Unlike Uchiha Hikaru, who was calmly waiting on his side.
Jiraiya was a complete mess inside, filled with anxiety and unease.
He had only wanted to scratch an itch and test out this jutsu on a whim.
But the moment he activated it, he felt an overwhelming force dragging him violently into a space-time tunnel.
In that instant, it felt like his entire body was being sucked into a powerful vortex.
Everything around him blurred, all sound vanished.
Only the sound of his own rapid heartbeat echoed in his ears.
To his horror, he realized he couldn't control his body—he had lost all freedom.
The bizarre experience of traveling through space-time left him dizzy and nauseous.
He had no idea where he would end up, nor whether he could ever return to his own world.
That single moment might have lasted forever—he couldn't tell how much time had passed.
When he finally came back to his senses, he found himself in Mount Myōboku.
As Jiraiya blinked himself back to awareness, the sight before him left him dumbfounded.
He was standing in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by unusually tall trees.
Their branches swayed in the sunlight, as if greeting every passerby.
Occasional clear streams wove through the woods.
The flowing water reflected the surrounding green grass and trees, making everything seem tranquil and beautiful.
Lifting his head, Jiraiya spotted a majestic waterfall in the distance, cascading from the mountain like a silver ribbon unraveling from the sky.
The water crashed against the rocks, sending mist into the air.
Under the sunlight, the mist sparkled with brilliant colors.
As he marveled at this unfamiliar scenery, a flatulent voice suddenly came from beside his foot:
"Hey, who are you? How did you get here?"
Jiraiya snapped out of his daze, instinctively leaping away from the spot where he'd been standing.
Once he landed, he looked down toward the source of the voice.
A small, dark brown toad was staring up at him.
Seeing Jiraiya remain silent and alert, the toad curled its lip in disdain.
"Human. Answer the question."
Jiraiya stared, jaw slack.
"A-A toad that learned how to talk?! It's turned into a spirit!!"
The toad's face immediately twitched, several angry veins popping up on its head.
The toads of Mount Myōboku all aspired to become sages—being mistaken for mere monsters was a serious insult.
The more it thought about it, the angrier it got. Then it suddenly leapt up and smacked Jiraiya.
Caught off guard, Jiraiya was sent tumbling to the ground, staring blankly at the toad.
After venting its frustration, the toad—Gamabunta—finally calmed down a bit.
Just as he was about to question Jiraiya further, an elderly toad appeared beside him.
"Enough, Bunta. The Great Elder wants to meet this human."
The moment this toad appeared, Gamabunta's expression did a complete 180.
The same face that had shown nothing but disdain just seconds ago now looked upon the elder with utmost respect.
"Fukasaku-sensei! What brings you here?"
Fukasaku chuckled and explained:
"The Great Elder just woke up. He told me to come and receive a guest."
Gamabunta's eyes widened as he pointed at the dazed Jiraiya.
"You don't mean him, do you?!"
Jiraiya, still confused, pointed at himself and looked at Fukasaku with a puzzled face.
Seeing this, Fukasaku couldn't help but burst into laughter.
But after he was done laughing, he confirmed both of their suspicions.
He walked up to Jiraiya and pulled him to his feet.
Then, Fukasaku led Jiraiya toward where the Great Toad Sage resided.
On the way there, Fukasaku briefly explained where they were.
Upon learning that Jiraiya had arrived here via Summoning Technique, Fukasaku sighed and warned him:
"In the future, if you haven't signed a contract with a summoning beast, you really shouldn't use that jutsu."
"You got lucky this time. If not, who knows where you would've ended up?"
He then casually shared more about summoning beasts, which only made Jiraiya more excited.
He realized he had stumbled into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Because according to Fukasaku, there were three sacred summoning grounds in the world—and Mount Myōboku was one of them.
Just before reaching their destination, Jiraiya suddenly made a request:
"Fukasaku-sensei, is there any way I can sign Mount Myōboku's summoning contract?"
Fukasaku didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he gave Jiraiya a deep look, then pushed open the door to their destination.
"You'll have to wait until after you meet the Great Elder before we can make that decision."
With that, he led Jiraiya inside.
As soon as Jiraiya stepped in, he saw an enormous orange toad seated on a stone chair.
The toad looked ancient, its skin sagging and wrinkled.
Around its neck hung a string of prayer beads, with a cat's eye gem inlaid at the center—faint purple, engraved with the kanji for "Oil" (油).
On its head rested a graduation cap.
The old toad was nodding off, its head bobbing rhythmically.
Fukasaku approached and called out loudly:
"Great Elder! The person you wanted to see has arrived!"
He knew the Great Toad Sage's temperament well—if you didn't shout, he'd never wake up.
So this time, he used all his strength.
Sure enough, the Great Toad Sage stirred awake.
Seeing this, Fukasaku waved Jiraiya over.
When Jiraiya stepped forward, the Great Toad Sage finally opened his eyes.
He blinked at the two figures before him and, with a groggy voice, muttered:
"And you are...?"
"..."
The room instantly froze with awkward silence.
"Are you senile again? That's Fukasaku! You don't even recognize him anymore?"
Shima-sensei, standing off to the side, pressed her palm to her forehead, her face full of exasperation.
"Ohhh, Fukasaku. Yes, yes. So, what is it?"
That question hit both elder toads like a hammer.
Fukasaku clutched his chest as if fighting off a heart attack and cleared his throat.
"Great Elder, you told me to go fetch a guest. Remember?"
Hearing this, the Great Toad Sage finally nodded in realization and looked over at Jiraiya.
Then, as if recalling something, his tone turned dreamy.
"Child… I've seen glimpses of your future."
"In the days ahead, you will take on a student—one who will bring monumental change to the shinobi world."
"And one day, you will be forced to make a great decision."
"A decision that will shape your disciple's choice… to bring peace to the world, or to plunge it into utter ruin."