After Naruto's emotional breakdown and subsequent recovery, Jiraiya led him through Mount Myōboku's winding paths toward Gamabunta's residence. The massive toad had extended a lunch invitation, and refusing the Boss Summon's hospitality would have been both rude and strategically unwise—Gamabunta's goodwill was essential for any summoner hoping to call on the toad clan's most powerful members.
Naruto walked beside Jiraiya in contemplative silence, his mind still churning through everything that had been revealed about his internal situation. Two demons. Two separate entities sealed within him, both massive, both dangerous, one corrupted into something potentially worse than the original Nine-Tails. The weight of it sat heavy on his shoulders despite Jiraiya's reassurances, despite his own determination not to give up. His eyes were unfocused, seeing the path ahead without really registering the surreal landscape, lost in thoughts that spiraled between determination and fear.
The path they traveled wound through terrain that seemed designed by someone with a deliberately surreal sense of aesthetics—lily pads the size of houses floated on crystal-clear ponds, mushrooms grew tall as trees with caps in colors that had no business existing in nature, and the air itself seemed to shimmer with residual sage chakra that had saturated this place over millennia.
They were perhaps halfway to Gamabunta's dwelling when three figures hopped into view, blocking the path with the casual arrogance of youth who'd never learned proper respect for their elders. They were young toads—not tadpoles anymore but not yet full-grown—each about the size of a large dog, their orange skin marked with darker patterns that identified them as Gamabunta's offspring.
The one in the middle, slightly larger than his siblings and carrying himself with swagger that suggested he was the ringleader, fixed his attention on the approaching humans. His eyes passed over Jiraiya with respectful recognition before settling on Naruto with the kind of dismissive assessment that only the young could achieve without self-awareness.
"Jiraiya-sama!" The toad's voice carried cheerful disrespect wrapped in technically polite address. "Who's this weakling you've brought with you? Is this supposed to be your new student? He doesn't look like much. Kind of scrawny. Are you sure he's worth training?"
His two brothers immediately chimed in with their own observations, speaking over each other in a way that suggested this was habitual behavior.
"He's got that glazed expression! Like he's already given up before training even started!"
"Maybe he's not bright enough to understand what he's gotten himself into! That would explain the vacant stare!"
"Hey, do you think he can even understand us? Maybe he's so weak his brain can't process toad speech!"
Naruto didn't respond. Didn't even seem to hear them. His eyes remained unfocused, his feet continuing to move forward mechanically while his mind processed internal concerns far more pressing than the commentary of rude amphibians. The insults simply washed over him like water, completely failing to register.
Jiraiya, however, recognized the lead toad immediately despite not having seen him in several years. "Hey, Gamakichi! You've grown since I was last here. How are you doing? Shouldn't you be in training right now instead of blocking paths and insulting visitors?"
Gamakichi puffed up slightly, his chest expanding with the pride of a teenager trying to look more impressive than he was. "Training's boring! All that meditation and chakra control and listening to the old toads lecture about discipline and patience. We're taking a break to see what's happening. Dad mentioned you'd brought some kid who's supposed to be special, but he doesn't look special. He looks half-asleep!"
"Maybe he's meditating while walking?" one of Gamakichi's brothers suggested with obvious sarcasm. "Very advanced technique. Or maybe he's just stupid."
"Definitely stupid," the third brother agreed. "Look at that expression. Nothing going on behind those eyes at all."
Jiraiya sighed, recognizing the particular variety of youthful arrogance that came from being the Boss Summon's children—they'd grown up with status and privilege, never having to prove themselves, never having faced real challenges that would teach humility. "This 'weakling' is Minato's son. Your father's former summoner. Show some respect."
That got Gamakichi's attention, his posture shifting from dismissive to genuinely curious. "Really? The Yellow Flash's kid? Huh. Would've expected him to be more... impressive. You know, "
But Naruto continued walking past them without acknowledgment, his mind too occupied with dual demons and prophecies to care about the opinions of teenage toads. Jiraiya followed, leaving Gamakichi and his brothers staring after them with a mixture of confusion and slightly wounded pride at being so thoroughly ignored.
Two Weeks of Training
The training began in earnest the next day, and it was immediately apparent that Naruto's situation required approaches far different from standard summoner preparation.
Fukasaku had designed exercises specifically focused on chakra circulation—not the advanced techniques that would come later, but foundational work that most Academy students completed years before attempting summoning contracts. The goal was to help Naruto develop enough control over his own chakra that he could distinguish between his natural energy, the Nine-Tails' influence, and the corrupted chakra from the black fox.
