Twelve kilometers from the residential area, in a zone used for excursions and enjoying the natural forest after spending time in the hot springs, several figures stood facing one another under the night sky.
Things had not gone the way Jiraiya wanted.
He had expected Chad's arrival—or a jonin squad. Not both.
The worst part wasn't that his toad sentries had failed to warn him of their approach, but…
"Why did they bring the Two-Tails' jinchūriki?!" Jiraiya roared inwardly as he assessed the situation. "This is way beyond the force they should be sending in response to a probe, isn't it?"
Wait, hadn't the toads' information mentioned something about that?
Ah, right—the Two-Tails' jinchūriki had Chad as her sensei…
Damn it, that wasn't a reason for her to be here!
How did Kumo allow her to leave the village over something this ordinary?!
The old man had nearly beaten him senseless when he proposed taking Naruto along to convince Tsunade to return! In the end, he sent an ANBU squad for the task, and Jiraiya slipped away before being questioned about his higher-pitched voice.
He had been extremely sensitive since the Scroll of Seals was stolen. Jiraiya had only wanted to use the resemblance between Naruto and Nawaki to play a little dirty, nothing more. The Toad Sage knew how much he would need that leverage to convince someone as stubborn as Tsunade…
And honestly, the old man needed to retire already. That his former student had attacked the village in coalition with Suna had been a devastating political blow. Even the Fire Daimyo—who had seemed to be in a terrible mood lately for unknown reasons—had shown dissatisfaction.
"Focus, Jiraiya," he told himself, adjusting his stance to react at any moment. "I've got a quasi-Kage with rare abilities who, for unknown reasons, wants me dead. A perfect jinchūriki who seems determined to back up her sensei. And two kunoichi—both definitely at least a nine out of ten—who don't look like they're here to ask questions and leave."
The blonde in particular was a ten out of ten for Jiraiya—exactly his type!
All that was missing was a diamond mark on her forehead and—
"I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding," Jiraiya laughed, raising his hands in an attempt to initiate dialogue and lower their guard first. "So then—"
There was no "then."
"Katon: Nezumi Kedama!" (Fire Release: Mouse Hairball!)
"Raiton: Mahi Denshin!" (Lightning Release: Paralysis Needles!)
"Suiton: Mizurappa!" (Water Release: Violent Waves!)
"Doton: Akatoge Otoshiana!" (Earth Release: Red Thorn Pit!)
Techniques of multiple elements shot toward Jiraiya without the slightest mercy.
"Brutes, every single one of them!" Jiraiya thought as he leapt and dodged ninjutsu left and right.
Seeing Jiraiya evade the first wave of attacks, the kunoichi glanced strangely at Chad, whose face was shadowed.
"Did he figure it out?"
This was going to be troublesome. He had wanted to end the confrontation quickly, but it wouldn't be so easy.
"Hehehe, seems I was right," Jiraiya stopped on a tree branch and looked toward Chad. "You can't make those arms appear right now, can you?" he asked confidently. "Otherwise, you would've restrained me while the techniques hit."
Looking closely, a thin layer of chakra covered Jiraiya's entire body—skin, hair, clothing…
Mabui, Samui, and Yugito frowned. They hadn't expected the enemy to identify the weakness in Chad's ability so quickly after only a brief previous encounter.
Indeed, Chad's ability had a blind spot few knew about: he couldn't sprout limbs on chakra or chakra constructs. That made Jiraiya's cautious measure, in fact, an effective counter.
But at the same time, it was like having a constant leak in one's chakra reserves—completely unsuitable for a prolonged battle of endurance.
"It's just one more reason not to let you leave today," Chad said, shaking his head and gesturing to his sister.
Mabui retreated into the foliage and vanished from sight.
"An ambush approach mid-battle?" Jiraiya grimaced. They really weren't going to let him show off without effort. "Should I call Gamabunta? Ma and Pa?" he seriously considered. "Maybe… Sage Mode?"
He wouldn't resort to that lightly—it looked too ugly when he used it—but with a perfect jinchūriki present, things were different. Matching numbers might be the smartest move.
