Naruto: Marrying Tsunade

Chapter 12 - The Art of Summoning

Before anything else, Sarutobi Hiruzen had to set his disciples on the right path.

Watching his young apprentices, he let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in mild disappointment. "You call yourselves ninjas, yet you fall for the most obvious traps over and over again. It's disgraceful."

Jiraiya, still bound to a wooden post, pursed his lips and tried to come up with an excuse. "I-I just..." He hesitated, racking his brain for a valid reason, only for his brain to fail him. In truth, he had no solid defense.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had noticed something crucial in Jiraiya's performance during their training session. The boy was reckless, rushing into action without strategy, letting his eagerness cloud his judgment. The saying haste makes waste fit him perfectly. If this continued, Jiraiya would never reach his full potential. He needed something to ground him, a goal that would focus his undisciplined energy.

"You lack purpose," Sarutobi finally stated.

Jiraiya blinked. "What?"

"A direction, a clear goal to strive for." Sarutobi crossed his arms, closing his eyes briefly as he pondered how best to guide the boy. After a moment, a small smirk formed on his lips. "I think I have just the thing."

Jiraiya tilted his head, confused. "What thing?"

Rather than explain, Sarutobi decided that a demonstration would be more effective. Jiraiya wasn't the type to grasp concepts through lectures—he needed to see something to understand it.

"Watch closely," Sarutobi instructed.

Without another word, he bit down on his right index finger, drawing a thin bead of blood. He pressed his hands together, spreading the blood across his palms before forming a rapid sequence of hand seals. His fingers moved so swiftly that Jiraiya struggled to keep up.

At the final seal, Sarutobi slammed his hand onto the ground.

"Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique."

A pulse of chakra rippled outward as intricate black markings spread from his palm, covering the earth in an elaborate summoning array. A sharp boom echoed through the air, followed by a thick cloud of white smoke.

As the smoke dispersed, a towering figure emerged. It was humanoid in form but covered in thick white fur. Golden eyes peered out from beneath a mane of silver hair, and a long tail flicked behind it. Though beastly in appearance, the creature was dressed in standard shinobi attire—dark leggings, mesh armor, and a forehead protector bearing the insignia of Konoha.

Jiraiya's jaw nearly hit the ground.

Standing before them was Enma, the King of Monkeys and Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal summoning beast.

"Amazing," Jiraiya whispered, eyes wide with awe.

Sarutobi gave a small nod. "This is the summoning technique. It's a form of space-time ninjutsu that allows a shinobi to form a blood contract with certain creatures and summon them when needed."

Jiraiya barely registered his teacher's explanation. His mind was already racing with possibilities. He could summon something just as powerful—maybe even cooler than this! The thought of having his own fearsome companion made his heart pound with excitement.

He grinned. "I want to learn this!"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "It's not that simple."

Jiraiya's grin faltered.

"Just as every person has a different fate, the creatures they can form contracts with also vary. You won't be summoning the same beings as I do," Sarutobi explained.

"Then... what do I sign a contract with?" Jiraiya asked, determined.

"Before you even think about summoning anything, you need to increase your chakra reserves and master the hand seals properly. Otherwise, the summoning will fail—or worse, backfire."

Jiraiya groaned. "More training?!"

Sarutobi's stern gaze silenced his complaints. "There is no shortcut to mastery."

Jiraiya sighed but nodded. "Fine, fine. I get it."

Sarutobi smiled slightly. He had piqued Jiraiya's interest, and that was exactly what he intended. With this newfound motivation, the boy would dedicate himself to training far more seriously.

As he walked away, Jiraiya clenched his fists, vowing;

I'll learn the summoning technique. I'll master it, and then I'll show off to everyone—especially Tsunade!

Several days later, Jiraiya felt confident in his progress. He had been practicing tirelessly and believed that he had reached the point where he could perform the summoning technique himself.

Eager to prove his skill, he gathered three friends—Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Aokiji—at the training ground.

"Alright, you guys are in for a show," Jiraiya boasted, stretching his arms. "Prepare to witness my greatness!"

Tsunade crossed her arms. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Orochimaru remained silent, his golden eyes watching with mild amusement.

Aokiji yawned. "Go on, then. I need a good laugh before lunch."

Ignoring them, Jiraiya inhaled deeply, then bit down on his finger, smearing the blood on his palm. He quickly performed the hand seals, mimicking Sarutobi's movements as best he could. With all the confidence in the world, he slammed his hand onto the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

Silence.

Jiraiya stared at his hand. The others stared at the empty ground.

Nothing happened.

Jiraiya's smile twitched. "Uh... wait a second. Maybe I need to—"

"You did sign a contract first, right?" Tsunade asked dryly.

"Contract?"

Tsunade immediately covered her face with her palm. "You idiot."

Orochimaru sighed. "Before using the summoning technique, you must first form a contract with a summoning beast. Otherwise, there's no connection for the jutsu to work."

Jiraiya's face turned red. "O-of course, I knew that! I was just... uh... testing you guys!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Sure you were."

Without another word, she turned and walked away, clearly unimpressed. Orochimaru followed shortly after, shaking his head.

