The Frog Squad's Trial

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

"Watch out!"

Nagato's Rinnegan caught a trace of imperceptible chakra flow, and he immediately warned them in a sharp voice.

Before the words had even left his lips, Jiraiya's figure appeared like a phantom beside Yahiko, who was charging at the front. Without using any flashy ninjutsu, he delivered a seemingly casual hand-chop that whistled through the air toward the back of Yahiko's neck.

"So fast!"

Yahiko's pupils constricted, his orange hair flying as he relied on the muscle memory from three years of grueling taijutsu training and the deflection techniques taught by Qi Luna. As he twisted his body, he managed to block Jiraiya's hand-chop with his arm, though it was a dangerously close call.

"Bang!"

A massive, overwhelming force surged through his arm. Yahiko felt as if he had been rammed and trampled by a giant elephant; he was sent stumbling backward uncontrollably, his arm throbbing with pain!

"Your spirit is decent, but blindly rushing in will easily lead you straight into an enemy's trap. Just like that kid Nawaki back in the day—if it weren't for his luck, his name might already be carved on the memorial stone!"

"Since you're a taijutsu-style fighter, you must learn to control the rhythm and learn to view the big picture!"

Almost at the same time, Konan's storm of paper shuriken came whistling in! The dense, paper-thin shuriken were as sharp as blades; they not only sealed off all of Jiraiya's escape routes but also temporarily obscured his line of sight.

"Ninja Art: Dance of the Shikigami!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Having no intention of taking the hit head-on, he tapped his feet lightly against the ground and, defying the laws of physics, drifted away through the gaps in the barrage of paper shuriken.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

The paper shuriken all struck the area where he had been standing just a moment before.

"Hmm~ nice range and density! The little girl's chakra control is quite meticulous, too! But your intent is far too straightforward! Against a master like this Sage, it won't have any effect at all~"

While Jiraiya was critiquing Konan's attack, he was still in mid-air, but his hands had already finished weaving signs:

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

His wild white hair instantly elongated and hardened, spinning like countless steel needles to shield his entire body. He blocked all of Konan's follow-up paper shuriken, the sound of metal clashing against metal ringing out incessantly.

"Ima da!" (Now!)

Nagato seized the moment Jiraiya was performing his ninjutsu. Purple light swirled in his Rinnegan as his hands moved in a blur:

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Several fire dragons, even more condensed and scorching than before, roared out and lunged straight at Jiraiya in mid-air!

At the same time, his left hand stealthily threw several shuriken attached to steel wires. However, the target wasn't Jiraiya, but the branches of several large trees beside him; he intended to create a trap to restrict Jiraiya's movement for a split second!

But such a small maneuver naturally did not escape Jiraiya's notice. Facing the roaring fire dragons, he didn't dodge or weave; he chose to meet them head-on!

"Beautiful combat awareness! You know how to seize the moment, and you know how to utilize the environment and create your own opportunities! However, when facing an experienced enemy, this level of Fire Style... is simply not enough!"

"Fire Style: Great Flame Technique!"

A scorching tongue of flame erupted from Jiraiya's mouth, carrying a destructive force as it surged forward to swallow the fire released by Nagato!

"BOOM—!!!"

The flames collided, erupting into a massive explosion. The firelight soared into the sky with a deafening roar, and as the flames devoured one another, they obscured the vision of both sides.

"Yahiko! Konan!" Nagato shouted in a low voice.

Yahiko understood. Enduring the intense pain in his arm, he lunged from the flank once more, his target being none other than Jiraiya, who was still unleashing his Fire Style!

"Second Form: Sword Flash!"

Konan clapped her hands together, and a large amount of specially treated paper rapidly condensed behind her into a pair of giant paper wings. She took to the air, preparing to launch an offensive from above!

"Ninja Art: Dance of the Shikigami!"

However, just as Yahiko's sword-finger was about to touch Jiraiya, Jiraiya reacted first. He moved after, yet arrived before, precisely gripping Yahiko's wrist!

