Ninja Art: Needle Jizo

Hizashi Hyuga saw Shiyu unleash dozens of Fire Release Ninjutsu on the enemy and hurried to stop him. "Shiyu! The enemy should be dead! You don't need to keep going!"

"Oh?" Shiyu finally stopped. Sure enough, almost all the Jashin Cult followers had been burned to charcoal. That showed just how many times Shiyu had used his ninjutsu.

Shiyu was very cautious and kept searching for any enemies who might have survived. Then he suddenly shouted, "Oh no!"

"I don't see the Great Cult Master!" Shiyu said, certain of it.

"Everyone's been burned to charcoal. How can you tell which one is the Great Cult Master?" Noguchi asked in surprise.

As soon as Noguchi spoke, Hizashi shouted a warning. "Watch out!"

The Great Cult Master suddenly burst out. Hizashi slapped Noguchi out of the way, saving his life.

It turned out the Great Cult Master hadn't disappeared. Shiyu's Fire Release had blasted away his upper body. Since the Great Cult Master had already died, Hizashi and Shiyu hadn't sensed any chakra flowing from him.

But just like the other followers, even with his upper body blown apart, the Great Cult Master could still revive in an instant. This might be the Immortal Body.

"Damn it! We have to find a way to bury him alive!" Shiyu warned at once.

"Bury him alive?! You mean like this? Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

Suddenly, a vast swamp opened up beneath the Gakin Cult's grounds. Shiyu and the others leaped clear, but the Jashin Cult followers hadn't had time to revive. They sank into the mud and couldn't escape. In an instant, the Swamp of the Underworld buried every Jashin Cult follower in sight.

"That technique is—?!"

"Who are you?!" Hizashi exclaimed in shock.

"That's right! I'm the legendary, handsome, dashing, and charming Konoha Sannin—the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!" Jiraiya spread his arms and clacked across the ground in his wooden sandals, looking utterly ridiculous. Even after using his ninjutsu, he couldn't resist proudly introducing himself.

"It really is Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin!" Hizashi said excitedly.

"Jiraiya-senpai, how did you get in here?" Shiyu asked.

"A beautiful young lady opened up a secret passage and let me in. I thought it might be a trap, but luckily, it wasn't! Maybe my charm won her over!" Jiraiya said proudly.

"Her?" Shiyu immediately thought of the frighteningly bewitching girl.

"I don't know why she chose to save me, but either way, I owe her one," Shiyu said. "Jiraiya-senpai, thank you!"

"Don't mention it. Our missions just happened to overlap, so I took care of this while I was at it," Jiraiya said casually.

"I've been keeping an eye on the Gakin Cult for a long time. Without you, this mission might have dragged on forever! The students you brought along are quite impressive, Hizashi!" Jiraiya praised.

Hizashi blushed slightly. "You're too kind, Lord Jiraiya! They really are excellent ninja. As their Jonin, I'm the one who should be ashamed."

"All right. I'll take care of them from here. Since you've completed your mission, you can leave. Uchiha-kun, I don't want to owe you anything, so how about I teach you an interesting technique? Think of it as a lesson from your senpai to his kohai." Jiraiya grinned.

"Of course!" Shiyu readily agreed. He wasn't about to turn down such a good opportunity.

"Good!" Jiraiya quickly gathered the items needed for the mission. Hizashi took Noguchi, Kurenai, and Nao to wait for Shiyu at the inn.

Shiyu, meanwhile, was about to learn a new skill from Jiraiya.

"I saw your technique just now. Your control was excellent, and you seem to have plenty of chakra. I'll teach you an interesting ninjutsu," Jiraiya said with a smile. "The Third Hokage has praised you, too. So I'll make it a little difficult for you. If you can learn this technique in thirty minutes, I'll teach you another one!"

"Really?" Shiyu was already coming out ahead.

"Really!" Jiraiya nodded.

"Great! Let's do it!" Shiyu said confidently.

Jiraiya launched into teaching mode and explained the technique in detail. "I'm going to teach you Ninja Art: Needle Jizo. It uses chakra to stimulate your hair and turn it into needles, which wrap around your body to defend against attacks. The harder your hair is, the stronger your defense. Of course, this technique is good for both offense and defense. Used at the right moment, it can be very effective."

"It doesn't consume much chakra. In theory, as long as you have enough chakra and use the technique properly, you can defend against Taijutsu and genjutsu. But if an opponent uses ninjutsu with greater power than your defense can withstand, you can still get hurt."

As soon as Shiyu finished listening, he understood how the technique worked.

"Do you understand?" Jiraiya asked.

"I do," Shiyu replied.

"Then I'll demonstrate. Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

Jiraiya's hair instantly wrapped around his entire body, protecting him. Sharp spikes sprouted from it, and anyone who attacked him would be impaled in an instant.

If Shiyu remembered correctly, Orochimaru had also been caught off guard by this technique of Jiraiya's.

"That's a powerful technique! It's like turning into a hedgehog. But a strong ranged attack or a blunt weapon would probably be a problem," Shiyu thought.

"All right! Give it a try!" Jiraiya said. He knew that even someone exceptionally talented probably wouldn't learn it after seeing it once. Ninjutsu required repeated attempts and practice to build experience; only then would it feel natural to use.

To his surprise, Shiyu answered confidently, "Okay!"

"Is this kid really that confident?" Jiraiya couldn't help wondering.

Shiyu formed Hand Seals and called out, "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" His hair gradually turned gray, then instantly wrapped around his entire body.

What happened next left Jiraiya stunned. Sharp spikes burst from Shiyu's hair, and their range was even greater than Jiraiya's.

Jiraiya immediately flipped backward and yelled, "Hey, kid! Be careful!"

"Jiraiya-senpai, that counts as learning it, right? It's a really useful technique!" Shiyu released the jutsu and even remembered to praise Jiraiya's technique.

Jiraiya wiped away his sweat and forced himself to look calm, but he'd never been more shocked in his life.

"That's impossible!"

"Is this kid even more talented than Orochimaru?!"