That left only Jiraiya and Aokiji standing there.

Jiraiya scowled, expecting Aokiji to make some kind of sarcastic remark. Instead, Aokiji simply shrugged and said, "I believe in you."

Jiraiya blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

Aokiji smiled in encouragement instead of laughing. "I believe you'll get it right. Eventually."

Jiraiya was deeply moved when he heard Aokiji's words. With a grin stretching across his face, he eagerly grabbed Aokiji's hands and said, "You're such a good person!"

Aokiji chuckled at his enthusiasm. "So, how do you plan to thank me?"

Jiraiya blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Uh…" He hesitated for a moment before scratching his head. "What do you want me to do?"

Without missing a beat, Aokiji answered, "Teach me the Summoning Technique."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You? But I thought you weren't interested in ninjutsu. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"This one's different," Aokiji replied casually.

"Different?"

"It's simple. A lazy guy like me could use a summon to do all my work for me."

Jiraiya was left speechless.

Using summoned creatures for chores instead of battle? That was… definitely something Aokiji would do.

"What's wrong? You don't want to teach me?" Aokiji asked, tilting his head.

"It's not that," Jiraiya muttered, suddenly looking a little awkward.

The truth was, he wasn't sure how to teach it properly. He had barely started learning it himself, and now someone expected him to pass it on?

Aokiji narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait a second… don't tell me you don't actually know how to summon anything yet?"

"Who—who said that?!" Jiraiya spluttered, waving his arms. "Learning the Summoning Technique takes time and effort, alright? Just wait, and before you know it, I'll have it mastered."

If he failed, well… he could always just blame Aokiji for not getting it right.

Aokiji smirked and clenched his fist. "I get it. If this lets me slack off in the future, then I'll learn it no matter what."

Jiraiya sighed. "You really are the laziest guy I know."

"And you're not much better," Aokiji shot back. "You're learning ninjutsu just to impress girls."

Jiraiya coughed into his fist. "Hey, no need to bring that up…"

"Right, right. So? Are you teaching me or not?"

"Fine, fine. Stop rushing me."

Jiraiya took a deep breath and tried to recall what Sarutobi-sensei had taught him. After organizing the steps in his mind, he did his best to explain them to Aokiji.

Aokiji listened carefully, quickly grasping the basics of the technique. His natural intelligence helped him absorb the concepts with ease, though he kept his excitement in check. He would practice it properly later, when no one was around to see.

Once the lesson was over, Aokiji stretched and said, "Thanks. I owe you one. I'll treat you to a meal next time."

Jiraiya's face lit up. "Really? In that case, I want chopped pepper fish head. I had it last time, and I've been thinking about it ever since."

Aokiji chuckled. "No problem."

That Night

The moon shone brightly in the sky, and the stars twinkled faintly against the darkness. The village was quiet, with most people already deep in sleep.

But in the stillness of the night, one person remained wide awake.

Aokiji, a self-proclaimed night owl, was full of energy. He had just finished his nightly workout, completing a thousand push-ups in a single session. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he took a sip of water and sat down to rest.

Lately, he had been feeling more and more pressure. Since their graduation, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had been improving at a visible rate, receiving systematic training and personal guidance from their mentors. Meanwhile, Aokiji had been training in secret, honing his abilities alone.

That approach had worked in the academy, where everyone was on a more even playing field. But now, as his teammates continued to grow stronger, he realized that he couldn't afford to fall behind.

Yet there was a problem.

If he trained in a remote area, there was always the risk that someone would stumble upon him. And if his true abilities were exposed, he would undoubtedly be recruited for war.

He wasn't even sixteen yet—there was no way he wanted that kind of attention.

For now, his best option was to continue training at home, at night, away from prying eyes.

As he pondered his situation, an idea crossed his mind.

The Summoning Technique.

It was relatively safe to practice indoors, and unlike physical combat training, it wouldn't make much noise.

Closing his eyes, Aokiji reviewed the technique in his mind. He went over the hand seals, the chakra control required, and the importance of forming a contract with a summon.

After a few moments, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Alright, let's give it a shot."

First, he practiced the hand seals a few times without chakra, making sure he had the sequence down. Then, when he felt confident, he decided to attempt it for real.

With that, he focused on his chakra and began forming the seals.

His hands moved in a blur, performing each seal smoothly. Then, with complete confidence, he slammed his palm onto the ground.

A loud bang echoed through the room as a puff of white smoke erupted beneath his hand. Meaning, Aokiji succeeded in using the summoning technique for the first time, which proved that Aokiji was very talented.

But the problem is...

When the smoke cleared, Aokiji's eyes widened in shock.

Instead of being inside his quiet training room, he was now standing in a vast, snow-covered landscape.

Icy winds howled around him, biting at his skin, and the ground beneath him was blanketed in thick, untouched snow.

Aokiji shivered as a gust of cold air hit him, and he instinctively pulled his cloak tighter around his body.

His mind raced.

Where am I?

What just happened?

Did I—did I actually succeed in summoning something… or did I summon myself somewhere else?!

A gust of biting wind blew over, and Aokiji sneezed suddenly: "A-choo!"