"A sage?"
"Naruto's future teacher?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at the stranger, their eyes wide with disbelief.
They instinctively backed away, increasing the distance between themselves and this guy who radiated bad vibes.
Once they were out of range, they'd grab an ANBU team to haul this creep away!
"You don't believe me?"
"I didn't expect a few kids wouldn't know my name. I am the Toad Sage, one of the legendary Sannin!"
Jiraiya looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, striking a pose of melancholic grandeur, then shook his head helplessly.
"Fine. I'll show you my skills!"
With that, Jiraiya vanished, reappearing instantly in front of Naruto and Sasuke.
Before they could react, his palms slammed onto their foreheads.
"Ninja Art: Frog Transformation Technique!"
Thump!
"Croak—"
"Sasuke turned into a frog!" Sakura shrieked from behind.
She glanced at Naruto, who stood rigid, then yelled, "But Naruto isn't changing!"
Jiraiya, standing ahead, looked at Naruto with genuine curiosity.
Then, Naruto raised his head. His eyes were cold—terrifyingly different from before.
"It's Menma."
Sakura realized instantly why Naruto hadn't been affected.
"Menma, save Sasuke! This pervert turned him into a frog!"
"I—I'm not a pervert! I was just... gathering material! Yes, gathering research material!"
Jiraiya retorted loudly at the accusation. He looked around nervously, checking to see if anyone else was nearby.
Only after confirming the coast was clear did he sigh in relief and turn back to Menma.
"You're the alternate personality the old man mentioned in his letter?"
"Your temperament is completely different. The primary personality is definitely more like him..."
Whoosh!
Jiraiya's words were cut short as a fox tail materialized out of thin air.
He yanked his arm back, leaping five meters away just in time to avoid the tail's slash.
"Nine-Tails chakra!"
"He mastered it completely? No signs of a berserk state at all."
Jiraiya's curiosity overflowed, his gaze toward Menma turning analytical.
Click!
Menma pressed his thumb against his index finger, his tone chilling.
"Why do you insist I'm a secondary personality? Why can't I be Naruto?"
Because Naruto's mind was sealed away, turning him into a frog.
But that suffocating feeling still leaked through to Menma, irritating him to no end.
And when he got annoyed, he wanted to vent. He wanted to destroy.
"That's possible," Jiraiya admitted, a shadow of a smile on his face. "But I've never heard of a secondary personality seizing control. Are you an exception?"
Looking at Jiraiya's ambiguous smile, Menma's fox tail swept the frog version of Sasuke off his feet.
"Croak~"
Sasuke the frog croaked once, tumbling through the air and vanishing into a distant thicket of bushes.
Sakura, standing nearby, understood the shift in the air. This was the prelude to a fight.
She sprinted into the bushes, scooping up the dazed Sasuke-frog.
On the field, with everyone out of the way, Menma's figure flashed.
He reappeared directly behind Jiraiya. Simultaneously, he crouched, generating explosive power in his waist and legs.
With a whistling sound, he unleashed a low kick spiraling upward, followed instantly by a high kick with his other leg.
"Behind me!" Jiraiya's smile vanished. He spun with lightning speed.
"Is that the Leaf Whirlwind? Didn't know you learned Taijutsu from Guy!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya stomped his foot, leaping backward while flipping through the air.
Then, he loosened his long, bound hair and whipped it toward Menma.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
His long, white hair extended instantly like writhing tentacles.
In the blink of an eye, the strands wrapped around Menma's limbs, binding him tight.
Upon landing, Jiraiya's hands flew through hand seals and he slammed them into the ground.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath Menma's feet, bound by the hair, liquefied into a swamp.
It gripped his feet instantly, then swallowed him whole.
After reacting in under three seconds, Jiraiya smirked, ready to lecture.
"You can't treat your teacher so violently, or you'll get a spanking... Waaaaa!!!"
Before he could finish his smug speech, Jiraiya cried out in alarm, frantically severing his protruding hair.
The bound Menma sneered.
Golden-red chakra erupted over his entire body, burning like a raging inferno.
Behind him, the fox tails multiplied from one to nine instantly!
They blotted out the sky, casting a massive, terrifying shadow.
"I was just using you to test my Taijutsu..."
As he spoke, all the white hair binding him turned to ash.
The swamp beneath his feet dried up instantly, hardening like kiln bricks.
The next second.
Buzz—!
A violent, vibrating sound echoed through the clearing.
Menma's figure vanished again.
A sonic boom cloud radiated outward from where he stood!
The ground beneath him cracked and caved in, creating a massive crater like a shattered spiderweb.
"Nine tails!"
"And this speed... it's inhuman."
The thought barely had time to register in Jiraiya's mind before his body could react.
A tremendous force slammed into his abdomen, launching him into the air.
Then, Menma's voice drifted up from below.
"So, you—who got injured by a four-tailed beast—have no right to lecture me?"
Crack!
Menma below raised his head, his thumb pressing against his ring finger.
All nine golden-red fox tails stood erect, poised to strike the airborne Jiraiya.
"Too fast!"
Staring down at Menma, who resembled a blooming fiery lotus, Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief.
A terrifying death warning flashed through his mind.
This wasn't a student awaiting instruction; this was a Tailed Beast wearing human skin!
After using the Frog Transformation Jutsu to seal Naruto's mind, Menma had emerged to take control of the body, preventing the transformation.
Moreover, Jiraiya had been too arrogant in the opening moves.
If he had been serious from the start, he wouldn't be in this predicament after just a few exchanges!
Before Jiraiya could regret his actions, the fox tails below shot out in full force.
They burst toward the sky like a vibrant fiery lotus blooming in magma.
As streaks of blood fell, a booming impact erupted in a cloud of smoke.
Boom!
Rumble!
The smoke cleared, revealing a gigantic toad holding a bowl-shaped shield, desperately holding down a bloodied fox tail.
Jiraiya's weak voice belatedly escaped him.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Ninja Art: Frog Transformation Technique, release!"
At the same time, below, Menma's expression shifted as a tremendous pulling force gripped him.
A moment later, the fox tail dissipated completely. The golden-red flames on his body vanished as well.
Naruto looked around with clear, albeit foolish, eyes.
"Huh?"
"Didn't I turn into a frog?"
---
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