Chapter 283: Shadow of Darkness VS Sage Daoist!
A spar? A match?
Jiraiya looked at Nara Keisuke, somewhat taken aback.
Was this a polite way of refusing his request?
Due to considerations for intelligence confidentiality, spars between shinobi of the same village were already quite rare.
Furthermore, it wasn't as if Jiraiya hadn't heard of the "Shadow of Darkness's" illustrious name and brilliant combat record.
The difficulty of defeating such a renowned and talented junior was obvious.
But…
'You underestimate my passion and pursuit of the transparency ninjutsu, kid!'
Jiraiya took a deep breath, his eyes bright as he spoke with a firm voice.
"Alright! It's a deal!"
For the Camouflage Hiding Technique, Jiraiya was going all out!
So what if it's a fight?
This Toad Sage never runs from a battle!
Nara Keisuke nodded slightly and asked politely, "Jiraiya-sama, you just expended a lot of chakra during the sealing ceremony. Do you need some time to rest?"
Jiraiya wanted to wave his hand and declare that he didn't need any rest.
But just as the words reached his lips, the "Shadow of Darkness's" splendid combat record flashed through his mind.
"Mm, I do need to rest for a moment."
Jiraiya rather stiffly brought his right hand to his chin, stroking it lightly, while simultaneously glancing at the Five-Tails, Kokuō, nearby.
"Um, Lord Nara, will the Five-Tails be fighting alongside you?"
Nara Keisuke had fought publicly several times on the Kumogakure and Iwagakure battlefields, leaking a significant amount of combat data.
Konoha had naturally collected relevant intelligence on this Shadow of Darkness.
As one of the high-ranking Sannin, Jiraiya was privy to a lot of information on Nara Keisuke's abilities.
For instance, he knew that the Five-Tails, Kokuō, was Nara Keisuke's summoning beast!
If the Five-Tails, Kokuō, was going to enter the battle alongside Nara Keisuke…
Jiraiya felt he might as well just raise his hand and surrender.
Just dealing with a single Tailed Beast was already an extremely difficult task.
Dealing with a Tailed Beast and a top-tier shinobi at the same time…
Jiraiya only called himself the "Toad Sage"; he wasn't the Great Toad Sage.
Even if he pulled out every single trump card he had, Jiraiya couldn't guarantee he would win.
"Kokuō?"
Nara Keisuke's gaze swept toward the Five-Tails, and he shook his head.
"It will not be participating in this battle."
Baiting and hooking a fish required skill.
Nara Keisuke hoped to acquire Jiraiya's Secret Ninja Scroll by fighting him, ideally getting the Mount Myōboku Senjutsu inheritance all in one go.
But if he brought the Five-Tails along…
Nara Keisuke could already see Jiraiya's apprehension.
The man didn't believe he could handle both him and Kokuō.
Since that was the case, why would Nara Keisuke bring Kokuō into this?
'However, if he has no confidence against me and Kokuō, does that mean he's confident he can beat just me?'
Nara Keisuke's gaze returned to Jiraiya as he calculated inwardly.
'This Toad Sage's strength truly cannot be underestimated… I'd better not try to be too clever, only to have it backfire.'
Receiving Nara Keisuke's guarantee, Jiraiya nodded in relief and stepped to the side to rest quietly.
At the same time, Jiraiya's mind was furiously running through battle plans.
An unprepared encounter versus a prepared intelligence battle.
The concepts and implications of the two were entirely different!
'My advantages are experience and intelligence.'
Jiraiya closed his eyes in deep thought, lines of information flashing through his mind.
'Shadow of Darkness, flight ability, long-range attrition, Shadow secret techniques, Giant secret techniques, Flying Thunder God... just how did a little monster like this develop?!'
'Right! And that transparency secret jutsu!'
Jiraiya felt as if he were facing a porcupine; no matter which angle he attacked from, he would be wounded in return.
Generally speaking, all ninjutsu have weaknesses. All shinobi have flaws.
In a battle between shinobi, as long as one grasped the general intelligence on the target's abilities, it was highly possible to end the fight in one or two moves.
But facing an opponent like Nara Keisuke, Jiraiya felt it was incredibly tricky.
