Jiraiya was going to have the toad swallow them, and the toad would then swim to the island, allowing them to avoid detection.
This meant they could sneak directly beneath the enemy's nose before launching their attack.
Instantly, several people showed relieved smiles. Sure, getting swallowed by a toad wasn't exactly pleasant, but it beat sailing right into enemy fire.
Disgust... a strong sense of disgust.
Xin watched the toad on the deck, holding its head up proudly, and felt an overwhelming urge to squash the thing beneath his foot.
He didn't have any fear of toads, but he definitely didn't like them. The idea of being swallowed by one was even worse.
Danger!
It seemed to have sensed something. The toad, which Jiraiya had just summoned, shivered slightly, and instinctively turned its head-only to meet Xin's cold, disdainful gaze.
Clearly, Xin wasn't too thrilled about getting swallowed by a toad.
Jiraiya could see it right away.
"Alright, everyone," he said, "you'll have to put up with being in the toad's stomach for a little while. Who wants to go first?"
Many of the toads from Mount Myōboku possessed all sorts of unique abilities, and using one as a transportation vessel was no big deal.
Jiraiya often did this, hiding inside the toad's body to infiltrate dangerous areas and gather information.
Of course, Orochimaru did similar things-only, in his case, it was snakes, not toads.
"I'll go first," Yūhi Shinku said, stepping forward with a smile.
Being swallowed by the toad didn't mean being thrown into its stomach-there had to be a special space inside. Otherwise, they'd suffocate before they even got close to the island.
"Alright, Gourd Toad, the rest is up to you," Jiraiya said.
"Got it," replied the Gourd Toad, holding onto some pride as a creature of the Three Great Sage Regions.
Though it could feel Xin's disdain, the Gourd Toad didn't let it affect its mood. It knew what it was supposed to do.
Not everyone liked toads-being disliked was normal.
"If you dislike me, you don't have to come into my belly," the Gourd Toad thought, opening its mouth wide and swallowing Shinku.
Inside its belly was a special space, allowing it to carry living beings discreetly. Its unique ability was formidable enough that even Pain of the Rinnegan couldn't detect anything amiss in the original storyline.
After Shinku took the lead, the jonin entered one by one until it was Minato's turn.
Minato smiled faintly. "Thanks for the hard work."
As Jiraiya's disciple, with a summoning contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, Minato was on good terms with the toads.
After swallowing Minato, the Gourd Toad turned to Nawaki.
Nawaki grimaced. He wasn't too keen on getting swallowed by a toad, but what choice did he have?
What about you? He glanced at Xin, knowing he wasn't fond of toads either.
But Xin ignored him.
Just get into the toad's belly already.