"A Sage?"
"Naruto's future teacher?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all showed expressions of disbelief.
They even began backing away quietly, trying to distance themselves from this suspicious man.
Once they got far enough, they planned to call the Anbu to arrest this pervert.
"You don't believe me?"
"To think even a few brats haven't heard of the famous Toad Sage, one of the Legendary Sannin!"
Jiraiya raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, looking melancholy, then shook his head helplessly.
"Fine, I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
With that, Jiraiya instantly appeared in front of Naruto and Sasuke.
Before either could react, he placed one hand on each of their foreheads.
"Ninja Art: Frog Transformation Jutsu!"
Poof!
"Ribbit—"
"Sasuke turned into a frog!" Sakura shouted from behind.
Then she looked at Naruto, who remained unchanged.
"But Naruto didn't change!"
Jiraiya also stared at Naruto curiously.
Naruto slowly raised his head, revealing a cold expression completely different from before.
"It's Lock!"
Sakura immediately understood why Naruto had not transformed.
She quickly shouted, "Lock, save Sasuke! This big pervert turned him into a frog!"
"I-I'm not a pervert! I was just… researching! Yes, researching!"
Being called a pervert made Jiraiya protest loudly.
He glanced around nervously.
After confirming no strangers were nearby, he sighed in relief and looked back at Lock.
"So you're the alternate personality the old man mentioned in his letter?"
"Your temperament and aura really are different. The main personality resembles him more…"
Swish!
Jiraiya's words were cut off by a suddenly appearing fox tail.
He yanked his arm back and leapt five meters away, barely dodging the slash.
"Nine-Tails chakra!"
"And completely controlled, without any sign of berserk transformation!"
Curiosity flooded Jiraiya's face as he studied Lock carefully.
Crack!
Lock pressed his thumb against his index finger, voice cold.
"Oh? Why are you so certain I'm the alternate personality and not Naruto?"
Naruto's consciousness had been sealed into a frog, yet the uncomfortable sensation still reached Lock.
The irritation surged instantly.
And when Lock felt irritated, he wanted violence.
"It's possible," Jiraiya said with a half-smile. "Though I've never heard of an alternate personality taking control. Maybe you're a special case?"
The fox tail behind Lock suddenly swept outward.
"Ribbit~"
The Sasuke-frog was sent flying in an arc into distant bushes.
Sakura immediately realized a fight was about to begin.
She rushed after it and scooped up the dazed frog-Sasuke.
On the field.
With the obstacles cleared—
Lock vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Jiraiya.
He dropped low, muscles coiling, then unleashed a sweeping kick followed instantly by a rising strike.
"Behind me!"
Jiraiya's smile vanished as he spun around at incredible speed.
"That Whirlwind technique? You even learned taijutsu from Might Guy!"
He stomped and flipped backward through the air.
His bound white hair suddenly unfurled.
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
The hair extended like living tendrils.
In an instant, it wrapped around Lock's limbs, binding him tightly.
The moment Jiraiya landed, his completed hand seals slammed onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath Lock liquefied into mud.
It swallowed his legs instantly, trapping him waist-deep.
Having completed the counterattack in less than three seconds, Jiraiya began lecturing confidently.
"You shouldn't treat your teacher so violently, or I'll have to spank your— Waaah!!!"
Before he finished speaking, Jiraiya cried out and severed his own hair instantly.
Lock sneered.
Golden-red chakra erupted around him like blazing fire.
The number of fox tails behind him surged—from one to nine.
They spread outward, blotting out the sunlight.
"I was only using you to test some taijutsu."
The white hair binding him burned into ash.
The swamp beneath his feet dried instantly, hardening like baked clay.
The next second—
Buzz—!
A violent hum filled the air.
Lock disappeared again.
Only expanding shockwaves remained where he had stood.
The ground beneath him shattered outward in a massive crater.
"It's actually nine tails!"
"And this speed… this power…!"
Before Jiraiya could react—
A tremendous force struck his abdomen.
He was launched into the air.
Lock's voice rose from below.
"So someone injured by just four tails… what right do you have to lecture me?"
Crack!
Lock looked upward, thumb pressing against his ring finger.
Behind him, the nine fox tails stiffened, all aimed at Jiraiya midair.
"Too fast!"
Looking down, Jiraiya saw Lock standing like a blooming inferno.
A deadly warning screamed through his instincts.
This wasn't a student.
This was a tailed beast wearing human skin.
Sealing Naruto with the Frog Transformation Jutsu had allowed Lock to seize full control—preventing the transformation entirely.
And Jiraiya realized his mistake.
He had underestimated his opponent.
The fox tails surged upward.
Like a fiery lotus blooming from lava, they shot toward the sky.
Blood scattered through the air—
Poof!
Boom!
Smoke exploded outward.
As it cleared, a massive toad appeared, holding a bowl-shaped shield downward, blocking the blood-streaked fox tails.
Jiraiya's strained voice followed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Frog Transformation Jutsu: Release!"
At the same moment—
Lock's expression shifted as a powerful pulling force seized him.
The fox tails dispersed.
The golden-red chakra vanished.
Naruto blinked, standing where Lock had been moments before.
He looked around blankly.
"Eh?"
"Didn't I turn into a toad?"