Seeing this, Minato didn't hesitate and immediately signed his contract with Mount Myoboku.
Finally, seeing that Tsunade and Jiraiya had finished their introductions, Orochimaru also spoke to Nawaki.
"What I possess is the summoning contract for Ryuchi Cave, which I found after overcoming countless difficulties. The cave is home to thousands of snakes, all under the control of the White Snake Sage. Some of these snakes are enormous and can directly assist you in battle, while others are smaller but possess potent venom. In short, they are all very aggressive."
"However," Orochimaru shook his head, his golden eyes narrowing slightly, "compared to Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest, these snakes have very unpleasant personalities. They might not be willing to help you, and even if they do, you might have to pay an additional price."
"Take Manda, who I frequently summon, for example. Every time I call upon him, I have to give him the corpses of enemies to devour, or he'll just eat the opposing ninja himself. Sometimes, he even disobeys my commands," Orochimaru said, a rare hint of helplessness in his voice. "This is when my strength is comparable to his. If your strength is weaker than theirs, even if you summon them, they might directly turn on you, the summoner."
However, he added, "There are a great many snakes in Ryuchi Cave, and it's a vast place. I haven't encountered all of them, so there might also be some with milder temperaments."
Nawaki was truly hesitant at this point. On one hand, he genuinely wanted to follow in Orochimaru's footsteps, but on the other, he was also afraid that he wouldn't get along with the summons of Ryuchi Cave. If used well, the Summoning Jutsu could provide immense assistance, but if one signed a contract with the wrong beast, then the jutsu would be wasted.
However, as Nawaki hesitated, Mito spoke up, her voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight. "Just follow your own thoughts. If, by any chance, a summoned beast doesn't obey you, I am here. I will simply eliminate it."
Hearing this, Nawaki's face lit up with joy, while Orochimaru was rendered speechless. He was already regretting not having informed Ryuchi Cave earlier. With Mito's approach, the cave might not have many snakes left by the end of the day. However, at this point, there was no room for regret. He directly summoned the Ryuchi Cave scroll and said to Nawaki, "Alright, make your decision."
With Mito's support, Nawaki no longer hesitated and directly signed his name. Seeing that the matter was settled, Orochimaru could only pray that there truly was a summoned beast in Ryuchi Cave suitable for his student.
All three had now signed their contracts. Next was their first summoning, so everyone moved to the spacious training ground. Upon arriving, Tsunade asked, "You all know the hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu, right?" The three nodded. The hand signs were not complex, only five in total, and Jiraiya had already taught them.
Tsunade nodded and continued, "Kyuushin and Minato, you two can begin now. Don't be stingy with your chakra; summon with all your might. Nawaki, you wait a bit."
Kyuushin and Minato exchanged glances, re-cut their fingers, and solemnly formed the hand signs—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram—before slamming their hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Bang!"
As the smoke cleared, two enormous summoned beasts suddenly appeared in the training ground. Just by their height, they were easily two stories tall.
"Hmm? Jiraiya, do you need my help in battle?" a gruff voice asked.
"Tsunade, are there any injured here?" This was a gentle female voice.
Jiraiya and Tsunade, however, looked completely surprised.
"Bunta!" Jiraiya recognized Gamabunta's voice, but he hadn't expected Minato to be able to summon him. They naturally had an idea that Kyuushin could summon such a large slug, given his vast chakra reserves. But for Minato to summon Bunta was unbelievable. It shouldn't have been possible for him to summon such a massive toad.
Tsunade now recovered and said, "We didn't summon you. Our disciples, Kyuushin and Minato, did."
The slug, Katsuyu, lowered her blue-white body slightly, her two tentacles wiggling. She finally noticed Kyuushin on her back and spoke first. "Hello, my name is Katsuyu. You can summon me when you need help in the future." Kyuushin also introduced himself, and Katsuyu immediately accepted him. However, Bunta on the other side was not so easy to talk to.
"You're telling me this little brat summoned me? Impossible, absolutely impossible! With that little bit of chakra in his body, how could he possibly summon me?" Bunta rolled his giant eye at Minato, who stood on his head, and said with an unfriendly tone.
"This..." Jiraiya was also bewildered; even he couldn't figure out what was going on.
However, at this moment, Mito spoke up. "I think I understand the reason. The Summoning Jutsu is actually a space-time ninjutsu, allowing a summoned beast from a distant location to be instantly summoned through a blood contract. Tobirama was inspired by this to create the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. According to him, the reason it's so difficult is because it requires individuals with a natural aptitude for space-time to perform it, and such ninja are one in a thousand."
"Now, with Minato's situation, could it be that he possesses this space-time aptitude? With this affinity, he wouldn't need to expend as much chakra to achieve a greater summoning effect." Mito looked at Minato with a strange expression. She hadn't expected that among the three of them, there was actually one who seemingly possessed this incredibly rare talent.
Everyone present fell into deep thought. Even Tsunade was hearing for the first time that the Flying Thunder God Jutsu worked on such principles. Jiraiya secretly made a mental note to ask the Third Hokage for the jutsu for Minato later. Orochimaru was filled with excitement. Hearing this secret now elevated his understanding of ninjutsu to another level.
"Alright, this is just my guess; it might not be true," Mito said, then took a step forward. Bunta, who had been looking displeased, suddenly flinched, almost dropping his giant pipe, and involuntarily took a step back. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a wave of primal fear wash over him.