Chapter 281: Sage Daoist Jiraiya, Willing to Go Through Fire and Water for Master Nara!
The Eight Inner Gates Formation.
It was infamously known that opening all eight gates meant certain death.
However, Nara Keisuke knew this was only a half-truth.
Strictly speaking, one would not necessarily face a fatal outcome after opening all Eight Gates.
Hadn't a certain green-skinned, bowl-cut fellow, after unleashing the Eight Gates and spilling his hot blood, been saved by a simple touch from the resident "Crown Prince" who arrived on the scene? This successfully reversed his fated death.
Although, that "simple touch" specifically referred to the Six Paths Yang Power.
Without the assistance of the Six Paths Yang Power, the Eight Inner Gates Formation was indeed a technique that meant certain death upon use.
Ahem…
Naturally, Nara Keisuke had no intention of opening the Eight Gates for no reason. He wasn't even willing to open the Seventh Gate.
Still, Nara Keisuke was very satisfied to have one more ultimate, trump-card technique in his arsenal.
The maximum power that the Eight Inner Gates Formation could unleash depended entirely on the user's own physical condition.
After Might Duy opened the Eight Gates, he only managed to almost kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, turning them into the "Lucky Trio" [implying three survived].
But after Might Guy opened the Eight Gates, he nearly kicked the Six Paths-level Madara straight to the Sage of Six Paths!
The primary difference between the green-skinned father-son duo, Might Duy and Might Guy, was precisely the disparity in their physical conditioning.
Nara Keisuke had never met Might Guy in his prime.
But currently, his own [Strength], [Speed], and [Precision] attributes had all surpassed A-Rank.
His foundational physical condition had already crossed the A-Rank threshold.
If he were to use the Eight Inner Gates Formation to release the limiters on his chakra pathway system…
The peak strike Nara Keisuke could unleash would absolutely surpass the power of Might Guy's future "Night Guy"!
'But speaking of which, the Eight Inner Gates Formation Konoha gave me is really just the Eight Gates, with no other supporting taijutsu.'
'Things like Morning Peacock, Daytime Tiger, Evening Elephant… let alone Night Guy!'
'Hmm, could it be that all four of those taijutsu were developed by Emperor Guy himself?'
Nara Keisuke pushed aside his speculation.
His relationship with Might Guy was neither close nor distant; "fellow village shinobi" was the most apt description.
And considering Might Guy's absurdly long "development period"...
If techniques like "Morning Peacock" truly were self-developed by Guy, Nara Keisuke would rather put his efforts into "self-researching taijutsu" than wait for Guy to mature and then try to swipe his [Secret Ninja Scroll]!
After all, with the exception of "Daytime Tiger," techniques like "Morning Peacock," "Evening Elephant," and even "Night Guy" weren't exactly delicate or flashy.
Though their names were impressive, they were essentially just "super-high-speed punches," "kicks," and "heavy kicks"...
Nara Keisuke didn't plan to invest too much energy in this area.
However, he was indeed interested in the "air technique" involved in the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
A pure air technique was already that powerful.
What if he integrated the natural energy from the atmosphere into it…
Sage Taijutsu: Daytime Tiger?
'Speaking of Sage Art, there's a living example right in front of me…'
Nara Keisuke filed away his research on the Eight Inner Gates Formation and then placed all the scrolls from the desk into his Large Sealing Scroll.
"If there isn't anything else you need to attend to, let's head straight to the Three-Tails."
Nara Keisuke looked at Jiraiya, asking for his opinion.
"Or perhaps, Jiraiya-sama, you'd like to rest for a while first?"
"What's there to rest for in a frontline camp!"
Jiraiya pursed his lips and stood up from his chair.
"Let's hurry up and finish this sealing mission. I have other matters to attend to…"
Nara Keisuke didn't dwell on the issue.
He left Nara Shikaku to handle the miscellaneous affairs in the camp.
Nara Keisuke and Jiraiya then mounted a Shadow Creature and flew toward the location of the Three-Tails, Isobu.
"This jutsu really is fantastic!"
Jiraiya sat comfortably on the back of the Shadow Creature, his right hand shielding his brow as he gazed out over the Land of Hot Water.
"Flies high, sees far, and the breeze is cool."
The ability to fly was extremely rare in the shinobi world.
Mount Myōboku had a ton of toads, but not a single one had mastered flight.
Jiraiya couldn't fly either.
But the Shadow of Darkness in front of him had not only mastered flight but had also shared this ability with his clan…
With such a genius shinobi at its head, the Nara Clan's comprehensive strength had recently been skyrocketing as if strapped to a rocket.
While guarding the Land of Rain battlefield, Jiraiya had also experienced the Nara Clan's Shadow Beast Scroll abilities.
But compared to the Shadow of Darkness's Shadow Creatures, the Shadow Beasts of the other Nara shinobi were truly a bit shabby…
"This jutsu isn't that difficult."
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Nara Keisuke was silent for a moment before taking the initiative to respond.
"Jiraiya-sama, would you like to learn it?"
