Jiraiya's S-Rank Ninjutsu

Sen glanced helplessly at his two teammates and quickly gave his orders. "Don't get in my way. Cover me while I take the lead!"

Minato and Kushina immediately understood and sprang into battle.

"Then..." Jiraiya grinned. "Let's begin!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Minato hurled three shuriken at Jiraiya. He and Kushina shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow, advancing in tandem from either side!

"Oh? Going on the offensive right from the start?" Jiraiya dodged the shuriken with easy, unhurried steps and teased, "You must be pretty confident in yourselves.

Too bad I'm not one of those hopeless dead-last students at your school, waiting to be slaughtered!"

As he spoke, he moved like a phantom, appearing in an instant before Minato, who was charging at the front. He threw an unadorned punch straight at Minato's face!

Too fast!

The force of the punch rushed toward him, and Minato's pupils contracted. He only had time to cross his arms over his chest to block.

"Thud!"

A dull impact rang out. The tremendous force traveled through Minato's arms, and he used it to perform a clumsy backflip. Just as he was about to throw a kunai in midair to counterattack—

He was horrified to see Jiraiya's right foot already sweeping toward him, trailing a gust of air-splitting force!

Was this how a Jonin attacked? It was so fast he could barely breathe!

At the last possible moment, Minato formed Hand Seals instinctively.

Jiraiya's right foot landed squarely on Minato, but all it hit was a splintered log.

Minato's real body had already used the Substitution Technique to fly back two meters.

"Oh?" Jiraiya looked at the wood chips scattered across the ground and nodded approvingly. "Quick reflexes. You summoned a log on the spot to pull off a substitution. Looks like you've got the same talent for spatial displacement that I do."

"Teacher, quit bragging already. Don't forget about me!"

With a spirited cry, Kushina closed in!

The kunai in her left hand slashed toward Jiraiya's throat, while her right fist was already coiled with power, ready to deliver a lethal blow.

A kunai in her left hand? Was she left-handed?

A flicker of doubt crossed Jiraiya's mind, but his body instinctively shifted to the right, precisely dodging the kunai's edge.

At that moment, a triumphant smile appeared on Kushina's face. She unleashed the full force of the right fist she'd been charging!

Jiraiya didn't dodge. He simply reached out his palm, intending to catch the punch head-on. How strong could a nine-year-old girl be?

"Thump!"

Fist met palm, and Jiraiya's brow instantly furrowed. Something was wrong! That force...

A strength far beyond an ordinary person's surged through his palm, making his wrist go numb!

The girl had used chakra to strengthen her muscles! That monstrous strength was just like Tsunade's!

"One of you is fast, and the other is strong. You're both pretty good." As he praised them, Jiraiya tightened his grip, seized Kushina by the arm, and swung her like a weapon at Minato, who was preparing to charge again.

"Thud!"

He threw her too fast for Minato to dodge. The two collided and tumbled into a heap.

"Now it's your turn!"

After dealing with the two, Jiraiya used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in front of Sen!

Sen calmly dodged the force of the punch with two swift backflips. He smoothly drew the short sword from his back, tapped off with his toes, and charged forward instead of retreating!

At first, Jiraiya looked down on the sharp flash of the blade. But once they clashed, he realized how frighteningly solid Sen's swordsmanship was.

Every move had the polish of a seasoned practitioner. Jiraiya finally put aside his contempt, drew a kunai, and began taking the fight seriously.

Once Jiraiya got serious, the pressure on Sen increased sharply.

After all, Jiraiya was a battle-hardened Jonin!

"Clang!"

The short sword struck the kunai, sending up a spray of sparks.

The short sword should have had the advantage, but Jiraiya's terrifying strength numbed Sen's hand, forcing him back again and again.

Jiraiya seized the opening when Sen hesitated and threw a left punch. Sen couldn't dodge in time and was blasted away.