His opponent's power level seemed to have surpassed the scope of "intelligence warfare"…
'Good thing he doesn't plan to fight with the Five-Tails…'
Jiraiya opened his eyes, glancing remotely at Nara Keisuke's group.
'But I'm different... he didn't forbid the use of summoning jutsu, did he?!'
Nara Keisuke felt Jiraiya's gaze but paid it no mind, simply continuing to instruct Uchiha Shisui and the others.
"I am about to have a spar with Jiraiya-sama. You all may watch from the side, but you must be careful to protect yourselves."
The Shadow of Darkness versus the Toad Sage?
The eyes of Uchiha Shisui, Hatake Kakashi, and the others immediately lit up.
Observing a battle between top-tier experts would be significantly meaningful and helpful for their own growth.
"Understood, Captain."
"Yes! Lord Nara."
Time ticked by.
The sun rose high in the sky.
The spectators—the Five-Tails Kokuō, Hyūga Retsu, Nohara Rin, and the others—retreated to a safe distance.
Nara Keisuke and Jiraiya stood facing each other. They simultaneously raised their right hands, forming the "Seal of Confrontation."
The next instant—
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya attacked first. A scorching fire jutsu sounded the horn for battle.
A secret technique from Mount Myōboku allowed Jiraiya to store "oil" in his mouth beforehand. As he released the fire jutsu, he mixed this "chakra oil" into it, drastically enhancing the fire's power.
A massive, orange-red flame bullet blasted toward Nara Keisuke's position. The blazing hot flames burned the air, causing it to twist and shimmer. The bright light cast his shadow long behind him.
This was also Jiraiya's secondary intention for using a fire jutsu.
The Nara Clan's shadow techniques were highly dependent on the shape of one's own shadow.
The light produced by the fire jutsu could temporarily interfere with the execution of the Nara's shadow techniques.
[Detection: A-Rank Ninja Battle Mission Triggered!]
[A-Rank Mission: Sannin Jiraiya]
[Mission Content: Defeat/Kill Jiraiya]
[Mission Reward: A-Rank Secret Ninja Scroll]
'Jiraiya's battle mission is only A-Rank?'
Nara Keisuke rapidly scanned the mission prompt on his panel, then immediately refocused his attention on the incoming Flame Bullet.
'A bit lower than I expected… Let's see if I can provoke this guy's stronger form!'
Flat Shadow Technique!
Nara Keisuke's entire form suddenly flattened, as if he were water, melting directly into his own shadow. He smoothly dodged the menacing Flame Bullet.
The scorching projectile whistled over the top of Nara Keisuke's shadow, leaving behind only simmering air, failing to cause even a single point of damage.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Hiding Technique!
Nara Keisuke didn't just hide. With a thought, his body split in two. One Shadow Clone dived deep into the earth, while his real body slowly rose from its original spot.
Camouflage Hiding Technique!
A thin film of water molecules covered the real body that remained, rendering it completely transparent and invisible.
This fight with Jiraiya was to obtain his Secret Ninja Scroll.
But continuing to demonstrate the advantages and effects of the "transparency jutsu" to his "customer" was also a good way to keep him hooked.
Who ever said you should only farm a Secret Ninja Scroll once?
The shadow on the ground quickly shrank until it vanished.
Jiraiya's gaze had been fixed on the space above the "Fire Style: Flame Bullet," and he was prepared to launch his next attack.
He was well aware of how powerful Nara Keisuke's flight ability was.
In his view, Nara Keisuke would definitely use his flight to create distance, then use that special long-range attack of his to suppress him.
However, to Jiraiya's disappointment, he saw no trace of a Shadow Creature above the "Flame Bullet."
After the roaring flames of the jutsu dissipated, he still couldn't see Nara Keisuke's figure. It was as if his opponent had completely vanished into thin air.
'He's gone!'
Jiraiya silently molded his chakra while scanning his surroundings, heightening his senses of sight and hearing.
'Is it that transparency ninjutsu from before, the Camouflage Hiding Technique?'
Although the Camouflage Hiding Technique was an A-Rank jutsu, it didn't make the user completely imperceptible.
When moving at high speed, even while under its effects, an enemy could easily pick up on the sounds of movement.
But Nara Keisuke was standing still. How could Jiraiya possibly detect his movements?
The real body, remaining on the ground, was not discovered by Jiraiya.
