"Kid… what kind of look is that?"
Catching the faint amusement in Uchiha Kai's eyes, Jiraiya reflexively tightened his… dignity.
Somewhere along the way, whenever he faced this young Uchiha, a bone-deep chill had started crawling up his spine.
Tap.
Almost instinctively, he took half a step back.
Staring at Kai from ten meters away, he licked his dry, cracked lips and forced a casual tone.
"We're teammates, you know."
As he spoke, he pushed his sensory perception to the limit.
Aside from the single clone Kai had left behind, there was only rain.
As long as he kept his eyes on Kai, there shouldn't be any surprise attacks.
And yet—
Even with his full attention locked on him, the Kai ten meters away vanished without warning.
No sign.
No hand seals.
Not even a ripple of spatial distortion.
Jiraiya realized something was wrong at the same instant a sound landed on his shoulder.
Pat.
A cold, slick sensation slid down from his shoulder.
He turned his head in disbelief.
"When did you—teleport behind me?!"
"No… wait—your clone?!"
When he confirmed it really was Kai, his pupils trembled again.
He finally understood something was deeply off.
His gaze snapped to the two remaining clones.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"Is that… Shisui's Body Flicker?!"
Plenty of shinobi knew Body Flicker.
But Shisui's Body Flicker?
No one truly mastered that.
Back then, Shisui was infamous as both a genjutsu prodigy and a Body Flicker monster—his Phantom Body Flicker was practically an unavoidable short-range kill move.
No wonder Jiraiya was shaken.
Kai didn't confirm or deny it.
Instead, he quietly tested the connection he felt in his chest.
He had a sense that if he wanted to—when his chakra ran low—he could directly siphon Jiraiya's recovery.
Like…
Samehada swallowing chakra?
Or… a Nine-Tails brand power bank?
The real question was: how much could he draw?
[Spore Technique planted successfully. Current: can instantly siphon chakra equal to 10% of Host's total.]
"Ten percent?"
Kai's eyes brightened immediately.
"Then if I siphon Kakashi… wouldn't he end up owing me, like, three hundred Kakashis?"
In other words—
His future endurance was secured.
BOOM!!!
At that moment, ten meters ahead—
The muddy ground, soaked through by rain, exploded upward.
Brown sludge and stinking earth blasted into the air, ripping open the rain curtain.
A deep-blue figure surged out like a sea monster breaching the surface—
And slammed straight toward Jiraiya.
In his hands, a grotesque giant blade wrapped in bandages cleaved down from above.
"Hm? That's—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
Jiraiya lived and breathed intelligence work. He recognized the identity almost instantly.
As he retreated at full speed, his hands flashed through seals and he drew in a deep breath.
Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!
Fwooom!
A massive fireball—nearly ten meters across—roared into existence and shot toward the deep-blue attacker.
Hiss—HISS—HISS!
High heat collided with water and chakra, producing a violent storm of steam.
In seconds, visibility vanished within dozens of meters.
Jiraiya used the cover to slip behind a tree, narrowing his eyes.
"That sword just now… was that Samehada?"
"So the man is Hoshigaki Kisame, the one who was recently hunted by the Land of Water…"
"And that outfit—he—"
BOOM!
Before Jiraiya could finish, a sound burst overhead.
"Gahahaha! To think I'd run into one of the Legendary Sannin!"
"If I use your head as my 'hello gift' to the organization, that'll be hilarious!"
With a monstrous howl, Kisame raised Samehada and chopped down.
"That blade isn't normal…"
"No intel about this part…?"
Jiraiya's brows knitted tighter.
He could feel it—the faint sense of danger seeping from that sword.
And precisely because of that, he didn't retreat.
If he wanted reliable intel, he had to feel it for himself.
Decision made, chakra surged.
Jiraiya's long white hair rapidly grew, wrapping around him like armor.
Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!
Offense and defense combined—and close enough to test the blade's weirdness.
BANG!
Samehada slammed down.
But instead of the crushing force he expected, it felt… oddly muted.
Thunder loud, raindrops small.
Jiraiya frowned—because that "danger" sensation only intensified.
Then, in the next breath, he felt something truly wrong.
His chakra… was disappearing.
And fast.
"This sword—!"
Hiss!
He snapped his hair defense apart and tore himself free, stumbling back in a scramble.
Messy. Humiliating.
"HAHAHAHA! Incredible!"
"To think the mighty Konoha Sannin can only run from me!"
"This feeling—this is the best!"
Kisame was ecstatic, mouth stretched in a grin so wide it threatened to split behind his ears.
Pride and arrogance surged to their peak.
But he didn't chase Jiraiya.
Instead, he suddenly turned toward Kai.
"Hey, Sannin—if you keep running…"
"I'll kill your teammate."
He lifted Samehada and swung it straight at Kai.
Chasing was pointless.
Pressure was faster.
He wanted Jiraiya to come back and die on his own.
In Kisame's eyes, the kid nearby was just an inexperienced boy.
"…Ugh."
From behind cover, Jiraiya's mouth twitched.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.
Mock Kisame for being overconfident?
Or warn Kai not to touch that sword?
"Damn—!"
But when he saw Kai actually reach out as if to catch the blade—
Jiraiya's face went pale, even his "youthful pimples" nearly popping out as he shouted:
"Watch out! That sword devours chakra!"
Kai acted like he hadn't heard a word.
He only raised a small hand—darkened slightly, thin even—then placed it directly in front of Samehada's world-ending edge.
Five fingers spread.
No dodge. No flinch.
CLANG!!!!
A metallic explosion detonated through the rain, eardrums screaming.
For an instant, time froze.
Even the falling raindrops seemed to shatter from the shock.
But the expected spray of blood didn't come.
The monstrous blade that could cleave a tailed beast…
Was stopped.
Kai's palm had pinched the very tip of Samehada—gripping one of the forward-facing hooks.
The blade trembled like a giant snake nailed mid-strike.
It couldn't move.
"Hm?"
Kisame's grin froze.
For the first time, disbelief flickered in his shark-like eyes.
"Kid… I misjudged you."
That strike had been meant to crush Kai into pulp.
But now—
Kisame licked his lips with his dark tongue and laughed instead of raging.
"Good. Even better."
His arms bulged as muscles tightened.
Gurgle… gurgle…
A flood of chakra poured into Samehada like a broken dam.
Crack.
Crack.
The bandages split apart inch by inch—
Revealing writhing scales and a grotesque mouth lined with teeth, hungry and alive.
"Gahahaha—drink him dry, Samehada!"
Kisame roared, thrilled beyond reason.
Bloodlust and brutality burned in his eyes.
SKRIT—!
Thorns along the handle shot outward, extending like spears—
And stabbed viciously toward Kai's wrist.
Devour.
Devour everything.
"Heh."
Kai let out a short breath through his nose, smiling just as brightly.
"You just tried to suck my power bank…"
"And now you want to suck me?"
"Then you'd better be careful—"
"Don't shatter your teeth."
His fingers tightened around the hook he was holding.
And a faint golden light surged around his body.
Toad Sage Mode—activated.
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