Boom!
Sprays of water burst across the sky, obscuring vision.
Kei Yamanaka was sent flying backward across the water's surface by the recoil force.
Twisting his torso and swinging his arm, he swung around and delivered a powerful elbow strike behind him, sending another frog that had tried to sneak-attack back into the water. Using the momentum, he flipped himself upright.
As he skidded backward, his feet carved long furrows across the water's surface. Before stabilizing his stance, he suddenly clapped his hands together again, quickly activating a jutsu.
[Water Release: Hiding in Drizzle Technique!]
Thick mist rose rapidly with each breath.
Kei bit down hard on his gums, ready to smear blood onto his fingers to perform the Summoning Jutsu and summon Shin, delivering a brief [Genjutsu Art: Mirage] illusionary shock to Jiraiya—but then he abruptly froze.
Didn't he say yesterday he wouldn't use genjutsu?
Damn it!
All that gum blood was for nothing!
His hands flashed through a series of rapid hand seals.
Kei changed tactics and used a jutsu he had learned the previous night from the Senju Clan's inherited scroll.
[Water Release: Surfing Strike!]
Due to his insufficient mastery of the technique, he couldn't skip the hand seals. But thanks to the red skill listing [Zero-Frames Start], which granted top-tier chakra control, and the purple listing [Water Release Master], which enhanced his understanding of Water Release techniques, his jutsu-casting speed still far surpassed that of an average Jonin.
As [Water Release: Surfing Strike] activated, Kei dove beneath the water like a sleek fish.
Combining it with the Hydrification Technique, his form vanished completely from the sight of several eager Mount Myoboku frogs lurking below the surface.
"You kids these days really have no respect for your elders!"
Jiraiya wiped the sweat beading on his forehead while the Iron Arm Frog underfoot began shifting positions continuously, guarding against potential attacks from all directions.
From start to finish, he'd been under constant pressure, with his counterattacks repeatedly ending in failure.
Even after summoning no fewer than eight frogs from Mount Myoboku to assist him, he still hadn't managed to reverse his gradually worsening situation.
And this was without Kei even using genjutsu.
If he were to go all out...
"Croak! Croak!" "Underwater!" "He's gone! Can't see him anymore! Croak!"
A chorus of frog croaks echoed through the thick mist.
Realizing the danger instantly, Jiraiya pushed off with his feet, springing high into the air while forming hand seals rapidly.
In this situation, the [Hiding in Drizzle Technique] severely limited his visibility, while Kei's sensing abilities remained unaffected by the fog.
To tip the increasingly unfavorable odds back in his favor, merely dispersing the mist would only leave him more exposed.
Whether dispersing it with Wind Release or evaporating it with Fire Release would require multiple times the amount of chakra he currently possessed, and Kei wouldn't allow him to remove the fog so easily anyway.
So then…
[Barrier: Canopy Method Formation!]
Puff! Puff!
The sensing barrier centered around Jiraiya expanded outward just as he landed atop the water surface.
The Iron Arm Frog, tasked with defense, immediately slammed both arms down onto the water.
A rising water dragon collided violently with the Iron Arm Frog, creating a massive concussive shockwave that blasted open a giant bowl-shaped crater in the water!
Overcome by a force beyond its limits, the Iron Arm Frog dissolved into a burst of chakra smoke, returning straight to Mount Myoboku.
However, the momentum of Kei Yamanaka's underwater ambush was abruptly stopped.
Giving Jiraiya a chance to catch his breath:
"Nice job!"
Internally delighted, Jiraiya prepared to counterattack when suddenly the sensor capabilities of Barrier: Canopy Method Formation made his eyes twitch.
Two crows circled overhead while four small puppets, only half a person tall, silently concealed themselves by employing Hiding in Mist Technique, cutting off all escape routes around him.
Meanwhile, after sending Iron Arm Frog back to Mount Myoboku, Kei Yamanaka had already calmly stood on the water's surface, waiting for him to step right into the trap!
No way up; no path to retreat!
He knew for certain that any counterattack would immediately trigger an overwhelming storm of attacks.
"I surrender! Enough already! Enough!"
Jiraiya shouted loudly, not caring about appearances at all.
He had no choice—he genuinely feared that hesitating even a second too long might lead Kei, who clearly disregarded martial ethics, to use Mind Body Disturbance Technique on him and drag him into another session of "Paradise."
When a little girl danced to that song, it left Jiraiya wide-eyed in shock.
But if he had to do it himself...