But he also worried that summoning a toad the size of Gamabunta would only provoke the Two-Tails' jinchūriki into using her Tailed Beast cloak.
Ma and Pa were different—small but powerful, essential for his Sage Mode. Much to Jiraiya's frustration, he had never fully mastered the perfect Sage Mode method.
Though capturing Kumo's jinchūriki would be good for the village…
"The worst part is I need time to gather nature energy—and time is exactly what they won't give me!" Without losing focus to his planning, Jiraiya was already dodging limbs sprouting from the wood trying to seize his ankles and arms.
And each leap was accompanied by ninjutsu from the blonde kunoichi and the jinchūriki.
"Why isn't he trying to engage me in taijutsu like last time?" Jiraiya wondered as Chad refrained from charging him as before. "Doesn't he want to get in the way of his teammates' techniques, or…?"
No sooner had he thought it than Yugito lunged at him with claws extended, forcing him to use his forearm guards to block each swipe, ending by catching her palms after a combo.
"Whew, that was close…" he thought, seeing her metallic gleaming nails. "Manicures for this woman must be a nightmare!"
He prepared to kick her away when—
"Nekoyubi-jū!" (Feline Finger Pistol!)
One claw shot from her finger and stabbed straight between Jiraiya's eyes!
It would have—if he hadn't lowered his head at the last second, his thick forehead protector bearing the kanji for "Oil" barely blocking the lethal stab.
It saved his life—but cost him an old friend.
That forehead protector had been given to him by the toad patriarch himself!
He managed to land the kick and, upon landing, quickly used his own technique:
"Katon: Keshimakuga Hara!" (Fire Release: Extinguishing Field Curtain!)
A crack formed in the ground as Jiraiya exhaled fire into it, causing a massive explosion of flames mixed with heated rocks.
"Suiton: Tenkyu!" (Water Release: Heavenly Cry!)
Chad's cheeks puffed before he fired multiple senbon-shaped water projectiles in rapid succession, intercepting and destroying the rocks.
Meanwhile, Yugito retreated beside Chad and Samui, where the imposing kunoichi rapidly completed hand seals.
"Suiton: Suijinheki!" (Water Release: Water Wall Formation!)
Moisture from the air condensed into a circular water barrier, blocking the remaining flames rushing toward the three.
Jiraiya frowned. Water techniques weren't exactly his specialty—he was better with wind and fire—but the humid environment of the Land of Hot Water seemed to favor his enemy.
But what he found strangest wasn't that. Using terrain to one's advantage was common sense for any skilled ninja.
"Suiton: Tenkyu?" Jiraiya looked again at Chad in shock. "How do you know a technique of the Second?!"
Jiraiya could recognize it—the technique Chad had just used was exclusive to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
According to his master, Hiruzen, it had been one of Tobirama's favorite ambush techniques because it could be used without hand seals and gave the enemy no time to react. But Hiruzen himself couldn't use it—it required high-level specialization in Water Release, and the Third Hokage had favored elemental versatility instead of specialization like Tobirama.
To think it was used head-on to intercept an attack of that scale and power—absurd!
Didn't that mean Chad had talent comparable to Tobirama Senju?
But how he knew the technique was baffling. Even if Jiraiya was convinced Kumo had stolen the Scroll of Seals, he knew that technique wasn't recorded there. At most, it would be in…
"You were the ones who destroyed the Senju compound!" Jiraiya pointed at them, eyes wide as realization dawned.
Because of them, convincing Tsunade to return had become a thousand times harder!
"Baseless nonsense," Samui said coldly.
"Do you think we'd stoop to acting like bandits?" Yugito replied with an irritated snort.
Technically, both were telling the truth. Neither had been in Konoha. It had been Chad.
"Now!" Jiraiya thought as he formed seals. "Ranjishigami no Jutsu!" (Wild Lion's Mane Technique!)
His hair expanded and hardened, surging toward the three like a serpent more than a lion.
Influence from having Orochimaru as a teammate once?
