As the smoke cleared, everyone finally got a look at Kagura's summoned creature.
But the moment it appeared, shock washed over the group!
Because...
Standing in front of Kagura was...an egg!
That's right—an egg.
It was about the size of a human head, snow-white like jade, faintly glowing in the dim surroundings.
At the sight of the egg, those present wore a variety of expressions.
[Wide-eyed disbelief]
[A stunned, open-mouthed reaction]
[Snickering silently, covering mouth]
[Raised eyebrows, gaping shock]
"Hahaha..."
Jiraiya's booming laughter finally broke the silence.
He clutched his stomach with one hand and pointed dramatically:
"Hahaha! You—Kagura—you actually summoned *this?!*
This is too much!
Hahahahaha!"
Hearing Jiraiya's wild laughter, Kagura narrowed her eyes into a cold, blank stare.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, Kagura cut in flatly:
"If you keep laughing, I'll punch you."
Her tone was emotionless, yet effective.
When Jiraiya realized she wasn't bluffing, he stopped instantly.
The memory of being trapped by her genjutsu earlier—and then beaten up—was still fresh. That bizarre control method had left a lasting impression.
After spending enough time with her already, he knew she wouldn't hesitate to carry through.
Looking at the egg with doubt, Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitantly said:
"This...
Although I've never seen anything like it either, maybe there's some kind of summoning beast inside.
It might even be strong. Summoning usually takes a lot of chakra, after all.
You can try again later, Kagura."
Kagura gave a small nod before reaching out to gently stroke the egg's surface.
As its summoner, she could clearly feel an immense power sealed within.
This energy wasn't any weaker than that of the One-Tail Shukaku sealed within her.
But no matter how powerful it is, you've got to hatch first to be useful!
Otherwise, what am I even supposed to do with this thing?
Throw it at enemies like a weapon?
Or just toss it in a pan and make breakfast?
With a helpless sigh, she ended the summoning technique—the egg vanished along with the jutsu.
At that moment, Jiraiya stood up and let out a proud cough.
Once everyone turned their eyes on him, he lifted his chin high and declared:
"Hmph!
You weaklings!
Watch me show off my summoning technique!
Let me teach you what real strength looks like!"
Without giving anyone a chance to react, he flashed through some hand seals and slammed his palm on the ground.
Smoke rose once more. As it faded, only a green frog slightly larger than Tsunade's slug appeared.
It carried a pair of miniature twin swords across its back.
Right now, it was using its little toe—or rather, the edge of its webbed foot—to dig around in its nose.
Looking at the tiny frog before him, Jiraiya said in surprise,
"Gamahiro?
Ain't I still your big bro?
Where's Gamabunta?"
Indeed, this was the younger brother of the familiar Gamabunta—the one who always carried a tanto and smoked from a pipe, like a yakuza boss.
You really can't make sense of how these creatures grow.
Gamabunta, being the older brother, already stood nearly five meters tall just sitting on the ground, while his younger brother Gamahiro was still only thirty centimeters tall.
When Jiraiya asked him that, Gamahiro replied casually,
"Oh, my older brother is having dinner right now.
He sent me to warn you—if you pull that stunt again without giving him a heads-up,
he's gonna come down here and beat the crap outta you!
Alright, message delivered. I'm heading back now.
Bye!"
With that, he vanished before Jiraiya could even respond.
Standing there abandoned by his summoned beast, Jiraiya was left red-faced and speechless. Kagura gave him a sympathetic glance filled with comfort.
Beside them, Tsunade couldn't hold it in any longer—she laughed so hard she rolled on the ground clutching her stomach.
Orochimaru, comparatively more reserved, simply covered his mouth while chuckling quietly to himself.
Thus ended this silly scene. After releasing their summoned beasts, everyone had a peaceful night resting in the forest.
In the following two days of travel, they encountered no enemies blocking their path.
Thanks to this, they made much faster progress than expected.
Right now, they sat aboard a small boat.
The boatman at the bow pushed hard with a pole, trying to ferry them across to the opposite shore.
The Land of Whirlpools was an island not too far from the continent, and currently, crossing by boat was the only way to reach it.
