Loud cheers erupted through the villages as firecrackers exploded in the sky. The navy blue and red flash powder lit up the firmament. The children stared in awe as the powder quickly left from their view while the adults cheered on in a joyous and drunken stupor. The smiles seemed to be infectious as every inhabitant of the village had one on their faces.
Everything seemed normal within this village, it was littered with children, and the adults seemed to know and appreciate each other's company. Except that these villagers weren't humans. No they were far from it. These villagers were the inhabitants of the Gama territory. They were the ancient and powerful Toads of the summoning realms. (The word '蝦蟇, Gama' means toad in English. Here it's used for names of the Gama clan-example; Gamatatsu, Gamakichi,Gamaken.)
And Gamabunta was the proud leader of this particular village, which so happened to be one of the many that littered the Gama territory. The old, wizened Toad smiled as his people celebrated the birth of the Great Prophecy Toad. The toad had been alive since the birth of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki(Sage of the Six Paths for all who don't know). He was well respected by each and every single member of the Toad clan. His age and prophecies was the stuff of legends even in the lands of the other summoning beasts.
Gamatatsu sighed before blowing out a small cloud of smoke from his wooden pipe. Due to his size, the pipe was almost as large as a full grown tree and the puff of smoke was the size of a cloud. Though for toads his size, this was nothing but an abnormal occurence
Gamatatsu had come into his position of power after his involvement during the Summoning Wars. The Summoning Wars were a war held between hundreds of the different summoning clans that littered their homelands. A "baby boom" had occurred among several of higher ranked summoning clans. Peace had settled over the entirety of the summoning lands, allowing the inhabitants to mate and give birth at an accelerated rate. And with so many newborns came the need for territory.
Thus the 1st summoning wars started. It all began with the Hebi (蛇, plain snake in english clan taking on the Ryū(竜Dragon) clan with several of their allies. The dragons had the advantage of maneuverability with their ability to fly but the snakes held the power over deception. They managed to disguise several members of their clan as Dragons under a powerful illusion and cause havoc from the inside. By time the Snakes attacked, the dragons had done so much infighting that it was almost a bloodless takeover. That didn't include the mass execution the snakes held to insure that no rebellious Dragons would rise up and attempt to win their territory back. The snakes had renamed the cave littered mountain but every single other summoning clan still referred to it as the Ryūchi Cave (Draguns cave).
The snake's takeover of the Dragon was the beginning step of a domino effect in the summoning world. The hawk and crow clan battled for dominance on some of the highest peaks of the summoning world. The salamanders completely slaughtered the lizard clan, burning down every single one of their monuments. The usually docile Elephants ordered a bounty for every head of the prominent Giraffe clan leaders. Pandemonium spread throughout the lands.
The toads had tried their very best to stay out of the chaos but they too were eventually forced to expand. Mount Myōboku (The mountain where the toads come from. It's all like yellow and has frog statues there.) could only hold so many of the quickly expanding Toad clan. They had tried peaceful negotiation at first but that failed miserably. Once riots started to break out in some of the more overpopulated areas of the homeland of the Toads, their decision was made for them. To avoid civil war, they had to fight.
With their Sage mode (仙人モード Sennin Mōdo is practically a 'mode' that enchants your senses and strength while making you overpowered) and large size, they were a fierce enemy to every single enemy they faced. The boar clan that took refuge on some of the lower parts of the mountain had quickly fallen by the assault of the ferocious Toad. Gamatatsu had remembered that battle as it was his first time taking a life. He also clearly remembered the night after because of the copious amount of vomit he had let out.
Several branches of the Deer and Bear had fallen under the might of the mighty Toad clan. They quickly marched their way down the mountain, eliminating every animal clan that stood in their way. Peaceful negotiations were lost as the warriors fought for peace within their own land.
Then the Toads encountered the Panther (Japanese- Hyō 豹) clan. That had by far been the bloodiest battle of the Toad's conquest. They had lost many members during the fight. The panthers had the home field advantage, knowing the land. They also held the advantage over stealth and speed. But once again, the Toad's sage mode managed to overcome the Panther's advantage. The sensing ability granted by Sage mode rendered the Panther's stealth null and void. Eventually the Toads were able to overpower the speedy big cats.