If he could wrap them up, they'd be trapped—and he could impale their limbs to immobilize them!
At the same time, he could use them as hostages to force the hidden Kumo kunoichi to reveal herself.
"Katon: Honō Tsuta Shibari!" (Fire Release: Climbing Burning Vines!) ×2
Far from retreating, Samui and Yugito responded with a combined fire technique powerful enough to consume Jiraiya's hair, flames spreading rapidly toward the roots like intertwined red and blue vines.
Jiraiya had to cancel the technique and cut away the burning hair with a kunai to avoid going bald for weeks.
The moment he cut it, several giant Fūma Shuriken shot toward him from different angles at high speed.
"Tch, traps?" Jiraiya spotted the trick instantly.
They had been launched simultaneously, targeting a fixed location—the exact spot he had been forced back to after his failed attack.
Had he really stepped on a wire like a fresh academy genin?
Annoying, but not a real threat.
"The traps are a distraction," Jiraiya concluded, seeing Chad still watching him intensely without acting. "No… are they buying time for something?"
More reinforcements?
"No, I need to stop hesitating." He bit his thumb and formed seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning Technique!)
…
Jiraiya: ???
Where were Ma and Pa?
Where was his five-ton toad, Gamabunta?
"At last!"
Confirming that his sister had finished placing sealing tags around the area to block spatial techniques, Chad acted instantly.
The moment Jiraiya stood confused by the absence of smoke and toads, Chad lunged at him, no longer suppressing his killing intent. Multiple arms sprouted from his sides, forming fists as his muscles swelled to twice their normal size from inhaling massive amounts of air, veins bulging like roots, steam rising from his pores.
"Shichi Tenkohō: Daisan Kassei!" (Seven Heavens Breathing Method: Third Activation!)
Jiraiya almost felt past trauma resurface at the sight of those fists blazing with visible chakra.
"Oh, come on!" He wanted to stop the fight and file a complaint with a referee—though he knew ninja battles were never clean. "This guy doesn't just know Tobirama's techniques—does he also know Tsunade's monstrous strength?!"
If not for the differing symptoms, he might've thought it was the Eight Gates!
"Ranjishigami no Jutsu!"
He wrapped himself in reinforced hair like a cocoon, hoping Chad would abandon the physical assault and give him time to gather chakra for a Rasengan the moment he stopped.
"Doton: Domu!" (Earth Release: Earth Spear!)
"Damn it, I forgot!" Jiraiya realized too late.
Chad's fists struck the reinforced hair. Instead of being harmed, only metallic friction echoed as the force transmitted into Jiraiya's body, barely cushioned by the hair between them.
Jiraiya felt his ribs crack under the impact—but he endured it.
Now it was his turn. At this range, he couldn't miss!
The two kunoichi were too far to intervene. Once he knocked Chad unconscious, the rest would be easier.
"Now that I've stopped him, I'll use Rasengan to—"
"Sai dai rin: Rokuogan!" (Giant Ring: Six King Gun!)
The ring of fists at the impact point suddenly unleashed a shockwave that bypassed Jiraiya's protection and struck his muscles and internal organs directly.
Jiraiya felt the air leave his lungs, eyes nearly bulging as he lost control of the technique and the world spun.
He vomited blood—along with what looked like fragments of flesh mixed within it.
Samui's eyes widened in shock—she hadn't known Chad could do that—while Yugito's eyes shone at her sensei's technique.
He had promised she could learn it once she met the requirements!
Though she was still a bit far from that, since she trained for strength but didn't want to bulk up too much and lose attractiveness…
"You—"
Bam!
Mabui leapt from the bushes and brought her heel down on Jiraiya's head, knocking the Sannin out cold.
"I was waiting for you to do that," Chad commented as he approached and sealed Jiraiya's chakra.
"I wanted to make sure there were no mishaps, so I sealed a slightly larger area in case he tried to escape," Mabui replied, looking at her brother while continuing to kick Jiraiya mercilessly on the ground.
At last—after years of waiting—they had one of the people responsible for their mother's death.