Chapter 30: Blood Contract

"The Summoning Technique?"

Minato had a basic understanding of this type of ninjutsu from his teacher Kunio Shindō, but he didn't know the specifics of its application or principles.

"As the name suggests, the Summoning Technique allows one to summon certain entities to assist in combat through performing hand seals. Generally, we summon living creatures," Jiraiya explained.

If it were anyone else, he wouldn't go into such detail, simply teaching the technique directly. But Minato was different. 

At only seven years old, he possessed the gift to independently grasp the Body Flicker Technique. If properly guided to understand ninjutsu's essence, perhaps in the future he could develop an original technique of his own - something even Jiraiya hadn't achieved yet.

"Summon...living creatures?" Minato's eyes widened slightly.

Just from Jiraiya's simple explanation, he could gauge the Summoning Technique's difficulty level. Ordinary, low-rank ninjutsu couldn't possess such power. 

But now he understood why Jiraiya said even if he lost control, this technique wouldn't harm others by mistake.

"The creatures summoned are called Summon Beasts. They live in this world like us. Shinobi can summon them by virtue of a contract," Jiraiya said, retrieving a scroll from his ninja pouch. 

Rapidly forming hand seals and pressing his palm on the scroll, a larger scroll appeared in his hand.

"To perform the Summoning Technique, you need to sign a contract with a specific Summon Beast. The stronger the beast, the rarer and harder to find. So while the Summoning Technique is only B-rank, its power exceeds that level," he explained with a proud look.

"Among the currently known Summon Beasts, the strongest is the Monkey King summoned by the Third Hokage through his contract. Its power is easily on par with an S-rank ninja!"

Minato gasped. S-rank was a renowned level in the shinobi world, possessed by extremely powerful ninja rivaling the Kage of the great nations.

Even Jiraiya may not qualify as an S-rank ninja. Yet the Third's summon possessed comparable might - it seemed almost implausible!

Jiraiya laughed. "Summon Beasts of that caliber are likely only possessed by the Third. They can be considered the strongest. Ordinary summons don't have that level of power."

Minato nodded in understanding. If immensely powerful summons were commonplace, this technique couldn't just be B-rank.

"Master, do you mean I need to find and form a contract with an extremely strong Summon Beast myself?" Minato asked.

"Heh, easier said than done. Plus, if your own power isn't great enough, why would such formidable creatures willingly form a contract with you?" Jiraiya shook his head, though his confidence didn't waver.

"As I said, you're my student. If you didn't have something special, wouldn't that make me a failure as a teacher?"

"Besides the Monkey King, there are three legendary realms in the current shinobi world inhabited by incredibly powerful Summon Beasts. The one I've contracted with is the Mount Myōboku, one of those three realms!"

Jiraiya unrolled the large scroll, revealing rows of names written in blood, his own among them.

"Write your name in blood to form the contract. Then you can summon the toads of Mount Myōboku through this technique. The level of beast you can summon depends on the amount of chakra you release."

Something about the scene felt oddly familiar to Minato. Even the name Mount Myōboku didn't seem unfamiliar when Jiraiya mentioned its summons were toads.

Minato crouched down, bit his right thumb to draw blood, and wrote his name on the contract scroll.

Jiraiya smiled and put away the scroll. "Now I'll teach you the Summoning Technique's hand seals."

Jiraiya demonstrated the sequence - Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram - basic seals Minato had learned and could memorize after seeing once, having practiced forming them extensively in private.

"As a Space-Time Ninjutsu, the Summoning needs a medium - the blood used during the contract acts as the catalyst."

Minato's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Space-Time Ninjutsu, as if he had an inexplicable familiarity with such techniques.

"Watch closely as I demonstrate," Jiraiya said, biting his right thumb and smearing the blood on his left palm before rapidly forming the five seals. Slamming his hand down, markings spread from his palm like an intricate seal array.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke cleared to reveal Jiraiya standing atop a large toad taller than Minato, its skin a dark red with the kanji for "loyalty" hanging from its neck.

Most children would be startled by such a massive creature, but Minato remained perfectly calm.

"This is Gamakichi," Jiraiya introduced.

Minato nodded, unsure how to address the giant toad, which seemed quite docile and didn't say a word after being summoned.

"Understand?" Jiraiya hopped off Gamakichi, who vanished in another puff of smoke. 

"Yes," Minato nodded, grasping the basic principles and methods. As Jiraiya said, he just needed to control his chakra output.

"Then give it a try yourself," Jiraiya prompted.

Mimicking Jiraiya, Minato smeared blood from his previously cut thumb onto his palm, then swiftly formed the five seals before slamming his hand down.

In that instant, Minato poured out his full chakra reserves, eager to see what level of Summon Beast he could call forth.

(End of chapter)