By the afternoon, Tsunade and Jiraiya were still nursing swollen, bloodshot eyes, sipping glass after glass of orange juice. Neither of them had much of an appetite after the previous night's binge; they'd managed only a few bites of food just to line their stomachs.
Orange juice had become their liquid gold. The acidity helped settle their rolling stomachs and suppressed the lingering nausea that made every movement a chore.
Nearby, Minato and Tatsuma each held a thick scroll. Uzumaki Mito was currently briefing them on the details—an instruction that should have been handled by their respective masters, but...
The two teachers were still so far from being sober that they were practically speaking in tongues. Slurring their words and unable to string together a logical sentence, they'd been sidelined. Mito simply took over.
"Alright, I've told you everything you need to know. Under my witness, you shall now sign your names and establish your contracts with Mount Myoboku and the Shikkotsu Forest."
At Mito's command, Tatsuma and Minato took a step back and knelt, unfurling the massive scrolls on the floor. Tatsuma signed his name directly beneath Tsunade's signature; Minato did the same beneath Jiraiya's.
Then, both boys bit their thumbs and pressed their bloody prints firmly onto the paper beneath their names. Once the ink and blood were set, Mito turned her gaze toward the hungover pair.
"You two. It's time for a demonstration. Make things clear with the toads and the slugs now, so there's no unnecessary trouble later."
Jiraiya nodded, bracing his hands on the armrests of his chair to push himself up. He didn't even make it halfway to a standing position before he buckled, doubled over, and began swallowing frantically.
The debuff combo of a brutal hangover and the excessive stomach acid from the orange juice had triggered a fresh wave of nausea. It took several long, agonizing moments of deep breathing before he managed to suppress the urge to vomit and finally stood straight.
He wiped his mouth, checking for any... leakage. "I should have taught you this sooner," he slurred. "Actually, the Summoning Jutsu..."
His explanation was a rambling, disjointed mess. Even so, Tatsuma and Minato managed to piece together the gist of it. Just as Jiraiya was about to dive back into his nonsensical lecture, Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"Just shut up, Jiraiya... I'll take it from here."
Tsunade was clearly more functional than her teammate. Learning from Jiraiya's mistake, she moved with exaggerated slowness, rising from her seat with measured grace.
"The Summoning Jutsu is generally divided into two types: summoning creatures and summoning items. There are other variations, but they aren't important right now. The contracts you just signed are with the Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myoboku—two of the Three Great Sage Regions. These allow you to call upon the slugs or the toads via a summoning formula. The other type, summoning items, is something you've already used—sealing scrolls are a prime example. But that's not what we're focusing on today."
Tsunade looked at Minato first. "First, regarding Mount Myoboku. Many of the toads there possess an intelligence that rivals or exceeds our own. To get them to fight alongside you, you need more than just a jutsu—you need their cooperation. Jiraiya, for instance, has a bad habit of summoning them at the most inconvenient times. Half the time, they're so annoyed they just poof back home the second they arrive. As one of the Sage Regions, the toads are powerful; you'd do well to build a personal rapport with a few of them so they're actually willing to help you."
Turning to Tatsuma, her expression softened slightly. "As for our contract with the Shikkotsu Forest, there is actually only one summoning beast: the Lady Katsuyu. However, she possesses the ability to divide her body into countless smaller clones. These clones share a hive mind with the main body but possess a degree of individual personality. Some even have their own names—like my partner, Katsuyu. She is a specific fragment of the Great Slug Sage.
"Unlike the toads of Mount Myoboku, the slugs aren't exactly frontline combatants. However, every fragment of Katsuyu possesses extraordinary medical abilities, making her the ultimate support on the battlefield. And unlike those cranky toads, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest are incredibly gentle. As long as you don't mistreat her, she'll be more than happy to aid you."
After the brief overview of the Sage Regions and their inhabitants, Tsunade asked, "You both know the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu, right?"
Tatsuma and Minato nodded in unison. Although Jiraiya had strictly forbidden them from trying the jutsu until they were ready, he had taught them the sequence: Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram. It was simple enough to memorize.
The only "cost" was the blood required as a medium for every activation.
Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya. He gave a sharp, jerky nod, signaling his approval. She turned back to the boys. "You may proceed. Don't be stingy with your chakra. Not that it matters—with your current reserves, even if you drained yourselves dry, you wouldn't be able to summon anything truly formidable from the Sage Regions."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Tatsuma and Minato bit their thumbs simultaneously. Their synchronization was nearly perfect—a 100% match as they blurred through the seals and slammed their palms onto the floor. The black summoning formulas erupted across the wood in an instant.
POOF!
"Cough, cough! Dammit, what is this? It's all sticky and disgusting!" a gruff, booming voice roared through the smoke.
Immediately after, a much softer, refined voice replied, "My sincerest apologies. It appears to be quite cramped in here."
"He... help... me..."
A faint, breathless plea drifted through the air as the smoke began to clear. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and even Lady Mito froze, their jaws dropping in synchronized shock.
Two massive summoning beasts, each nearly tall enough to scrape the ceiling, had manifested inside the wide hall. One was a blue-and-white slug; the other was a brownish-red toad, complete with a massive blade strapped to its back.
The problem was the ceiling. Both beasts were currently hunched over, their heads pressed against the rafters. Tatsuma and Minato were nowhere to be found—or rather, they were pinned between the beasts' heads and the roof. Minato was too squeezed to even make a sound, while Tatsuma was barely managing to gasp for air. It was his voice that had called for help.
"Monster Strength!"
Tsunade leaped into the air, her fist glowing with chakra as she hammered into the main support beam. With a deafening crack, the rafters and the roof shattered upward. Finally freed from the architectural constraints, the toad and the slug were able to stand to their full height.
Dropping back to the floor, Tsunade set the two gasping boys down. She stared up at the summons, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Katsuyu?!"
"Bunta?!" Jiraiya barked, rubbing his eyes as if he'd seen a ghost.
Gamabunta, the Toad Boss, scanned his surroundings with a scowl. "Jiraiya? What the hell did you pull me out for? If this is about starting a war with the Shikkotsu Forest, count me out. I'm not interested!"
Katsuyu, the slug, asked politely, "Is someone injured?"
She quickly spotted the wheezing Tatsuma and the equally battered Minato. Two small, palm-sized slugs split from her main body and slid down, latching onto the boys' shoulders.
Tatsuma flinched at the wet, sticky sensation, but a wave of warm, soothing energy immediately flooded his system. The discomfort of the texture vanished as the sharp pain in his chest and back from being crushed against the beams faded away.
Knowing it was the slug's doing, Tatsuma looked up at the massive creature and offered a weak, grateful smile. "Thank you."
"You are very welcome," Katsuyu replied in her soft, melodic voice. The tiny slugs slid off the boys, merging back into the main body of Katsuyu.
Gamabunta prepared to bark another question, but Jiraiya finally found his voice. "Bunta... I wasn't the one who summoned you. It was my student—Minato Namikaze."
He pointed toward the blonde boy. Gamabunta's brow furrowed into a deep, incredulous line. He waved a massive webbed hand dismissively.
"Impossible! Not a chance!"
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