The Battle with Jiraiya

The atmosphere between the two gradually grew oppressive. Mist churned between them, as if trying to keep them apart.

"I see..."

Jiraiya sighed, a little disappointed. He looked at Kou and said with an awkward, helpless smile:

"You could at least tell a few lies to humor me."

Kou smiled and replied meaningfully:

"I don't think I could fool you about this, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya stared at Kou seriously. The light in his eyes turned solemn.

"Since that's the case, you should know what I'm going to do next, right?"

"...Take me back to Konoha by force?"

Kou answered with a hint of emotion. A complicated glimmer flashed in his dark eyes.

"I really have been underestimated."

A few days ago, before he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would never have had the confidence to challenge Jiraiya.

Even before awakening the Mangekyō, his strength had already reached the level of a Kage, and he had been capable of fighting Orochimaru.

But against a serious Jiraiya, he still wouldn't have been confident before awakening the Mangekyō.

Unlike Orochimaru, whose soul had been damaged by changing bodies and whose resistance to genjutsu had gradually weakened, Jiraiya was at his peak and could be called a well-rounded fighter.

Setting aside the two toads from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya surpassed him in every area except speed, swordsmanship, and genjutsu.

Without the Mangekyō, the moment he encountered Jiraiya, he would have used his speed advantage to make a timely getaway!

But things were different now.

After awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he hadn't just gained two top-tier dōjutsu. He had received a substantial boost across the board!

His perception, chakra reserves, physical strength, and even reaction speed had all improved significantly under the Mangekyō's influence.

Now he had the strength to fight Jiraiya!

This wasn't the brainless "I'm number one, and everyone else is number two" attitude Uchiha developed after awakening the Mangekyō. It was simply the objective reality! (Definitely.)

Kou looked at Jiraiya confidently, without a trace of fear in his eyes.

A roguish smile tugged at his lips, full of both provocation and anticipation.

Jiraiya gazed at the confident Kou before him, undisguised surprise in his eyes.

"When did this kid get so cocky? Hasn't he always despised the Uchiha Clan's bad habits?"

"Could it be... that he really has become strong enough to fight me? Seriously? It's only been five years..."

He grew wary, and the light in his cloudy eyes sharpened.

On the surface, however, he still looked completely confident. His tone held a hint of teasing.

"Big talk, kid.

"Don't tell me you think you're a match for this great sage now?"

Kou offered no explanation. He simply looked at Jiraiya, the corners of his mouth lifting into a meaningful smile.

"I'll make this clear now, Jiraiya-sensei."

"You're the one challenging me!"

The instant the words left his mouth, Kou vanished from where he stood.

There was no afterimage, no sound of wind—only the faintest hiss, like an electric current slicing through the air.

The sound vanished in an instant amid the mist. Only a shallow scorch mark on the ground, singed by lightning, proved that someone had stood there moments ago.

Jiraiya stood watching the blue arc of light slowly fade. Surprise flickered in his cloudy eyes.

His gaze fell on the scorched mark and the tiny electric arcs still crackling across it.

"Is this... Swift Thunder?"

Jiraiya recognized the technique. During the Third Ninja World War, Kou had developed this A-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu all by himself.

Now he was seeing it again.

But the person using it was no longer the inexperienced boy he had been back then.

Jiraiya's senses spread out, picking up the figure rapidly moving away.

The speed was astonishing—so fast that even his senses could barely keep up.

Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly. His rugged face was full of undisguised amazement.

"This speed... Has he really grown this strong?!"

A hint of gravity entered his gaze.

Given the speed Kou had just shown, he could have attacked Jiraiya right then.

At the distance between them, Jiraiya definitely wouldn't have been able to react in time.

If Kou hadn't been worried about the people around them, the fight would probably have ended before it even began.

"That kid... is strong now."

He murmured to himself, the light in his cloudy eyes turning serious.

He raised his hand and slowly formed a hand seal. Chakra began to surge within him.

"Looks like... I'll have to get serious."

Jiraiya's senses pierced through the mist, through the passersby, and through the hazy outlines of the buildings, settling on the figure racing away.

His eyes held fighting spirit and anticipation, but above all, determination.

"Kou, I'll take you back. I promise."

Jiraiya murmured to himself, then vanished in an instant.

He headed in the direction Kou had taken, toward a remote mountain dozens of kilometers away.

The mist was thin atop the mountain.

It was dozens of kilometers from Mist Harbor, on a desolate mountain near the border of the Land of Water where few people ever ventured.

The mountain wasn't very high, and dense vegetation covered its slopes. Birds occasionally rose from the woods, chirping brightly.

The air was fresh, carrying the fragrance of plants and the dampness of the earth, completely unlike the harbor's briny smell.

A relatively level clearing sat at the summit, like a natural platform.

Kou stood in the middle of the clearing, two long swords now in his formerly empty hands.

The blades were slender and gleamed with a cold light in the sun. The cords wrapped around their hilts had been worn smooth and glossy, clearly from frequent use.

He had taken off his sunglasses, and his dark eyes looked especially bright in the sunlight.

A roguish smile still hung on his lips. The mountain breeze ruffled his bangs and lifted the hem of the Black Cloak with Red Clouds he had changed into.

Kou lifted his head and looked into the distance.

A powerful presence was rapidly approaching.

"Here you come..."

His voice was so soft it sounded like he was talking to himself.

He pulled his fingers from his pockets and slowly flexed them.

Chakra surged through his body, flowing through his pathways and pulsing in every cell.

Something slowly emerged from the depths of his dark eyes.

It was an ancient, eerie light, rising from deep within his bloodline.

Kou didn't look again at Jiraiya racing toward him. Instead, he glanced out of the corner of his eye in another direction.

A pair of purple eyes was silently watching them from behind him.

There were no pupils in those eyes, only concentric rings—cold and profound...

(I'd originally wanted to add a little more about the protagonist's thoughts, but I figured it would slow the pacing too much, so I cut it.

"I thought Naruto's situation was pretty important, so I focused on writing about it. What do you think? Is this okay?")