Chapter 505: Battle Against the Three Ninjas
"Then the members of your Minato squad will take the assessment together," Jiraiya said after thinking for a moment.
The phrase "entire squad" was subtle. In name, they were an elite unit led by Mugetsu, deployed for the Hidden Grass mission. The others were one thing, but Mugetsu was not someone Jiraiya could casually "assess." What was he supposed to do, use Sage Mode to bully his juniors?
And just like that, thanks to Obito's "brilliant" effort, Kakashi and Rin also earned the chance to fight the legendary Sannin.
"Maybe I should post this photo on Konoha's busiest shopping street."
Dragged into this mess by Obito, Kakashi calmly pulled out Obito's photo.
Obito wanted to get beaten, fine. But dragging Kakashi along too? Kakashi had finally had enough.
"Kakashi, you're breaking your word!" Obito wailed, staring at the familiar photo. "I even treated you to food. How can you not keep your promise?"
He reached out to snatch it.
Kakashi slipped away with a Body Flicker and replied flatly, "How am I breaking my word? I gave you the photo that day."
"But it's still in your hand!" Obito argued, unconvinced.
"I don't only have one copy," Kakashi said, voice steady. "I gave you one. I kept the rest."
Those words hit Obito like a fatal blow.
The moment he realized Kakashi still had his embarrassing photos, Obito's vision went dark.
"As expected of that inherently evil Hatake brat," Obito spat blood in his heart, suddenly regretting that he had ever treated Kakashi instead of Riolu.
"Let me see what kind of 'good photo' it is," Jiraiya said, leaning in.
The instant he saw Obito's distorted face mid beating, Jiraiya burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Haha! Goggles brat, you're pathetic!"
Warning! Warning!
Obito felt his body temperature rising. He could barely suppress the urge to activate Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.
At that moment, he genuinely wanted to take on two opponents and beat up both Jiraiya and Kakashi, those two hateful white haired guys.
Thankfully, the last shred of his sanity told him that would only make the beating worse.
If he wanted revenge, the correct process was clear. Explode during the assessment when Jiraiya least expected it, make the old man suffer a little, then train like his life depended on it and crush Kakashi during an internal battle.
"Be grateful," Jiraiya said, finally getting down to business. "Not many people get to enjoy guidance from the legendary Sannin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku."
Obito had caused the trouble, but Obito and the others were still Minato's disciples. Jiraiya did not mind polishing them a bit.
Kakashi put the photo away and turned serious.
Aside from Mugetsu, whose limits were unknown, Jiraiya was absolutely the strongest shinobi Kakashi had ever faced.
Even that Raikage candidate who had once pressured them so heavily was still just a junior compared to Jiraiya, a man who had made his name in the shinobi world during the Second Shinobi World War.
The three of them spread out. Obito and Kakashi took the front, with Rin slightly behind.
"You're all so called geniuses," Jiraiya said with a smile, arms crossed. "Don't disappoint me."
The moment the fight began, Obito drew his breathing to the extreme and opened with the classic starter.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames condensed into a massive fireball five times his size, roaring toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya formed seals as well, still smiling.
"Trying Fire Release in front of me? You're still green."
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
He kneaded chakra into oil, spat it out, and ignited it in the same breath. A broad wave of high temperature flames surged forward.
Boom!
The two Fire Release techniques collided. Flames shot into the sky, expanding like a blooming fiery lotus. Heat blasted outward, and the air itself seemed to scorch.
For once, Obito's Great Fireball lost cleanly. Jiraiya's Flame Bullet swallowed it up and continued rolling toward Obito.
Rin and Kakashi moved at the same time.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Rin formed seals and spat a giant sphere of water, extinguishing the incoming flames.
Meanwhile, Kakashi drove Thunder Breathing to the limit and flicked two lightning laced kunai at Jiraiya, fast enough to blur.
Jiraiya still looked relaxed, dodging as if he were taking a casual stroll.
Obito felt the gap immediately. Facing a monster like this, hesitation was suicide.
He activated Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and opened his Sharingan.
Flame Breathing Chakra Mode already devoured chakra. Layering the Sharingan on top made it worse. Even with Obito's larger reserves, he could only maintain it for a few minutes.
But the cost came with explosive gains.
His perception sharpened. His strength surged. His Fire Release grew heavier and hotter. In battle, this was his biggest trump card.
"Summoning Technique!"
Rin summoned Katsuyu.
Katsuyu specialized in medical ninjutsu, but she was far from helpless in combat.
"So you signed a contract with Shikkotsu Forest," Jiraiya said, surprised to see Katsuyu again after so long.
He had assumed Tsunade, in her current lazy state, would not bother taking disciples. He did not expect Rin to have this connection.
He even found himself thinking that if Obito signed with Mount Myōboku and Kakashi worked hard at Ryūchi Cave, then Kakashi and his teammates might truly become the next generation of Sannin.
"Exploding Fist!"
Rin chose herself as bait to create an opening. She condensed a huge amount of chakra into her fist and charged straight at Jiraiya.
Bang!
A violent explosion erupted. The ground where Jiraiya had been standing cracked and caved.
Jiraiya broke into a cold sweat at the sight.
This was not something anyone should inherit.
The monstrous strength Rin displayed dragged up unpleasant memories. Back then, he had truly almost been beaten to death.
"Opportunity!" Obito roared in his head the instant he saw Jiraiya's brief distraction, and he surged forward.
"Fire Release: Leaf Whirlwind!"
Compressed flames darkened around his right foot as he kicked toward Jiraiya's head.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya formed seals calmly. His long white hair stiffened with chakra and surged out, binding Obito in an instant.
