The "Frog Squad"'s Trial

Jiraiya's hearty laughter still echoed through the woods, but his figure suddenly blurred.

"Watch out!"

Nagato's Rinnegan caught the faintest trace of chakra movement, and he immediately shouted a warning.

Before the words had left his mouth, Jiraiya appeared like a phantom beside Yahiko, who was charging at the front. He didn't use any flashy ninjutsu. Just a seemingly casual knife-hand strike, whistling through the air toward the back of Yahiko's neck.

"So fast!"

Yahiko's pupils contracted. His orange hair whipped in the wind, and relying on the muscle memory he'd built through three years of hard Taijutsu training, along with the techniques Qi Luna had taught him for deflecting force, he twisted around and barely managed to block Jiraiya's knife hand with his arm.

"Thump!"

A tremendous force surged through Yahiko's arm. He felt as if he'd been trampled by a charging elephant, and stumbled backward several steps, his arm throbbing with pain!

"Your spirit's impressive, but charging in recklessly makes it easy to run headfirst into an enemy's trap. Just like that kid Nawaki back in the day. If he hadn't been lucky, his name might already be carved into the Memorial Stone!"

"If you specialize in Taijutsu, it's all the more important to control the pace and learn to keep the whole battlefield in view!"

At almost the same moment, Konan's storm of Paper Shuriken came whistling in! The dense paper projectiles were sharp as blades. They not only sealed off every direction Jiraiya could dodge in, but also temporarily blocked his field of vision.

"Ninja Art: Paper Shuriken!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. He had no intention of taking the attack head-on. He lightly tapped the ground with both feet, and his body drifted away through the gaps in the barrage of Paper Shuriken, completely defying the laws of physics.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

The Paper Shuriken all embedded themselves in the spot where he'd been standing.

"Hmm, nice range and density! The young lady's chakra control is quite precise, too! But your attack is far too straightforward. Against a master like this sage, it won't have any effect at all~"

As Jiraiya critiqued Konan's attack, he was still in midair, but his hands had already finished forming seals:

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

His wild white hair instantly lengthened and hardened, spinning like countless steel needles to protect his entire body. It blocked all of Konan's follow-up Paper Shuriken, the clanging of metal against metal ringing out in a constant din.

"Yamete!" (Now!)

Nagato seized the moment Jiraiya was using his jutsu. Purple light swirled in his Rinnegan as he rapidly formed hand seals:

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Several roaring dragons of flame burst forth, even hotter and more concentrated than before, and lunged straight at Jiraiya in midair!

At the same time, he discreetly threw several Shuriken attached to wires with his left hand. But they weren't aimed at Jiraiya. They were meant for the branches of several trees beside him. Nagato wanted to create a trap that would restrict Jiraiya's movement for just an instant!

But such a small trick naturally didn't escape Jiraiya's notice. Facing the roaring fire dragons, he neither dodged nor backed down, choosing instead to meet them head-on!

"Excellent combat instincts! You know how to seize the moment and make use of your surroundings, and you're willing to come up with new ideas! But against an experienced opponent, this level of Fire Release... is nowhere near enough!"

"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"

A blazing tongue of fire shot from Jiraiya's mouth, surging forward with devastating force to swallow Nagato's flames!

"Boom—!!!"

The flames collided in a massive explosion. Fire blazed into the sky, and the roar shook the heavens. As the flames devoured each other, they also blocked both sides' view.

"Yahiko! Konan!" Nagato called sharply.

Yahiko understood. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his arm, he charged in again from the flank, aiming straight for Jiraiya, who was still using Fire Release!

"Second Form: Sword Flash!"

Konan brought her hands together. A large amount of specially prepared paper quickly gathered behind her, forming a pair of enormous wings. She rose into the air, preparing to attack from above!

"Ninja Art: Dance of the Shikigami!"

But just as Yahiko's finger thrust was about to reach Jiraiya, Jiraiya reacted first. Moving faster than Yahiko could, he caught Yahiko by the wrist with perfect precision!

