Lao Da (Pain) Save Me, My Teeth!!

The crimson Rasengan spun incessantly in Jiraiya's hand, heat waves rolling outward in layers, causing even the gravel on the ground to tremble slightly.

Kou was suspended in mid-air, his body wreathed in swift, flickering lightning.

His scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan widened slightly, the three tomoe rotating slowly within those eerie eyes, reflecting the ever-expanding crimson sphere of light below.

Time, in Kou's eyes, seemed to have slowed to a crawl.

This was no mere figure of speech; under the perspective of the Sharingan, the flow of time was fundamentally different.

Every bulging muscle on Jiraiya's arm, every vortex of flame swirling on the surface of that Rasengan, every ripple generated as the air was distorted by the intense heat.

Everything was dismantled into countless static frames, granting him sufficient time to observe and to think.

Yet, at this moment, only one thought occupied his mind.

"Why? Why would the Blazing Flame Rasengan appear at a time like this?"

Kou stared at the crimson Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand, a trace of bewilderment surfacing in his calm eyes.

Integrating the nature transformation of Fire Style chakra into the Rasengan was by no means a simple feat.

The differences in nature transformation between the five chakra elements were so vast that they could almost be considered five entirely distinct disciplines.

The theoretical framework for integrating Wind Style into the Rasengan versus that of Fire Style might look similar on paper, but in reality, it meant starting completely from scratch.

In the original history, Jiraiya had spent a long time researching the fusion of nature transformations for the Rasengan.

Yet, even until he died in battle at Amegakure, he had never truly succeeded in integrating Fire Style nature transformation into the Rasengan.

But now, this Blazing Flame Rasengan, which should have been nearly impossible to manifest, was right before his eyes!

Kou certainly knew that his own existence had changed many things.

Under his interference, the theoretical framework of the Rasengan had been perfected ahead of schedule, and its development progress was years ahead of the original timeline.

However, the theory regarding the integration of Wind Style nature transformation into the Rasengan had only been basically conquered by himself and Minato shortly before the Nine-Tails Incident.

"Did he... complete it all on his own?"

Kou glanced at Jiraiya from the corner of his eye, a flash of unconcealable astonishment crossing his Three Tomoe Sharingan.

It was not that he looked down on Jiraiya, but theoretical research was truly not his forte.

During the initial research and development of the Rasengan, the primary theoretical work had been handled by Minato and himself.

Jiraiya's role had been more of a supporting one:

Providing combat experience, testing the feasibility of training regimens, and occasionally offering insights at critical junctures based on the intuition of a seasoned ninja.

Yet now, this person least adept at theory had actually completed such difficult research on his own?

"Where did this come from? Is this even Jiraiya?!"

"Doesn't this guy spend most of his brainpower on how to write his smutty books—"

"Wait, Icha Icha Paradise..."

As if realizing something, Kou's Three Tomoe Sharingan instantly shifted away from the Blazing Flame Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand, looking toward those eyes that had been fixed upon him all along.

His scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan met Jiraiya's gaze, which was filled with profound meaning.

A true ninja could understand the thoughts in another's heart with just a single look.

Kou watched Jiraiya's earnest and fervent expression, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

"I see, so that's how it is."

He muttered to himself in his heart, those scattered fragments of memory rapidly assembling into a complete puzzle with the aid of his formidable mental power...

One year before the Nine-Tails Incident, the first volume of Icha Icha Paradise, for which he was responsible for the illustrations and Jiraiya for the plot, was officially released.

Once this monumental masterpiece was published, it caused a sensation throughout the Ninja World.

Sales broke records repeatedly, reprints were printed until hands went numb, and reader mail piled up in the publisher's warehouse!

That was the peak of Jiraiya's career as an author, the beginning of him conquering the world under another identity!!

However, just as the entire Ninja World was eagerly awaiting the release of the second volume, the sequel was delayed time and again.

Three years passed, and it was not until the end of the third year that the sequel finally arrived.

At that time, Kou had just arrived at the Mist Village, surrounded by a mountain of troubles, and when he saw the news of the new book's release, he had merely made a casual remark without thinking much of it.

After all, Jiraiya was inherently unreliable; missing deadlines was perfectly normal in his eyes.

But at this moment, those time nodes he had once overlooked were now precisely arranged in his mind into a clear thread of clues.

When the first volume succeeded, Jiraiya had been the most excited of them all.

Kou still remembered how he looked when he ran to find him with the reprint notice that day, as excited as Obito had been when he finally received his ninja academy graduation certificate.

He had patted his shoulder back then, spouting nonsense about how "the second volume will be even more exciting" and "our combination is invincible,"

And, harboring the intention to release the second volume as soon as possible, he had decided to go on a journey to gather material.

According to the plan, the complete manuscript should have been finished three years ago, which was one week before the outbreak of the Nine-Tails Incident.

During that period, because of this close "cooperative relationship," he had become one of the few people in the entire Ninja World who could contact Jiraiya directly.

In the very beginning, their connection was never broken.

Jiraiya would regularly send his travelogues and updates on his writing progress, and Kou would reply with drafts of his illustrations and suggestions for revisions.

It was through these letters that he confirmed Jiraiya would definitely receive and respond to his pleas for help, and he gradually put his mind at ease.

Contacting him, having him return to Konoha in time, seemed like a non-issue to him at the time.

But later, Jiraiya's contact with him was unilaterally severed.

The letters he sent were like stones sinking into the sea, with no reply.