Seeing Sen knocked back, Jiraiya didn't pursue him. He gave the three of them a chance to regroup and said, "You two are a pretty good combination. Your swordsmanship's not bad, either.

"Too bad your stamina and experience are lacking. You're already gasping after only a little while, and you don't know how to adapt. You could use Illusion Techniques or something to catch me off guard."

Sen didn't argue. He quickly steadied his breathing and recovered his strength, then shouted toward the distance:

"Are you two going to help or not?"

Minato and Kushina struggled to their feet and attacked Jiraiya again.

With the two of them keeping Jiraiya occupied, the pressure on Sen eased considerably.

The three worked together so well that they managed to trade blows with Jiraiya for a while, even brushing the bells at his waist several times.

"Oh? You're starting to get into the rhythm of it?" A note of approval flashed in Jiraiya's eyes.

That was enough. It was time to show them what true despair looked like and see whether they could grasp the essence of teamwork.

With that, he leapt backward to create some distance and formed Hand Seals. "The game is over! I'll show you what real ninjutsu looks like! Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"

Before his words had even faded, he vanished from where he stood.

"Spread out! Watch out underground! It's an Earth Release technique!" Sen shouted.

"Who says Earth Release has to attack from underground?"

Jiraiya's voice came from behind them! At some point, he had used Earth Release to sneak up behind them!

His two feet came sweeping through the air, each aimed at Minato and Sen. After kicking them away, he repeated the trick as soon as he landed, hurling Kushina like a cannonball!

Sen twisted his body in midair and raced over to Kushina, catching her securely.

"You even know to protect your teammate. Not bad." Jiraiya dusted off his hands and shook his head. "Still, you haven't passed. You were arguing over those ridiculous hand signs before the fight..."

Jiraiya hadn't finished speaking when Sen interrupted him with his actions.

Sen set Kushina down, slowly stood up, and held out one hand, gently waggling it.

Two silver bells rang brightly in his hand.

"Teacher Jiraiya," Sen said with a faint smile, "when you burrowed underground just now, you seem to have forgotten these."

"What?! How is that possible?!"

Jiraiya instinctively looked down. The instant he let his attention wander, Sen hurled the bells in his hand at him and shouted, "If you don't believe me, take a good look!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he examined the bells in the air. As they drew closer, he could see them more clearly. He immediately realized something was wrong. These two bells didn't look like his at all—they seemed like crude imitations.

He'd been tricked! His own bells were still on him!

He was just about to react when the two fake bells went "poof!" and burst into two clouds of white smoke. Two Sens appeared and dropped down from either side, clamping onto his arms like iron pincers!

"Minato! Now!" Sen's real body shouted.

Minato didn't hesitate. This was the real tactic they'd agreed on while arguing!

He formed Hand Seals, and a Shadow Clone appeared at once. Then it grabbed Minato's real body by the arm and, like someone throwing a shot put, swung him toward Jiraiya with all its strength!

It was the fastest way to get close to their opponent!

"Naive!" Jiraiya sneered. He made a snap decision and swung his trapped arms inward, trying to make the two Shadow Clones collide and dispel.

But when the two clones struck each other, both of them wore triumphant grins!

"Jiraiya, you fell for it!"

"Crackle!"

The two Shadow Clones were actually Lightning Release Clones, and a powerful current surged from them in an instant! Jiraiya convulsed violently as the electricity coursed through him. His hair stood on end, and his muscles went numb!

Meanwhile, Minato, who had flown up beside him, took the opportunity to scoop up the two real bells with ease.

"Operation successful!" Minato landed steadily and announced with a grin.

Black smoke rose from Jiraiya's mouth. His body was still shaking uncontrollably, but he stubbornly insisted:

"Mm... Nice work. Although...I only used...zero point one percent of my strength!"

At that, the three exchanged smiles but didn't call him out.

They looked at Jiraiya's lips, charred black from the electricity, and all had the same thought:

If that didn't even cook your mouth, then stubbornness must be your trump-card S-rank ninjutsu, huh?