Blazing Flame Rasengan

On the pitted, uneven ground, Kou gripped the two long swords in his hands, his eerie Three Tomoe Sharingan coldly observing Jiraiya not far away.

His breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling in a slow, rhythmic cadence.

Flames danced faintly along the blades of his swords, the crimson light reflecting off his face and making the three tomoe in his Sharingan appear exceptionally sinister.

With the Three Tomoe Sharingan, every movement Jiraiya made was clearly visible from his perspective.

He saw Jiraiya's slightly heavy breathing, his solemn expression, and that posture ready to weave hand signs at any moment...

No matter how he looked at it, he was the one with the advantage.

If this "warm-up" could even be called a battle.

Kou watched Jiraiya before him, the light within his Sharingan deepening.

His gaze swept over Jiraiya's seemingly serious face; the muscles were relaxed, the eyes calm.

The breathing, which appeared slightly labored, was actually not disordered in the slightest, and there wasn't even a single bead of sweat on his temples.

From the very beginning, neither he nor Jiraiya had used their full strength, and their expenditure of energy had been minimal.

Kou understood that unlike himself, who was deliberately hiding his true skill, Jiraiya wasn't holding back by choice—he was unable to go all out.

He was "restricted."

"The thing that makes that old pervert Jiraiya most formidable is his Summoning Jutsu."

Kou observed Jiraiya with his Three Tomoe Sharingan, calmly analyzing in his mind:

"The toads of Mount Myoboku play a vital role in his combat system.

Whether it is the Sage Mode that drastically enhances his own power, or large-scale, high-output ninjutsu like the Toad Oil Flame Bullet, almost all require the assistance and cooperation of the toads from Mount Myoboku.

A Jiraiya who uses summoning to assist in battle and a Jiraiya who does not are simply not on the same level."

Kou calmly analyzed in his heart:

"But because we are currently within the borders of the Land of Water, summoning a large-sized creature would essentially expose the fact that he is here.

To avoid causing a diplomatic incident, he absolutely cannot summon large creatures here."

Kou muttered to himself in his heart:

"So, the only things to worry about are those two old toads."

As long as he prevented Jiraiya from summoning those two elders, he would be facing a Jiraiya who was completely barred from using his summons.

And against a Jiraiya restricted from summoning, Kou had the confidence to win.

This was not because Kou underestimated Jiraiya; on the contrary, knowing most of the intelligence regarding Jiraiya, Kou was well aware that even without using summoning, Jiraiya possessed extremely formidable strength when fighting alone.

Fire Style, Earth Style, the secret taijutsu of Mount Myoboku, and a series of secret techniques and sealing arts...

Proficient in every field with almost no weaknesses, Jiraiya could be called the pinnacle of a traditional ninja!

But Jiraiya's disadvantage lay in the fact that he was a traditional ninja.

For a traditional ninja, weaving hand signs is the foundation of combat.

In the original timeline, the reason Jiraiya was so passive in his battle against the Six Paths of Pain, aside from his lack of intelligence on them, was largely because one of his arms had been torn off by a sneak attack from the Asura Path.

For a traditional ninja, losing an arm has a massive impact on combat.

Half of his secret techniques and ninjutsu were effectively crippled, and even if Jiraiya's level allowed him to weave signs in a special way, it was nowhere near as effective as the original.

This led to him only being able to use the Rasengan as his best offensive option in the later stages of the fight.

Of course, Kou naturally had neither the intention nor the ability to tear off one of his arms...

At least, not without exposing his Mangekyo.

"But preventing him from weaving hand signs... that is something I can still do."

Kou whispered to himself in his heart, the tomoe in his eyes spinning faster, capturing every one of Jiraiya's current actions, ready to strike at any moment.

While Kou observed Jiraiya, Jiraiya was also observing Kou.

He looked at Kou's eerie Sharingan, the two long swords in his hands glowing with red and blue light, and the lightning crackling around his body, sighing helplessly in his heart.

"That kid's speed, at full power, is probably not much different from the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, right?"

"At such speeds, combined with the powerful insight of the Sharingan and his current exaggerated reaction time, Kou can detect my intentions the moment I start to weave a sign."

Jiraiya's gaze fell on Kou's face, the rapidly spinning Three Tomoe Sharingan seemingly intent on taking in every one of his movements.

"Even if I can't stop him, with that kid's knowledge base, he only needs to see me form the first sign to likely deduce the jutsu I'm about to use and react accordingly."

Jiraiya analyzed in his heart, his expression becoming increasingly grave.

His gaze shifted from Kou's face to his hands—or more accurately, to the two swords in his hands—and his expression became somewhat complex.

He recognized those two swords.

Hinokagutsuchi, and Inazuma.

Both swords were forged from chakra metal, capable of absorbing, bearing, and conducting nature transformations of chakra.

Kou's right-hand flame blade, Hono-musubi, was custom-made for him by the Uchiha clan back in the day.

The fire-attribute chakra imbued within the blade's body possessed a conduction efficiency far exceeding that of standard ninja tools, capable of elevating the power of Uchiha Style sword techniques by more than a single grade.

As for the lightning blade in his left hand, Inazuma, it was a gift prepared jointly by those two children, Asuma and Kakashi, for Kou's promotion to Jonin.

"Clan, and comrades, is it..."

Jiraiya sighed silently in his heart, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes.

There was sentimentality, gratification, and a trace of indescribable bitterness.

He took a deep breath, as if suppressing some surging emotion.

