"Massive Rasengan!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Wood fragments exploded everywhere.
One enormous vine after another was smashed apart.
Jiraiya leapt across the trees continuously, using them as footholds as he crossed the swamp he had created earlier.
His body moved swiftly as he locked onto Ren ahead and charged forward.
All around him, countless vines grew endlessly, surging toward him from every direction.
But Jiraiya dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding them while steadily closing the distance.
Twenty meters… fifteen meters… ten meters…
"SWISH—SWISH—"
At that moment,
his hand seals were already complete.
Wild Lion's Mane Technique!
His waist-length white hair suddenly grew wildly.
It shot forward like living steel wires, tearing through the air straight toward Ren.
"Hair?"
Seeing the countless strands of hair, each as hard as iron needles, rushing toward him—
Ren curled his lips into a cold smile.
He inhaled sharply.
The next instant—
his mouth filled with Fire Release chakra.
Then he exhaled.
Fire Release – Great Dragon Fire Technique!
BOOM!!
A massive fire dragon shot through the air.
The sky turned crimson as scorching heat waves rolled forward.
The blazing dragon slammed straight toward Jiraiya's attacking hair.
"What?!"
The huge mass of hair had no time to retract.
It was instantly swallowed by flames.
The fire spread rapidly along the several-meter-long strands—racing directly toward Jiraiya himself.
"Fire Release?!"
Jiraiya's expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation,
he made a decisive move.
The long hair—dense like steel threads—was cut off midway before the flames could reach him.
The remaining hair snapped back.
At the same time,
he kicked off the ground and leapt sideways.
He barely avoided the rushing inferno.
CRACKLE—
Flames roared.
Smoke billowed into the sky.
But Jiraiya didn't even get a moment to breathe.
More vines shot toward him like lightning.
He had no choice but to dodge again.
Tsunade's Reminder
Looking at Jiraiya's somewhat miserable state,
Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, smiling.
"Oh right, Jiraiya…"
She spoke casually.
"I forgot to tell you—"
"Ren has far better chakra control than I do. His mastery of Wood Release may even surpass the First Hokage."
"Most of his ninjutsu… can be used without hand seals."
"What?!"
Jiraiya froze.
He stared at Ren in shock.
No hand seals?
Sure, there were techniques like Rasengan that required no seals.
But Tsunade had said most ninjutsu.
What kind of monster was this kid?
"How about that?"
Seeing Jiraiya's stunned expression,
Tsunade grinned smugly.
"My disciple isn't worse than your student Minato, right?"
"…."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched.
In his heart,
Minato Namikaze was his proudest disciple.
A genius who had surpassed even his teacher and became Hokage at a young age.
But even Minato at ten years old—
could never have been this outrageous.
"…He truly is a once-in-a-generation genius."
Jiraiya sighed helplessly.
But his expression quickly turned serious.
He bit his thumb,
drawing blood.
He was preparing to use a summoning technique.
He no longer dared underestimate Ren.
If he lost to a ten-year-old kid,
the legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya would lose all face.
Tsunade would laugh at him for the rest of his life.
A Sudden Change
But suddenly—
the attacking vines stopped.
Jiraiya was stunned.
"SWISH—SWISH—"
Looking around,
he suddenly noticed something terrifying.
Across the lush forest,
countless trumpet-shaped flowers were blooming.
They appeared rapidly, one after another.
Each one colorful and vibrant.
And all of them—
facing directly toward him.
Not only Jiraiya,
but Tsunade, Karin, and Shizune were also surprised.
They stared curiously at the flowers, each about the size of a palm.
"Is that… Grandpa's technique?"
Tsunade's pupils shrank.
"Wood Release – Flower Tree World Descent?"
"…No, it's not quite the same."
Ren stood calmly with his arms crossed.
Looking at Jiraiya, he smiled faintly.
"The warm-up ends here."
"Are you ready for the real fight?"
His voice sounded relaxed—
but carried an unmistakable sense of danger.
"Warm-up?!"
Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat.
All of that earlier—
was just a warm-up?!
What kind of joke was this?!
But before he could think further—
Ren answered with action.
The Real Attack Begins
CRACKLE—CRACKLE—
Brilliant lightning began flashing.
From the nearest trumpet flower,
a dazzling glow burst from the blossom's center.
Dangerous chakra gathered rapidly.
"What?!"
Jiraiya's expression changed drastically.
His instincts screamed.
He immediately leapt backward.
WHOOSH—
A terrifying bolt of lightning shot from the flower like a laser.
It blasted the spot where Jiraiya had just been standing.
BOOM! BOOM!
The ground exploded into a massive crater.
Everything was scorched black.
"Lightning Release?!"
Jiraiya wiped cold sweat from his face.
He stared at the countless trumpet flowers surrounding him.
A chilling realization dawned.
"…Don't tell me those flowers are all—"
Shizune and Karin stood stunned.
Even Tsunade was shocked.
"He actually combined all five elemental releases with Wood Release… and created a brand-new technique."
Even as his teacher,
Tsunade couldn't help but be astonished.
Looking at the countless flowers scattered throughout the forest,
her mouth twitched.
"That kid…"
She silently prayed for Jiraiya.
The Barrage
WHOOSH—WHOOSH—
Suddenly,
the air tore apart.
One powerful wind bullet after another fired from the trumpet flowers.
They blasted through the atmosphere,
raining down on Jiraiya from every direction.
If Danzō were here,
he would immediately recognize them.
Those wind bullets were his signature technique—
Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets.
"What?!"
Jiraiya's face turned pale.
In that split second,
his hands rapidly formed seals.
"Ninja Art – Needle Jizō!"
RUMBLE—
His hair exploded outward—
forming an iron-hard defensive barrier around his body.
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