Gamatatsu could still remember the seething looks the surviving panthers sent his way as they lined up for execution. The battle had been so vicious that the elders wanted to make sure that the Panthers would never hold a legacy once again. They thought they had managed to succeed in this. If only they realized how wrong they had been.
"Lightning Release: Fangs of lightning. (雷の牙Ikazuchi no Kiba" A voice said from within the room.
Gamatatsu did not know what hit him. His mind didn't have the time to comprehend what happened to him. He saw a bright light enter the peripheral of his vision before an intense burning sensation overwhelmed him.
Naruto slowly landed on his feet as the now two separate half of the Toad chieftain fell to the ground. Blood quickly started to soak the wooden floor as it flowed freely from the rather large wound. Naruto stared at the blood, feeling no remorse in what he just done. This toad had been the cause of hundreds of death within his clan, including women and children.
Payback was always a bitch.
Loud cheers erupted through the village as the toads merrily danced the night away. Midnight had long since passed but the Toad's celebration did not stop. Their once calm and collected celebration had turned to a drunken party that did not have any signs of stopping any time soon.
This fact seemed to be proven when suddenly a bright light started to emit from the windows of Gamatatsu's home. The light was bright enough to capture every coherent toad as they watched in wonder. The ones completely lost in a drunken haze merely thought it was another fireworks displayed and cheered on as the light faded.
Their cheers quickly died off when the windows of the house exploded into millions of glass shards. Following the glass shards was a steady stream of blood. The villagers watched in shock as the glass fell to the blood stained ground.
A scream ripped out of the window, throwing the toads out of their drunken and confused haze. A multitude of smoke clouds quickly erupted around the form of the toads as they unsealed their weapons. Any children left awake were escorted back to the safety of their homes.
The warriors of the village quickly gathered in a group and started to approach the massive wooden doors to the house. Their weapons were held at readied, just in case of an ambush. If only they knew that was the least of their problem.
The militia group froze into a defensive stance when the wooden doors to the mansion slowly creaked open. Anxiety gathered in their eyes as they waited whatever monster that lay behind the doors.
Their anxiety was settled when a single golden chain peeked out from behind the door. The chain seemed to examine each of the massive toads in front of itself before quickly zipping back inside the house, shutting the door behind itself. The toads blinked in confusion at the sudden arrival of the human-sized chain.
"What the hell?" One of the toads asked. He answer was silence as the rest of them had no idea how to respond to the event that just took place in front of them.
"Its coming back out!" One of the smaller toads yelled out. They once again settled into a defensive stance, albeit slightly more relaxed than earlier. This time around the door opened all the way, allowing the toads to see what lay inside. What greeted their eyes would horrify them to years.
Blood splattered every single inch of the living room. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, every piece of furniture was covered in the crimson liquid. That wasn't the only disturbing thing though. What was even more disturbing were the massive ornaments hanging from the walls.
Tied to the bloodied walls were the members of the Gamatatsu family. They too were covered in blood, the only sign they actually were alive were the shifting looks of horror on their face. Golden chains that seemed to release a pulse of electricity every couple of seconds kept the amphibians in place.
And sitting in the middle of all of this was a small, blonde haired boy dressed in all white. His pristine clothes seemed so out of place with the bloodied room. His chair was the decapitated body of Gamatatsu while the two separate halves of the toad's head laid at his feet. A small camp roared right in front of him.
"You guys gathered rather quickly. I thought most of you were drunk off your asses by now." The small boy yelled out. The toads stared in shock as Naruto slid down the decapitated body of their leader. The boy's feet hit the bloodied ground and at the same moment several golden chains erupted from underneath him. The toads all seemed to collectively flinch before one of them stepped forward.
"My name is Gamanaki and I declare you under arrest for the murder of Chief Gamatatsu and the abduction of his family. Release them immediately and come with us or face the wrath of the Gama clan." The gigantic toad said while lowering his sword towards Naruto. The boy scoffed before flicking wrist towards one of the bound family members. The chains holding the bound female toad erupted in a bright blue light. Screams filled their eyes while ozone filled their noses as the Toad was electrified. Naruto kept up the steady stream of electricity for several seconds before flicking his wrist once again. The electricity immediately died out and left a panting and partially burnt Toad.