Every morning, Naruto would sit in meditation position on one of the massive lily pads floating in Mount Myōboku's central pond, attempting to circulate his chakra through his pathways in smooth, controlled patterns. Fukasaku observed from the shore, his eyes tracking fluctuations invisible to normal sight, calling out corrections when Naruto's flow became erratic.
"Slower! You're forcing it! Let the energy flow naturally rather than trying to push it through!"
"I am letting it flow naturally! This is as natural as it gets!"
"If it was natural, you wouldn't be turning orange right now!"
And indeed, Naruto's skin would occasionally take on an orange tinge as the Nine-Tails' chakra leaked through his attempts at control, responding to frustration or excessive effort with surges that disrupted his entire system. The orange chakra would bubble to the surface like water boiling over, surrounding him in a visible aura that made the lily pad he sat on smoke slightly from the corrosive nature of demon energy.
But even more concerning were the moments when black chakra manifested instead. These episodes were less frequent but far more disturbing—the corruption would seep out like ink in water, spreading across Naruto's skin in patterns that looked almost like veins or roots. When the black chakra emerged, the temperature around him would drop noticeably, and small plants near his position would wither as if the energy itself was antithetical to life.
From a distance, hidden behind bushes at the pond's edge, three young toads watched these training sessions with growing fascination. Gamakichi and his brothers had made observing Naruto's progress into something approaching a hobby, gathering each day to provide running commentary on his failures and occasional successes.
"There he goes again," Gamakichi observed as orange chakra flared around Naruto for the third time that morning. "Can't even control his own energy for five minutes straight. This is the great Minato's son? I expected better."
"At least the orange chakra looks kind of cool," one brother offered. "Like he's on fire but not actually burning. That's something, right?"
"The black stuff is creepy though," the third brother added with a shudder. "Makes my skin crawl just looking at it. What kind of chakra makes plants die just from touching it? That's not normal. That's wrong."
"Everything about him is wrong," Gamakichi declared with the certainty of someone who'd never experienced real hardship. "Weak control, unstable chakra, can't even meditate properly. I don't know what Jiraiya-sama sees in him. Probably just feels obligated because of the father's legacy."
But despite their dismissive commentary, they kept watching. Day after day, they'd gather in their hiding spot, ostensibly to mock but increasingly to witness something they'd never seen before—someone struggling against impossible odds, failing repeatedly but returning each morning to try again despite the failures.
The training continued through the second week with minimal visible improvement. Naruto's chakra control remained erratic, the demon influences continued breaking through his attempts at restraint, and Fukasaku's patience was being tested in ways it hadn't been tested in decades. But Naruto kept showing up, kept trying, kept pushing despite the frustration that made him want to scream or quit or both.
Jiraiya watched from a different vantage point, his expression alternating between concern and pride as his student demonstrated the kind of stubborn determination that couldn't be taught, that either existed in someone or didn't. The kid was struggling—that was undeniable. But he wasn't quitting. And in Jiraiya's experience, persistence mattered more than natural talent in the long run.
Three Weeks In
By the end of the third week, Naruto had achieved something approaching basic competence with chakra circulation. The outbursts still happened, but less frequently, and he'd learned to recognize the warning signs that preceded them—the slight burning sensation that indicated Nine-Tails chakra about to surge, the cold numbness that suggested corruption rising. It wasn't mastery, wasn't even close to the control he'd need for summoning techniques, but it was progress.
He was sitting on his usual lily pad, attempting his afternoon meditation session, when a familiar voice interrupted his concentration.
"Hey, kid."
Naruto's eyes opened to find Gamakichi sitting on the lily pad's edge, his brothers visible in the background but maintaining their distance. The young toad's expression carried something that might have been reluctant respect mixed with his usual arrogance.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked, too tired from morning training to muster much enthusiasm for conversation with someone who'd spent weeks watching him fail from the bushes.
Gamakichi puffed up slightly, clearly preparing to deliver something he'd rehearsed. "Look, I've been watching you train. You're a mess—terrible control, can't even maintain basic circulation for more than ten minutes, constantly leaking chakra like you've got holes in your pathways. By all rights, you should have given up weeks ago."
"Thanks for the feedback," Naruto said dryly. "Is there a point to this?"
