บท 34: Chapter 34 - Jiraiya
Ryu was on high alert, his left eye's ability active. Seeing the man appear behind him, Ryu quickly reverted to his normal appearance but kept his eyes concealed by another transformation. He then turned around and launched a Chakra-infused ax kick at the man's head.
Caught off guard, the man barely had time to react, raising his hands above his head to protect himself from the powerful kick. Unfortunately, he had forgotten he was mid-air. The force of the kick sent him plummeting to the ground at an alarming speed, creating a small crater upon impact.
Without giving the man a chance to recover, Ryu appeared beside him and summoned a replica of Silver Eagle. He aimed a swift slash at the man's exposed neck.
In a desperate attempt to protect himself, the man's hair shot up, trying to shield him from the incoming blade. However, Silver Eagle's superior quality allowed it to slice through the hardened hair with ease. Sensing imminent danger, the man rolled to the side just in time to avoid the lethal slash.
Intrigued by the sword, the man asked, "What is that sword? Its quality is remarkable; I should know of it." Ryu, preparing for combat, responded with a smirk, "Why does it matter to a dead man?"
"Dead man? Kid, are you sure you know who you're messing with?" The man raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on his face. Ryu considered the situation and decided it was time to find out more about his opponent. He focused Chakra into his left eye to gather information about the man.
"Huh? What are you making that face for?" Jiraiya asked in a confused tone as he saw Ryu's face twist with disgust. "Seriously, how are you still alive, Jiraiya? Does the universe have a secret fondness for peeping toms? The fact that Tsunade hasn't punched you into oblivion is a damn miracle," Ryu said, bewildered that Jiraiya was even alive.
The man, now identified as Jiraiya, initially chuckled at Ryu's reaction, but his expression shifted as he realized the implications behind the comment. Jiraiya's habit of spying on women wasn't something most people knew, yet Ryu's comments suggested that he knew about Jiraiya's numerous transgressions, even those involving Tsunade. Despite Jiraiya's efforts to remain undetected, it seemed that he had been under surveillance all along.
"How did you come across that information?" Jiraiya demanded, his voice losing its previous playfulness. Ryu assumed a battle stance and replied, "Why don't you come and find out?"
Jiraiya realized that he would have to subdue Ryu before the young fighter would reveal his secrets. Steeling himself for the confrontation, Jiraiya thought, 'I'll have to neutralize this kid quickly if I want any answers!' With determination, he charged at Ryu, prepared for battle.
Jiraiya threw a fist at Ryu's head which the latter sidestepped out of the way, only for Jiraiya to twist his body and perform a roundhouse kick aimed at Ryu's legs. Ryu jumped up to avoid the kick, and Jiraiya continued with the momentum of the roundhouse kick by spinning in the air and launching another, more powerful, kick. Only for Ryu to lean back just enough for the attack to miss.
And unexpectedly, when Jiraiya placed his foot down to land on the ground, a small ditch suddenly appeared beneath his foot, resulting in him losing his balance and rolling on the ground. "Tired already?" Ryu smirked, causing a vein to pop on Jiraiya's forehead.
Jiraiya quickly regained his footing and charged forward, executing a series of rapid-fire punches. Ryu nimbly dodged each strike, his movements almost a blur. As Jiraiya's fist came hurtling towards Ryu's face, Ryu pivoted to the side, grabbed Jiraiya's arm, and attempted to flip him over his shoulder. Jiraiya, however, twisted his body mid-air and landed on his feet, standing in front of Ryu's hunched-over figure.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiraiya launched a powerful palm strike toward Ryu's chest. Ryu managed to lean sideways, narrowly avoiding the blow, and retaliated with a swift elbow to Jiraiya's ribs. Jiraiya grunted in pain but managed to grab Ryu's arm, yanking him off balance.