"You're not in the position to demand anything from me. I command you to lower your weapons or face the wrath of the Panther clan." Naruto said with a smirk. Gamanaki's eyes widened before narrowing considerably at Naruto.
"You hide behind a name that holds no power. This just proves how lowly you are. I do not know how you've managed to find your way into the summoning realm ningen (人間means human in English) but with your crimes, I doubt anyone will miss you." Gamanaki said before widening his stance. The group behind him seemed to pick up on his intentions and too widened their stances. Naruto sighed at this before clicking his tongue at the toads.
"If you do not surrender or even attempt to attack me, I cannot guarantee the safety of the children you left at home." If possible, the atmosphere grew even tenser at Naruto's statement. Whispers started to erupt throughout the crowd as they debated whether or not the boy was bluffing.
"There's only one of you boy. I can only sense one source of human chakra and that is you. Your threat is empty." Gamanaki said. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a soft purr.
"I'll take it from here." A feminine voice said from behind the body of Gamatatsu. Naruto nodded before taking a seat while looking up towards the giant toads.
The toads watched in shock as a feline creature slowly skulked its way out from behind the giant toad's body. The feline was about fifty feet long and thirty feet tall. Its paw left white imprints in the blood covered room as it stalked towards the Toads.
"I-impossible!"Gamanaki said while stepping back. While he had only been a child during the initial summoning wars, even he remembered all of the soldiers returning to battle with injuries after confrontations with this feline clan. They had been one of their worse enemies to face and now they supposedly came back from the dead to haunt them.
"I assure you amphibian that it is very possible. I also assure you that my summoner's claim holds all the weight in the world to you. Throw down your weapons or I cannot guarantee the future of your children." The panther all but purred out. The toads stared in shock as a twisted form of a grin formed upon the feline's maw.
"We have to kill it before it can signal any of its comrades." One of the toads tried to whisper into Gamanaki's ear. With the panther's enhanced hearing, it managed to pick up on the Toad's rather loud whispering. It clicked its tongue before shaking his head.
"That would not be a good idea for your health and safety." The panther said. The toads continued to look at it before Gamanaki took a step forward.
"And why would it not be? We outnumber you and over power you. Even a panther or a dragon can't defeat a group of fifty toad warriors." The massive toad said as the group behind him agreed with a loud yell. The panther growled before shooting a look towards Naruto. The boy nodded before slamming one of his hands onto the ground.
The toads were shocked when a wave of golden chains suddenly popped up from out of the ground and in the door frame. The doors were sent blasting outwards as the chains took their place.
Naruto then closed his eyes before sending a minuscule amount of chakra pulsing outwards. The toads became horrified when the blood covered surface began to glow a bright blue in several intricate designs.
"I have covered this whole entire house with another explosive tags to blow up the entire hill on which this house sits upon. I'm just a clone while Mayo-chan here can get out of range if necessary. You on the other hand will not be able to escape. So it'll be in the best interest to surrender." Gamanaki's eyes searched around the room, noticing each and every single explosive tag. His head then turned back to observe the golden chains that blocked them from their freedom. The toads were pulsing with chakra and every couple of seconds a small current of electricity would run through them. They truly were trapped.
"What's to stop you from killing us when you killed Gamatatsu so violently?" Gamanaki yelled out. He was immediately met with protest at the idea of giving up but a leveled glare shut them up.
"I only killed Gamatatsu for his crimes against my kind during the summoning war. He participated in the genocide of thousands of panther men, women and children. Consider this just as retribution." Naruto yelled out while keeping contact with the ground. Gamanaki's eyes narrowed when the landed on the blonde-haired child who was stopping them from exiting.
"Throw down your weapons or forfeit the life of every single toad in the village." The revealed Mayonaka said with a sense of finality in her voice. The toads continued to in between the duo and the glowing explosive tags that were just a single chakra pulse away from exploding. In Gamanaki's head the choice was obvious. Most of their fighting force was tripped inside of a bomb while the enemy had an unknown amount of allies, unknown abilities and a wild card of a summoner. The lives of their children and citizens were on the line.
