Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's suggestion, Jiraiya's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Alright, alright! I've been wanting to see just how strong this 'favourite student' of Sensei's really is!"
Mochizuki Hui had long since become the "golden child" of Konoha.
Many children in the village grew up under the pressure of Hui's brilliance, and Jiraiya was one of the most affected, especially due to Sarutobi constantly praising Hui.
Now, finally having a chance to spar with Hui, Jiraiya was overjoyed. If he could land a good hit on Hui…
"This… is this really okay?"
Hui glanced at the excited Jiraiya and pretended to be reluctant.
"There's nothing wrong with it! It's decided—Hui and Jiraiya will have a lively training match!" Sarutobi waved his hand, sealing the deal.
"Alright then, but let's make sure we just go through the motions," Hui said, feigning reluctance before agreeing.
"Hui, give Jiraiya a good beating so he knows his place!" Tsunade chimed in eagerly. Even Orochimaru's eyes sparkled with curiosity, eager to witness the gap between them and Hui.
With that, Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru moved aside, leaving Jiraiya and Hui in the center of the training field.
"Come on, Hui! I'll show you just how strong I've become!" Jiraiya declared as he rushed toward Hui, gripping a kunai.
Sarutobi could only facepalm. Jiraiya boasting about showing Hui his strength? It was laughable.
Watching Jiraiya charge, Hui's lips curved into a slight smile.
To Hui, Jiraiya's speed was akin to a slow-motion film, even without activating his divine "Heaven's Eye" ability.
With a simple sidestep, Hui easily dodged Jiraiya's attack and grabbed his wrist.
With a slight flick of his arm, Jiraiya was sent flying across the field.
"What incredible strength!" Jiraiya thought as he tried to regain his balance mid-air, landing awkwardly on the ground.
Quickly forming hand seals, Jiraiya unleashed a fireball from his mouth.
However, the moment he began his hand seals, Hui could have easily ended the fight right then and there, but he chose not to. Instead, Hui mirrored Jiraiya's hand seals, casting the same jutsu.
But though they performed the same jutsu, the difference in power was staggering.
Jiraiya's fireball was a mere two meters in diameter, while Hui's was a massive six-meter fireball that swallowed Jiraiya's attack effortlessly.
Eyes wide with shock, Jiraiya scrambled to retreat, barely dodging the incoming flames. He reached the edge of the training field just as the fireball dissipated.
Before he could catch his breath, Jiraiya suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet shift. The next thing he knew, he was buried up to his neck in the dirt, his head sticking out comically.
"Ah, this feels familiar. Didn't someone else get buried by Sarutobi-sensei in this exact spot six years ago?" Tsunade crouched down next to Jiraiya's head, teasing him. Jiraiya's face darkened.
"Damn it!!!"
"You're too weak, Jiraiya. Compared to Hui, you're nothing." Orochimaru chimed in, causing even more lines of frustration to form on Jiraiya's face.
"I just got caught off guard! Let me out, and we'll go at it again!" Jiraiya shouted at Hui.
Hui raised an eyebrow, then smiled mischievously.
"Alright," he said, pulling Jiraiya from the ground.
What followed was a merciless barrage from Hui.
In terms of taijutsu, Hui landed each punch with pinpoint precision.
When it came to ninjutsu, even when casting the same jutsu, Hui's versions were five to six times more powerful than Jiraiya's.
As for genjutsu? Jiraiya couldn't even begin to compare—he was utterly overwhelmed.
No matter what Jiraiya did, Hui responded with techniques that were vastly more powerful.
Eventually, even Orochimaru joined the fray, but he fared no better.
Despite his immense talent, Orochimaru was still only twelve, with the strength of an elite Chunin to Jonin level.
Jonin-class enemies were nothing new to Hui—he had already killed too many to count.
To Hui, Orochimaru and Jiraiya simply couldn't bridge the gap in power between them.
"The difference is too vast, Jiraiya, Orochimaru. You're still far from reaching Hui's level." Sarutobi sighed, shaking his head.
Watching the fight, he could tell that Hui hadn't even been serious. His strikes carried no killing intent, and Sarutobi knew that Hui's true strength lay in his lethality.
As an Anbu operative, Hui's combat prowess was honed for killing.
"Dammit!" Jiraiya gasped, exhausted and utterly defeated.
"Yes, the gap is enormous," Orochimaru admitted, looking disheveled but not nearly as shaken as Jiraiya. He wasn't as easily discouraged because Orochimaru had always known that Hui was far beyond them.
"Honestly, you're both already very impressive," Hui said, offering some encouragement.
"Especially you, Orochimaru. To have such strength at your age—there are very few like you in the village, or even the whole ninja world. Your foundation is solid, and once you build on it, your power will skyrocket."
"And as for you, Jiraiya… well, maybe we should talk about something else," Hui added teasingly, clearly picking up on Sarutobi's intention to motivate his student.
Jiraiya clenched his fists, unable to refute the words.
"Hahaha! Jiraiya is actually doing well," Sarutobi said, playing the peacemaker. "He just hasn't reached his full potential yet. Let's trust that he'll get there with enough hard work."
Jiraiya's face softened a bit at the praise.
"Well, Sarutobi-sensei, you keep working with Jiraiya. I'm going to train with Tsunade on her strength techniques," Hui said, shrugging before leaving with Tsunade.
As a true prodigy, Hui hadn't spent much time training in superhuman strength techniques. But seeing how dedicated Tsunade was, he figured it was time to put in some effort and help her improve.
After Hui and Tsunade left, Sarutobi decided not to continue training with Jiraiya and Orochimaru that day.
They were both too drained, and it was clear they needed time to recover.
Besides, the psychological blow they had just suffered needed to be processed.
That had been the point of the sparring session, after all.
Sarutobi could only hope that Jiraiya would come to understand and not let him and Hui's efforts go to waste.
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