It was summer, and the forest was filled with the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds. Even without direct sunlight, the air was incredibly stuffy and hot, an environment that would usually make anyone irritable.
Yet, Jiraiya strolled through it leisurely, not feeling the slightest bit bothered. He even had the presence of mind to joke, "Are you brats hidden? Here I come to catch you!"
It was the second day of the survival exercise. After gathering, Jiraiya had led them into this forest and given them twenty minutes to discuss tactics and set up an ambush. This survival exercise wasn't the old-fashioned bell-stealing game. According to Jiraiya, that kind of game was no longer suitable for them. Today's goal was to treat him as an enemy and fight with the intent to kill.
Three Chunin-level genin facing a Jonin, if it were a direct confrontation, surrender would be their only option. But fortunately, Jiraiya's objective also included team coordination, trap placement, and combat intelligence as part of the assessment. Now, twenty minutes had passed, and Jiraiya had officially entered the forest. Although he was joking, he had mentally raised his guard to the highest level. If he were careless and they managed a surprise attack, he would lose a lot of face.
Sure enough, just a few steps in, three logs came whistling towards him in a spin from the front, left-rear, and right-rear. However, this attack was clearly within Jiraiya's expectations. He effortlessly dodged from the blind spot. But how could the battle plan formulated by Kyuushin be so easily broken?
The three logs he had just dodged suddenly twisted and transformed into Kyuushin, Nawaki, and Minato. In the instant Jiraiya dodged, three massive Fuma Shuriken were launched at him again.
"Using Transformation Jutsu to disguise yourselves as the traps, then launching a second surprise attack as I dodge the first round. A very good tactic. Unfortunately, it's useless against me." As he spoke, Jiraiya used the Body Flicker Technique, dodging the Fuma Shuriken and instantly appearing before Kyuushin, throwing a punch directly at his abdomen.
During this process, even Kyuushin didn't notice any stiffness after Jiraiya used Body Flicker. At this moment, he was still in mid-air and had no time to dodge. However, he showed no panic. After throwing the Fuma Shuriken, he had been secretly accumulating power. Seeing Jiraiya's incoming punch, he didn't dodge at all. He also raised his fist and slammed it into Jiraiya's, intending to meet force with force.
"Boom." Fists met, creating a ripple of air. Unexpectedly, Jiraiya was sent back two steps by Kyuushin's punch. Kyuushin, still in the air, used the force to flip once and land steadily.
"Is this Tsunade's Monstrous Strength?" Although it was a question, Jiraiya was extremely certain. He had heard her mention it two years ago and never expected to witness it today.
"You jest, Sensei. It's my first time using it in actual combat, so I'm still not very proficient," Kyuushin said with a smile. The effect was quite good; it had caught Jiraiya off guard.
Jiraiya shook his hands a few times, then looked at the three who had surrounded him. He smiled. "Are you planning a frontal assault? That's not a good choice."
The three stood in a triangular formation, encircling Jiraiya. Kyuushin struck first, still with Monstrous Strength, a simple punch aimed directly at Jiraiya's chest. After he made his move, Nawaki and Minato also moved in from his rear flanks.
"Powerful, but your speed is too slow." Seeing the three attack together, Jiraiya's attention was primarily focused on Kyuushin. This time, he didn't try to meet the punch head-on. Instead, he used his superior speed to directly grab Kyuushin's arm, causing the punch to miss. At the same time, he dodged Minato's attack from behind and raised his other hand, preparing to block Nawaki's punch.
However, the moment Nawaki's fist landed on his arm, he felt something was off. The punch was just as heavy as Kyuushin's. He glanced back with his peripheral vision, only to find that the person who looked like Nawaki was actually Kyuushin!
"Shadow Clone combined with Transformation Jutsu!" he thought in surprise.
Then, the Kyuushin whose arm he had grabbed chuckled, instantly turning into a puddle of water. The Minato whose attack he had previously dodged had somehow gotten close and also turned into a puddle of water.
"It's Water Clone Jutsu." This time, he wasn't just surprised; he also felt a sense of foreboding.
The real Kyuushin, who had been disguised as Nawaki, saw the situation and quickly formed hand signs, shouting, "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
The water from the destroyed clones instantly formed a spherical prison, trapping Jiraiya inside.
"Mission accomplished!" From the very beginning, Kyuushin and his teammates knew that defeating Jiraiya would be nearly impossible. They had to rely on a clever plan. Kyuushin had seen this C-rank ninjutsu, Water Prison, among the scrolls he received. In the original story, it had been used to trap even Kakashi. Based on this idea, Kyuushin formulated a detailed plan. He played three roles, hiding Water Clones among them. First, he attacked with traps, then engaged in a frontal battle to make Jiraiya mistakenly believe they had run out of options, and finally, unexpectedly unleashed the Water Prison Jutsu. As they expected, Jiraiya walked into the trap step by step.
At this point, Kyuushin's battle plan could be declared a success. He smiled as he looked at Jiraiya inside the water prison, about to say something, when he saw Jiraiya point a finger upwards.
*Hmm? Upwards? What's up there?*
Kyuushin looked up, only to see another Jiraiya falling from above him. He was startled and instantly dodged to the side. With that dodge, his hand left the water prison, and the jutsu was broken. The Jiraiya he had trapped was a Shadow Clone.