"The point is," Gamakichi continued, his chest expanding even further, "you keep showing up. You keep trying despite failing constantly. That's... not completely terrible. So I've decided—" here he struck what he clearly thought was an impressive pose, "—I'll let you be my summoner. You're a hopeless fool who can barely control his own chakra, but you're persistent. That counts for something. So congratulations! You get to partner with me!"
The silence that followed after Gamakichi's words stretched long enough to become uncomfortable. Naruto stared at Gamakichi with an expression that progressed from confusion to comprehension to something approaching offense.
"Are you serious right now?" Naruto finally asked, his voice flat. "You insult me for three weeks straight, call me hopeless and weak and stupid, and then offer to be my summon like you're doing me some huge favor? Who would want a tadpole for a summon anyway? You're like, what, knee-high? I could step over you!"
Gamakichi's eyes widened with genuine outrage. "Tadpole?! I'm not a tadpole! I'm a young adult toad from the Boss Summon's direct lineage! Do you have any idea how many summoners would kill for a partnership with Gamabunta's son?!"
"Then go partner with one of them!" Naruto shot back, his own frustration from weeks of difficult training finding an outlet. "I'm gonna ask Boss Gamabunta to be my summon! You know, an actual impressive toad who doesn't spend his time hiding in bushes making fun of people trying to improve themselves!"
"Gamabunta?! You want to summon Dad!" Gamakichi's voice rose to something approaching a shout. "You think Dad's going to partner with a human who can't even control basic chakra circulation? Who turns orange or black randomly during meditation? You're delusional! You'd be lucky if he doesn't laugh you out of his pond!"
"Better to aim high and fail than settle for a mouthy frog who thinks insults count as friendship!" Naruto was standing now, hands clenched into fists.
"I'm a TOAD, not a frog! There's a difference! And I wasn't trying to be your friend—I was offering you a partnership you clearly don't deserve!"
"Good! Because I wouldn't partner with you if you were the last summon in Mount Myōboku! At least frogs can't talk back!"
"Says the weakling human who can't even—"
"WEAKLING?! You want to see weak? I'll show you weak, you overgrown tadpole!"
"STOP CALLING ME A TADPOLE!"
The argument devolved into pure shouting, both parties so focused on their mutual offense that neither noticed their audience. From a comfortable distance, seated on rocks overlooking the training area, Gamabunta, Fukasaku, and Jiraiya watched the scene unfold with expressions of pure amusement.
Gamabunta's massive shoulders shook with silent laughter as he took a long pull from his pipe. "That's my boy. Got my personality and my pride. Though I gotta say, the human kid's got some spirit too. Takes guts to insult a toad's son to his face."
"They're perfect for each other," Fukasaku observed with a grin that made him look decades younger. "Both stubborn, both too proud to back down, both convinced they're better than they actually are. Give them a few more weeks of this and they'll either kill each other or become inseparable."
Jiraiya laughed outright, his voice carrying across the pond. "Kid's learning to stand up for himself at least. Three weeks ago he would have just taken the insults. Now he's giving as good as he gets. That's progress!"
"Think they'll actually partner up?" Gamabunta asked, blowing smoke rings that drifted toward the still-arguing pair.
"Eventually," Fukasaku said with the certainty of someone who'd watched hundreds of summoner-summon partnerships form over the centuries. "They'll fight for a while longer, avoid each other for a few days, then one of them will get in trouble and the other will help despite their pride. That's how these things always go with the stubborn ones."
Back at the lily pad, the argument was reaching fever pitch.
"You know what? Fine! I don't need you anyway! I'll find a better summon! A cooler summon! A summon that doesn't look like it belongs in a pond behind someone's house!"
"And I don't need a summoner who can't even meditate without leaking chakra everywhere! I'll find someone actually competent! Someone who knows the difference between a toad and a frog!"
They parted in opposite directions, both radiating wounded pride and anger, both convinced they'd won the argument despite neither actually winning anything. Gamakichi hopped away toward his brothers with exaggerated dignity. Naruto stomped toward the training area's exit with his hands shoved in his pockets and his expression thunderous.
The three observers watched them go, their laughter finally breaking free now that the combatants were out of earshot.
"Give it a week," Gamabunta predicted, his grin wide. "They'll be best friends inside a week."
"I'm taking that bet," Jiraiya said. "My money's on three days. The kid's too stubborn to stay mad that long, and your son's too curious about someone who actually talks back to him."
"Two days," Fukasaku declared. "Because they're both idiots who don't realize they actually like each other yet."
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