Following that, his gaze became sharp once more, looking at Kou not far away with a solemn expression.

Unlike himself, with the augmentation of these two chakra longswords, Kou had almost no need to weave hand signs to possess high-intensity offensive means during their battle.

His already extremely high mobility had become even more rapid because he could omit the hand signs.

Jiraiya could feel that the moment he attempted to weave a sign, Kou's figure would follow right behind him.

"It seems that if I want to break the stalemate... I can only use that move."

Jiraiya made a decision in his heart, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

His fingers curled slightly as he attempted to weave a sign; his movements were astonishingly fast, so fast that one could barely see what he was doing at that moment.

But in Kou's Sharingan, everything was clearly visible.

Kou stared at Jiraiya before him, the tomoe within his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning to the limit. He saw Jiraiya's fingers begin to lift, attempting to weave a sign.

Though the speed of the hand signs was fast, in his Sharingan, every movement was broken down into countless frames.

"This starting posture is... Earth Style signs?

Is he trying to reshape the terrain to restrict my movement? Could it be Swamp of the Underworld?"

He made a judgment in an instant, the light in his eyes becoming even more piercing.

"That move is indeed a bit troublesome... I cannot let him execute it."

"Lightning Style, Swift Thunder!"

Lightning-attribute chakra surged through his entire body in an instant, stimulating his muscle fibers and causing his reaction speed and movement speed to soar to the limit in that very moment.

Blue arcs of electricity danced across the surface of his skin, emitting faint crackling sounds.

Kou's figure vanished from his original spot in an instant.

The trace on the ground scorched by the lightning was still emitting wisps of smoke, while he had already appeared at Jiraiya's side.

He held the lightning blade Inazuma to his side, the lightning attached to the blade dancing in the air to form an impenetrable barrier, ready to parry any possible counterattack at any time.

At the same time, the flame blade Hono-musubi was raised high above his head, the crimson flames condensing and compressing on the blade, emitting terrifying waves of heat.

Under the reflection of the crimson flames, the blade looked like a piece of iron just taken from a furnace, leaving a scorching trail of fire in the air with every swing.

"Uchiha Style—Waltz!!"

The blade, carrying massive red flames, attacked Jiraiya with the force of a thunderbolt!

The flames were incredibly fierce, and the crimson sword light carved a massive arc through the air, resembling a burning crescent moon.

Facing the heatwave that was mere inches away, the corner of Jiraiya's mouth curled into a triumphant arc:

"You are still too naive, Kou."

A hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

His hands, which had been pretending to weave signs, instantly changed movements, and a blue, internally rotating sphere of chakra appeared in his palm.

Rasengan!!

Within any distance reachable by taijutsu, the Rasengan was an extremely terrifying offensive means.

Its characteristic of requiring no hand signs allowed Jiraiya to possess the ability to counterattack instantly during close-quarters combat with Kou.

And at this moment, the distance between Kou and him was less than a meter.

"The one who is naive is you, Teacher Jiraiya."

Kou's voice came from above, cold and calm.

His Three Tomoe Sharingan stared straight at Jiraiya; reflected in those eyes, all of Jiraiya's tactical intentions had nowhere to hide.

Kou's gaze did not fall on the Rasengan, but rather on Jiraiya's eyes, which were currently flashing with a sharp glint.

"Why do you think I used Hono-musubi to attack, instead of Inazuma, which has a greater advantage in close combat?"

He said with certainty:

"Don't forget, I had a hand in the development of the Rasengan; my understanding of this technique will only be greater than yours, not less.

The possibility that you would want to use a feint to trick me—of course I guessed it."

He continued to brandish the Hono-musubi in his hand, saying coldly:

"It's just... using a technique I helped develop to deal with me, isn't that looking down on me a bit too much?"

Kou's voice carried a clear note of displeasure, yet his eyes remained filled with vigilance.

He did not believe for a second that Jiraiya was being arrogant.

Although he did not know what Jiraiya was planning, it was certainly not as simple as a mere Rasengan.

There had to be a trick hidden within.

"Heh heh."

Jiraiya chuckled, the curve of his lips becoming deeply meaningful.

He did not respond to Kou's questioning, but his eyes were brimming with sorrow.

"This technique was originally meant to be a surprise for you back then; I just never expected that I would be showing it to you under these circumstances..."

He looked at the Kou before him, seeing his own reflection in those rapidly spinning Sharingan, and his gaze gradually turned resolute.

"Still, it is not too late."

Jiraiya murmured in his heart, a flash of determination crossing his eyes.

He raised the Rasengan above his head, the blue sphere of chakra rotating slowly in his palm, emitting a low, humming drone.

Then, in the midst of that rotation, the blue light began to change.

It became stained with a fire-like red.

That red spread outward from the core of the Rasengan, scorching yet warm.

The heat was not as violent as the Fire Style wrapped around the blade of the Totsuka Sword in Kou's hand; rather, it felt like a hearth in winter, like the blazing sun of Natsuhi.

Under the pull of the Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand, the flames on the edge of the blade seemed to be summoned by something.

They transformed into streams of crimson fire, drawn into that searing Rasengan.

Those flames coiled, compressed, and fused upon the surface of the Rasengan, making the already scorching sphere shine even more brilliantly.

Kou stared at the "Rasengan" in Jiraiya's hand, his eyes filled with shock.

"Th-that is..."

He recognized this technique, a technique that should not have appeared in this timeline.

"Blazing Flame Rasengan?!!"