Blazing Flame Rasengan

On the pockmarked plain, Kou gripped the two long swords in his hands, his eerie Three Tomoe Sharingan coldly watching Jiraiya in the distance.

His breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling slowly and rhythmically.

Flames danced faintly along his blades. Their crimson glow fell across his face, making the three tomoe in his Sharingan look especially eerie.

With his Three Tomoe Sharingan, he could see every one of Jiraiya's movements clearly.

He saw Jiraiya breathing slightly hard, his expression stern, his posture ready to form Hand Seals at any moment...

No matter how he looked at it, he had the advantage.

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

Kou watched Jiraiya before him, the light in his Sharingan growing profound.

His gaze swept over Jiraiya's seemingly stern face. His muscles were relaxed, his eyes steady.

His breathing seemed a little heavy, but it wasn't uneven at all. There wasn't even a drop of sweat on his temple.

From the very beginning, neither he nor Jiraiya had gone all out, and they had barely expended any energy.

Kou knew that, unlike himself, who was deliberately holding back, Jiraiya wasn't going easy on him. He simply couldn't fight at full strength.

He was "restricted."

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

Watching Jiraiya through his Three Tomoe Sharingan, Kou calmly analyzed the situation in his mind:

"The Toads of Mount Myoboku play a vital role in his fighting style.

"Whether it's Sage Mode, which greatly enhances his abilities, or high-output ninjutsu with a wide area of effect, like Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet, he needs the Toads of Mount Myoboku to assist and coordinate with him.

"Jiraiya who summons Toads to help him fight and Jiraiya who fights without using the Summoning Technique are completely different."

Kou continued his calm analysis:

"But since we're in the Land of Water, summoning a large beast would basically give away that he's here.

"To avoid causing a diplomatic incident, there's no way he'd summon a large beast here."

Kou murmured under his breath:

"So all I need to worry about are those two old Toads."

As long as he didn't let Jiraiya summon those two old Toads, he would be facing a Jiraiya who couldn't use the Summoning Technique at all.

And Kou was confident he could defeat Jiraiya without his Summoning Technique.

It wasn't because Kou underestimated Jiraiya. On the contrary, Kou knew most of the details about Jiraiya and understood that even without the Summoning Technique, Jiraiya was tremendously powerful when fighting alone.

Fire Release, Earth Release, the secret Taijutsu of Mount Myoboku, and a range of secret techniques and Sealing Jutsu...

Jiraiya was skilled in every field and had almost no weaknesses. He was practically the pinnacle of the traditional shinobi!

But Jiraiya's weakness was precisely that he was a traditional shinobi.

For a traditional shinobi, Hand Seals were the foundation of combat.

In the original timeline, the reason Jiraiya was so disadvantaged in his fight against the Six Paths of Pain wasn't just his lack of information. Another major reason was that Asura Path had ambushed him and torn off one of his arms.

For a traditional shinobi, losing an arm had an enormous impact on their ability to fight.

Half of Jiraiya's secret techniques and ninjutsu had been rendered useless. Even if he could form Hand Seals in some special way, they wouldn't be nearly as effective as before,

leaving the Rasengan as his best option for offense in the fight that followed.

Of course, Kou had neither the intention nor the ability to tear off one of Jiraiya's arms...

At least, not without revealing his Mangekyo.

"But I can at least make sure he doesn't get the chance to form Hand Seals."

Kou murmured to himself, the tomoe in his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning faster as he tracked Jiraiya's every move, ready to attack at any moment.

As Kou watched Jiraiya, Jiraiya was watching him, too.

He looked at Kou's eerie Sharingan, the two swords in his hands glinting red and blue, and the lightning gathering around him, then sighed helplessly to himself.

"That kid's speed, at full strength, is probably not much slower than the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, is it?"

"At that speed, with the Sharingan's powerful perception and his incredible reflexes, he could probably read my intentions the instant I start forming Hand Seals."

Jiraiya's gaze fell on Kou's face, on the Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly, as if it were taking in every movement he made.

"Even if he can't stop me, with that kid's knowledge, he might be able to figure out what technique I'm using just by watching me form the first Seal, then come up with a counter."

Jiraiya analyzed the situation, his expression growing more and more solemn.

His gaze shifted from Kou's face to his hands—or, more precisely, to the two swords in them. His expression grew complicated.

He recognized those two swords.

Firebirth, and Inazuma.

Both swords had been forged from Chakra Metal, which could absorb, hold, and conduct Chakra Nature Transformation.

The Fire Release sword Firebirth, in Kou's right hand, had been specially made for him by the Uchiha Clan, who had paid for it years ago.

The Fire Release chakra attached to its blade conducted chakra far more efficiently than ordinary ninja tools, raising the power of Uchiha Style swordsmanship by more than one level.

The Thunder Sword Inazuma in his left hand, meanwhile, had been prepared years ago by Asuma and Kakashi as a gift to celebrate Kou's promotion to jonin.

"His clan... and his comrades..."

Jiraiya sighed silently to himself, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.

There was nostalgia, relief, and a touch of bitterness he couldn't quite put into words.

