Two Color Orbs

Hanzo was a little dazed.

Jiraiya, who had been completely at his mercy, had suddenly grown much stronger for some reason. He'd actually turned the tables and injured Hanzo with a single punch.

The huge difference between before and now left Hanzo struggling to understand what had happened.

Could he have fallen under a Genjutsu?

But with Hanzo's strength, he could clearly sense that he wasn't under a Genjutsu.

That only made it harder for him to accept.

Still, Hanzo was the demigod who stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World. He quickly calmed down.

He also realized that Jiraiya's sudden change in strength was connected to the mask-like markings that had appeared on his face.

"Jiraiya, I never expected you to have a secret technique that could boost your strength like this."

After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Hanzo looked at Jiraiya and spoke slowly.

"But how long can you maintain this state?"

Although he didn't know the truth behind Sage Mode, Hanzo could tell that Jiraiya couldn't sustain it for long.

Having figured that out, Hanzo naturally planned to stall until Jiraiya's state wore off.

Hearing this, Jiraiya understood what Hanzo was thinking.

His strength had indeed increased considerably in Sage Mode, surpassing Hanzo's.

But he still couldn't overwhelm him.

After all, his Sage Mode was imperfect, and he had only recently mastered it. He couldn't use it skillfully yet.

Given Hanzo's strength, he could certainly stall until Sage Mode ran out.

Realizing this, Jiraiya grew anxious.

"Lord Jiraiya, I have a way to deal with Hanzo."

Seeing Jiraiya's predicament, Qingshui hurried to his side and shared his idea.

Jiraiya's face brightened as soon as he heard it.

Time was short, so he acted at once—but he didn't charge at Hanzo. Instead, he turned and rushed toward Ibuse, who was fighting Gamabunta.

Unable to release poison for the moment, Ibuse was at a disadvantage against Gamabunta, completely suppressed.

Mount Myōboku was, after all, one of the Three Great Sage Lands of the Summoning Realm, and it possessed a Senjutsu inheritance.

As one of its foremost warriors, Gamabunta was naturally no pushover.

It could even fight a Tailed Beast, let alone Ibuse, a salamander.

Bang!

Jiraiya used Body Flicker to appear above Ibuse, gathered Chakra in his fist, and punched it to the ground with a pained cry.

For a moment, Jiraiya seemed to have Tsunade's strength.

Seizing the opportunity, Gamabunta immediately swung his blade. A blood column dozens of meters high burst forth.

Wounded so severely that it could no longer endure the pain, Ibuse quickly released the Summoning Jutsu and left the battlefield.

Hanzo's expression grew even darker as he watched.

But he had no intention of fleeing.

The pride of a demigod wouldn't let him run—not when he was facing a former defeated opponent, no less.

This Hanzo was not yet the old man who would later abandon his convictions.

"I'd like to see what other tricks you've got!"

Under Hanzo's watchful gaze, Qingshui and Jiraiya both moved to the top of Gamabunta's head.

"Gamabunta, I'm going to use the last of my Senjutsu Chakra to attack Hanzo. I need you to assist me with oil."

Sage Mode was about to end, so Jiraiya had no time to explain in detail.

Gamabunta didn't press him for details. It immediately did as Jiraiya asked.

As Gamabunta spat out oil, Qingshui and Jiraiya used Wind Release and Fire Release, respectively.

Combined, the three techniques formed a vast sea of flames with terrifying destructive power. The intense heat even stopped the relentless rain for a brief moment.

This was Sage Art: Goemon!

But because Qingshui couldn't use Senjutsu, its power was somewhat diminished.

Even so, it was more than enough to deal with Hanzo as he was now.

Despite seeing such a terrifying Fire Release, Hanzo still refused to give up.

He hurriedly unleashed his strongest Water Release, summoning a colossal wave as vast as the sea of flames.

But when the flames and wave collided, the water—which should have suppressed the fire—was instead rapidly evaporated by the flames.

"Impossible!"

Hanzo's disbelieving roar rang out.

He was the strongest Water Release user in the Ninja World, yet his technique was being suppressed by Fire Release?

But how could he know that this was Senjutsu, a power that surpassed ordinary ninjutsu?

Even a weakened version was still Senjutsu.

And so, as Hanzo stared in disbelief, the sea of flames broke through the wave like a force of nature and instantly engulfed him.

When the flames died down, Hanzo lay motionless on the ground, barely clinging to life.

If the Rain Ninja had seen this, it would have caused an enormous uproar.

The invincible Lord Hanzo had fallen!

Defeated by Jiraiya, the very man he had once beaten!

Bang!

Once the battle ended, Gamabunta released the Summoning Jutsu and returned to Mount Myōboku.

Having left Sage Mode, Jiraiya could no longer hold himself up. He collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from his wounds.

He had lost so much blood that his face was deathly pale.

Qingshui hurried to treat him without delay.

Fortunately, with Qingshui's current medical skills, an injury like this was no great challenge.

The treatment was soon complete, and color gradually returned to Jiraiya's face.

[Completed treatment of Jiraiya. Reward: one Color Orb.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the ability to sense Nature Energy.]

At once, Qingshui could sense the energy that existed everywhere in nature: Nature Energy.

The Chakra used by ordinary Ninja was produced by mixing physical energy and spiritual energy in equal proportions.

Adding Nature Energy to Chakra and maintaining a balance of 1:1:1 among all three formed what was known as Senjutsu Chakra.

Ninjutsu used with it became more powerful: Senjutsu.

The theory was simple, but putting it into practice was difficult. Under normal circumstances, Ninja couldn't sense Nature Energy at all.

If they couldn't sense it, how could they absorb it?

In the Original Work, Naruto was able to quickly master Sage Mode only by using Toad Oil to sense Nature Energy.

Now that Qingshui could sense Nature Energy, he could theoretically develop Sage Mode on his own.

No wonder this Color Orb I'd been longing for gave such a great reward.

After finishing Jiraiya's treatment, Qingshui began treating Mikoto as well.

Mikoto had also sustained fairly serious injuries during the earlier battle.

[Completed treatment of Uchiha Mikoto. Reward: one Golden Orb.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.]

This was already the third technique Qingshui had obtained from Mikoto.

"Qingshui, sorry for the trouble, but could you treat Hanzo as well?"

Jiraiya's voice sounded just then.

Hanzo had spared him during the Second Shinobi World War. Now he could repay that kindness.

Qingshui naturally had no objections.

He could repay Jiraiya for teaching him and earn another Color Orb.

A win-win situation—meaning Qingshui won twice.

[Completed treatment of Hanzo of the Salamander. Reward: one Color Orb.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained Top-tier Water Style Talent.]