Better not go there—let's just end this memory here!
"Hmph~"
Kei let out a heavy sigh and casually dispelled the mist created by Hiding in Mist Technique.
The two crows flying above let out two loud caws before transforming into chakra smoke and returning to their coop.
The four half-person-sized puppets, controlled by Mind Transfer Puppet Jutsu, returned to his side.
He pulled out the storage sealing scroll stored earlier in the left chest pocket of his Jonin flak vest and resealed the four small puppets inside.
Kei Yamanaka then sat directly on the water's surface, reflecting on the flaws revealed during the recent exchange.
First—the issue of jutsu proficiency.
The techniques he learned last night from the Senju Clan's inherited scrolls were effective, but still needed refinement.
At the very least, he needed to master casting them with a single hand seal—ideally with [Shout-to-Summon style]!
He couldn't waste the boost provided by [Zero-Frames Start]!
Then there was taijutsu!
Using the Hozuki Clan's Suishō no Jutsu for amplification, he employed the combat techniques from his past life stored within his memory palace.
The explosive power generated surpassed even his expectations!
Earlier, he used Water Release: Surfing Strike to accelerate underwater, further enhancing [Iron Mountain Crush] with Suishō no Jutsu, which allowed him to blast Iron Arm Frog straight back to Mount Myoboku.
If he could master that wave-stacking Water Release technique he glimpsed last night—
He might just be able to match the strength of Raikage A or even stand toe-to-toe against tailed beasts!
Of course, there was still one crucial point.
Combat habits!
This sparring match against Jiraiya was essentially a dress rehearsal for his upcoming clash with Madara Uchiha.
That's why yesterday afternoon, he took the initiative to suggest excluding genjutsu.
After all, even though Madara had transferred his Rinnegan to Nagato, his ocular power had clearly not diminished—it remained equal to or even stronger than the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Genjutsu against such an opponent would likely prove ineffective.
So, the habit of instinctively opening fights with genjutsu had to be corrected.
Hmph, so it finally comes down to the Flying Thunder God...
After sparring with Jiraiya, Kei Yamanaka also dragged Minato Namikaze into a match. He needed to re-adapt to the intense Flying Thunder God Continuous Flash technique, letting the [Zero-Frames Start] effect shine in full force.
And after finishing all that...
"Madara, Hashirama's not here anymore. How about I, your upgraded version of Tobirama, take his place on the battlefield? Hehehe～"
A smirk tugged at Kei Yamanaka's lips as he grew even more eager for his showdown with Madara Uchiha.
"You really are a beast, kid!"
Jiraiya sat down beside Kei.
He had never been someone who couldn't handle losing gracefully—in fact, he felt happier and prouder than anyone else when seeing younger generations surpassing him.
If Konoha had a few more young shinobi like Kei Yamanaka,
Wouldn't it be better if he just roamed the ninja world, helping those poor girls who've lost their way?
"Couldn't you have countered just now? You could've wrapped yourself in Needle Jizo or let a frog swallow you, then dispelled yourself once underwater."
Kei glanced at Jiraiya but didn't take the compliment too seriously.
Their previous match did look incredibly intense.
Throughout the entire fight, Jiraiya had indeed been completely overpowered.
However, this situation arose mainly because the guy underestimated him initially, falling behind early on, and secondly due to misjudging intelligence.
Nowadays, even without using genjutsu, he still possessed an array of formidable offensive techniques!
As for conceding at the end—
Jumping midair was indeed a minor blunder from Jiraiya. No matter how he resisted, he would fall into an even greater disadvantage.
Still, Jiraiya clearly held back too, whether it was the foot-based hand seals from the original story or his devastating combo moves with Mount Myoboku's frogs.
If he really wanted to turn things around, there definitely would've been chances.
"That move you used on Iron Arm Frog earlier was on par with Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength! Who'd be crazy enough to try blocking that with Needle Jizo!? Plus, summoned beasts can feel pain as well. It was just a sparring session anyway."
Jiraiya waved his hands while chuckling; treating Mount Myoboku's frogs as companions and friends, he simply couldn't bring himself to treat them merely as tools.
As for enduring a blow comparable to Chakra Enhanced Strength—
Just remembering the punch Tsunade gave him years ago still made his ribs throb with pain. He'd rather not try that again.
"How's your training in Sage Mode coming along?"
"...Can we switch topics?"
"You're really..."
Kei was left speechless.
Is Sage Mode really that hard to master?
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