Chapter 68: Signing the Contract

"I haven't lost yet! An attack like this... I can still take it!"

Despite being beaten rather brutally by Jiraiya, Gamabunta remained as stubborn as ever, refusing to admit defeat.

"Thunder-Flame Slash."

Seeing Gamabunta's refusal to yield, Jiraiya didn't hold back. His hands moved swiftly, forming seals, before he leaped into the air, wielding his Lightning Flame Blade. Lightning and fire-infused chakra coursed through the weapon as he swung it down.

Searing arcs of flame and crackling streaks of lightning erupted from the blade, slashing down onto Gamabunta's massive frame.

The Thunder-Flame Slash was one of Jiraiya's most formidable sword techniques, a combination of both fire and lightning chakra. Though powerful, it was far from perfected. Jiraiya had only recently mastered it and couldn't yet achieve a complete fusion of the two chakra natures. If he ever succeeded in fully merging them, this technique's destructive power would grow exponentially.

Gamabunta's enormous body was now riddled with wounds, blood flowing freely from the gashes.

"Old man, Gamabunta's as stubborn as you. He has to take a beating before he learns to admit defeat," Shima teased, glancing at Fukasaku.

She showed no intention of stopping Jiraiya. Gamabunta's temper was infamous, and both elder toads figured this might be a good opportunity to knock some sense into him.

"What does his hardheadedness have to do with me?" Fukasaku retorted indignantly.

"Oh, really? Remember last time when I caught you chatting with that female toad? You swore you'd only just met her, but after I gave you a beating, you came clean and admitted you'd known her for ages!" Shima glared at him.

"That was coercion! If I didn't say what you wanted to hear, I wouldn't even be alive to argue with you now!" Fukasaku protested, looking utterly aggrieved.

"So, you're saying I'm unreasonable?"

"No, no! I didn't mean that!"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I—uh—I mean nothing at all!"

The two elder toads broke into yet another quarrel, which quickly escalated into Shima giving Fukasaku a sound thrashing.

"I'm willing to sign the contract! Just stop fighting already!"

After several more minutes of taking hits, Gamabunta finally caved. His massive frame, now battered and bloodied, bore no spot untouched by wounds.

"You could've saved yourself a lot of pain by giving in earlier," Jiraiya said, landing another couple of cuts before finally halting.

Gamabunta's resilience made him a perfect test subject for Jiraiya's techniques. This gave Jiraiya an idea—every time he learned a new jutsu, he'd head straight to Mount Myōboku to test it on Gamabunta. As long as he didn't outright kill the big toad, the natural healing of the mountain would have him back in shape in no time.

"Father, get me out of this sticky mess already!" Gamabunta yelled at Fukasaku, his body half-submerged in the swamp.

"Just stay there and reflect on your stubbornness," Fukasaku snapped, his face bruised and swollen from Shima's beating.

Seeing Gamabunta's pitiful state, Fukasaku felt a pang of anger rise again. If not for the elder toad's obstinacy, Fukasaku wouldn't have gotten dragged into the mess and beaten up.

Shima formed seals, releasing a powerful gust of wind from her mouth. The wind formed into a tornado, lifting Gamabunta's massive body from the swamp and hurling him far into the distance, where he landed with a heavy crash.

Witnessing this, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. The sheer power of senjutsu was astonishing. Gamabunta might not yet have reached his legendary 17-meter size as described in the original story, but he was already a towering 10 meters tall, with a body weight to match. Not to mention, he had been stuck in a swamp. Yet, Shima's senjutsu had effortlessly lifted him and hurled him away.

After landing, Gamabunta dragged himself to a nearby pond to wash off the muck.

"Little Jiraiya, this is the power of senjutsu. If you want to master such incredible strength, you'll have to work hard and learn the jutsu we've passed on to you," Shima said.

The scrolls that Fukasaku and Shima had given Jiraiya contained a variety of techniques, many of which would also enhance his physical capabilities. From what Jiraiya understood, mastering senjutsu required a strong body capable of withstanding natural energy.

In the original timeline, Jiraiya hadn't mastered Sage Mode until the Third Shinobi World War, and even then, he needed Fukasaku and Shima's assistance. The process had taken a long time.

But now, with the [System], Jiraiya had an advantage far beyond what Naruto had in the original story. Once Fukasaku and Shima deemed him ready to learn Sage Mode, Jiraiya was confident he could master it in record time.

With that thought, Jiraiya signed summoning contracts with Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro. When he returned to the shinobi world, he would be able to summon them through the summoning array.

"Elder Fukasaku, Elder Shima, how about signing a contract with me too?" Jiraiya asked.

The two elder toads were immensely powerful, and having a contract with them would ensure he could retreat safely even against Kage-level opponents.

"Little Jiraiya, signing a contract with us is a bit premature. While your chakra reserves are indeed impressive, summoning the two of us would still be too taxing for you right now," Fukasaku explained.

Summoning contracts required chakra, and the stronger the summoned creature, the greater the chakra cost. Summoning the elder toads, with their immense reserves of senjutsu chakra, would require an extraordinary amount of chakra.

"For now, let's focus on training you in the jutsu we've given you," Fukasaku said.

Jiraiya nodded and began his training with the Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu.

This versatile jutsu infused chakra into his hair, allowing it to harden and extend. It could be used to restrain enemies or pierce through them with deadly force. Once he mastered Sage Mode, this jutsu could evolve into the Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, an incredibly fast and wide-range senjutsu technique that was nearly impossible to evade.

With the guidance of Fukasaku and Shima, both of whom took their roles as teachers seriously, Jiraiya began his rigorous training at Mount Myōboku.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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