Jiraiya's Shock

Otogakure, in the Ninja World.

It was a small village personally founded by Orochimaru, located in the Land of Fields, north of the Land of Fire.

The Land of Fields was small and weak, caught between the Five Great Nations, and the village itself had only just been established.

Orochimaru also spent most of his time on the Main God Space, so Otogakure had only a few dozen ninja and some civilians.

Yet today, a mysterious visitor arrived outside this tiny village.

At a vantage point outside Otogakure, a middle-aged man with long white hair lay hidden, watching the village. He was Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Sannin.

Jiraiya surveyed Otogakure with a conflicted expression. He couldn't understand why Orochimaru had defected from the village to establish one like this.

In his eyes, Otogakure was merely a temporary gathering place for wandering ninja, and there were even quite a few children. The civilians who depended on these ninja weren't particularly happy, either, since they had to work to support them.

Though he couldn't understand it, he couldn't stand by and watch his friend go astray! He had been secretly tracking Orochimaru for a long time, and now he had finally found a trace of him and followed it here.

After waiting for a long time, Jiraiya finally saw a ninja sneaking out of the village.

He followed the man, subdued him, and transformed into his likeness, planning to slip into Otogakure unnoticed.

But as soon as he got inside, someone told him that Lord Orochimaru had summoned him.

This is my lucky day!

Jiraiya was delighted. He followed a ninja through a building that looked like a prison and arrived at an experimental facility inside the village.

But when he saw the person at the head of the room, he was shocked to discover that it wasn't Orochimaru, but a handsome stranger!

"How interesting. Who are you, to dare sneak in here?"

The one who had summoned Jiraiya was Orochimaru's clone, Kinomata Orochi. The moment he saw Jiraiya, his Sharingan detected that something was wrong with his subordinate.

Although this subordinate was the village's acting leader, he didn't have anywhere near as much Chakra as the man standing before him.

Jiraiya was just as shocked as he stared at the body before him—Orochimaru's body.

"That's the Sharingan!" The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Orochimaru's clone's eyes shocked Jiraiya, but he quickly decided to capture him and force the information out of him.

"Barrier: Toad Mouth Bind!"

As Jiraiya formed Hand Seals, a giant toad appeared in the room, filling it completely.

The moment it appeared, the toad shot out a long, slender tongue and swallowed the Sound Ninja before it.

The summoned toad was the Gourd Toad from Mount Myoboku. Its stomach contained an independent barrier space that could block all perception.

Inside the Toad Mouth Bind, countless stone pillars stood scattered across the acidic stomach juices, which stretched like a vast lake.

"Now I can deal with you here without anyone outside finding out."

Jiraiya exhaled slowly and spoke with a grave expression.

"You don't look like you're from the Uchiha. Tell me who you are and where Orochimaru is, or you're going to suffer."

Though this body of Orochimaru was only a portion of his soul, it shared his memories and understanding and could think independently. It knew Jiraiya every bit as well as Orochimaru did.

"Heh. Jiraiya, you're as foolish as ever."

At the familiar tone, Jiraiya's eyes widened. He looked more closely at the man before him.

The disdain and mockery in those eyes took him back to that summer long ago, when he had shown off a newly learned technique in front of Tsunade and Orochimaru, only to fail and make a fool of himself.

Back then, Orochimaru had used that same scornful tone to call him an idiot.

Orochimaru's face from his memories seemed to overlap with the stranger's. Jiraiya couldn't help exclaiming, "Orochimaru!"

"It's been a long time. You've improved a little, at least."

When the other man admitted who he was, Jiraiya felt a moment of joy, but it soon gave way to heaviness.

He asked in a low voice, "You harmed your comrades and defected from Konoha! Come back with me and answer for what you've done!"

"Tch. I don't consider them comrades. They're just tools. Besides, letting them provide some residual value for my research is better than letting them die on a meaningless battlefield."

Orochimaru's cold, heartless words stirred a nameless fury in Jiraiya.

"You're always like this, always so self-righteous. You think everyone else is wrong and you're the only one who's right. Even the lives of your village comrades matter less to you than your research! Orochimaru, I'm taking you back today, even if I have to break your arms and legs!"

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

Jiraiya's long white hair instantly grew wildly, forming the shape of a lion's head and completely binding Orochimaru's clone. The clone stood there as if dazed, letting Jiraiya's hair wrap around him.

"No, it's a substitute!"

The moment his hair bound Orochimaru's body, Jiraiya realized the truth. This wasn't Orochimaru's real body at all. It was only a substitute!

"When did he—? No, this isn't an ordinary clone. What is it?"

Jiraiya's extended hair bound "Orochimaru." With only a little force, his body twisted and shattered into a pile of broken wood.

Before Jiraiya could think it through, the ground beneath his feet burst open, and several thick wooden beams, like giant serpents, coiled toward him.

Fortunately, Jiraiya had sensed something was wrong in time. He leaped back and dodged the sudden attack.