At the same time, his other hand curled into a claw. A trace of chakra with several different attributes ignited across his fingers, and he slammed his palm into Yahiko's chest and abdomen!

"Ninja Art: Five Elements Seal!"

"Gah!"

Yahiko suddenly felt his chakra seize up. Most of his strength vanished in an instant, and he crumpled to the ground!

"Remember, when facing a strong opponent, their senses and judgment matter more than what their eyes can see. If you think they're full of openings, that means you've already fallen into their trap!"

Jiraiya's voice came from above Yahiko, unhurried and calm.

"Yahiko!"

Konan cried out. With a flap of her wings, countless scraps of paper transformed into spikes and spears, then shot toward Jiraiya, who was holding Yahiko.

"Caring about your teammates is a good thing, but don't lose your composure!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily. He didn't release Yahiko, instead forming a hand seal with one hand before slamming it onto the ground:

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A wall of earth rapidly rose from the ground, blocking Konan's rain of paper spears. At the same time, Jiraiya pushed off with his feet and dragged Yahiko, who couldn't fight back, to a new position under cover of the wall.

"Nagato!"

Konan anxiously looked down at Nagato, who was still in good shape and was the strongest of the three.

Nagato's Rinnegan spun rapidly as he tried to locate Jiraiya moving behind the earthen wall through the billowing dust.

He sensed that Yahiko's chakra had been suppressed by some kind of Sealing Jutsu, and Konan's rhythm of attack had fallen apart!

Pressure! An unprecedented amount of pressure!

Their opponent was far more at ease than any of the classmates they'd faced at the Ninja Academy, and far beyond anything Qi Luna, Tsunade, and the others had shown them in any of their training matches over the past three years!

"Feeling the pressure? Sweating buckets yet?"

Jiraiya's voice came from the dust, edged with seriousness. It was impossible to tell exactly where it came from, yet it seemed to be everywhere!

"This is the reality of the Ninja World. Once you become a ninja, you may face an opponent you can't defeat at any time. No matter how hard you try, you might not even be able to make them budge!"

"When that happens, what will you choose to do? Fight separately, and try to escape before you're picked off one by one? Or..."

Before Jiraiya could finish, a figure burst from the dust, heading straight for Konan in the air! It moved so fast that she had no time to react!

"Konan!"

Nagato's eyes widened in fury, purple light blazing in his Rinnegan! He had almost no time to think. His body reacted on instinct, moving before his mind could catch up!

He thrust out his right hand and clenched it toward Jiraiya. A vast, ominous chakra erupted in an instant!

"Banshō Ten'in!"

"Zzz—!!!"

A suffocating force of attraction burst from Nagato's palm! The air rippled visibly as if being torn apart. The ground cracked, and stones flew everywhere!

Jiraiya, the target of the attack, shuddered. He tried to use the Body Flicker Technique to escape the jutsu's range, but it was too late. He could only twist his body in midair and cross his arms in front of him to shield himself!

Under the force of gravity, Jiraiya flew straight toward Nagato, the one who'd cast the jutsu. The powerful pull left him little time to gather chakra or form hand seals. In an instant, he was right in front of Nagato.

When they were close, Nagato let out another fierce shout:

"Shinra Tensei!"

"Vwoom—!!!"

A tremendous repulsive force spread outward from Nagato once more.

Jiraiya was slammed by the force, flying backward like a cannonball. He crashed through several trees, which slowed him down, and finally came to a stop, stirring up a cloud of dust!

Konan, still in the air, was also caught by the sudden shock wave. Her paper wings scattered, and she cried out as she fell!

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Qi Luna, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw that the three of them had nearly exhausted their chakra and that the test had served its purpose. She decided to step in, creating two shadow clones: one to help Yahiko up and the other to catch Konan. The original Qi Luna caught Nagato, who'd exhausted himself by using two Rinnegan abilities in a row.