The Icha Icha Paradise series, which had been undergoing revisions for its second volume, also suddenly fell silent.

At the time, Kou couldn't figure it out.

He repeatedly recalled the wording of his letter, wondering if his tone was too harsh? If he hadn't expressed himself clearly enough? Or perhaps... Jiraiya simply didn't care?

This possibility, which he had never seriously considered, weighed heavier and heavier on him during those days of no news.

Until the Nine-Tails Incident broke out, until he left Konoha filled with disappointment and anger...

But now, all the mysteries had an answer.

Jiraiya had broken contact with him midway, halting the writing of the second volume of Icha Icha Paradise.

It wasn't because he didn't want to write, but because he had poured all his time and energy into something else.

Alone, without Minato's or his help, he had single-handedly completed the theoretical deduction of fusing fire-style chakra nature transformation with the Rasengan!

Kou knew better than anyone how difficult this process was.

Because he had done the same thing. During his four years in the Mist Village, he had spent countless nights studying the fusion of water-style chakra and the Rasengan, and had finally overcome this challenge by relying on the Mist Village's extensive related materials.

But Jiraiya, he had achieved it all by himself.

"During that time, what he was researching was probably this."

Kou turned his gaze back to the crimson Rasengan, his eyes filled with complexity.

This Blazing Flame Rasengan was prepared for him from the very beginning.

Not for any other reason, but because the letter he had sent him back then was filled with anxiety about his own talent and the bottlenecks he encountered in his training.

Jiraiya had read that anxiety and decided to give him an answer in his own way...

And now, this "answer" was presented before him.

"Heh, what is this supposed to be?"

Kou murmured to himself, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

The reason Jiraiya couldn't return to Konoha in time back then was to prepare this surprise for a "anxious" him?

"Did I screw myself over?"

Kou couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.

But... it was impossible to say he wasn't touched at all.

"After the Nine-Tails Incident happened back then, he didn't come to find me, didn't tell me about this, probably because he was afraid I would feel guilty about it."

Kou murmured to himself with a complex expression. The focus of his Three Tomoe Sharingan blurred for a brief moment before regaining clarity:

"Clearly, all these years, you must have been the one feeling the most pain, Jiraiya-sensei."

Kou let out a soft breath. Although his thoughts churned like a tide, in reality, it had only been less than an instant.

The time stretched by the Sharingan's perspective was merely a millisecond pause in reality.

Kou was still suspended in mid-air, enveloped by the blue lightning of Swift Thunder, while the Blazing Flame Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand continued to spin, drawing closer.

Kou understood Jiraiya's thoughts from his fervent gaze, understood the anticipation in those eyes.

"Return to Konoha with you... Unfortunately, I am destined to disappoint you."

He gazed deeply at Jiraiya before him. In his crimson Sharingan, determination replaced the swirling complex emotions of moments before:

"I have my own path to walk, and my future... has no place for Konoha anymore."

Jiraiya understood the determination in Kou's eyes, and the light in his own dimmed slightly.

"So it's like this, Kou."

Jiraiya murmured bitterly to himself, but he didn't look away, nor did he let the dimness linger for too long.

The dimness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an unyielding resolve.

He had missed too many opportunities, but this time, he would not let go.

Jiraiya murmured with determination in his heart:

"Even if I have to knock you out and drag you back, even if you hate me for the rest of your life... I will take you back!!"

"Blazing Flame--Rasengan!!"

Jiraiya raised the crimson Rasengan in his hand. Under the slow-motion perspective of the Sharingan, the crimson orb began to enlarge at a visible speed.

Kou watched the Blazing Flame Rasengan, now within arm's reach, his expression perfectly calm.

He calmly made his final tactical judgments within every elongated frame of his Sharingan's vision.

Jiraiya was incredibly fast, and at this close range, his own body was caught in the powerful momentum granted by Swift Thunder.

Although he could theoretically force a dodge by relying on the reaction speed and body control provided by Swift Thunder, the cost would be a severe backlash to his body.

Muscle tears, damaged meridians, and in the worst-case scenario, a significant reduction in his mobility for the foreseeable future—it was not worth it.

The best method was to block this strike head-on.

The Blazing Flame Rasengan unleashed by Jiraiya was indeed formidable.

The explosive power of the Fire Style was perfectly preserved, and the continuous damage from the scorching heat, combined with the terrifying internal destructive power of the Rasengan itself, The superposition of the two brought the single-point breakthrough capability of this strike to a truly frightening level.

Kou analyzed calmly in his heart:

If I take a hit from this move, I'll probably lose my ability to fight entirely.

But he was not without a way to respond.

The Mangekyou Sharingan, the Rasengan fused with water-style chakra nature transformation that he had painstakingly researched and developed during his four years in the Mist Village, and Inazuma, which he used as a defensive measure in his left hand to construct a lightning net of Chidori...

His accumulation and hard work over these past few years were not a single bit inferior to Jiraiya, who had developed the Blazing Flame Rasengan.

Facing it head-on, he could take it!

"But... actually, there is no need for that at all."

Kou stared calmly ahead, and reflected in those Three Tomoe Sharingan were the determined features of Jiraiya.

He looked at the Jiraiya before him, took a deep breath with a composed expression, and then shouted loudly:

"Lao Da, save me!!!"

Jiraiya: "...Huh?"

(Hiss~~ I feel like these chapters are less like action scenes and more like drama mixed with action?

Do you guys think it feels weird...)