Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that his disciple could sometimes be unreliable.
But he never expected little Jiraiya to be this unreliable.
There are only two outcomes if you use summoning jutsu without first signing a contract with a summoning beast.
The first is that the space turbulence shreds you to pieces.
The second is that you're randomly teleported somewhere in the ninja world, which could be safe land or a dangerous ocean. If you're lucky, you might even land in a place where summoning beasts live.
In short, summoning is a space-based technique.
If you have a contracted summoning beast, it can instantly appear at the user's location, with the caster acting as a beacon.
The same logic applies to reverse summoning.
Just now, little Jiraiya performed a summoning right in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, without having a contracted beast. It was extremely dangerous.
However, it had already happened, so Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't dwell on it too much. He could only hope that little Jiraiya got lucky and didn't die easily.
"Could it be that Jiraiya accidentally became a contractor of Mount Myōboku in this way?"
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the more he felt it was possible.
After waiting a long time and still not seeing little Jiraiya return, Hiruzen shook his head and began heading toward the Hokage's office.
He had to report this to Senju Tobirama.
Just as Hiruzen had expected, little Jiraiya did indeed end up at Mount Myōboku by accident.
When Jiraiya was randomly teleported there, looking at the giant leaves beside him and the unfamiliar scenery, he didn't panic at all. Instead, he was excited.
"Haha, I'm really lucky."
Of course, little Jiraiya knew the risks of using summoning.
Recently, the pressure from little Tsunade and little Orochimaru had been increasing. If he didn't take a gamble, how could he stand next to them as one of the Legendary Sannin when they grew up?
The light curtain had said he would become a contractor of Mount Myōboku one day, but at that time, he had no information about the place. How would he find it?
It was better to take a risk with the summoning technique and gamble on the outcome.
If it worked, great.
If it failed, well, death was the worst result.
It looked like he had succeeded.
"Huh? Is that a human? It's been a long time since a human showed up here."
In the bushes not far from little Jiraiya, a huge toad was the first to notice him.
Unlike the venomous snakes in Ryuchi Cave that seek to harm people, the toads of Mount Myoboku bear no ill will towards humans. After all, they don't eat humans.
In fact, the arrival of a human might actually be a good thing for them.
At the very least, with a summoning contract, they can occasionally visit the outside world.
Of course, all of this hinges on whether the person in front of them can pass the test.
While their trials won't be life-threatening, they definitely won't be easy.
"Hey, human."
Just as Gamabunta was about to speak to young Jiraiya, two elderly toads, Fukasaku and Shima, hopped over to him.
"Husband, is this the one the Great Toad Sage has been waiting for?"
"He's the only one here, so it must be him."
"Hey, human kid, come with us. The Great Toad Sage wants to see you."
Young Jiraiya pointed to himself and asked in confusion, "You mean me?"
Fukasaku and Shima both nodded, replying, "That's right."
"It's not easy for the old toad to wake up, so you'd better come with us quickly."
"Oh, okay then."
Having just arrived at Mount Myoboku and knowing nothing about the place, young Jiraiya could only follow the two old toads.
"By the way, my name is Fukasaku, and this is my wife, Shima. Human child, what's your name?"
As they walked, the two toads introduced themselves to young Jiraiya. They knew that, barring any surprises, the human before them was likely this year's summoning contractor for Mount Myoboku.
"My name is Jiraiya. Also, I'm thirteen. I'm not a kid anymore."
"We're both hundreds of years old. Is it okay if I call you a kid?"
Hearing that the two toads were so old, what else could young Jiraiya say? He could only smile awkwardly and accept being called a kid.
"By the way, why does the Great Toad Sage you mentioned want to see me?"
"How should I know? Maybe he's just getting old and confused."
"Wife, you shouldn't be disrespectful to the Great Toad Sage."
"Come on! All he does is eat and sleep every day. He only wakes up for a bit and talks nonsense. Isn't that right? He's confused."
Fukasaku looked at Shima helplessly and said, "You can say that behind his back, just don't say it to his face."
"I'm just venting, I'm not stupid."
"Alright, alright, my wife is the smartest."
"Hehe, now you're talking."
Young Jiraiya: ???
No way, yesterday he had to deal with Tsunade and Kato Dan's lovey-dovey nonsense, and now, at Mount Myoboku, he has to watch two toads being all lovey-dovey too?
As for Kato Dan, he could always ask Orochimaru to help teach him a lesson later.
But what was he supposed to do here?
These two toads were hundreds of years old—there's no way he could win against them.
Damn it, do singles have no rights?
Is there no one here to take care of this?
Fortunately, this awkward situation didn't last long. Soon, Fukasaku and Shima brought young Jiraiya to the Great Toad Sage.
He saw the Great Toad Sage sitting on a huge seat. The toad's whole body was orange, with yellow eyes. A string of Buddhist beads hung around his neck, with a lavender cat's eye in the middle that had the word "Oil" written on it. He wore a scholar's cap and looked extremely old.
The Great Toad Sage was still awake at this time. When he saw his two guards approaching with a human child, he started to ask:
"Who has come?"
Under the seat, Fukasaku muttered quietly, "You always ask the same thing, is it fun?"
Then he replied aloud, "Great Toad Sage, didn't you predict a hundred years ago that a human child would come to Mount Myoboku? Today, Shima and I brought that child."
"Really? Why don't I remember that?"
When Fukasaku and Shima heard this, their faces darkened immediately. The two toads exchanged glances, communicating silently.
Shima: See? I told you this old toad is confused, but you didn't believe me.
Fukasaku: What's the point of me believing? Even if he's confused, he's still the biggest boss at Mount Myoboku.
"Oh, it's just a joke. Fukasaku, Shima, you two really don't have a sense of humor at all."
With a smile, the Great Toad Sage ignored the two toads who looked unhappy and turned to Little Jiraiya. "It seems you've arrived a little earlier than I predicted, but that's alright. What's important is that you're here."
"Great Toad Sage, what should I do?"
"Sign this summoning contract. From now on, you'll be the contractor of Mount Myoboku."
After saying that, the Great Toad Sage opened his mouth, and the contract scroll, tied to his tongue, was placed in front of Little Jiraiya.
Little Jiraiya was excited. Wasn't this the whole reason he came here?
Without being bothered by the saliva on it, he immediately unrolled the scroll, took the brush from Fukasaku Toad, and wrote his name at the bottom of the scroll.
"Okay, I've written it."
After writing his name, Little Jiraiya rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the Great Toad Sage's tongue.
"Alright, you can go now. I want to sleep."
"Yes, Great Toad Sage."
Great Toad Sage: zzzZZZ
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