over time.
"Well, if it isn't my summoner," Gamabunta grunted, turning to me. "You're here a bit too early to beat- train."
I smirked. "My Chunin exams are coming up, and I wanted to get stronger. So what would be better to discuss some stuff with my amazing personal summon?"
Gamabunta's eye shifted, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "Flattery doesn't suit you, brat. Spit it out."
"I've been thinking. Every boss needs his goons, right? You can't always be the one to fight the weaker opponents. You're the leader, the big man boss." My words put a smirk on his face.
He huffed in amusement, now paying full attention.
"Hmm, what are you trying to say?"
"Think about it. Getting into a fight and you have you're own squad of fighters next to you. Your own minions. Do you know anybody we could convince to join my personal summon list, as I can't sign the main scroll yet?"
Now this he liked.
"Hahah! Now that's something!" After Gamabunta's words, there was a long pause. Then he laughed a second time, even sounding a little giddy, a sound that made the ground tremble.
"Alright, alright. You've got me curious. There are some toads who might fit what you're talking about. "
I perked up immediately. "Really?"
"Yeah," Gamabunta said, tapping his chin with one massive finger. "Gamahiro's busy with his own training. But there's one who might listen."
"Who?"
"Gamaken," the chief replied. "Not the strongest fighter, but solid. He's more on the smart side and focuses on defense. Carries a weird mace and shield. Says he's clumsy, but he's dependable."[1]
A defensive toad?
Sign me the hell up!
'Was this one of the three boss summons Naruto had in the pain fight? I only remember the aqua-marine dude with dual-wielding swords. It might be the guy with a large plate as a shield. He was handing out belts to ass against the dog summons...'
"That's perfect! I could use someone like that for the exams."
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Gamabunta points out. "He's shy. You'll have to convince him to even talk to you."
"Then lead the way," I said, with a fire in my eyes.
You think I won't try my best to convince him?
Gamabunta stared at me for a small moment, smoke curling from his pipe. Then he exhaled and pushed himself up from the rock, his bulk shaking the moss and trees around us. "You really are a stubborn brat. Fine. Let's go."
[Body Flicker]
And in an instant, I was on his back.
"It's time to go recruit goon number one!"
"Hahah! We'll need more goons in the future. But I'd say Gamaken is a good first pick brat."
The toad barked a laugh, his mood softening. The path curved downward, leading toward a wide basin where faint hammering echoed in the distance.
I could already see a figure practicing swings against stone pillars, each impact ringing across the clearing.
*Boom!*
A Sasumata would swing down straight into a stone pillar, and a few seconds after the combat. An explosion would come from the weapon like an explosion tag.
'Is that explosion release?' A weird thought hit my
Gamabunta nodded toward him. "That's Gamaken. Try not to scare him off."
Me scare him off?
Are we being for real?
Gamaken stood in the clearing, his red skin glistening with a large shield-like plate on his back. Each swing of his sasumata struck a stone pillar, sending vibrations through the air.
When he noticed Gamabunta's massive silhouette emerging from the fog, his movements stopped immediately.
"Hello there!" Gamaken said in his deep but nervous voice, almost shouting his last word. Watching him lower his weapon, I stare. "Did I… do something wrong?"
Gamabunta let out a low chuckle. "Nah, you're fine. Got someone here who wants to meet you."
[Body Flicker]
"Oh! It's a human, I've heard one was able to sign a contract with you, Gamabunta." Hearing him go from nervous to shocked, back to nervous. Some sweat goes down my face. Were these mood swings?
Gamabunta rumbled in amusement. "He's my new summoner. Says he wants to make you one of his contracts."
The words made Gamaken pause in shock.
"Yo! What the big guy said behind me."
Gamaken blinked, taken aback. "A-Are you sure? Someone as clumsy and ungraceful as me as a personal summon..."
"Hey! I don't care how bad you do, the only thing that matters is that you try. So don't doubt yourself. The name's Jiraiya. You?"
"My n-name is Gamaken. If you so want, then this clumsy toad will be your summon!" His spirit seemed to be recovering after my words. This put a wide smile on my face.
He convinced himself...
"Hehe." Laughing quietly to myself, I look over at Gamabunta, who gave me a thumbs up.
'Goon number one recruited!'
Gamaken hesitated, looking toward Gamabunta. "Don't worry, he's a bit weird like that."
With him now in agreement, we headed back to Fukasaku and got him to sign a contract. The same one that Gamabunta signed, which made me extremely giddy.
An offensive summon with the future chief toad.
And a future boss summon Gamaken, who focuses on defense.
Quite literally the dream.
We spent the next hour testing Gamaken's abilities. The toad demonstrated his defensive techniques, raising his round, plate-like shield to block incoming water bullets from Gamabunta.
The sheer strength behind the impacts shattered the rocks beneath his feet, yet Gamaken stayed firm.
"Do you know a ninjutsu to make toad oil?"
"Hmm? Yeah, why?"
"Let's do a combination technique with my fire release!"
[Body Flicker]
Getting on top of the huge toad, we soon coordinated.
Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger
[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique]
Before I could spit out the fire, Gamabunta already exhaled. Releasing a torrent of oil which made my jutsu come a whole three seconds after his. Watching the fire move like a straight bullet.