He took a deep breath, as though trying to suppress the emotions surging within him.

Then his gaze sharpened again as he looked solemnly at Kou in the distance.

Unlike Jiraiya, Kou could deliver powerful attacks in their fight without forming Hand Seals, thanks to the two Chakra Metal swords.

His already exceptional mobility was even greater because he didn't need to form Hand Seals.

Jiraiya could tell that the moment he tried to form Hand Seals, Kou would be right on top of him.

"Looks like the only way to turn this fight around... is that move."

Jiraiya made up his mind, a glint flashing through his eyes.

His fingers curled slightly as he tried to form Hand Seals. His movements were astonishingly fast, so fast that they were almost impossible to see.

But through Kou's Sharingan, everything was clear.

Kou stared at Jiraiya, the tomoe in his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning at full speed. He saw Jiraiya's fingers begin to rise as he tried to form Hand Seals.

Though the Seals were fast, his Sharingan broke every movement into countless frames.

"That opening Seal... is an Earth Release Seal?

"Is he trying to alter the terrain and restrict my movements? Could it be Swamp of the Underworld?"

He made his judgment in an instant, the light in his eyes growing sharper.

"That technique would be a real problem... I can't let him use it."

"Lightning Release: Swift Thunder!"

Lightning Release chakra surged through his body, stimulating his muscle fibers and sending his reaction and movement speeds soaring in an instant.

Blue arcs of electricity danced across his skin, crackling softly.

Kou vanished from where he stood.

The scorch mark left behind on the ground by the lightning still smoked, but Kou had already appeared at Jiraiya's side.

He held the Thunder Sword Inazuma close to his body. Lightning danced along its blade, forming an impenetrable barrier ready to block any possible counterattack.

At the same time, he raised the Fire Release sword Firebirth overhead. Crimson flames gathered and compressed along its blade, radiating terrifying waves of heat.

Bathed in the crimson flames, the blade looked like a bar of iron fresh from the forge. Every swing left a trail of searing fire in the air.

"Uchiha Style: Waltz!"

Wrapped in a massive blaze, the sword struck at Jiraiya with thunderous force!

The flames were scorching. A huge arc of crimson light carved through the air like a burning crescent moon.

Facing the wave of heat at such close range, Jiraiya's lips curled into a triumphant smile.

"You're still too naive, Kou."

A cunning glint flashed in his eyes.

His hands, which had only pretended to form Hand Seals, shifted instantly. A blue chakra sphere, spinning continuously within itself, appeared in his palm.

Rasengan!!

Within the reach of any Taijutsu attack, the Rasengan was an extremely fearsome weapon.

Because it required no Hand Seals, Jiraiya could counterattack instantly in close combat with Kou.

And at that moment, the distance between them was less than a meter.

"You're the naive one, Jiraiya-sensei."

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

His Three Tomoe Sharingan stared directly at Jiraiya. Reflected in those eyes, all of Jiraiya's intentions were laid bare.

Kou's gaze wasn't on the Rasengan, but on the glint in Jiraiya's eyes.

"Why do you think I'm attacking with Firebirth instead of Inazuma, which gives me a greater advantage in close combat?"

He said with certainty:

"Don't forget, I helped develop the Rasengan. I know as much about this technique as you do, if not more.

"You thought you could trick me with a feint, but of course I saw that coming."

He continued swinging Firebirth, his voice cold:

"But... isn't using a technique I helped develop against me a little insulting?"

There was clear displeasure in Kou's voice, but his eyes remained wary.

He didn't think Jiraiya was being reckless.

He might not know what Jiraiya was planning, but it definitely wasn't as simple as a Rasengan.

There had to be a trick to it.

"Heh."

Jiraiya chuckled, the curve of his lips turning meaningful.

He didn't answer Kou's question, but his eyes were full of sadness.

"I'd meant to save this move as a surprise for you. I just never thought you'd see it under these circumstances..."

He looked at Kou before him, at his own reflection in the rapidly spinning Sharingan, and his gaze gradually hardened.

"But it's not too late."

Jiraiya murmured to himself, determination flashing in his eyes.

He raised the Rasengan above his head. The blue chakra sphere turned slowly in his palm, emitting a low hum.

Then, as it spun, its blue light began to change.

It took on the color of fire.

The red spread outward from the Rasengan's core, searing yet warm.

The heat wasn't as fierce as the Fire Release wrapped around the Firebirth in Kou's hand. It was more like a hearth on a winter's day, or the summer sun.

As if summoned by the Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand, the flames on Firebirth's blade

transformed into streaks of crimson fire and streamed toward the blazing Rasengan.

The flames curled across the Rasengan's surface, compressed, and fused with it, making the already scorching sphere shine even more brilliantly.

Kou stared at the "Rasengan" in Jiraiya's hand, shocked.

"Th-that's..."

He recognized the technique, the one that shouldn't have appeared in this timeline.

"Blazing Flame Rasengan?!"

(I'd originally wanted to write more mind games, but I felt that would drag out Jiraiya's storyline too long, so I think it's better to end it here.)