"Don't worry, I'm already serious." Jiraiya put away his initial disregard, now treating Naruto's unusual power as something taught by Tsunade. Whether out of respect for Tsunade or caution regarding his strength, Jiraiya had to be careful not to get struck head-on by Naruto's fist.
Being beaten badly by Tsunade was one thing, but being defeated so decisively by her disciple would be a source of embarrassment. (Tl/n: He also assumes Naruto is Tsunade's disciple.)
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" Naruto swiftly formed hand seals and unleashed a Fire Style jutsu.
"That hand seal... should be a Great Fireball, right?!" Jiraiya examined Naruto's hand seals and observed the massive fireball before him, akin to a small sun. He couldn't help but question his own memory.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!" Jiraiya leaped into the air, gathering chakra at the back of his throat. He propelled himself toward the opposing fireball and spewed a colossal water stream from his mouth.
As water and fire collided, a dense mist enveloped the forest, reminiscent of the Mist Shinobi Technique.
"I'm here!" A high-speed spinning sound resonated, striking a chord of familiarity within Jiraiya.
From the corner of his eye, a burst of blue light caught his attention.
"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted.
Boom
!
Jiraiya, struck by the attack, turned into a log.
"Naruto, let me teach you. Ninja fighting isn't that simple! And this is how you do Rasengan!" Jiraiya's voice echoed behind Naruto.
"Really?" Naruto turned around, with a smirk.
"Huh? This is..." Boom!
Naruto, who had been hit, vanished with a bang.
"Shadow Clone... When did he..." Jiraiya muttered, realizing Naruto had employed his signature technique.
A group of birds chirped, and another blue lightning flashed.
"Damn… Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya activated his secret defense technique. His long silver hair hardened, completely covering his body for protection against nearby enemies. He also released a barrage of needles to attack foes at a distance.
Raikiri struck Jiraiya's silver hair but failed to break through his defense. Instead, the needles found their mark on Naruto's body.
"You're being careless, Naruto..."
Boom!
The Naruto that Jiraiya struck turned out to be another Shadow Clone.
"Is this a Shadow Clone... or the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?" Jiraiya pondered, his expression growing serious as he surveyed the foggy surroundings.
Rasengan... Raikiri... Flying Thunder God... and that exaggerated Fire Style, coupled with the precise chakra control that can exert power that seemed to come from Tsunade. Jiraiya found himself increasingly perplexed. Did the old man know so many ninjutsu?
Or were they specifically taught to Naruto?
"Jiraiya-sama... I've heard that you know Sage Mode. Can you show me?" Naruto's voice echoed around the mist.
"Hahaha! You've heard correctly. I'm the Toad Sage, but isn't it a bit early for that?" Jiraiya laughed heartily before biting his finger and performing a summoning.
With a loud bang, a massive red toad appeared, holding a pipe in its mouth. It stood taller than the surrounding trees by more than half.
"Jiraiya, have you encountered formidable enemies? Is that why you summoned me?" Gamabunta asked Jiraiya, peering around vigilantly from above his head.
"Haha, no. I'm just sparring with a junior. I want to show him my skills. Don't worry," Jiraiya explained.
"In that case, where's that junior?" Gamabunta inquired.
"Tsk, this is getting a bit out of hand... I should have gone to Ryūchi Cave first to find Manda. Katsuyu's combat prowess is no match for Gamabunta..." Naruto thought with regret. Despite that, he still summoned Katsuyu to show off his strength and hold the scene.
The white smoke dissipated, revealing Katsuyu, who stood taller than Gamabunta.
"Naruto-sama," Katsuyu greeted.
"Ah, Katsuyu, sorry to trouble you again," Naruto replied.
"It's nothing... It's just that I'm not very good at fighting," Katsuyu hesitated.
Katsuyu recognized the toad on the opposite side. As summoning beasts who fought alongside each other on the battlefield, Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and Manda were all familiar with one another.
"Jiraiya boy, is this the junior you mentioned? Even Tsunade couldn't summon so many Katsuyu bodies," Gamabunta grumbled, eyeing Katsuyu who stood taller than him.
"Oh, this... it's a mistake. I didn't expect him to have more chakra than Tsunade."
Jiraiya scratched his head, perplexed by the situation.
Naruto chimed in, "Jiraiya-sama, our summons are too strong. It's better to summon them back."
Jiraiya: "Hmm...that's right, if the two fight, it seems that there is no way to tell the winner."
Jiraiya agreed, his purpose in summoning Gamabunta was to deter Naruto. However, his attempt failed.
This kid is too powerful for his age...
With a bang, Naruto and Jiraiya dispelled their summoning and returned to the ground.
At this point, the question arose: should Jiraiya use senjutsu or not?
Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and observed Naruto, feeling a slight headache. The opponent possessed an abundance of methods and ninjutsu, including the yet-to-be-used Flying Thunder God technique, which made him practically invincible.
"Jiraiya-sama, won't you use senjutsu? How about I do it first?" Naruto suggested.
Seeing that Naruto couldn't convince Jiraiya to use Sage Mode, he decided to demonstrate it himself.
"You will? So, the natural energy fluctuations I sensed yesterday were caused by you?" Jiraiya exclaimed in shock.
Jiraiya had never heard of someone learning Sage Mode without a teacher. This was entirely new to him!
"I believe so. Therefore... Sage Mode, activate!" Naruto closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, drawing in the surrounding natural energy into his body.
Jiraiya couldn't help but feel concerned about Naruto's rough method of entering Sage Mode. Would it be safe? His eyelids twitched with worry.
To Jiraiya's surprise, Naruto not only emerged unscathed but succeeded in activating Sage Mode. Two blue stripes appeared in the lower corners of Naruto's eyes, resembling eye shadow, while his pupil color turned yellow, with the center turning blue.
"How did you do it? That Sage Mode?" Jiraiya wondered aloud.
To be reasonable, Jiraiya knew that the method Naruto used to enter Sage Mode was only known by Senju Hashirama. After all, even he had to clasp his hands together and shout "Sage Mode" to succeed.
Jiraiya envied Naruto but was also intrigued by his achievement.
"Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken!" Naruto held up the Wind-style Shuriken, cutting through the air, and directed his gaze at Jiraiya on the opposite side.
"Jiraiya-sama, time is running out. If you don't give it your all, you'll lose," Naruto taunted.
"That is, Rasengan's wind attributes Nature Transformation?! You kid, you are forcing me!"
Jiraiya stared at the ninjutsu in Naruto's hand, his face contorted with an ugly expression. The immense sense of danger warned him that this technique was highly perilous—possibly even reaching Forbidden Technique level!
Helpless, Jiraiya summoned Great Toad Sage Fukasaku and his wife Shima, preparing to enter Sage Mode.
Great Toad Fukasaku asked, "Jiraiya boy, why did you summon us all of a sudden?"
Toad Shima chimed in, "I'm still cooking food at home."
Jiraiya's face darkened at the mention of food. "Look at the opposite side, both of you,"
Fukasaku and Shima turned their heads.
"What!? Shikkotsu Sage Mode!"