With his physical strength and constitution hitting new heights, and the Eight Trigrams Seal now broken, Menma's control over the Nine-Tails' chakra had become incredibly fluid. Unlike before, where it felt a bit forced, Menma under the four-tailed cloak could now solidly rival an average Kage-level ninja.
Of course, against someone like Jiraiya—who was considered peak Kage-level even in his base form—it still wasn't quite enough.
If Orochimaru could suppress Menma in this mode, Jiraiya was a whole different beast.
Even Itachi Uchiha in the original stories admitted that he and Kisame Hoshigaki together might still lose to Jiraiya. That alone was proof enough that this "Gallant of the Leaf" was arguably the strongest ninja Konoha had produced in decades, ever since the likes of Madara Uchiha and the First and Second Hokage passed on.
Well, aside from that guy, Might Guy.
But the Eight Inner Gates only became a game-changer at the final gate, which required sacrificing one's life, so that didn't really count for comparison.
So, the moment they clashed...
Menma felt the crushing pressure immediately.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
It was a technique Jiraiya created based on his own unique traits. But the power behind it was terrifying—if a standard Jonin was even a split-second too slow to dodge, they'd end up looking like a pincushion.
Menma had to weave hand signs.
Clap!
Directly mobilizing more Nine-Tails chakra, he controlled the swaying demon fox tails to form a massive defensive barrier right in front of him.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Countless sharp, needle-like hairs bombarded the barrier, creating a crisp, rhythmic clatter of impacts.
Since the barrier was made of Nine-Tails chakra, Menma could clearly feel the hardness of those needles. His expression turned more serious than ever.
Is this the power of the leader of the Sannin? Good. It wouldn't be a test otherwise!
Menma's fox-like pupils glowed with intensity.
Boom!
Chakra erupted further.
Whoosh!
A fifth, then a sixth demon fox tail manifested!
He still held back from transforming into the semi-beast State 2 form. While that would boost his speed and defense even further, he would lose the ability to weave hand signs. The trade-off was obvious.
Menma didn't need that right now.
The raw boost from the Nine-Tails' chakra was enough!
"Six tails!?"
Opposite him, seeing Menma instantly burst out six tails, Jiraiya's pupils contracted in shock.
He hadn't felt it as intuitively before.
But now, with the distance closed and Menma blatantly throwing around that much Nine-Tails chakra...
A very dangerous thought surfaced in Jiraiya's mind.
The key is with me... Could it be!? No, impossible!
Jiraiya took a deep breath, shaking his head hard to toss that thought aside.
Breaking the seal?
Jiraiya didn't buy it for a second. He had the key. Could Menma have used brute force combined with the Nine-Tails to break it?
It wasn't that it was impossible.
It was just incredibly difficult. If the Eight Trigrams Seal were that fragile, how could it suppress the Nine-Tails at all?
More importantly, could Menma and the Nine-Tails really be in sync!?
The previous two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the Leaf had relied solely on brute force to suppress the beast.
Jiraiya absolutely couldn't believe a twelve or thirteen-year-old Menma could achieve harmony with the fox.
Or to be more precise...
Jiraiya refused to believe it.
Because in this life, this was Menma Uzumaki, not the "Naruto Uzumaki" from the original story!
For the village.
For peace.
To fix the mistakes of the past.
Jiraiya had already made up his mind to capture Menma right here.
Minato, Kushina... I'm sorry. I failed you. But I promise I will save Menma's life. One day, I'll bring this kid back to his senses and guide him back to the right path!
A look of absolute determination flashed through Jiraiya's eyes.
Clap!
He slammed his hands together.
A terrifying wave of chakra exploded outward.
"!?"
Feeling that surge head-on, Menma's heart skipped a beat.
Unlike the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, or Hyuga clans, who all had some connection to Kaguya's bloodline and essentially had cheat codes enabled, Jiraiya was truly in the category of "ordinary people," no matter how talented he was.
To reach these heights without any bloodline buffs...
Jiraiya really was the ceiling for normal ninja in this world.
However.
"If that's all you've got, it's not enough!"
Menma looked almost like a miniature Nine-Tails now.
Whoosh!
Body hunched low.
Chakra exploded from his feet.
He shot toward Jiraiya like a bullet.
Arm raised high.
Shing!
A shuriken flipped into his hand.
Zip!
He threw it violently.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Chakra surged.
The moment the technique completed...
Instantaneously.
The shuriken multiplied into countless shadows—a dense, sky-blotting swarm raining down.
"!?"
Even Jiraiya's eyes narrowed sharply at the sheer volume of shuriken.
Clap!
He slammed his hands down hard.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
With a low shout.
He pressed his palms into the ground.
Rumble!!
The earth shook violently as a massive earthen wall—two or three times the size of a standard one—erupted from the ground.
It curved intentionally to provide cover.
And it was several times thicker than normal.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
It blocked the incoming storm of shuriken completely. Even though many embedded themselves deep into the thick clay, they couldn't penetrate it, posing zero threat to Jiraiya behind it.
But Menma hadn't expected that move to do any real damage anyway.
The jutsu was just to create an opening to close the distance.