But after missing, the enormous wooden beams that had appeared from nowhere didn't attack again. Instead, they halted and slowly continued growing. Soon, a human figure emerged from the wood: Orochimaru's clone, Kinomata Orochi.

As Jiraiya watched, countless questions flashed through his mind. He asked outright, "That's Wood Release, isn't it? Orochimaru, did you desecrate the First Hokage's remains?"

Everyone knew that Wood Release was the unique Kekkei Genkai of Konoha's First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Since Hashirama Senju's time, no one else in the Senju Clan had awakened Wood Release.

So, if Orochimaru had experimented on an ordinary member of the Senju Clan, it would have been difficult to develop Wood Release. That was why Jiraiya had asked.

"What does 'desecrate' even mean? People are the ones who decide that. What's the point of saying such things? Besides, our beloved First Hokage is a fascinating subject for research!"

"Orochimaru!"

Jiraiya was truly enraged. The First Hokage, whom he respected, had founded Konoha, and now his former comrade was treating him with such contempt!

He couldn't understand what had gone wrong. He had only left the village to travel and gather inspiration, yet he had received one piece of terrible news after another: his student had died in battle, and his friend had defected.

Now his friend was right in front of him, and he could only watch helplessly as he went down a different path.

"Even if I have to break your arms and legs, I'll take you back to face justice! Summoning Technique!"

A huge purple-red toad appeared. It held a diamond-shaped trident and carried a shield shaped like a pot lid on its back. It was Gamaken, one of Jiraiya's contracted toads from Mount Myoboku.

Jiraiya had summoned the enormous Gamaken to hold Orochimaru off.

"Gamaken, I'm counting on you!"

Gamaken was a toad of few words and swift action. He leaped forward and swung his trident, which was more than ten meters long, smashing the stone pillar Kinomata Orochi stood on. The scattered stones fell into the lake and dissolved into sludge.

Orochimaru's clone, Kinomata Orochi, dodged nimbly with lifelike Wood Substitutions and Wood Clones. Gamaken was agile and attacked fiercely, but couldn't even touch the hem of Kinomata Orochi's clothes.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya had successfully summoned two Toad Sages. The red markings on his face grew brighter, his pupils turned like a frog's, and tiny bumps appeared on his face. This was Jiraiya's Sage Mode.

"Sorry for the trouble, my two lords."

Jiraiya spoke to the two Toad Sages perched on his shoulders, Shima and Fukasaku.

"Leave it to us, little Jiraiya."

"Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"

Jiraiya's hair instantly hardened like iron, then rapidly shot a cloud of tiny needles at Kinomata Orochi.

"Clang!"

The countless needles struck Kinomata Orochi, but a pale green barrier around his body repelled them all.

"So-called Sage Mode is nothing more than using Natural Energy, yet you arrogantly call yourselves sages. How ignorant!"

The protective light barrier Kinomata Orochi had raised withstood Jiraiya's attack. He savored the abundant vitality within the spiritual energy he had converted to after beginning his cultivation of the immortal path.

"Jiraiya, perhaps one day you'll understand how narrow-minded you are! What kind of sage can't live forever? What does that even make him? I'm on the path to becoming an immortal! Now, experience the power of an immortal civilization!"

"Giant Sword Technique!"

A pale green magic circle appeared in the air before Kinomata Orochi. A several-meter-long sword of spiritual energy materialized and absorbed the scant Natural Energy in the barrier. It quickly grew to dozens of meters long.

The energy fluctuations surrounding it made a cold sweat trickle down Jiraiya's forehead.

"What kind of ninjutsu is that? It can draw on Natural Energy to attack!"

"Little Jiraiya, don't try to block that!" Sage Fukasaku said gravely from his shoulder.

Jiraiya could only smile wryly. "I know, but I feel like I've been locked onto by some invisible will. I can't dodge it."

"Then we'll all give it everything we've got, little Jiraiya!"

"Sage Art: Goemon!"

Fukasaku and Shima each used Wind Release and Fire Release, while Jiraiya spat out a huge stream of oil. The three techniques combined, forming a sea of scorching flames that engulfed the giant sword as it hurtled toward them!

"Did we stop it?"

With a combination technique covering such a wide area, surely they could block it?

But the next moment, a massive shock wave burst out, its chaotic energy spreading like a halo.

The collision also severely injured the Gourd Toad, forcing it to spit the two men out.

"Ugh!"

Jiraiya's body flew backward, crashing through several houses.

Even with his enhanced Sage Mode senses, Jiraiya hadn't been able to predict the blast, especially inside a closed barrier.

The tremendous commotion drew the other ninja of Otogakure. More than a dozen ninja wearing sound-symbol Forehead Protectors rushed to the scene.

When they saw Kinomata Orochi hovering in midair, with the pale green protective barrier around his body almost broken but the man himself apparently unharmed, the arriving ninja quickly spread out and took up defensive positions.

