Jiraiya Drops the Ball

That's right. The man in black was none other than Kakuzu, the ultimate bounty hunter, who had eyes for nothing but money.

A poor bastard who'd spent his whole life scrimping and saving, only to never spend a single coin himself before his spendthrift wife blew it all.

Running into Kakuzu wasn't enough to shock Genye. Right now, all he could think about was...

"I'm only worth thirty million ryo?!"

Genye found it hard to accept that he was worth less than his buddy Asuma.

"Honestly, you'd be better off taking out Asuma in a few years. Wouldn't that be easier money than coming after me?"

But then Genye reconsidered. Maybe it was because of the inflation twenty years from now. Little Jiraiya was only worth forty million ryo, after all.

"So he's a bounty hunter. Looks like there's nothing left to say." Jiraiya snorted, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Lord Jiraiya, let me handle him!" Genye eagerly rubbed his fists together.

Since starting out, he'd only ever beaten up the brainless Nine-Tails. He'd yet to fight a true Kage Level opponent!

"No. I'll handle him!"

Jiraiya pulled Genye behind him and said solemnly, "After all, protecting your students is every teacher's duty."

They'd spent the past six months eating, drinking, and shooting the breeze together. Though they hadn't been teacher and student in name, they'd long since become so in practice.

Jiraiya decided to act serious for once in front of his student, hoping to salvage his image.

"But... (I don't need you to protect me, either.)"

"Enough talk." Kakuzu was getting impatient. "Come at me together."

"You've got quite the nerve!" Genye rolled his eyes at Kakuzu, then turned to Jiraiya. "All right, Pervy Sage. I'll cover you from the sidelines."

"Haha, leave it to me."

Jiraiya laughed heartily and patted Genye on the shoulder, looking full of confidence.

He was in his prime, and he'd mastered Mount Myoboku's Sage Arts. There weren't many people in the Shinobi World who could threaten him.

"Hey, old man, don't underestimate him!"

Seeing how confident Jiraiya looked, Genye decided to rattle him a little.

"By the way, Lord Jiraiya, I just remembered. I think I've seen this guy's file somewhere."

"Oh?" Jiraiya was still grinning, completely unaware of how serious the situation was.

Seeing that, Genye continued, "He's supposed to be Takigakure's strongest rogue ninja, an undying warrior who charges across the battlefield—Kakuzu!"

"They say he once fought the First!"

T-The First?!

The smile froze on Jiraiya's face.

Though the Third always claimed he was the strongest Hokage, Jiraiya knew full well that the First could wipe the floor with his big-talking teacher.

And this guy had actually stood against the First. So his strength was...?!

"And that's not all!" Genye fought back a laugh and said with a grave expression, "They say he only lost to the First by one move!"

"Hiss—" Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath. "His strength is truly terrifying!"

It wasn't just him. Even Kakuzu's expression turned a little odd when he heard Genye say that.

(Low emotional intelligence: lost by one move.

High emotional intelligence: one Shuriken thrown from eight hundred miles away.)

Jiraiya's expression grew more and more serious. This was a high-level fight. He'd have to bring out his full power!

Crack.

He bit his finger, formed Hand Seals, and immediately performed the Summoning Technique, slamming his palm against the ground.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Not a single Toad answered the call. Jiraiya's eyes turned into dots. "Huh? Are the toads all busy right now?"

Genye and Kakuzu: "..."

"Haha, haha." Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head, glancing at Genye.

"Um, Genye, this next move of mine needs a little time to prepare. How about you hold him off for a bit?"

Genye rolled his eyes. "Pervy Sage, can you even do this? You had your chance, and you blew it."

"Enough talking. Hurry up. I'm in a rush!" Kakuzu's forehead twitched with irritation. It was already dark, and these two idiots were still yapping!

"What's the hurry? I haven't even taken off my clothes yet."

Genye took off his white robe and casually draped it nearby. Then he walked toward Kakuzu, without looking back.

"You'd better hurry up... Sensei, or I'll take care of this guy myself."

"Yoshi!" Hearing Genye finally call him teacher, Jiraiya was more energized than ever.

He painted a pattern on his face with his blood, crossed his wrists, and began sensing Natural Energy.

Boom!

Kakuzu could take no more. He appeared beside Genye in an instant and swung a fist at his face.