Thud!
Menma stepped forward, his figure blurring as he flew over.
From high above.
Looking down.
Menma and Jiraiya locked eyes.
In a flash.
Menma arrived at point-blank range, his palm raised high, Nine-Tails chakra exploding.
He slammed it down.
Violent, berserk energy.
Jiraiya's gaze tightened.
He kneaded his chakra rapidly.
Whoosh!
His long white hair whipped out violently.
"Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu!"
It surged up to meet the attack ferociously.
Bang!
The two forces collided head-on, creating a dull thud that sent shockwaves rippling out.
Vibrating from the impact.
Menma's expression turned fierce.
Chakra erupted further.
"Hah!"
With a guttural shout.
He poured more power into the attack.
Pressing down with everything he had.
"!?"
The resistance Jiraiya felt was palpable, and his expression grew grim.
Is he this strong!? Or is this the Nine-Tails' power?
Jiraiya looked at Menma, whose eyes were glowing with a cold, fox-like light, and felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
"Menma, stop making mistakes. Everything can still be..."
It was that obsession he clearly couldn't let go of.
Looking at Menma right in front of him.
Jiraiya subconsciously tried to lecture him again, bitter and earnest.
But!
"You're noisy!"
Menma spat out two icy words.
Boom!
From directly above.
The demon fox tails swelled up.
With lightning speed, they slammed down toward Jiraiya.
"!"
Jiraiya couldn't dodge in time.
Wham!
He took the hit squarely on his body.
Whoosh!
His figure was sent flying backward.
Thud!
He smashed heavily into the ground to the rear left, kicking up a violent cloud of dust.
"Cough, cough..."
As the dust settled.
Jiraiya flipped back to his feet.
The left side of his clothes was scorched black, and the exposed skin underneath was singed.
And that was with a fast reaction.
He had retreated the instant the tails struck, only getting grazed. If he had taken that hit cleanly without defense? Who knows if he'd be dead, but he'd definitely be critically injured.
He can use the Nine-Tails' power to this extent already?
Jiraiya didn't know what expression to wear as he looked at Menma in the distance.
The only thing he knew for sure was that he couldn't hold back anymore. Menma's strength was a genuine threat, but more importantly... Menma was showing naked, unadulterated killing intent!
It made Jiraiya's heart ache like never before.
This was his student's—Minato's—own son. Practically his own grandson.
If there were any other way.
Jiraiya truly didn't want to cross swords with Menma.
It was a huge blow to him.
But Menma didn't share a shred of that sentiment. If he knew what Jiraiya was thinking, he would have only sneered with infinite mockery.
Grandson?
What a massive joke!
If a "grandpa" was truly this irresponsible and tried to erase his own will?
A guy like that!
Boom!
Deserves to die!
Menma's pupils were filled with chilling murder.
Snap!
The demon fox tails attacked again like shadows.
His hands wove signs synchronously.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Multiple puffs of white smoke exploded.
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
More than ten shadow clones appeared at the four corners of the battlefield.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Several clones sped up, pressing down on Jiraiya.
The remaining clones wove signs in sync.
The consecutive ninjutsu.
They blanketed the area directly.
The pressure crashing down even encompassed Menma's own clones in the blast zone.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's expression turned stern.
Clap!
His hands flew through signs.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He bit his finger again, completing the seals.
He slammed his hand down hard.
Poof!
A massive cloud of smoke billowed out. From directly above, a purplish-red toad holding a sasumata fork and a dish-shaped shield crashed down from the sky.
Boom!
The massive body plummeted rapidly.
It crushed Menma's front-line shadow clones instantly.
Whoosh!
The giant dish shield swung around simultaneously.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Rumble!!
It blocked the incoming barrage of elemental jutsu one after another. Then, pushing off the muddy ground, it leaped away with Jiraiya on its back.
They escaped easily.
For an ordinary person, even if they had a contract with a ninja beast clan, summoning multiple giant beasts in a row was tough because the chakra cost was insane.
But that was the limit for normal ninja, not Jiraiya. He didn't have "tons" of chakra, but he definitely had "pounds" of it.
Summoning another toad from Mount Myoboku was no stress for him.
Menma wasn't surprised in the slightest.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He bit his finger in sync, weaving the signs rapidly.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Leaping in mid-air, he pressed his hand against the void.
Poof!
White mist spread, and the lizard Urushi made his ferocious entrance.
Lunging forward.
Bang!
Urushi's tail whipped around.
It slammed heavily into Gamaken's giant shield.
A piercing boom echoed, and the shockwaves blasted out.
Gamaken's body shook violently.
Jiraiya, standing on top of Gamaken's head, almost lost his footing.
Whoosh!
The next second.
Gamaken shoved forward with his shield hand, forcibly stabilizing his body.
With his other hand, he raised his weapon high and stabbed viciously toward Urushi's vitals.
"Hmph!"
Point-blank range!
An attack that was hard to dodge.
Menma snorted coldly.
He clapped his palms together.
Hum!
Under Jiraiya's shocked gaze.
Clatter!
Two golden chains shot out from Menma's body, striking straight toward Gamaken.