*Roar*
It looked more like an enhanced flame bullet rather than a combination...
"Damn brat, why are you so slow?"
"Man..." I sigh, not wanting to fuel the flames.
Taking a breather and regaining myself, it was time for the second attempt. Thankfully, it went better as I prepared my hand seals faster and waited.
Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger
[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique]
A split second after Gamabunta released the toad oil, my fire hit it as the constant stream of both fire and oil started to morph. Becoming a large flame that was hotter and more potent than the combination with Orochimaru.
*ROARR!*
"Now that's not too bad!" Gamabunta huffs out.
I, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear.
I've managed to get a few more tricks up my sleeve today. Gamaken is a defensive beast who can deflect ninjutsu, but was also a brawler in the end. Plus, the addition of combination techniques with Gamabunta.
Today was a harvest!
...
The next day, I was walking through the streets of Konoha.
My goal?
To shop for some items. Potentially finding something that could help me in the exams as well.
"Mommy I want to go play!"
"Dude you completed a B-rank mission? Woah!"
"I'm broke..."
Entering the shop, I started to look around.
There were wires, ration pills, and shuriken sets. My savings are currently pretty large, so such things like a couple of shuriken wouldn't dent my savings. A few things did interest me, though.
'Ration pills and explosion tags.'
Shikamaru Nara abused the hell out of the latter with his rich heir syndrome.
The more I think about it, the crazier some of his fights were. Especially with Hidan and some movie I don't particularly remember. He quite literally had a library of those things just in his pocket somewhere.
The secret stash.
Taking a few sets of Ration pills, the explosion tags were a bit expensive, but I bought five. One to test out, one to keep on me, and the other three tied up to some kunai.
It's quite the one-hit kill if it's close.
'Proof is Nawaki...'
So in the end, not a bad pickup if I say so myself.
At some point in the exams, I need to show off a bit, maybe a combination technique with Gamabunta, if it's safe, wouldn't be too bad. That's why these ration pills could be pretty useful, other than you know.
Giving me chakra when I'm low in a fight.
"Thank you for shopping here." Taking my items from the man, I put them on my pouch.
With this, I started walking to the training grounds. This took a few minutes before the sight of Hiruzen standing on top of the lake caught my eye. Currently, he has made a few shadow clones.
Teaching us each separately it would be more effective than together.
"Ready?" He asks, not even starting with a hello. No greetings, just straight into fights..
Well, I guess it's Konoha's number on the rule.
Never duck a fade.
"Yup," I said, walking to the lake, then dropping into a stance.
The fight began in a blur, and I appeared behind him.
[Body Flicker]
Sending a jab right to his chest, he suddenly disappears. The feeling of a kick to my right sends me flying to the water. Thankfully, my chakra control kept me on top and not sinking down.
Sensei, however, did not let me rest.
In an instant, he appeared in front of me, a low leg kick, aiming for my ankle. Twisted on all fours, pivoting on my palms and snapping my left leg up in a crescent kick.
*Smack*
He blocked with his forearm, the impact sending a shudder up my bones. Before he could counter, I closed the distance, my knee flashing toward his ribs. Hiruzen, seeing this, used his hand to deflect the hit.
'Damn. Am I really getting better if he's just speed blitzing all my attacks?'
I didn't let up. My hands shot forward, one feinting for his collar, the other going for his head. The old man leaned back just in time, his eyes glinting with faint amusement even as I pressed in with another knee, then a short elbow from the clinch.
He slipped free effortlessly, pivoting, his fists snapping in a flurry of jabs and palm strikes.
Each blow was useless as my stamina was starting to wane.
I ducked under a rising fist, rolled with a sweep to the side, flickering mid-motion to reappear behind him. In an instant after the flicker, his hand was already at my face, giving me a knuckle sandwich.
*Wham!*
"Using the [Body Flicker] is a great idea," he said with a grin. "But your follow-through after is sloppy, Jiraiya."
"There are three solutions. One is to increase your taijutsu speed. If your reactions match your flicker, it could work. Two, slow your flicker slightly, so your body can keep pace. Or three…"
Before he finished his final words.
A kick straight to my solar plexus hit the air out of my lungs.
"Ugh!"
Unable to focus, my body immediately started to sink into the lake. Not before Sensei grabbed me, though.
"Lightning Release," His lips curved faintly. "Let's call this spar over."
'Spar, my ass.' I thought still feeling that kick.
He led me toward a small clearing and plucked a single leaf from a tree. "Channel lightning into this until it crumples. You still have a month left until the Chunin exams."
Putting his hands in his own pouch, Sensei pulls out a scroll.
*Poof*
Which let out even more scrolls. Watching this, he hands me the leaf exercise for the lightning exercise.
[Leaf Crumpling Exercise]
"Sensei, is it alright if you can get someone who's at least my level to spar in Taijutsu?" I ask. "It's definitely a better experience for the Chunin exams."
Sensei, hearing my reasoning, rubs his chin in thought.
"Sure, did you have any thoughts on who to spar with?"
[1] Just wanna say, Gamaken my favourite toad.