Naruto smirked when he felt the ground shake as the toads dropped their weapons. Everything was going to plan.
"It's been almost ten minutes since that golden barrier appeared up. I'm telling you we need to go up there and see what's going on!" A loud voice boomed out. Murmurs followed the voice's loud proclamation.
"And just leave our children undefended? We don't even know what happened! We don't know how many things there are! We can't just abandon everything and go investigating.
"Well what the hell are we supposed to do? We can't just sit here and wait."
"Look! The barrier has fallen!" The crowd of toads all turned towards Gamatatsu's house and watched in anticipation for their comrades to exit the house. Several moments of silence greeted them before the first toad exited the house.
Gasps erupted through the village at the golden chains wrapped around the upper half of each toad that walked out the house. Their weapons were nowhere in sight as they walked in a line out of the house. Their heads were held down as an air of defeat seemed to wash over the whole entire village.
The gasps grew even louder when three blood covered toads walked out of the house. They were instantly identified as Gamatatsu's family member but the toad himself was not part of the group.
Several members of the village ran towards the group of chained toads only to stop with a horrified expression on their faces when they saw what lay behind the long line of chained toad.
Naruto had his hands held out with golden chains sprouting from every inch of skin on his hands. He was riding on top of a massive Mayonaka that would release a growl every couple of seconds to keep the line moving.
"Wh-what the hell Gamanaki? Why are you in chains?" One of the toads asked. The toad's eyesight remained locked on the ground as he slowly made his way towards the village. A small (Or rather large depending on the way you look at it) group of toads had gathered at the village entrance as the line inched closer and closer to the entrance.
Once the chained toads got within the village, Naruto stood up on top of Mayonaka's back and started to project his voice throughout the village.
"People of the Sani (Ugh, no this is not a Japanese word, or so I think, that is the name of the village with no double meaning) village! You are now under the control of the panther clan. Any resistance will be met with violent force. Thrown down any weapons and surrender yourself to my comrades." Naruto finished off. The toads were confused at the last stop but their confusion quickly turned into shock as dozens of panthers slowly made their way out behind their homes, from within and even from the roofs. The mass of different color panthers surrounded the group of toads as they stared in shock at their long forgotten enemy.
"Gamanaki! What is all of this?" One of the toads yelled while staring down at one of the panthers. The toad didn't even bother to answer, too defeated to answer his comrade's question. Fortunately for him, Naruto had plenty of answers for him.
"This ,my friend, is a takeover. Whether you want it to be hostile or not is up to you."
Jiraiya felt a shiver run up his spine as he sat crouched on one of the many roofs that populated Konoha. For some reason, he felt that something had just occurred that was going to be causing him a lot of headaches in the future. If only he could figure out what that thing was.
"It's probably that brat. Knowing him, he probably takes pleasure from seeing me in pain." Jiraiya grunted to himself before quickly hopping off the roof and landing in the middle of the street. People jumped back in fright as the long maned ninja suddenly appeared in the crowd but after catching a glimpse at his trademark face markings, quickly relaxed. Some even greeted him, calling out his name in joy.
"Sometimes it really pays to be famous." Jiraiya said as a group of woman ran up and greeted them. Fortunately for them, Jiraiya actually had something to do and couldn't indulge himself in their misplaced hero worship.
"Sorry ladies. The gallant Toad Sage Jiraiya is on a mission! He must make haste lest the village falls into disrepair." Jiraiya said, earning a dramatic swoon from the crowd of women that had surrounded him. He formed a hand sign before disappearing in a flurry of leaves.
"He's so handsome!"
"Did you see those muscles? He's so strong~"
"Hey didn't he say his name was Jiraiya? Isn't that the same name of the person who writes those perverted books?"
"Yeah it is! I heard he gets his inspiration from peeping on woman?"
"Really? Let's get him!"
Maybe being famous didn't pay off exactly how Jiraiya thought.
Hanabi could honestly say for the first time in her life that she was sincerely confused on an issue. Throughout her life, her path had been set before her and she followed it diligently. Every decision she made by herself, while was calculated, was normally resolved within a few moments of the obstacle making itself known to her. But for the past couple of hours, her mind has been a battlefield of conflict as she stared at the objects that were causing her so much trouble.