At the same time, his other hand formed a claw, with chakra of different natures igniting on his five fingers, and he slammed his palm onto Yahiko's chest and abdomen!

"Ninja Art: Five Elements Seal!"

"Ugh!"

Yahiko immediately felt his entire body's chakra stagnate. His strength was instantly drained, and he collapsed to the ground, limp!

"Remember, when facing a strong opponent, their perception and judgment are far more important than what your eyes see! When you think they are full of openings, that is exactly when you have fallen into their trap!"

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

"Yahiko!"

Konan cried out in alarm. With a flap of her wings, countless paper sheets transformed into spikes and spears, blasting toward Jiraiya as he held Yahiko.

"Caring for your comrades is a good thing, but don't lose your composure!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily. He didn't release his grip on Yahiko; instead, he wove a sign with one hand and slammed it onto the ground:

"Earth Style: Earth Style Wall!"

A wall of earth rose rapidly from the ground, blocking Konan's rain of paper spears. At the same time, he pushed off the ground, dragging the helpless Yahiko with him and shifting positions under the cover of the earth wall.

"Nagato!"

Konan looked anxiously toward Nagato, who remained in good condition below and possessed the greatest strength among the three of them.

Nagato's Rinnegan spun rapidly, attempting to lock onto Jiraiya as he moved swiftly behind the earthen wall amidst the swirling dust.

He sensed that Yahiko's chakra was being suppressed by some kind of sealing jutsu, and Konan's attack rhythm had fallen into disarray!

Pressure! An unprecedented, immense pressure!

Their opponent's ease was far beyond any classmate they had encountered at the Ninja Academy, and far beyond every sparring session Qi Luna, Tsunade, and the others had conducted with them over the past three years!

"Feeling the pressure? Sweating buckets, are you?"

Jiraiya's voice, tinged with a hint of gravity, drifted from the dust. It was impossible to pinpoint the exact direction, yet it seemed to be everywhere at once!

"This is the reality of the Ninja World. Once you become a ninja, you may face an opponent you cannot defeat at any moment. No matter how hard you try, you may find it impossible to shake them in the slightest!"

"And when faced with such a situation, what choice will you make? Will you fight individually, struggling to escape as much as possible before being picked off one by one? Or..."

Before Jiraiya could finish his sentence, a figure erupted from the dust, targeting Konan in the air! The speed was so great that Konan had no time to react!

"Konan!"

Nagato's eyes widened in fury, purple light flashing violently in his Rinnegan! With almost no time to think, his body reacted on instinct, his physical actions outpacing his soul!

He thrust his right hand toward Jiraiya in a void-grasp, and a massive, dark chakra erupted instantly!

"Universal Pull!"

"Zzz—!!!"

A suffocatingly powerful gravitational force exploded from Nagato's palm! The air was torn into visible ripples! The ground cracked, and gravel flew in all directions!

Jiraiya, the target of the attack, felt his pupils constrict. He tried to use a Body Flicker to escape the range of the jutsu, but it was too late. He could only force his body to twist in mid-air, crossing his arms to shield his front!

Under the influence of the gravity, Jiraiya flew straight toward Nagato. Pulled by such immense force, Jiraiya didn't even have time to mobilize his chakra or weave hand signs; in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Nagato.

Just as the two were inches apart, a roar erupted from Nagato's throat:

"Almighty Push!"

"Hum—!!!"

A tremendous repulsive force radiated outward once more, centered on Nagato.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Jiraiya was struck hard by this repulsive force, sent flying backward like a cannonball. He crashed through several large trees, which served as a buffer, before finally coming to a halt, kicking up a sky full of dust!

Konan, still in the air, had her paper wings shredded by the shockwave of this sudden force, and she fell from the sky with a cry of alarm!

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Qi Luna, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw that the chakra of Nagato and his companions was nearly exhausted and that the purpose of the test had been largely achieved. No longer standing idly by, she created two shadow clones to catch Yahiko and Konan respectively, while her main body caught Nagato, who had collapsed from exhaustion after unleashing two Rinnegan abilities in succession.