"You want to trade punches with me?"

Genye snorted. He shifted slightly to make room, twisted his body, and sent his fist straight into Kakuzu's.

"Gentle Fist: Collapse!"

Thump!

Terrifying force erupted between their fists. Both of them were sent stumbling backward several steps before they managed to steady themselves.

Genye glanced at his fist, frowning. "This guy..."

He'd only used Collapse to test the waters, but even so, its fourfold burst of force should have been enough to knock a jonin out with one punch.

But when his fist struck Kakuzu, the sensation that traveled back through it was strange, as if...

As if he'd punched a clump of cotton that was both tough and soft!

The force that should have pierced Kakuzu's body had been absorbed and dispersed by the "cotton" filling him. It had barely done any damage.

"Is it because of Earth Grudge Fear?" Genye wondered.

Smack!

Kakuzu raised his arm before Genye could think it through. His right hand detached from his body and shot toward Genye's neck like a cannonball.

"What kind of ridiculous move is that?!" Jiraiya, watching from the sidelines, twitched at the corner of his eye and couldn't help commenting. "He looks even more twisted than Orochimaru!"

Whoosh!

Genye flashed aside, dodging the severed hand. He turned his fist into a palm and chopped hard at the black tendrils connecting it to Kakuzu's body.

But the next moment, the tendrils suddenly stretched and spread in every direction. They twisted like coils, nimbly evading Genye's attack and trapping him instead.

At the same time, Kakuzu's body charged forward, his left hand stabbing toward Genye's heart like a blade.

"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"

Genye stayed calm in the face of danger. He spread his arms and spun like a top, instantly raising a hemispherical shell of chakra around himself.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The black tendrils and Kakuzu's left hand struck Rotation with metallic clanks, then were violently knocked away by the chakra bursting out of it.

"Gentle Fist: Explosion!"

A fierce glint flashed in Genye's eyes. Taking advantage of Kakuzu's momentary imbalance, he unleashed his strongest attack.

Thump!

Kakuzu split apart.

Before Genye's fist could hit him, the man had blown his own body apart and used the pull of his tendrils to dodge the blow!

Plop, plop.

Several tendrils caught in the wake of Genye's punch snapped and fell to the ground. A strange mask slipped out from among the coiled tendrils.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

A dense burst of lightning shot out from the mask, sweeping toward Genye like a volley of sharp spears. The faint aura of annihilation made his scalp tingle.

Boom!

Without hesitation, Genye activated his ocular technique and teleported elsewhere. The ground where he'd been standing was blasted into a massive crater.

"Body Flicker Technique? No. It looks more like Space-Time Ninjutsu."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. Another mask crawled onto his shoulder. It opened its mouth, which looked like it was smiling and crying at once, and spat out a small ball of wind.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The highly compressed ball of wind flew out and instantly expanded to more than ten meters across. Then it exploded!

Boom!

A gale formed by terrifying pressure swept through like a blade. Countless wind blades howled past, ready to shred everything in their path.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the danger, Jiraiya clasped his hands together and turned to run. Since his upper body couldn't move, his buttocks swayed back and forth as he fled.

"Omoikane!"

As for Genye, he had it easy. One use of his ocular technique took him beyond the danger zone.

"Just as I thought, it's Space-Time Ninjutsu. Its range is pretty big, too. This could be troublesome."

Kakuzu looked pensive. The two masks that had been about to unleash a combined ninjutsu slowly withdrew.

Whoosh!

Genye appeared in front of Kakuzu again, his expression grim.

He might have fewer techniques, but his overall strength was definitely no less than Kakuzu's.

But compared with the experienced old hand, Genye's battle experience was seriously lacking.

He hadn't made any major mistakes just now, yet Kakuzu had changed tactics and seized the initiative, hitting him with a whole string of techniques.

It annoyed Genye, but it also served as a warning. He had to work on this weakness in his future training.

"You've made me angry, Kakuzu. Now..."

"No, Genye. I'll take it from here."

Genye paused and turned around.

Three pairs of eyes gleamed in the darkness.

With Shima and Fukasaku, the two sages, perched on his shoulders, Jiraiya walked slowly toward them, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident smile.

[Psychological activity of the Maoqiu Yanghou:

Challenge a god... Foolish! I'll show you the Will of Fire burning inside me!]