Compound Ninjutsu

However, just as he reached for Namikaze Minato, a slightly smaller hand also reached for the bell at his waist. The figure was none other than Minato.

Uchiha Nagi and Uchiha Mikoto both saw what was happening. The three figures were like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.

Minato had also immediately used the Substitution Technique to escape. But unlike Nagi, he didn't retreat far; instead, he tried to seize the opportunity to take the bell.

Just as he was about to succeed, Jiraiya's figure once again dispersed into a cloud of white smoke, leaving behind only a wooden substitute.

"Too bad. If your Substitution Technique had been a little more convincing, you might have fooled me." Jiraiya's voice sounded beside Minato's ear.

Watching this, Nagi cursed under his breath.

That was what happened when an elite jonin fought genin. He could toy with them using nothing but the Substitution Technique.

When they tried to use the technique, they couldn't be so casual. They had to seize the right moment just to pull it off, and even then, if they weren't skilled enough, they might not fool their opponent...

The Substitution Technique really was a god-tier move for bullying the weak.

But Nagi's lips curled into a smile. How could Minato be defeated so easily?

Minato immediately reacted and determined Jiraiya's position at once!

He didn't answer Jiraiya's taunt, which carried a hint of mockery and challenge. He was frighteningly calm.

As he leaned back, his fingers had already reached into his ninja tool pouch and precisely plucked out an Explosive Tag.

"Ha!"

With a quiet shout, Minato flung the Explosive Tag into the open space between himself and Jiraiya without hesitation.

He had calculated the position with remarkable precision, placing it right in the path Jiraiya would have to take to pursue him.

The tag traced an arc through the air, and its chakra activated instantly.

BOOM!

A violent explosion rang out. Flames and smoke swallowed the space between them, forming a brief barrier.

A flash of astonishment crossed Jiraiya's face. Had Minato really managed to react to his Substitution Technique?

He couldn't tell whether his technique had given him away or whether Minato had been fooled but still managed to react in time.

"Tch!"

Jiraiya clicked his tongue as the blast forced him to stop.

An explosion of this magnitude couldn't seriously hurt him, but it was enough to obstruct him and block his vision.

Seizing that precious moment to catch his breath, Minato didn't linger. Using the blast's recoil, he raced without hesitation toward the spot where Nagi was hiding!

But Jiraiya was an experienced jonin.

Before the smoke from the explosion had even fully cleared, his white figure had already burst out from its edge!

He was moving faster now, and his gaze had grown more serious.

"Trying to run? Not so fast!"

Jiraiya barked as chakra erupted beneath his feet, instantly closing the distance between him and Minato.

An immense pressure seemed to bear down on Minato's back.

Minato could clearly feel the powerful presence behind him rapidly closing in. Fine beads of sweat appeared at his temples.

He clearly couldn't shake Jiraiya's pursuit with speed alone!

At that moment, watching Minato flee toward him with Jiraiya in pursuit, Nagi's lips curled into a smile.

He quickly gauged Minato's speed and worked out the best angle for throwing a shuriken.

Without hesitation, he sent several shuriken flying.

From the side, it looked as though the shuriken were aimed at Minato.

But Minato didn't slow down at all. He didn't even change his movements.

The instant the shuriken lined up with Minato, they skimmed past his body and shot toward Jiraiya behind him.

"What?!"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. From his angle, he hadn't seen the shuriken at all.

That was reckless. At such an angle, even the slightest error could have injured Minato!

But...

Now, with the shuriken right in front of him, it was too late for Jiraiya to use only the Substitution Technique. He had no opening to launch the Body Flicker Technique, either.

In an instant, Jiraiya's unruly white hair surged outward, forming a barrier that stopped the shuriken.

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

Admiration showed in Jiraiya's eyes. Now that he had used a ninjutsu other than the Three Basic Techniques, it was fair to say he had lost this test.

Just then, Uchiha Mikoto finished forming her Hand Seals as she watched Jiraiya, cocooned in his white hair.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A fireball the size of an adult's height shot toward Jiraiya, who was still wrapped in his white hair.

The firelight reflected in Jiraiya's narrowed eyes. The Fire Release was quite powerful. No wonder she was from the Uchiha Clan.

But that wasn't the end of it.

At that moment, Nagi also formed Hand Seals.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Nagi compressed an invisible gust of wind into a sphere and sent it flying into the Fireball Jutsu.

In an instant, the Fireball Jutsu, which had originally been as wide as an adult's height, doubled in radius!

Its power had increased by far more than double!

The wind fanned the flames. That was all there was to it.

As Mikoto watched the enormous Fireball Jutsu before her, astonishment showed in her eyes. This was the first time she had produced such a massive Fireball Jutsu.

"A compound ninjutsu? They work together that well?"

Cold sweat appeared on Jiraiya's forehead. He couldn't afford to underestimate an attack with this kind of power.

After all, compound ninjutsu weren't easy to pull off. They depended on coordination. A single mistake might still boost the power, but never by this much.

What he didn't know was that Nagi was also very familiar with the Fireball Jutsu. The moment Mikoto cast it, he had already calculated how powerful his Wind Release needed to be.

That human-sized-radius fireball was his doing.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Water Release was the best way to counter Fire Release, but Jiraiya happened to be unfamiliar with Water Release, so he had to settle for Earth Release.

Jiraiya slapped both hands to the ground. A thick earthen wall surged up at once, more than three meters high, stretching between him and the fireball.

The enlarged fireball slammed into the wall with a deafening roar.

The wall shuddered violently. The heat and impact rapidly cracked and sheared away the surface rock.

Chunks of earth blasted into the air as smoke and flames billowed in every direction.

A huge crater was blasted into the center of the wall, its edges webbed with cracks. More than two-thirds of its structure was badly damaged, and it swayed precariously.

But in the end, the remaining core of the wall barely held its shape, successfully blocking the flames that followed.