But just then, Jiraiya's ears still caught a faint rustling sound. This sound wasn't coming from the air, but from…
Underground!
Jiraiya leaped, jumping straight up into the air from his position, his hands flying through seals at high speed.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A giant fireball, identical in scale to the last one, descended from the sky, smashing toward the ground below like a meteor.
Almost at the exact instant the "Flame Bullet" made contact with the ground, the earth cracked and turned to sand. A very solid shadow tentacle erupted from beneath the surface, sweeping toward the spot where Jiraiya had just been standing.
Boom!
The "Fire Style: Flame Bullet" attack struck the shadow tentacle directly. The collision of Fire Release chakra and Yin Release chakra forced the latter to retract deep into the earth.
'He didn't use his flight ability, but used an Earth Style jutsu instead? Or is this just a trap?'
Jiraiya performed several leaps on the ground, cautiously creating distance.
'In that case, I'll just force you out!'
After pulling back a certain distance, Jiraiya once again formed hand seals, molding Earth Release chakra.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!"
Upon completing the seals, Jiraiya slammed his right hand heavily onto the ground. The originally flat, solid earth rapidly liquefied into mud under the effect of his chakra.
Under Jiraiya's control, this "Earth Style: Earth Flow River" didn't just affect the ground.
The river of mud gathered and surged forward, washing over the spot where Jiraiya had just been standing and rushing toward the place Nara Keisuke had originally been.
The Shadow Clone deep in the earth quickly swam, avoiding the range of the "Earth Flow River" and rapidly "surfacing."
Meanwhile, Nara Keisuke, hidden by the Camouflage Hiding Technique, saw the charging river of mud and silently used another flight jutsu, floating directly up into the sky.
Earth Style: Light-Weight Rock Technique!
Amidst the roaring din of the "Earth Flow River," Nara Keisuke's ascent into the sky was completely undisturbed, and likewise, completely undetected by anyone.
'There's no one at the original spot?'
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly.
If Nara Keisuke had used the Camouflage Hiding Technique to remain in place, he couldn't possibly have stayed there transparently under the wide-area assault of the "Earth Flow River."
Therefore… the one who went underground was the real one!
Jiraiya's attention shifted away from the empty patch of ground in the distance.
As the roar of the "Earth Style: Earth Flow River" gradually subsided, he once again captured that familiar Earth Release chakra fluctuation.
The Shadow Clone leaped out from another spot on the ground.
After the previous probe, the clone had discovered that Jiraiya's senses of sight and hearing were extremely sharp. A conventional Earth Style burrowing jutsu stood no chance of getting close to him.
The Shadow Clone simply gave up on the hope of getting close and taking him out with a set of shadow techniques.
'To deal with this kind of traditional ninja, it's better to use no-seal ninjutsu!'
The instant the Shadow Clone appeared on the surface, Jiraiya located it.
As before, the Sannin raised his hands and began rapidly forming seals.
The Shadow Clone, however, simply raised its right hand, accumulating Yin Release chakra. A sphere of Yin chakra instantly formed at its fingertip.
'The times have changed, old man!'
Spiraling Shadow Imitation Bullet!
The pitch-black shadow bullet shot from the Shadow Clone's finger, streaking through the air like a flash, shooting with extreme speed and precision toward Jiraiya's location.
The flight speed of the Spiraling Shadow Imitation Bullet was simply too fast, far exceeding Jiraiya's expectations.
He decisively abandoned his half-finished hand seals, keeping his hands clasped together, and channeled chakra to augment his physical abilities, flashing away from his spot.
Jiraiya originally thought he could easily dodge the bullet's trajectory.
But at that very moment, with a soft poof, the small black projectile that was just a bullet suddenly exploded, and a brand-new Shadow Clone leaped out as if from a void.
Shadow Binding Jutsu!
Strips of black shadow, like tentacles, burst from beneath the new Shadow Clone, scrambling to connect to the now-close Jiraiya.
The Sannin's body was still in mid-air, with no leverage to change his position. He was caught perfectly by the Shadow Binding Jutsu.
'What a bizarre technique!'
Feeling the powerful binding sensation on his body, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.
'Good thing… this is just a clone!'
With a thought, Jiraiya's long white hair rapidly extended, following his will, and lashed backward toward the Shadow Clone like a long whip.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
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