"Ramen or Unagi?(Japanese food to be short, google it if you want)" Hanabi said to herself as she stared down at menu in front of her. Dozens of items were displayed but Hanabi had already made her way past those choices. She had initially decided on Unagi but her mind had slowly drifted to the blonde haired shinobi that had been plaguing her mind as of recently. The boy's obsession with the salty snack had quietly snuck up on her mind and now she was undecided.
"If I get both it could mess up my diet ... though I haven't treated myself in a while. I guess this wouldn't hurt too much." Hanabi said before quickly ordering both of the items. The waiter seemed pleasantly surprised at her selection but said nothing as he returned to the kitchen to relay the order.
Hanabi began to tap her fingers against the wooden table as her mind wandered off. It had been three days since she last saw Naruto and the girl could honestly say she missed his company. While she would not admit that she missed the boy himself, she would admit that his company was enjoyable to be around. His carefree attitude towards her despite her status as an heiress was a breath of fresh air. The fact that he was also able to almost completely negate her Juken at a whim also may of been a motivating factor. Sparing with him forced her to rethink her strategies inside of launching herself head force. Her usual strategy consisted of dodging and evading the opponent's strikes until she was able to get within short range then render their chakra useless. With Naruto, she was hard-pressed to dodge his mid-range and long range attacks and when she got within short range, he could simply blast her away or paralyze her. She admits that after their first official spar, she had felt severely outclassed by the boy but she quickly got over the feeling and instead strived to defeat him in one spar. Best to say that she came nowhere close yet.
Hanabi was snapped out of her musings when the waiter came back with two plates. The man gave her a polite smile before bowing disappearing back into the kitchen. The girl gave a quick word of thanks before digging into her food.
"HE DID WHAT?!" Just as she put in the first bite of Unagi in her mouth, she was stopped as a loud yell roared through the village. The ground itself seemed to shake with the anger the voice was emitting.
"For some reason I think it has something to do with him." Hanabi said before shaking her head and digging back into her food. She had picked a rather interesting sparring partner.
"HE DID WHAT?!" Jiraiya yelled as he stared down at the ground. A small sigh came from below him before a black cane slammed itself down onto Jiraiya's head. The man was sent crashing to the ground.
"You heard me boy! I'm older than you and my hearing hasn't started failing me yet. The boy YOU are supposed to look after is wreaking havoc in the summoning realm. He along with his panther summons have already recaptured three old panther settlements. How could you let this happen Jiraiya?" The small figure said. Jiriaya looked up at the figure to examine the angry look on its face. The figure was a green toad with white hair styled in somewhat of a Mohawk, very thick eyebrows and a small had on a small high colored cape.
"I can't look after him al-" Jiraiya was silenced when the toad slammed his cane back down onto Jiraiya's head.
"You don't understand boy. We needed this territory for ourselves! Do you know how close we were to civil war back then? We can't handle all these toads migrating back to the mountains! You were supposed to look over him!" The toad yelled before slamming his cane repeatedly over the sage's head. Jiraiya just laid there and took the punishment.
"Now there's no way I or you can reverse summon him as he is not part of our clan. But I highly doubt he will stay in the summoning realm for long. If he does ... well measures will have to be taken. Hopefully that won't be needed because when he gets back you will handle this! Or I'll make you'll be eating nothing but Ma's food for the rest of your perverted life." The toad huffed before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya climbed to his feet before huffing loudly.
"HE ISN'T EVEN MY DAMN APPRENTICE!"
AND THE CHAPTER IS FINISHED. I apologize because this chapter is a little shorter and it took a bit longer to come out. Basically for a couple of chapters, most of it will be off canon, So I have to make it up and type it down. Its actually really tiring but I thought it came out decent.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Expect more Toad vs. Panther battles in the future. Next chapter will be a more full scale battle instead of one sided like this one. I'll try to have the next chapter up before thanksgiving. That gives my beta and I about 9 days to get this chapter out to you guys and gals. I hope you guys have a wonderful week. Until next time~
Hello- This is a word from the beta. I wanted to ask you guys what do you think about the translations and explanations of Japanese words I started doing this chapter. Please tell me in the comments and say if there is something to fix/add/improve/remove. Cya!