Chapter 285: Round Two? The Price Goes Up!
Although the Shadow Clone failed to land the finishing blow, Jiraiya still crashed hard onto the ground after flying backward for a while, finally succumbing to gravity.
With the unspent force of the Monstrous Strength, Jiraiya's body plowed a deep, undeniable trench into the earth, kicking up clouds of dust and forming a long, grayish-yellow mist.
The mission completion prompt that popped up on the panel was "defeated," not "killed."
Jiraiya's life was not yet a cause for serious concern.
However, out of humanitarian consideration, Nara Keisuke quickly created a Shadow Creature, rode it to Jiraiya's location, and checked the general condition of the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.
"He really is unconscious…"
Gazing at Jiraiya, who lay motionless in the trench with his eyes tightly shut, Nara Keisuke made a direct assessment.
He then immediately knelt down and meticulously examined the other party's physical condition using his medical ninjutsu.
"No major damage otherwise, just a few broken ribs… Tsk! So fragile!"
Nara Keisuke had originally assumed that the Shadow Clone wouldn't pose much of a threat to Jiraiya and was prepared to step in at any moment.
But unexpectedly, one of the legendary Sannin was directly carried off by a single Monstrous Strength punch from a Shadow Clone.
In his impression, Jiraiya's body shouldn't have been this "brittle"…
Nara Keisuke reviewed the Shadow Clone's combat process.
It hadn't used any profound tactics or advanced taijutsu.
Knocking out a Sannin with one punch was truly astonishing.
'But then again, a Kekkei Genkai like Swift Release, which is completely inconspicuous when activated, is truly effective in actual combat! No need to worry about intelligence leakage either.'
Nara Keisuke stood still for a moment, and the onlookers—Uchiha Shisui and the others—quickly arrived at the scene.
"Shizune, Nohara-san, please treat Jiraiya-sama."
Nara Keisuke looked at the two medical-nin beside him and gave his orders.
"I did a preliminary check. He has a few broken ribs, so be careful."
"Yes, Captain/Lord!"
Shizune and Nohara Rin responded in unison and simultaneously stepped forward to tend to Jiraiya's injuries.
It must be said that Jiraiya's physical constitution was indeed formidable.
With the combined efforts of the two medical-nin, he quickly regained consciousness.
"Thank you, two little beauties!"
The moment he opened his eyes, Jiraiya saw Shizune and Nohara Rin performing the treatment.
After uttering a quick thank you, Jiraiya didn't flirt with the two girls as he normally would, but immediately shifted his gaze to Nara Keisuke standing nearby.
"Lord Nara! I was careless just now and failed to evade."
Jiraiya lowered his brows, deliberately putting on a pathetic expression.
"But seeing how badly I'm injured, how about… we temporarily call off the result of this challenge?"
Before losing consciousness, Jiraiya hadn't realized that the person who had been fighting him for so long was merely a Shadow Clone of Nara Keisuke.
But even if he had known, Jiraiya wouldn't surrender or admit defeat so easily.
After this battle, Jiraiya sincerely acknowledged the Shadow of Darkness's strength.
The various techniques the opponent displayed during the fight were even more impressive and powerful than he had imagined.
But… Jiraiya truly hadn't brought out his real strength!
Setting aside the trump card of Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu inheritance, even the Summoning Technique he had planned to use didn't make an appearance.
How could Jiraiya willingly admit defeat?
If this were just an ordinary spar, Jiraiya wouldn't be so shameless and persistent.
But the result of this spar was tied to obtaining the Camouflage Hiding Technique, a transparency ninjutsu!
Jiraiya would not miss the opportunity to obtain the Camouflage Hiding Technique, even if he was punched to death, smashed into the ground, and couldn't be dug out.
If he immediately conceded defeat now, Jiraiya was genuinely worried that Nara Keisuke would completely cut off the possibility of a Camouflage Hiding Technique trade.
That simply would not do!
"Temporarily call it off?"
Nara Keisuke raised an eyebrow, looking at Jiraiya with some surprise.
"Is Jiraiya-sama suggesting… we fight another day?"
If Jiraiya was indeed planning to "fight another day," Nara Keisuke…
Would, of course, be absolutely delighted!
Nara Keisuke also knew that Jiraiya hadn't displayed his full power in the previous fight.
According to Nara Keisuke's predictions, a peak Jiraiya, with the aid of Sage Mode and the two Sage Toads, should definitely be S-Rank in strength!
Although he had just obtained Jiraiya's A-Rank Secret Ninja Scroll, based on past experience, if Jiraiya's strength quickly rose to S-Rank, Nara Keisuke could still trigger and complete an S-Rank mission for him.
Since there was an opportunity to acquire a new S-Rank Secret Ninja Scroll, and it concerned the Mount Myōboku Senjutsu inheritance, Nara Keisuke would certainly not let it slip away.
