Only the Strong

Jiraiya had originally just wanted to enjoy himself in Tanzaku Town, drinking and carousing. But by chance, he'd heard that someone who wasn't a ninja could "change into all sorts of things," and was so skilled that even ninjas couldn't see through the transformations.

Curious and skeptical, Jiraiya entered the tavern. After marveling at how impossible it was to see through the man's "Transformation Technique" and having a few drinks, he watched as one shadow after another appeared...

Without a word, the Shadowkhan launched an indiscriminate attack on everyone inside the tavern. Jiraiya was no exception. He immediately hardened his long white hair and wrapped it around himself, blocking their attacks.

The customers fled in every direction, terrified. The Shadowkhan had a clear target, though: they launched a fierce assault on the tavern owner's son.

Though Jiraiya spent most of his time outside the village, he knew about the Shadowkhan. He immediately concluded, That child must have a Talisman!

His white hair coiled around the tavern owner's youngest son, who was too frightened to move, and pulled him to his side. Jiraiya followed up with another technique: Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!

His hair spread out like a lion's mane, swiftly wrapping around the Shadow Ninjas. But this time, he wasn't holding back.

With a CRACK!, his hair snapped tight, slicing every Shadow Ninja to pieces. If they hadn't been made of shadows, they would have been scattered all over the floor.

"Are you all right, kid?"

With the threat taken care of, Jiraiya crouched down at once and checked on the boy, who was clutching a table leg and trembling uncontrollably.

The boy had returned to his original appearance, and Jiraiya could clearly see the Talisman engraved with a monkey hanging around his neck.

"Is that... the Monkey Talisman?! So Shape-Shifting is its power?"

The boy had kept his eyes shut until he heard the fighting stop. When he finally dared to open them... he saw Jiraiya's big hand reaching toward his head...

The next moment, he let out a frightened hiss. The Monkey Talisman flashed, and Jiraiya couldn't dodge in time. Its light struck him squarely.

"Ninja sir! Ninja sir! Are you all right?!"

Seeing that his precious son had been rescued, the tavern owner emerged from the hidden doorway where he'd been hiding. He crouched down and asked Jiraiya with an apologetic expression.

"Ah! I'm fine, I'm fine! I've just used up some chakra. I'll need to replenish it with a little good wine!"

Jiraiya joked as casually as ever, but then something felt off. Strange... he'd been to this tavern before. Had the owner always been this tall? He looked like a giant. And that little boy—why did he seem taller than ten Jiraiyas stacked together?

And why was the tavern owner looking at him as if he couldn't understand a word he was saying? Was Jiraiya speaking too softly?

"Um... Ninja sir, I don't understand what you're saying... You should take a look at the situation for yourself..."

With that, the tavern owner brought over a mirror and held it in front of Jiraiya—

"WHAT?!"

The reflection showed that he no longer looked human at all. His head had grown broad and flat, his mouth was wide, and his two eyes bulged slightly from the sides of his head, their pupils cloudy. His limbs were thick, but his forelegs were short. His belly was grayish-white, and his back was covered in rough bumps...

He looked exactly like a toad!

He might be the Toad Sage, but that didn't mean he was supposed to turn into an actual toad!

And... he couldn't use the Transformation Technique?! It wasn't because his forelegs were too short, nor was there a problem with his chakra. It was as if invisible chains had bound the technique tight, making it impossible to perform. His other techniques still worked just fine...

"Quick! Use that thing to turn the ninja sir back!"

The tavern owner hurriedly smacked his child on the head. But just as the boy raised the Monkey Talisman and pointed it at Jiraiya, a flying axe sliced through the air between them and buried itself firmly in the wall.

"Who's there?!"

Though he couldn't sense any chakra, Toad Jiraiya immediately turned to look. He could feel it... an overwhelmingly oppressive presence.

"Sorry... I was asked to retrieve that Talisman. Please hand it over..."

The person standing in the tavern doorway was short and slight, wearing an orange hard hat and a blue vest over a plaid shirt, with a pair of thick eyebrows and a lumberjack's work pants. A chainsaw that looked like it hadn't been used in ages was slung over his back.

"Who are you...?"

Jiraiya searched his memory for a long while but couldn't think of any powerful person who looked like this. He had no choice but to ask.

"Oh! Baldy Qiang from Bear Ridge! What are you doing here?!"

Uncle finally pushed open the tavern door, but when he saw the man, his mouth fell open.

"Mr. Uncle...?"

"That was my old name. These days, I'm known as... Zhi Qiang!"

Uncle? Then the Starfish Monster beside him had to be Chixing!

Still in his toad form, Jiraiya had heard the name "Uncle"—one Sarutobi Hiruzen had mentioned countless times in his letters—and immediately went on alert. The mysterious Qi Magic user searching for the Talismans...

"You were once hailed as one of Bear Ridge's Three Great Warriors, and your first wish was to protect the forest. How did you end up working for the Hidden Organization...?"

"That's all in the past, Mr. Uncle... I had no other choice. Please hand over the Talisman!"

"Hmph! In your dreams! Take it up with Chixing!"

They had nothing more to say to each other. Zhi Qiang and Chixing pushed off the ground and vanished in an instant. The axe that had been stuck in the wall was suddenly back in Zhi Qiang's hand, where it collided with Chixing's enormous magma fist.

"So fast!"

Jiraiya hadn't even been able to follow their movements.

"Armament Haki?! Is that what the Hidden Organization gave you?"

Uncle was stunned. Armament Haki was specifically used to counter Logia Devil Fruits. As far as he knew, it should have been lost everywhere except Bikini Bottom.

Zhi Qiang didn't answer directly. He gripped the axe, its surface coated in black Armament Haki, and gave it a powerful thrust, knocking Chixing back several meters. Then he said, "Your Magma-Magma Fruit is certainly powerful, but surely you haven't shown your full strength yet?"

Zhi Qiang was right. With the terrain so narrow and innocent civilians nearby, Chixing hadn't dared to go all out.

"Three Admirals of Bikini Bottom! If you've got the nerve to fight me, then follow me!"

With that, Zhi Qiang stopped concealing his aura and let it burst forth!

A fierce blast of wind tore a hole through the ceiling and roof. Then, in the blink of an eye, Zhi Qiang snatched the Monkey Talisman from the tavern owner's son and shot out like a meteor.

"Chixing! Hurry, after him!"

"Wait! Sir..."

There was no time to deal with Jiraiya, who was now a toad and staring at them in confusion. Chixing's little rocket fired up again, while Uncle used his new technique, Universal Gravitation Scroll, to chase after them through the air. Left behind, the toad croaked and croaked on the spot.