Just as Jiraiya was about to slam Obito into the ground, Kakashi struck again.
He activated Transparent World and Lightning Release Chakra Mode together, pushing his body to peak condition, and flashed in with a lightning fast slash.
He did not land a clean hit on Jiraiya, but he severed a chunk of the white hair and freed Obito.
The moment he was loose, Obito spat Fire Release point blank. In Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he could fire off jutsu without seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He chose Great Fireball again because he was too close for Jiraiya to easily dodge. The usual weakness of the jutsu, how hard it was to land, vanished.
Only its strengths remained. Low cost, high power.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya reinforced his hair even further and switched from offense to defense. His hardened hair wrapped around his entire body like armor.
Boom!
Firelight swallowed Jiraiya. Explosive smoke and scattered fire chakra obscured everything inside.
"Nothing bad happened, right?" Obito muttered.
Jiraiya was annoying, yes, but he was still Minato's teacher. A light beating was fine. Actually injuring him would be unnecessary.
Kakashi gathered chakra, waiting for the next chance.
Their opponent was one of the legendary Sannin. Kakashi was not arrogant enough to think a little smoke would make him stumble.
"You've given me a nice little surprise," Jiraiya's laughter boomed as the smoke thinned.
His figure emerged.
Obito's eyes widened. Jiraiya was unharmed, only dusted with black ash.
Jiraiya brushed himself off. Kakashi and the others had exceeded his expectations.
He decided to get a bit more serious.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Two shadow clones appeared. One charged Obito, the other went straight for Rin.
"Fire Release: Blazing Impact!"
Obito did not flinch. Flames ignited across his entire body as he rammed the incoming clone.
Shadow clones were solid, but fragile. If his flames touched it, it would disperse.
"Water Surge Hand!"
The clone extended a hand and blasted a thick stream of water at Obito. The flames coating Obito were extinguished instantly, leaving him soaked like a drowned rat.
"Ptooey!"
Katsuyu gathered corrosive acid and spat it toward the clone attacking Rin.
Jiraiya clearly knew Katsuyu well. The clone sidestepped cleanly, then flicked out a wind blade with a quick seal.
Rin raised a water wall to defend, but the wind blade sliced through it. She barely avoided being injured.
Kakashi, circling Jiraiya's main body, narrowed his eyes in thought.
With Transparent World, he could observe Obito and Rin's exchanges while continuing to evade Jiraiya's attacks.
He realized Jiraiya was an all around shinobi, much like Mugetsu. He seemed to have every type of ninjutsu in his pocket, with no obvious weakness.
"Dragging this out is pointless," Kakashi decided. "I need them to coordinate with me for one strike."
In theory and in reality, they could not defeat Jiraiya right now.
But even in a sparring assessment, Kakashi had to find that one possible opening, the single path to victory.
He was the strongest in the current Minato squad. His techniques were the fastest and the most lethal.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Kakashi spat out a lightning spear, forcing Jiraiya to step back, then shot Obito and Rin a meaningful look.
They had been teammates for years. One glance was enough, as long as the message was not complicated.
Obito felt a little resentful.
He had dragged Kakashi into this to make Kakashi get beaten, and now he had to help Kakashi create an opening?
Still, Obito followed Kakashi's plan.
If he cooperated and Kakashi still failed, Obito could criticize Kakashi properly and make Rin see how unpleasant Kakashi could be.
Obito closed his Sharingan and poured every last drop of chakra into Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. His attacks turned ferocious. Fire Release poured out in a continuous stream, as if it cost nothing, suppressing Jiraiya's clone with raw firepower.
Rin also used everything she had to entangle the other clone.
Unlike Obito, her task was truly just to hold one clone in place. Doing more would be unrealistic.
No one could demand too much from a healer.
Kakashi used lightning chakra to stimulate his body and dashed toward the clone on Obito's side, swinging as if he meant to team up with Obito and eliminate it first.
Jiraiya's main body followed unhurriedly.
With his experience, he had already guessed the shape of their plan. Since this was guidance, he would cooperate a little.
In a real battle, the first thing Jiraiya would do was summon Gamabunta.
With Gamabunta's strength, handling Kakashi and his teammates would be more than enough.
"Fire Release: Flame Emperor!"
Obito erupted.
He poured all of his chakra into a single condensation. A colossal fireball, more than ten meters across, formed above his palm.
Kakashi's plan was simple. Create the illusion they were about to eliminate the clone, then use Flame Breathing Chakra Mode's traits to unleash a wide area Fire Release attack and carve out an opening for Kakashi.
Against the Flame Emperor's overwhelming blaze, Obito looked tiny.
The moment he hurled it, Jiraiya felt his skin dry from the heat.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Jiraiya's clone raised a towering earth wall, while Jiraiya's main body formed an additional water barrier.
The earth wall was enough to block the bulk of the blast. The water wall was there so he would not get covered in ash.
Boom!
A thunderous roar shook the tent area. The thick earth wall was battered and cracked, suffering heavy damage, but it did not collapse.
"Flash: Godspeed!"
With Transparent World active, Kakashi had been watching everything.
The instant the deadliest shockwave passed, Kakashi condensed everything he had left and became a streak of lightning, bursting forward.
No Thought Strike would have been stronger, but he did not have enough chakra for it now.
At the moment, Kakashi could only use No Thought Strike at full strength.
Sensing the incoming lightning flash, Jiraiya's expression tightened in surprise. He reacted instantly.
"Summoning Technique!"
A red, fleshy wall appeared out of nowhere and swallowed Jiraiya just before Kakashi arrived.
.....
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