"My hair! My hair is gone!" Without his hair, Jiraiya could no longer use his two self-created hair ninjutsu, but that wasn't the worst of his luck. The most unfortunate thing was his current appearance. Jiraiya imagined it:
a head completely bald save for a few strands in the middle. Those strands were only long because he was currently channeling chakra through them; if his technique were to end, there would just be a few lonely short hairs sticking up. God damn it!
The more Jiraiya thought about it, the angrier he became. His eyes reddened as he glared at Qiu Xia. "Kid, you've gone way too far! You actually dared to ruin my handsome hair! I will never forgive you!"
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" His temper exploding, Jiraiya stopped holding back and unleashed a powerful ninjutsu directly at Qiu Xia.
Faced with the incoming mass of fire, Qiu Xia raised his hand and formed a seal before striking the air in front of him. A blue Eight Trigrams diagram manifested before him.
Jiraiya's Flame Bullet slammed into the Eight Trigrams and stalled for a moment. Then, with a sudden push from Qiu Xia, the Flame Bullet was reflected and sent flying back toward Jiraiya.
Seeing his own fireball returning, Jiraiya scrambled to dodge. He quickly formed another set of seals and slammed his palms down. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!" He intended to restrict Qiu Xia's movements,
but as the ground began to liquefy into muck, Qiu Xia simply stomped his foot. The chakra infused into the earth was instantly dispersed, and the transformation of soil into swamp ground ground to a halt.
Realizing that tactic wouldn't work, Jiraiya immediately used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating several copies of himself to attack Qiu Xia simultaneously. Meanwhile, Miroku saw her opening while Qiu Xia was occupied and unleashed her Priestess Arts, sending purple fireballs hurtling toward him.
Faced with the barrage of ninjutsu and the priestess's magic, Qiu Xia's expression remained indifferent. He raised his hand and struck out with a Five Thunder Palm.
A flash of lightning surged forth, and the Five Thunder Palm shattered both Jiraiya's clones and Miroku's spells. Qiu Xia then tapped his toes against the ground and drifted backward.
Just as he moved, a pair of hands burst from the spot where he had been standing. Having failed to grab Qiu Xia's ankles, the real Jiraiya emerged from the ground.
"Got any other tricks? Because if not, I'm going to have to give you two a proper lesson!" Qiu Xia said, smiling at Jiraiya and Miroku.
In response, Jiraiya bit his thumb and formed a sequence of hand signs. With a massive explosion of smoke, five toads appeared three large and two small.
Qiu Xia recognized all of them. The three giants were Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro, while the two smaller ones were the Sages Fukasaku and Shima. Seeing the five of them, Qiu Xia's face finally took on a more serious edge.
"Jiraiya, why have you summoned all of us? Wait... Jiraiya? Where's your hair? What happened to you? Hahaha!" Upon seeing Jiraiya's new look, the summoned toads couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.
Jiraiya's face darkened as he looked at the five toads. "Gamabunta, Gamaken, Gamahiro—help the Priestess hold that kid back. Boss, Ma, assist me. I'm entering Sage Mode."
The five toads were momentarily stunned. Gamabunta looked at Jiraiya with disbelief. "Jiraiya, have you lost your mind? You called all of us out just to deal with one little brat?"
Jiraiya replied with a grave expression, "Bunta, don't be careless. He might be young, but he's extremely dangerous. He's the one who did this to my hair!"
Gamabunta wanted to say more, but Qiu Xia interrupted them. "Are you guys done discussing? Considering we aren't exactly enemies yet, I've given you the time to prepare and plan. Otherwise, I would have attacked the moment you were summoned. I gave you time to organize, not to stand around gossiping endlessly."
Hearing this, Gamabunta barked, "You're a cocky little brat, aren't you? Believe me when I say I could squash you with a single palm!"
"Squash me with a single palm? Interesting. Is it my current size that gives you that illusion? Well then, how about this?" Qiu Xia gave a cold chuckle as his eyes transformed, patterns appearing within them. A brilliant platinum light erupted from his eyes, and he began to float into the air.
As Qiu Xia rose six meters high, the others finally saw what was enveloping him. It was a massive platinum head, with Qiu Xia positioned inside a gem at the center of the figure's brow. Then came the arms, the torso, and the legs. Very quickly, a platinum giant that towered over even the great toads stood before the two humans and five summons.
"Susanoo!?" Although Jiraiya had never seen it with his own eyes, he had heard stories from his teacher and seen records. He knew that the Uchiha Clan, after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, gained access to a divine power known as Susanoo.
Jiraiya never imagined that Qiu Xia, at such a young age, had not only awakened the Mangekyo but could also manifest the Susanoo. It was simply inconceivable.
Once the Susanoo giant was fully formed, Qiu Xia controlled it to reach behind its back. An Eight-Sided Han Sword appeared in its hand, and the giant swung the massive blade at the three large toads. Facing the assault, the toads hurriedly raised their weapons to defend.
Initially, the three toads thought that even against a Susanoo, they could at least stall it while the others attacked from different directions. However, after the first exchange, they realized the Susanoo was terrifyingly fast.
It didn't move like a giant at all. The three toads were forced to focus entirely on defense, unable to find a single opening to counterattack. In a short amount of time, they were already covered in various wounds. As for Miroku, she had no room to intervene at all.
Her Priestess Arts couldn't break through Qiu Xia's defense, and he didn't give her any chance to get close with her Sealing Jutsu. She could only watch from the side as the three toads were systematically cut down.
Fortunately, it didn't take too long. Seeing that Jiraiya's Sage Mode was complete, Qiu Xia ceased his attack and retracted the Susanoo and his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Fukasaku and Shima, who had fused with Jiraiya to initiate Sage Mode, looked at the bloodied and battered toads with unfriendly glares. Qiu Xia said calmly, "Don't look at me like that. I showed mercy. Those are just superficial wounds. They'll be fine after a few days of rest."
"Jiraiya, I gave you all the time in the world to prepare, and you come out looking like that? Your Sage Mode is hideous. Never mind comparing yourself to the First Hokage you're not even on the level of your own students. How do you even call yourself a teacher?"
Jiraiya: "..." Kid, do you realize what time it is? Is this really the moment for a lecture? What do you mean 'how do I call myself a teacher'? What does my teaching have to do with you? Mind your own business!
Seeing that Jiraiya remained silent, Qiu Xia said, "If you don't want to talk, then make your move!"
Jiraiya glanced at the two sages on his shoulders and formed a hand seal. "Sage Art: Goemon!" With the technique's activation, a torrent of flames mixed with toad oil and natural energy surged toward Qiu Xia.
Faced with this Sage Art, Qiu Xia's hands flew into a blur of seals. "Blue Heavens and Earth Spirits, heed my command! Southern Li Fire, gather swiftly! Li Fire Demon-Burning Art!"
This Daoist art was called the Southern Li Fire Technique, a skill Uncle Jiu had collected during his travels across the land. The power of this Daoist method could destroy a Bronze Armored Corpse in a single strike and wound a Silver Armored Corpse.
High-level Jiangshi were incredibly powerful; a Silver Armored Corpse was equivalent to an Earth Master in strength. Even with ample preparation,
an Earth Master would struggle to take down a Silver Armored Corpse and might even let a Bronze Armored Corpse escape. Killing a Bronze Armored Corpse instantly at the Earth Master rank was an extremely difficult feat.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/kleinmoretti to access 100+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).