Although Kinomata Orochi had used up most of his spiritual energy and his protective barrier was nearly shattered, the Giant Sword Technique's power had exceeded his expectations.

It had only been a low-level spell, yet its power had reached the third tier.

In truth, this was the result of several factors coinciding. Under normal circumstances, the Giant Sword Technique would only have second-tier strength.

Orochimaru's body had Hashirama Senju's cells, the Sharingan, and Orochimaru's genes. Hashirama Senju's cells were the most dominant, and their outward manifestation was an exceptional talent for Wood Release.

The foundational Giant Sword Technique had reached such power when cast through this body because its Wood Release talent and the spiritual energy converted from its abundant Chakra were both at their peak.

A beginner who had just started cultivating would have struggled to achieve the same result.

After all, the basic Wood Release cultivation technique Orochimaru had exchanged for this body was all he had given it.

[Technique Evergreen Technique

Rating: Second-tier, low-grade

Description: A foundational technique from an immortal civilization, with special requirements for the cultivator's constitution.

Price: C-rank Side Story*1, 2000 points]

As a foundational Wood Release cultivation technique from an immortal civilization, it was already second-tier, low-grade. Most first-tier techniques cultivated true energy, whereas only at the second tier did true energy transform into spiritual energy and enter the first stage, refining essence into energy. Only then did the path of immortality truly begin.

From what Orochimaru understood, though this was only a foundational technique, it was second-tier. Its destructive power was far below that of third-tier enhancements, but many of its intricate spells were beyond the reach of even a lot of third-tier techniques.

Its only drawback was that immortal cultivation placed high demands on talent, the surrounding environment, magical artifacts, pills, and more. It also took a long time to develop.

An ordinary person would need years or even decades of hard work just to get started. After that, the time required increased exponentially with each stage.

But in terms of versatility and combat power, immortal cultivation was among the strongest at the same tier!

Looks like I'll need to continue researching how to combine Daoist arts and ninjutsu!

Orochimaru silently set a research plan in his mind.

Just then, a frog's croak came from the spot where Jiraiya had disappeared. Everyone who heard it fell under a genjutsu and lost consciousness—except Kinomata Orochi.

Though all the Chakra in Kinomata Orochi's body had been converted into spiritual energy, his soul was only a fragment, leaving him more vulnerable to genjutsu. He had to spend spiritual energy reinforcing his protective barrier, then resist the genjutsu through sheer will.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya remained motionless in his hiding place, letting the two Toad Sages on his shoulders chant the genjutsu.

Once this technique began, he couldn't move either, so he had to hide.

Now he saw that the genjutsu didn't seem to have worked on Orochimaru, since Orochimaru hadn't dropped to the ground after lowering his protective barrier. Just as Jiraiya was preparing to risk everything in one final attack, Orochimaru's voice rang out.

"Jiraiya, for Minato's sake, I won't hold this against you this time. Tell him that this makes us even for the favor he did me before."

"What did you say? Minato?"

Jiraiya didn't understand at first. Startled, he jumped out from the house where he was hiding, interrupting the Toad Sages' duet.

Jiraiya stared in shock, as if he'd forgotten they were in the middle of a fight. Kinomata Orochi continued, "Looks like you don't know Minato is still alive. Never mind—you'll find out eventually, so it doesn't matter who tells you."

Jiraiya forced himself to steady his shock and asked in a low voice, "Orochimaru, are you saying Minato isn't dead?"

Kinomata Orochi gave a mocking laugh. "Not only is he alive, he's doing just fine. And he's far stronger than you, his teacher!"

Jiraiya frowned, recalling the secret reports that had recently circulated through the Ninja World, claiming that Konoha's Fourth Hokage was still alive. He'd thought the village was putting out a smokescreen, but now it seemed to be true.

Joy welled up inside him, but as he looked at his old friend, now a stranger, an inexplicable loneliness crept into his heart.

Why did he always fall just short? He had nearly become Hokage, nearly confessed his feelings to Tsunade, and now he had nearly managed to bring back a comrade...

But I said I'd take you back, and I'll keep my word! That's the way of Jiraiya the Gallant!

With that thought, Jiraiya felt his mind clear, and his fighting spirit surged!

Kinomata Orochi frowned. He had meant to dismiss Jiraiya with a few words, but instead, Jiraiya had only grown more eager to fight.

This body had only just begun cultivating Daoist arts, and its spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Facing Jiraiya, a mid-third-tier opponent, was a real headache.

Of course, it wasn't because he couldn't beat him. He just didn't want to get tangled up with this idiot! Kinomata Orochi reassured himself.

"Then I'll just have to send you on your way!"

After making up his mind, Kinomata Orochi used what little spiritual energy he had left to cast Wood Release spells and entangle Jiraiya. Then he used an illusion technique to appear behind him.

A miniature scroll appeared. A sudden spatial ripple flashed, and Jiraiya vanished.