"That's right, Lord Nara!"
Jiraiya nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
"I know this request is a bit presumptuous, but… could you give me another chance?"
"But doesn't Jiraiya-sama have other missions to attend to?"
Nara Keisuke didn't immediately agree to Jiraiya's request, shifting the topic instead.
"The war abroad isn't completely over yet."
"Mmm, yes, I do have some business to resolve."
Jiraiya nodded first, admitting the nature of his next assignment.
"After dealing with the situation here in the Land of Hot Water, I will return to the Land of Fire's territory and be responsible for guarding the coastline against potential invaders from Kirigakure."
In the previous Land of Hot Water campaign, Kirigakure lost a large portion of its fighting power.
In particular, the loss of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki essentially sliced a major artery, severely reducing their overall strength.
But even so, Kirigakure hadn't directly raised the white flag.
Recently, while Kirigakure had stopped harassing the Land of Hot Water, they had fixed their sights on the Land of Fire's vast coastline.
Because Minato Namikaze needed to accumulate more war merits, Jiraiya was recalled by Hiruzen Sarutobi from the Land of Rain front line.
But Jiraiya wasn't Tsunade, who suffered from severe hemophobia.
With the war not yet over, only a madman like Hiruzen Sarutobi would pin down such a powerful shinobi as Jiraiya in the village.
After some discussion and decision-making, Jiraiya was sent by Hiruzen Sarutobi to deal with Kirigakure.
Jiraiya was especially proficient in Fire Style Ninjutsu, but his Water Style Ninjutsu skills were also considerable, not to mention the large group of toads from Mount Myōboku.
Sending Jiraiya against Kirigakure was considered a "perfect fit" for his expertise.
"Since Jiraiya-sama needs to guard the Kirigakure front, then you shouldn't waste too much time here in the Land of Hot Water."
Nara Keisuke spoke earnestly, sounding completely uninterested in Jiraiya's secret scroll.
"It wouldn't be good if lingering here for too long affected the situation on the Kirigakure front."
What's there to worry about with Kirigakure?
Jiraiya might be thick-headed, but he wasn't mentally deficient.
The Third Great Shinobi War had reached this point, and Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure had all suffered severe losses.
Sunagakure's losses seemed the least, but that was because their foundations were meager to begin with.
Any astute observer could see that the end of the Third Great Shinobi War was not far off.
In this situation, Kirigakure's Third Mizukage would have to be crazy to continue fighting Konoha tooth and nail.
Furthermore, Jiraiya was well aware of the situation on the Kirigakure front.
Even without him, Uchiha Kagami alone, as an Edo Tensei Mangekyo Uchiha, could hold back Kirigakure's army. If Kirigakure dared to approach, it would be "shooting itself in the foot."
However, there was no need for Jiraiya to discuss these issues with anyone other than Nara Keisuke's group of children.
"That's true, but I'm injured right now, aren't I?"
Jiraiya quickly found a suitable excuse.
"A patient like me wouldn't be much help even if I went to the Kirigakure front…
"I've decided to recuperate here in the Land of Hot Water for a while!"
"Regarding that matter."
Nara Keisuke shrugged, not taking the bait.
"Please communicate with the village yourself, Jiraiya-sama."
"Of course."
Jiraiya nodded, then looked at Nara Keisuke with yearning.
"So, Lord Nara, after my injuries heal, our second spar…"
"Jiraiya-sama."
Nara Keisuke said deliberately.
"Frontline affairs are busy. My time is very valuable."
At his words, while Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin—who were less familiar with him—didn't react much, the expressions of his three subordinates—Uchiha Shisui, Hyūga Retsu, and Shizune—changed slightly.
Captain, if frontline affairs are busy, are you the one who suffers?
"Yes, yes, yes, that is completely understandable."
Jiraiya didn't notice anything amiss. When he was stationed on the Land of Rain front, he truly was extremely busy, so busy he didn't even have time to drink at the bars.
"But Lord Nara, I truly, truly want to learn that jutsu of yours."
"Jiraiya-sama, you misunderstood my meaning."
Nara Keisuke smiled slightly, like a predator showing its fangs.
"What I meant was, the spar just now was my idea, and the prize was the right to learn the Camouflage Hiding Technique.
"Since you are proposing this second spar… the price goes up."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya immediately looked troubled.
He didn't think there was any problem with Nara Keisuke's demand.
If a battle was likened to a gamble, the Camouflage Hiding Technique was Nara Keisuke's "bet."
Jiraiya wasn't the dealer; there was no reason for the opponent to put up a stake while he offered nothing in return.
The reason Jiraiya felt troubled at the moment was a different issue:
What stake should he offer?
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