This was also the final stretch of their journey—once ashore, they would officially arrive at the Land of Whirlpools.
Sitting on the boat, watching the distant coastline grow larger, Kagura couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
At that time, the Land of Whirlpools had already formed a friendly alliance with Konoha. To symbolize this lasting alliance, Konoha's leaders had even placed the Uzumaki Clan's emblem on the uniforms of Jōnin.
Externally supported by Konoha, their powerful ally, and internally safeguarded by the intimidating presence of Ashina Uzumaki, the clan's first-generation leader,
the Uzumaki Clan could still protect peace within their village.
Yet in the story Kagura knew well, this very Land of Whirlpools would fall into ruin over the next decade.
The Uzumaki Clan scattered everywhere as their country was destroyed.
The main reason? Other clans feared the [Uzumaki Sealing Technique].
After all, it was a Ninjutsu capable of sealing even monsters at the level of Tailed Beasts.
When a clan holds powerful techniques like the [Uzumaki Sealing Technique] but lacks the strength to defend itself,
destruction becomes inevitable.
After Ashina Uzumaki, the first-generation clan head, perished and Konoha became overwhelmed with its own troubles,
within just a few years, both the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan vanished into history.
The gentle thud of the boat docking brought Kagura's thoughts back to reality.
As everyone stepped off the boat onto the pier, it marked the completion of this mission.
Fukuan deeply bowed to express his gratitude and immediately paid the remaining mission fee to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The fee for this Class-B mission was 120,000 ryō (a traditional currency unit), though this time Hiruzen Sarutobi had chosen to waive his share of the payment.
After deducting the village's portion, Kagura and her three companions each received nearly 20,000 ryō.
(By the way, Class-B missions usually pay between 80,000 to 200,000 ryō total, though the village takes a certain percentage as tax. For reference, the ninja world's currency system follows roughly this exchange rate: 1 ryō ≈ 10 yen ≈ 0.5 Huaxia coin.)
After saying goodbye to Fuchuan, Hiruzen announced that everyone would be staying in the Land of Whirlpools for two days, during which they could do as they pleased.
After all, his main purpose for coming here was to visit the Uzumaki Clan Head and maintain the friendly relationship between their two countries.
It was already part of formal diplomacy, and frankly, two days wasn't even that long.
Before leaving, Hiruzen directly handed over the mission fee to them, encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves while staying here.
Looking at the money she had just received, Kagura couldn't help but say—being a ninja really was a profitable profession.
Although the mission fee was split among the team members, merely three or four days of work could earn rewards equivalent to ten thousand Huaxia coins—a fortune in her previous world.
Even before coming to this world, she had never been able to earn that much.
Sarutobi-sensei left, taking Orochimaru along with him.
Since Orochimaru wished to study the sealing techniques of the Land of Whirlpools, he had begged Hiruzen to bring him when visiting the clan leader.
He wanted to request permission from the Uzumaki Clan Head to enter their academy—or at least find an experienced Jonin—and personally witness that legendary Sealing Technique.
The remaining three looked at each other, momentarily clueless about what to do next.
Frankly speaking, as ninjas, they rarely had such free time.
Normally, they were either training or carrying out missions.
Now that they finally had some downtime, they weren't quite sure what to do with it.
Hands behind his head, Jiraiya said he wanted to check out the local bookstore and walked off alone.
Ever since receiving the prophecy from the Great Toad Sage on Mount Myoboku—that he was destined to become a world-traveling novelist—he had developed a keen interest in literature from around the globe.
Coming to the Land of Whirlpools now, he also wanted to take this opportunity to see if there were any books unavailable back in Konoha Village.
Left behind, Kagura and Tsunade exchanged helpless glances.
After a brief silence, Kagura eventually broke the quiet:
"Ah, it's still early.
How about we explore the village a bit? We don't get to visit foreign lands like this every day."
In response to Kagura's suggestion, Tsunade nodded in agreement.
So the two of them started wandering aimlessly through Whirlpool Village.
As she walked behind Kagura, Tsunade suddenly realized—they were completely alone.
Alone... a boy and a girl... shopping together?
Wait... Was this what people called a "date"?
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