Jiraiya, typically thick-skinned, couldn't hide his embarrassment when caught red-handed yet again.
"Don't give me excuses. If you're really collecting material, spend some money and do it openly. Stop making excuses for your shameless behavior," Shinki said, his tone laced with disapproval.
Jiraiya tried to protest, but Shinki cut him off.
"Peeping for 'research'? By that logic, murderers are just fulfilling their desires, so they're innocent too? What a ridiculous excuse," Shinki scolded. "Even Nawaki managed to correct his bad habits. Why can't you?"
Nawaki, who had been calmly observing, suddenly froze. Why am I being dragged into this again?
Shinki smirked as he continued, "You know how I got Nawaki to change? I asked him one question: What if the person being spied on was Tsunade or Kushina?"
That simple thought experiment had done the trick. Since then, Nawaki never engaged in such behavior again.
Well... almost. The habit of reading certain "questionable" books had stuck.
Jiraiya was dumbfounded. "Nawaki changed? Really?"
Nawaki, glaring at Jiraiya, added, "If anyone dared spy on my family, they'd regret it. Badly."
"Okay, okay! I was wrong. I won't do it again," Jiraiya raised his hands in surrender. Still, in his mind, he thought, Fine, no peeping. I'll just pay for it instead.
"Cut it out already," Nawaki muttered, turning away.
Shinki was in no mood to press further. Instead, he turned to Jiraiya and said, "Take out the summoning contract scroll."
"Uh... what?" Jiraiya blinked, confused, before pulling out the scroll and handing it over.
"Nawaki, it's time," Shinki said, signaling him to sign.
Nawaki had been waiting for this moment. With excitement, he bit his finger, stamped his palm on the scroll, and prepared for his first summoning.
"Want to give it a try?" Shinki asked.
Nawaki grinned eagerly. Finally, a summoning beast of my own!
While forming the seals, Nawaki ignored Jiraiya entirely. His disappointment in his teacher still lingered—being left behind for over two years while Jiraiya trained orphans was a wound not easily healed.
With the seals complete, Nawaki slammed his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
The ground lit up with the summoning pattern, and a puff of white smoke filled the air.
The three of them leaned forward, anticipating what would emerge.
Would it be a majestic toad? A powerful summoning beast?
As the smoke cleared, a palm-sized tadpole appeared, hopping on the ground.
Nawaki's excitement turned into sheer disappointment.
"Eh?" Jiraiya scratched his head, puzzled. "That doesn't make sense. Nawaki has more than enough chakra. Why just a tadpole?"
For a moment, the group was silent. Then Shinki couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Pfft! Hahaha! Nawaki, are you trying to kill me with laughter and leave your sister to inherit my belongings?" Shinki doubled over in laughter.
Even Minato, who tried to stay composed, burst into laughter.
Jiraiya, struggling to keep a serious expression, finally lost his composure and joined in.
"What's so funny?!" Nawaki protested, his face red with embarrassment. "I used a ton of chakra! Why did I only summon a tadpole? Do the toads hate me?"
Somewhere in Myoboku, Fukasaku was enjoying the sun when he sensed the summoning. He scratched his head and thought, Must be Jiraiya's disciple. Eh, let's just send him a tadpole. Kids these days need to start small.
Yawning, Fukasaku stuffed the nearest tadpole into the summoning portal and went back to his nap.
"Seriously, what went wrong?" Nawaki demanded.
Shinki, wiping away tears of laughter, feigned a serious tone. "Jiraiya, this is your fault. As his teacher, you clearly didn't explain the summoning technique properly."
"Hey! That's not true!" Jiraiya protested, his voice rising. "Besides, you were the one who laughed first!"
"Doesn't matter," Shinki said, barely suppressing another grin. "You need to figure out what went wrong. Otherwise, Nawaki might think he's cursed or something."
Jiraiya frowned, deep in thought. Did Myoboku mess with the summoning? Is this some kind of test?
The tadpole continued hopping innocently on the ground while Nawaki fumed.
"Where is all my chakra going? Did I meet a middleman or something?!" Nawaki shouted in frustration.
Shinki clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Nawaki. Every great summoner starts somewhere. Even if that somewhere is... well, a tadpole."
The laughter resumed, much to Nawaki's dismay. I'll prove myself next time, he thought determinedly, glaring at the hopping tadpole.
>>>>>
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