Bang!

  A puff of smoke billowed up, and before Minato could even catch a glimpse of the summoned toad, he colpsed to the ground.

  In that brief moment, he had almost exhausted all of his chakra, but even so, he knew that with his current abilities, he wasn’t going to be able to summon anything close to a decent summoning beast.

  A high-level jutsu like this was typically reserved for higher-ranked ninjas, like jonin, and for him to attempt it now was pushing his limits.

  He lifted his eyes, and the sight before him was a rather peculiar toad.

  The toad had a very long body, almost like a rolled-up scroll.

  "Toad Ino?" Jiraiya's expression shifted when he saw the scroll-like toad.

  The toad surveyed the surroundings before turning its gaze toward Jiraiya. "Since you're here in the vilge, there’s no need for me to deliver any information. Why did you summon me?"

  The toad Ino seemed slightly annoyed, but Minato, upon seeing it, instinctively drew back his piercing blue eyes.

  "Key... Key..." he muttered under his breath, his face growing serious.

  As Jiraiya expined something to the toad Ino, Minato’s voice suddenly grew louder, almost desperate. "Toad Ino, can you open up your scroll-body and let me see it?!!"

  Both Jiraiya and the toad Ino were taken aback by the urgency in Minato's tone, and they turned their gaze toward him.

  "Minato, what's wrong with you?" Jiraiya asked, his voice filled with concern.

  "Hey, kid, who the heck are you?" Toad Ino grumbled, clearly irritated by Minato addressing it so bluntly.

  Minato’s expression looked strained as he staggered forward, his body feeling weak. He noticed the inappropriate tone he had used, but his urgency remained.

  "Sorry, but can you let me see the scroll inside your body?" Minato asked, almost pleading.

  The toad Ino ignored him, unbothered.

  Jiraiya then stepped closer to Minato, turning to the toad. "You’re the one he summoned, and according to the contract, you have to follow his orders."

  "Are you messing with me?" Toad Ino scoffed, eyeing Minato. The kid was no older than seven or eight, and while it wasn't one of the strongest summoning beasts, a genin couldn't possibly summon it without some real strength.

  "You can check for yourself whether I'm joking," Jiraiya replied coolly.

  Summoning beasts were bound by the contract and carried the summoner’s chakra as a mark. The toad Ino hesitated before sensing the faint chakra within itself, realizing that it didn’t belong to Jiraiya but was identical to the chakra of the boy in front of him.

  In other words, Minato had indeed summoned it.

  "Please, let me see it," Minato continued, his tone more urgent now.

  Toad Ino scowled but couldn’t defy the contract. It formed a series of hand seals, and its long, scroll-like body unfurled, but to Minato’s disappointment, there was nothing there. It was completely bnk.

  It wasn’t a battle type of summoning beast but a scroll toad, used primarily to rey information. The st message it had carried was erased at Jiraiya's request.

  Minato stared bnkly at the empty scroll. A wave of something seemed to stir in his mind.

  He knelt, pushing his hair aside, and rested his palm against his forehead. The image of a red-haired woman appeared in his mind once more. This time, there was blood at the corner of her thin lips.

  But it wasn’t just her. Behind her was someone else—more of a shadow than a figure, a man with blood at his lips, too. There was something about his expression Minato couldn’t quite pce. Was it sorrow? Regret? A sense of farewell?

  Minato couldn’t tell, but the emotion caused his body to tremble.

  "Key..." he muttered over and over.

  Gradually, the images in his mind began to fade, and his trembling started to ease.

  "Teacher," Minato finally realized that Jiraiya had been watching him the entire time.

  "Are you okay?" Jiraiya asked, concern evident in his voice.

  "Yeah... sorry to worry you."

  Minato had felt strange just now, as if something was stirring deep within him, making his body shiver with pain.

  He looked up and saw that the scroll toad was no longer there.

  "Where’s Toad Ino?"

  Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly. "He got a little annoyed being summoned, so he undid the summoning himself and went back to Mount Myoboku."

  While summoning beasts had to obey their summoner’s commands due to the contract, they still had the right to refuse. Toad Ino wasn’t particurly powerful, but some of the stronger summoning beasts would cause major problems if they didn’t want to comply. After all, summoning was typically used during combat, where errors couldn’t be afforded.

  "I was rude earlier," Minato admitted, realizing his earlier actions had been a little out of line.

  Jiraiya waved it off. "More importantly, what’s going on with you?"

  Seeing the worry on Jiraiya’s face, Minato considered telling him about everything strange that had been happening to him tely. But for some reason, a dark, chilling force seemed to hold back his words, making it impossible to speak.

  It was a feeling from deep within his soul—a foreboding sense.

  For some reason, Minato blurted out, "I’m fine. Maybe I overexerted myself with the training today, and the chakra overload got to me."

  Though the expnation sounded a little forced, Jiraiya could easily tell there was more to it. However, seeing the helplessness in Minato’s expression, he didn’t press further.

  "Well, get some rest. You’ve got css tomorrow, right?" Jiraiya said with a smile.

  "By the way, don’t mention our training to anyone. This is a secret from the Third Hokage."

  Minato nodded in agreement.

  "For now, this is all I can teach you. The rest is up to your own willpower. Run around the vilge twenty times every day—how you distribute your time is up to you. I’ll make it harder for you by occasionally setting obstacles along the way. Be prepared for that."

  "Yes, Teacher!" Minato nodded with resolve. Jiraiya smiled at him, and Minato turned to leave.

  But after Minato walked away, Jiraiya’s expression darkened. He looked in the direction Minato had gone, deep in thought.

  "This kid... what is he hiding from me?"

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