"Summoning Technique?"
Minato had heard a little about this type of ninjutsu from Moto Kouda, but only vaguely.
As for the specific methods and underlying principles, there was no way he could know much about them.
"The Summoning Technique, as its name suggests, involves using a technique to summon certain beings to assist in battle. Usually, what we summon are living creatures."
Jiraiya explained. He wouldn't normally go into such detail about the Summoning Technique for just anyone—he'd usually just demonstrate it. But Minato was no ordinary student.
At just seven years old, he'd already mastered the Shifting Body Technique on his own—something no ordinary child could do. If guided properly to understand the very essence of jutsu itself, he might one day develop his own unique ninjutsu.
Even Jiraiya didn't have that rare gift of creating new techniques.
"Summon... living creatures?"
Minato's eyes widened slightly. From just this brief explanation by his teacher, he could already tell how difficult the Summoning Technique must be. Ordinary low-level ninja techniques definitely didn't have effects like this.
Now he understood what his teacher had meant—why even if he lost control, the Summoning Technique wouldn't cause unintended harm.
"The creatures summoned through the Summoning Technique are called summoning beasts. Like us, they are also living beings in this world. The reason ninja can summon them is entirely due to the power of contracts."
Saying this, Jiraiya took out a ninja scroll from the pouch hanging at his waist.
Quickly forming several hand seals with both hands, he pressed them onto the scroll, summoning a much larger scroll into his hands.
"To use the Summoning Technique, you must first make a contract with some summoning beast. The more powerful the beast, the rarer it becomes and the harder it is to find. So although the Summoning Technique may seem like just a B-rank technique, its actual power surpasses that level."
At this point, a faint trace of pride appeared on Jiraiya's face.
"Among all known summoning beasts in the current ninja world, the strongest is Enma, contracted by the Third Hokage. Its strength absolutely equals that of an S-rank ninja!"
Hearing this, Minato couldn't help but inhale sharply. The concept of S-rank ninja referred to a commonly recognized classification of power within the ninja world.
Ninjas at this level wielded power that could rival the Kages of the great nations...
Even his current teacher, Master Jiraiya, couldn't necessarily be considered an S-rank ninja.
The Third Hokage's summoning beast actually matched that level?
That seemed almost unbelievable!
Jiraiya chuckled and said, "Beasts at Enma's level probably exist only with the Third. It truly deserves to be called the strongest summoning beast. Ordinary summoning beasts certainly don't possess such power."
Minato nodded thoughtfully. If powerful summoning beasts were common everywhere, the ranking of this technique would never just be B-rank.
"Master, does that mean I need to find a powerful summoning beast myself and make a contract with it?" Minato asked curiously.
"Hmph. Finding a powerful summoning beast is easier said than done. And if you're not strong enough yourself, would those mighty creatures even want to make a deal with you?"
Jiraiya chuckled and shook his head, though his confident expression never faded.
"I already told you—you're my disciple. If I didn't give you something special, wouldn't that make me a pretty terrible teacher?"
"Other than Enma, there are currently three legendary sacred lands in the ninja world, each home to extremely powerful summoning beasts. One of them—Mount Myoboku—is where I signed my summoning contract."
Jiraiya placed the large scroll he was holding onto the ground and spread it open. Minato's gaze fell upon it, seeing names written one after another in blood, among which his teacher's name clearly appeared.
"Write your name here using your own blood to form a blood pact, and then you'll be able to use the Summoning Technique to call forth the toads from Mount Myoboku for battle. As for what level of creature you can summon, that depends entirely on how much chakra you release."
Looking at this scene, Minato couldn't help but feel like he had seen it all before. Even the first time he heard the name 'Mount Myoboku,' it hadn't sounded unfamiliar.
Earlier when Jiraiya mentioned that the summons from Mount Myoboku were toads, Minato hadn't shown even a hint of surprise.
Minato squatted down, bit his right thumb until it bled, and wrote his name onto the Summoning Scroll.
Jiraiya smiled, rolled up the scroll afterward, and said, "Now, I'll show you how to perform the hand seals for the Summoning Technique."
Then he demonstrated the sequence to Minato, who nodded to indicate he had memorized everything perfectly.
The required hand seals for the Summoning Technique were: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. Minato had already learned these basic seals back at the Ninja Academy, so one look was enough for him to remember them all. He'd secretly practiced forming these seals countless times anyway.
"Since the Summoning Technique belongs to Space-Time Ninjutsu, it requires a medium during the summoning process, and that medium is none other than your own blood used when forming the contract."
When Jiraiya mentioned Space-Time Ninjutsu, Minato's heart slightly tightened—it stirred an inexplicable sense of familiarity toward this type of technique.
"Now watch carefully—I'll demonstrate once."
So saying, Jiraiya bit his thumb, smeared the blood across his palm, quickly formed the five hand seals again, and slammed his left hand onto the ground. Chakra swirled outward from his palm like swirling glyphs forming an energy circle.
[Puff!]
Smoke filled the air as Jiraiya now stood atop a giant toad taller than Minato himself. Its skin was dark red, and around its neck hung an oil lamp marked with the character for 'loyalty'.
Most children would probably have jumped in fright upon seeing such a massive creature, but Minato remained utterly calm.
"This is Gamachika," Jiraiya introduced.
Hearing this, Minato nodded thoughtfully but hesitated briefly on how to properly greet the massive toad standing before him.
Gamachika appeared quite gentle as well and didn't say a word even after being summoned.
"Do you get it?"
Jiraiya jumped down from Gamachika's back, and the toad vanished in a puff of smoke right before Minato's eyes.
"Yeah."
Minato nodded. He understood the basic principles and methods well enough. Next, as his teacher Jiraiya had said, he just needed to control the amount of chakra output.
"Then give it a shot."
Jiraiya said. Minato was clearly eager to give it a try as well.
Without hesitation, Minato followed Jiraiya's earlier example. He smeared blood from the finger he had bitten while signing the contract onto the palm of his other hand, quickly formed five seals in succession, and placed his palm flat on the ground.
At that moment, Minato released all his chakra at once. He was extremely curious to see what kind of summoning beast he could now conjure up...
...
...
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