"The toad talked!" Shin-chan's mouth opened into a small circle.
Gamariki turned its head and saw Shin-chan standing beside the pool.
Its expression completed the switch from coy shyness to cold indifference in 0.3 seconds.
"Of course toads can talk." This time, it was a rough male voice. "You ignorant little brat."
Shin-chan walked around Gamariki once, observing it from every angle. "Your mouth is really red."
Gamariki narrowed its eyes.
"Are you wearing lipstick?" Shin-chan continued asking.
"What's it to you?"
Shin-chan was completely unaffected by that tone. He continued looking up at it, then suddenly reached out and pointed at the red bow on Gamariki's back.
"That bow is red too."
Gamariki was silent for a second.
"It's the same color as your lipstick," Shin-chan said seriously. "It matches really well."
Gamariki's posture subtly changed.
It turned its body slightly, showing more of the bow on its back within Shin-chan's line of sight.
"You think it looks good?"
"It looks good." Shin-chan nodded hard.
Gamariki was silent for two seconds, then its voice softened. "You little brat, your taste isn't bad."
Jiraiya watched this scene from the side, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Shin-chan took two steps forward and reached out, wanting to touch the bow on Gamariki's back.
Gamariki crouched a little lower.
Shin-chan's fingers touched the skin on its back. It was wet and slippery.
"So smooth."
"I take good care of myself every day," Gamariki switched back to the female voice, clearly proud. "In the morning, I wash my face with dew from lotus leaves. At night, I use mountain spring water to moisturize my body. Twice a week, I do mud baths."
"Mud baths?"
"It means spreading mud all over your body," Gamariki explained. "After the mud dries, you wash it off, and your skin becomes very smooth."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
"Then I want to—"
"You can't. Human brats' skin is too delicate."
Jiraiya stood beside them, watching the human and the toad chatting excitedly back and forth. The corner of his mouth twitched.
He glanced at Namikaze Minato. Minato's expression was very calm.
Jiraiya looked back at Gamariki.
Gamariki had lowered its head, letting Shin-chan touch the smooth skin on top of its head, while still using its female voice to introduce the ingredients and method for skincare mud.
"Enough." Jiraiya formed a seal.
With a poof, Gamariki turned into a cloud of white smoke and disappeared.
Shin-chan's hand was still raised in midair, maintaining the posture of touching the toad's head. In front of him, only empty air remained.
"Huh?"
"Your turn." Jiraiya lifted his chin toward him. "Try the Summoning Jutsu."
Shin-chan's face immediately scrunched up. "Do I have to bite my finger?"
"What else?"
Shin-chan closed his eyes, put his thumb in his mouth, and bit down hard.
"Mm..."
Jiraiya glanced at the blood. "That's enough. You can use the Summoning Jutsu now."
Shin-chan pressed his palm to the ground.
"Come out, Shiro!!!"
Black formulas spread outward from beneath his palm.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke exploded in front of him.
Before the smoke had fully cleared, a white shadow rushed out from within.
Shin-chan only saw white before his whole body was knocked to the ground by a tremendous force. A wet tongue licked him from his chin all the way to his forehead.
"Shiro, wait a second..."
Shin-chan finally pushed that big head away a little and opened his eyes.
Shiro's fluffy white tail slowly wagged behind him, stirring up a small breeze. His height was already nearly the same as Namikaze Minato standing nearby.
"Shiro?" Shin-chan opened his mouth wide. "You learned the Gigantification Secret Technique?"
Shiro lowered his head, brought his wet nose close to Shin-chan's face, and breathed out a warm puff of air.
"Woof."
Shin-chan stood up and puffed out his chest, his expression changing from surprise to pride. "As expected of my Shiro."
Shiro nudged Shin-chan's shoulder with the tip of his nose.
Shin-chan was pushed a step to the side, then took the chance to spread both arms and throw himself against Shiro's fluffy chest.
"So soft!"
He rubbed his face into Shiro's fur, then lifted his head. "Shiro, let's go find pretty big sisters!"
Shiro tilted his huge head.
"You carry me and run to the street in a flash. When the big sisters see such a huge doggy, they'll definitely gather around." Shin-chan spoke faster and faster. "Then I'll say, 'This is my Shiro,' and they'll definitely think I'm amazing."
A hand pressed down on Shin-chan's head.
Shin-chan's voice stopped abruptly. He looked up and saw Jiraiya lowering his head to look at him, his expression no longer as casual as before.
Namikaze Minato had also stood up. His palm hovered beside Shiro's body, as if sensing something.
After a few seconds, he withdrew his hand.
"His chakra is somewhat unstable."
Jiraiya nodded. "It's showing signs of becoming more and more chaotic."
Shin-chan looked at Namikaze Minato, then at Jiraiya.
"What does that mean?"
"This dog's chakra is becoming increasingly disordered," Jiraiya said, his expression a little grave.
Shiro seemed to understand something. His ears drooped to the sides and pressed against his head as he let out a low whimper.
Shin-chan stroked Shiro. "Shiro, are you uncomfortable?"
Shiro looked at him, his black eyes wet and glossy.
"It should be a problem with the secret technique." Jiraiya placed his hand on Shiro and carefully sensed for a while. "Release the Summoning Jutsu first and let him go back."
"And after he goes back?"
"He needs to fully learn the secret technique." Jiraiya's gaze fell on Shiro. "Right now, he's only learned it halfway. If he's lucky, the effect is just reduced."
He paused, then continued, "If he's unlucky, the chakra will run wild inside his body. Over time, his internal organs, meridians, even his brain could be affected."
Shiro's ears flattened completely, and his tail drooped as well.
"Does Shiro hurt right now?" Shin-chan placed his hand on Shiro's leg and stroked his fur.
"He probably doesn't hurt yet," Namikaze Minato said softly from the side. "In the early stage of chakra disorder, the body won't feel any obvious discomfort."
Jiraiya nodded. "So let him go back first. Before we understand the full details of the secret technique, he should use this form as little as possible."
"Shiro." Shin-chan stood in front of Shiro. "You have to hurry and learn that secret technique properly."
"Woof." Shiro licked Shin-chan's face.
"Once you learn it, we'll go find pretty big sisters," Shin-chan said. "When the time comes, you'll become super huge, I'll sit on your head, and we'll fly to the street together in a flash."
A low rumble sounded in Shiro's throat, as if he were agreeing.
"Promise, okay?" Shin-chan buried his face in Shiro's fur.
Only after quite a while did Shin-chan lift his head. Then he formed seals with both hands.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke exploded in front of the waterfall.
Shiro was gone.
~~~
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