Chapter 6: Shining star
The giant toad instinctively slammed its massive limbs against the walls, crushing the stone spikes, halting their descent. "What's this? where in the world am i ?!"
Naruto, relieved that he managed to land safely on the titan's back, found Ash had landed safely behind him. Ash felt different after absorbing the red Chakra; he felt powerful, overflowing Chakra coursing through his body. The Nine-Tails' Chakra tempered his own, boosting his reserves, but it was too much. He couldn't hold this much power—it was overwhelming his young body. Ash had to act quickly before his body reached its limit.
"FROOOOOOO!"
Naruto could feel the pain assaulting Ash and rushed to his side. "Ash, what's happening? Hold on!" Naruto grabbed Ash, and just like when they first met, Ash began to glow. As Naruto held Ash, the bond that binds them overflowed. They were one in mind and soul for a short moment, but that was all it took for Ash to shine bright enough to light up the dark. Ash looked like a star that fell to the earth. Naruto and the giant toad couldn't open their eyes any more.
"What's all this about? Who summoned me?" The giant toad was barely holding back its anger, only because it didn't know the identity of its summoner. Naruto felt a change in Ash; the small frog he held in his arms was growing.
"What's happening to you, ash? ARE YOU GOING TO EXPLODE THIS TIME? AAAAAHHHHH!"
"FROAK... FROOOAAAAKKKK... FROOOOOOOGAAAAAADIIIIEEEEERRRR!"
Naruto didn't understand Ash's words and he couldn't see anything, but somehow he knew that everything was going to be okay. In fact, he felt Ash was excited about this, and so Naruto got excited too. "Alright, I can't wait to see what happens! Haha."
Hearing the voices on his back, the giant toad was even more confused. None of what he heard made any sense, but he knew one thing: that's not Jiraiya's voice and he wasn't going to take anymore of this disrespect. "YOU BRATS!"
The giant toad leaped up and out of the crevasse in a second, even though Naruto had been falling for at least two minutes straight. Naruto and Ash could feel immense weight because of the inertia the sudden leap caused them. They could only use tree walking to try and stay on the toad's back. As they rose higher and higher off the ground, Jiraiya could do nothing but watch as one of his summons, Gamabunta, was about to rampage with a blinding light on his back.
After a few moments, the glow dimmed and Naruto and Gamabunta could finally see again. "WHY ARE WE IN THE SKY? IS THAT A CLOUD?"
"FROGAA?"
"Oh, the sky is the thing that's always there when you look up, I don't really know what it is, but we're there." Just as he finished explaining what the sky was, the jump's height peaked and they began falling. "AAAAAAAHHHHH NOOOOO!"
"FROOOOOOO!"
Naruto and Ash got out of one life-threatening situation and got themselves into another. They held on like their lives depended on it—because it did. Jiraiya thought he could sneak away, but Chief Toad jumped out of the cliff too fast. "Oi, Jiraiya, what's the meaning of this?"
Gamabunta landed on the ground, destroying countless trees. 'Damn it, he saw me. This is troublesome. Well, Naruto summoned him, so it's his problem.' "Why did you summon me, Jiraiya?"
Naruto and Froakie barely withstood the fall but managed to hold on to his back, which impressed Chief Toad, not that he would admit it. "Gamabunta, old friend, how've you been?"
"Answer me, senile fool! Why have you summoned me?"
"Sorry to say, but it wasn't me that summoned you. As you can see, I have no reason to do so."
Gamabunta looked around and could find nothing amiss—no enemies, no threats. "Then how do you suppose that I'm here? No other living person can summon me but you."
Jiraiya pointed at Chief Toad's back. "Wrong, there's two—me and the one on your back."
Gamabunta focused on his back, and to his shock, the two people on his back were both too young to accomplish such a feat. "How could that be possible? Someone so weak could never summon me."
"BELIEVE IT!" Naruto and Ash ran up to Chief Toad's head and stood on his snout. "You're looking at Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I'm the one that summoned you." Ash stood next to Naruto, confirming his statement with a nod.
"Well, if that's true, you show a lot of promise. I'll allow you the honour of being my henchman."
"What are you talking about are you talking about? I summoned you, that makes me the master in this situation!"
"Haaahh? a little snot like you that struggled to stay on my back to be my servant. And to think I even promoted you to become one of my henchmen."
"I COULD STAY ON YOUR BACK FOR A WHOLE DAY, NO PROBLEM!"
"HAHAHA! If you can do that, then I might promote you to partner. But from what I've seen, that's impossible for you."
"If that's what it takes, YOU'RE ON, CHIEF TOAD!"
"HAH, it seems you left your brain in the clouds. You wouldn't last a minute. Wake up, boy; you're too weak."
"I'll show you. Let's get to it, then. Ash, this is goodbye for now..."
Looking at Ash, Naruto finally got a good look and his jaw dropped. If it wasn't for the bond, he would never guess who this frog next to him could be. "Ash, you changed."
"Frooo."
Naruto was confused. 'Must be normal for frogs or something, maybe that's how they get so big?' Naruto stretched out his fist, and so did Ash. As their fists collided, Ash vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto was sad to see Ash go just when he got to see him again, but this was something he had to do alone, and it would take a while.
"It shouldn't be too hard to stay on your back. DO YOUR WORST!"
"It's your funeral, kid." Gamabunta rampaged all over the forest, leaping miles to shake Naruto off, and yet the boy persisted. The only thing keeping him from falling was his sheer will. So what if it was his first rodeo? Something like that could never make him back down.
"How long will you keep holding on, snot? Don't you see I'm a busy toad."
"I'LL NEVER GIVE UP, THAT'S MY NINDO, MY NINJA WAY."
Gamabunta was getting more impressed the longer Naruto spoke. 'He has the heart, that's for sure, but can he hold on till the end? I hope you're not all talk, kid.' Hours passed. Naruto was exhausted, yet he never gave up. He was starving and battered. 'Almost there, just a little longer.' He looked at the horizon, the sun nearly set. He couldn't, no, he wouldn't give up. Even if he had to go on for another day, his will would never waver, not for a single moment.
The sun finally set and Gamabunta landed after his final jump. 'I can't believe he did it. What is this brat... Naruto made of?'
"A deal's a deal, little snot..... Hey, you're not dead, are you?"
*SNOOOOOREEEEEE*
"...JIRAIYA, TAKE CARE OF THIS."
Jiraiya appeared on Chief Toad's head and picked up Naruto. 'Unbelievable, he actually did it. Kushina would be proud.'
"I'll be taking my leave, Gamabunta." In a blur, Jiraiya vanished from the place.
'I lost to a snot-nosed brat.' A smile appeared on Gamabunta's face. 'How long has it been since the last time I lost? I can't remember; it's been too long. What a promising kid. Seems that Jiraiya has an eye for disciples. Now that I think about it, the boy had a toad with him. What was his name... Ash, yes, that's right. It's high time I take on a disciple of my own. I'm getting too old for this. It's time I pass down my techniques to a suitable successor.'
*POOF*
The chaotic forest suddenly went quiet as the sun set. The culprits responsible for the mass destruction were nowhere to be seen.