Chapter 132: Dark Naruto vs. Jiraiya
"Naruto."
Jiraiya, who had infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village to investigate the Akatsuki, stared at the figure before him—his once most promising disciple, Naruto Uzumaki.
Now a perfect Jinchūriki after reaching an accord with the Nine-Tails due to his hatred for the Hidden Leaf, Naruto stood transformed.
In his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto looked down at Jiraiya from above and said, "It's been a while, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Why, Naruto? Why did you join the Akatsuki?"
"Because I've hated the Hidden Leaf from the very beginning. Jiraiya-sensei, surely you knew that, didn't you? Do you really believe my parents died just because of the Nine-Tails? And everything that happened to me after their deaths—was that really just for my protection?" Naruto, whose tone had been calm, suddenly burst into anger. "Don't give me that crap! My parents died because that old bastard, the Third Hokage, deliberately withheld support! And what happened to me afterward? That was all to test the limits of a Jinchūriki, wasn't it?!"
"Naruto, there must be some kind of misunderstanding—"
"Misunderstanding? Don't make me laugh, Jiraiya! Here's the truth: the only reason I took you as my master was to gain the power to destroy the Hidden Leaf. I just didn't expect you wouldn't teach me Sage Mode in the end."
"It's not that I didn't teach you Sage Mode—it's that someone like you, in your current state, could never have learned it." Jiraiya paused before continuing, "Originally, I believed you were the one most suited to mastering Sage Mode. But in the end, it turned out to be Sasuke who learned it."
"Sasuke... hahahaha!" Naruto suddenly laughed as if he'd heard something hilarious. "You mean that lapdog adopted by the village elders just to keep Uchiha Itachi in check? I'd love to see the look on his face when he learns the truth."
"It's true that while I was away, the village made a lot of mistakes. But the current Hokage is Tsunade. If it's her, then—"
"Give it up, Jiraiya. Hatred isn't so easily erased. Jiraiya, I'll give you one last chance. Out of respect for what we once had as master and student, I'll let you leave this place alive."
"I already made a bold promise to Tsunade. If I don't uncover the truth, there's no way I'll crawl back with my tail between my legs." Knowing words wouldn't work, Jiraiya attacked first. "Toad Oil Bullet!"
Naruto instantly entered perfect Jinchūriki form. The golden fox cloak shimmered around him as he deflected the Toad Oil Bullet with ease. He looked down at Jiraiya and said, "So quick to attack your former student without a word... you've really broken my heart, Jiraiya."
"From the start, you never really considered me your teacher, did you? And you stopped calling me Jiraiya-sensei just now, too."
"That's true," Naruto nodded. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
A thick cloud of white smoke enveloped Jiraiya. It wasn't just one shadow clone—hundreds of them appeared, completely surrounding him.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, huh? What a pain." Jiraiya glanced around, but Naruto gave him no time to strategize, launching a full assault that forced him to react instinctively. "Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya's white hair wrapped around his body, shooting out sharp hair-needles in all directions. One couldn't help but worry if he'd go bald someday.
Naruto's shadow clones were quickly pierced by the needles and vanished into white smoke.
Though his vision was blocked while wrapped in his hair, Jiraiya was one of the Legendary Sannin—his sensory perception more than made up for it.
To his senses, all of Naruto's clones had vanished.
Just as he released the technique, Jiraiya spotted the real, golden-hued Naruto in front of him, gasping in shock. "What?!"
By all accounts, Naruto's chakra hadn't moved at all.
"You've underestimated me, Jiraiya. I didn't stagnate after leaving you." As he spoke, Naruto formed a Rasengan and drove it into Jiraiya's stomach.
The blow sent Jiraiya flying with a serious injury.
A veteran of the Third Great Ninja War, Jiraiya responded immediately. Without even crying out in pain, he rolled across the ground where he landed, dropping into a crouched defensive stance. Seeing that Naruto wasn't following up, he finally took a moment to check his wounds.
"You're really ruthless, Naruto." Clutching his stomach, Jiraiya grimaced. "Looks like I'll have to get serious too."
"Emotions? Someone like me, branded a monster since birth for being a Jinchūriki, naturally had to become one. And monsters… don't need emotions."
"Hahaha, that's a pretty interesting philosophy. Summoning Technique!"
Jiraiya slammed both palms to the ground. A puff of white smoke obscured him once more, and his voice echoed from within. "You know, I stopped being human long ago—shedding tears of blood for a student's betrayal! Once one of the Legendary Sannin! Now a Sage! The Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku—Jiraiya has arrived!"
"You're still the same as ever, little Jiraiya," came an old woman's voice from within the smoke. "No wonder you've never had luck with women."
As the smoke cleared, Jiraiya stood before Naruto with two elderly, small-sized toads on his shoulders—one male, one female.
"You actually summoned us... looks like your opponent this time is giving you real trouble. Better be careful, dear," the old male toad warned.
"So, who is it this time, little Jiraiya?"
"As the two of you can see, this time the enemy is—"
"Isn't that Naruto? Long time no see, Naruto." The old female toad greeted him. "So this is your current form... I see, you've become a perfect Jinchūriki."
"Long time no see, Sage Shima. Sage Fukasaku." Naruto smiled and greeted the two sages from Mount Myōboku, who sat on Jiraiya's shoulders.
"Sages, Naruto is our opponent this time."
"What?!" the old female toad exclaimed in shock.
"But Naruto was your student, wasn't he? And you even brought him to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode. It's just a shame... he didn't succeed."
"I'm sorry, Sages. I'll explain everything after the battle. For now, I need your help to enter Sage Mode. So I'm counting on you to cover me."
"Oh, come on. Relying on us two old folks again? You should've learned to enter Sage Mode on your own by now," grumbled the old female toad.
"Hahaha..." Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly, then his expression turned serious. "I'm counting on you, Sages."
"Very well, leave it to us, little Jiraiya," the old male toad nodded.