"Eh? Is that alright?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"I can learn this kind of jutsu?"
"Of course, I won't be teaching you for free."
Nara Keisuke said in a calm tone.
"If Jiraiya-sama wishes to learn this flight ability, I have one condition."
"A jutsu in exchange for a jutsu."
A jutsu exchange?
Jiraiya considered it for a moment.
While such trades weren't common in the shinobi world, they weren't unheard of.
Hadn't Nara Keisuke's own transactions with Konoha involved a large number of A-Rank and B-Rank jutsu?
"I do know quite a few jutsu."
Jiraiya looked at Nara Keisuke's back and said with a grin.
"Want me to list them for you?"
As a disciple of the Third Hokage and an inheritor of Mount Myōboku's legacy, Jiraiya's jutsu repertoire was vast, rivaled by only a handful of shinobi in the entire world.
"No need."
Nara Keisuke turned around, his gaze fixed on Jiraiya.
"I only want one jutsu—the Senjutsu inheritance of Mount Myōboku."
Jiraiya certainly knew many jutsu.
But the only one Nara Keisuke was interested in was the Sage Art of Mount Myōboku.
"Senjutsu!"
Jiraiya slowly repeated the word, the smile instantly vanishing from his face. He looked at Nara Keisuke with suspicion and uncertainty.
Where did he learn of Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu?
Is the Nara Clan's intelligence network that formidable?
Or... did someone else tell him?
Tsunade?
"How about it, are you interested in a trade, Jiraiya-sama?"
Nara Keisuke stated his precise offer.
"Due to clan secrets, I cannot teach you my Shadow Beast Scroll. However, I can teach you its prototype, the Super Beast Scroll."
"Sorry."
Jiraiya shook his head.
"Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu is not part of the trade."
He truly did desire the ability to fly.
As a seasoned shinobi, Jiraiya knew all too well the tactical value of flight.
But…
This was the Senjutsu of Mount Myōboku!
Setting aside the fact that Nara Keisuke and Jiraiya had no deep personal ties, the special nature of the Mount Myōboku inheritance alone ensured that Jiraiya would never put Senjutsu on the trading block.
"If the flight ability isn't enough."
Nara Keisuke, looking at Jiraiya's now-cold expression, raised the stakes.
"What about invisibility?"
"Invisibility?"
Jiraiya's mouth twitched, and he asked noncommittally.
"You're not talking about a little trick like the 'Straw Cape Hiding Technique,' are you? Or something like the Flat Shadow Technique?"
Faced with Jiraiya's skepticism, Nara Keisuke simply raised his right hand, mimicking the motion of molding chakra. Then, his entire body vanished from the back of the Shadow Creature.
Camouflage Hiding Technique!
"Invisibility!?"
Jiraiya's jaw dropped in astonishment. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, confirming that Nara Keisuke had completely disappeared from his sight.
"It's really transparency invisibility!!!"
"Correct. An advanced invisibility jutsu that can render the body transparent."
Nara Keisuke deactivated the Camouflage Hiding Technique, revealing some general information about this A-Rank secret jutsu to Jiraiya.
He had mastered plenty of invisibility-type abilities.
The lowest level, naturally, was the E-Rank "Straw Cape Hiding Technique," a crude method used by Academy students that used props like cloth, straw capes, or wooden boards to achieve visual concealment.
A step up was this A-Rank jutsu, the Camouflage Hiding Technique.
Next was the Kekkei Genkai he had reverse-engineered from Ice Release: Transparency Release.
Then there was the B-Rank jutsu mastered by the Second Tsuchikage, Dustless Bewildering Blockade. The power of this B-Rank jutsu had somewhat exceeded Keisuke's expectations; it wasn't just a simple invisibility jutsu but also involved elements of Dust Release…
And finally, there was the S-Rank jutsu he had developed himself, the Shadow Invisibility Technique.
Nara Keisuke knew very well how appealing "transparent invisibility" was to guys like Jiraiya.
If he could use one Camouflage Hiding Technique to exchange for the Mount Myōboku Senjutsu inheritance…
Jiraiya might make a small profit.
But Nara Keisuke definitely wouldn't lose out.
"Master Nara!"
Jiraiya corrected his previously casual, sprawling posture. He knelt properly on the back of the Shadow Creature, placed his hands on his thighs, and gave Nara Keisuke a deep, respectful bow.
"I have no other wish in my life than to study this transparency ninjutsu under you, Master!"
Even though Nara Keisuke was somewhat prepared for Jiraiya's absurdity, seeing the man's deeply respectful bow still made the corners of his mouth twitch.
"Jiraiya-sama, teaching a student... requires tuition."
Nara Keisuke suppressed his sense of exasperation and reminded him.
"Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu…"
"Anything but the Mount Myōboku inheritance! Anything else, Master Nara, you need only ask!"
Jiraiya maintained his bowing posture, his voice muffled.
"As long as Master Nara is willing to teach me this transparency ninjutsu.
"I, the Sage Daoist Jiraiya, am willing to go through fire and water for Master Nara, and would not shrink from a thousand deaths!"
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