Taking advantage of Ryu's momentary vulnerability, Jiraiya executed a high, spinning heel kick aimed at Ryu's head. Ryu leaned into the momentum of Jiraiya's pull, using it to roll forward, escaping the kick and regaining his footing just in time to block Jiraiya's next strike – a powerful uppercut that could have sent him flying.
With a smirk, Ryu channeled Chakra into his leg and delivered a lightning-fast sweep aimed at Jiraiya's ankles. Jiraiya, thinking quickly, leaped into the air and performed a somersault, avoiding the sweep and landing gracefully a couple of meters back.
'I didn't think this would work, but damn, this is awesome!' Ryu thought as he continued to dodge each one of Jiraiya's moves with ease. How did he do that? Well, he read Jiraiya's mind using his Mangekyo's right eye ability. Specifically, he inserted enough Chakra to see Jiraiya's thought process. He knew what Jiraiya would do before the latter even took action, so it was no trouble to avoid it.
'Damn it! Even fakeouts don't work, what the hell is this monster? Not to mention, when did I start using most of my power? And how is he still keeping up with me?!' Jiraiya, seeing that his moves had little effect during the battle, started to slowly increase the force and speed of his blows in order to bring the standstill to an end. But weirdly enough, each time he took his abilities up a notch, Ryu kept up without any problem.
With a sigh of resignation, Jiraiya asked, "This isn't getting us anywhere. Can I know why you're targeting me?" Despite his question, he continued to throw punches at Ryu at an incredible speed.
"Huh? I'm not targeting you, though," Ryu replied, genuinely confused as he continued to deftly dodge Jiraiya's strikes.
Jiraiya paused his attack and asked, "Then why did you attack me?"
"What are you talking about? You're the one who charged at me!" Ryu retorted.
"I didn't mean to attack you. I just wanted to find out who's spying on me," Jiraiya clarified. "Oh, I see where the misunderstanding happened. So... Can we pretend this didn't happen and move on?" Ryu asked sheepishly.
"Believe me, I'd love to. If word got out that I was outmaneuvered by a kid, I'd be the laughing stock. Unfortunately, I do need to know how you figured out my secrets. Do you have spies tracking me? Are you planning to harm the Hidden Leaf?" Jiraiya inquired.
"No, nothing of the sort. And we both know you can't force the information out of me, so don't even bother. Just know I'm not planning to harm the Hidden Leaf. In fact, I'm on my way there," Ryu assured him.
"Why?" Jiraiya tensed up, suspicious of Ryu's intentions. "Apparently, I have family there, though I don't know who... I wanted to see them and my mother's clan as a whole," Ryu explained. "Your mother's clan? Which one is it?" Jiraiya inquired. "The Uchihas," Ryu revealed as he changed his eyes into a simple three-tomoe Sharingan and dispelled the transformation around his eyes.
As Ryu's eyes shifted into the distinctive three-tomoe Sharingan, Jiraiya's eyes widened comically. He took a step back, tripped over a protruding tree root, and landed flat on his back with a loud thud.
Ryu couldn't help but laugh at Jiraiya's exaggerated reaction. The legendary Sannin was known for his calm and composure, he was even called a sage, but here he was, flailing on the ground like a fish out of water.
Jiraiya scrambled back to his feet, dusting himself off and trying to regain his dignity. "I mean, uh, very interesting," he said, clearing his throat and attempting to play off his earlier shock. "Quite the surprise you had in store there, kid."
But as Jiraiya got up, his thoughts raced, 'You've got to be kidding me... The Uchihas are in a troublesome spot as it is. If he's discovered, the tension will only rise. The Old Man will have a grand headache; I feel bad for him already. I need to figure this kid out before he arrives in the Leaf, and I'll help him integrate into the village without causing too much trouble.'
"Can I join you?" Jiraiya asked. "Since you know me, you must already know my position in the Leaf. I can help you if any difficulties arise."
"Sure," Ryu agreed, having read Jiraiya's mind and understood his genuine intentions to help.
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