'Didn't expect it to work that well.'
Jiraiya himself was surprised with the results.
…
"Sage Mode."
Reko muttered, his palm clapped against each other, eyes closed, as a strange silence swallowed the surroundings, quietening down the disruption caused by the Nine-Tails chakra flair up.
As the surroundings quietened down, Naruto dashed towards Reko with a powerful kick against the ground, reaching Reko in an instant.
Reko maintained his stance as he blocked the powerful punch enhanced by the enormous chakra.
The battle commenced. Naruto did not flinch at being blocked. Instead, he used his knees to jump up while Reko held his hands, aiming for his chin to stun him.
Unfortunately for Naruto, Reko had excellent reflexes. He pushed Naruto, causing Naruto with seven tails to flip in the air, missing Reko's chin by a mere inch.
However, the tails that physically manifested from the chakra were a few metres in length. Even when spun and flung back, the tails would still manage to damage Reko.
Reko did not believe that. He was carefree, not an ounce of worry on his face as he tapped on the ground and erected a wall from the ground, disrupting the tails momentarily.
He clapped the dust off his hands as he jumped back, dirtied by the debris from his earth wall being decimated.
"Straight up physical combat?"
Reko chuckled as he questioned Naruto. The actions that Naruto took this time was a conscious decision and not influenced by the Nine-Tails.
Otherwise, Naruto would not have pulled a sophisticated move. Instead, he would have used his tails and physical strength to try and attack Reko in a straightforward manner.
"Color me surprised, this kid keeps growing at an astonishing pace."
Reko complimented as he saw Naruto slightly prepare for another clash.
It seemed that Naruto really wanted to experience combat. He was pretty enthusiastic about it.
As they continued, Reko continued to defend without opting for attack. He kept blocking, and dodging the attacks made by Naruto.
Surprisingly, Naruto had increased his control over the Nine-Tails chakra, easily using the strength boost to improve his Taijutsu.
There were no flashy moves, simple attacks with pure strength and form.
And as if that was not enough, Naruto actually formed a dozen Shadow Clones, putting Nine-Tails chakra to use.
"What did you do to him the last few days?"
Reko looked at the dozen Shadow Clones surrounding him and asked Jiraiya.
What did he do with Naruto? Did he help Naruto master some methods or did he suppress the Nine-Tails?
He was curious.
"Haha! I am not a legendary Sannin for name, boy!"
Jiraiya smiled proudly as he watched Naruto demonstrate his increased chakra control.
Obviously, he did not train Naruto. He was out having fun as Naruto was left on his own.
Jiraiya had a guess in his mind. Seeing the gravity of the situation, the Nine-Tails very likely proposed a deal with Naruto and stopped messing up with the chakra control.
"Can you not talk during this? In this form?"
Seeing that Jiraiya had no intentions to reveal the content of their secret training, Reko asked the Shadow Clones growling at him.
They were not speaking, or maybe they were not really capable of speech. Though, they still had the consciousness to pause and plan until Reko finished his short chat with Jiraiya.
"I can…!!"
Naruto muttered, his voice very similar to the growl of a beast and his body was fully covered with red chakra.
It was as if any more pressure and bones would grow up on Naruto, turning him into a real fox.
Fortunately, Naruto's combat prowess and mind's resilience had improved a lot. Especially due to Reko's unique achievements and strengths.
This allowed him to push harder. And he was even capable of communication during seven tails, a very difficult feat.
"Hmm. It appears, you can be pushed further."
This time, Reko dashed forward, heading towards one of the Shadow Clones as he muttered. He was going to eliminate the Shadow Clones before pushing Naruto to eight-tails today.
He needed to test out the increase in his chakra pool.
Rushing forward, he grabbed one of the chakra tails of the clone before he swung and smashed the Shadow Clone into the ground.
The impact was intense, causing the ground to crack from this one exchange. But the Shadow Clone was not dispelled, thanks to its intense durability.
It fought back, using his other tails to stop himself from getting thrashed on the ground, it sent Reko flying back with a kick to the torso.
"Roar!!!"
The Shadow Clone roared in triumph but was dispelled a moment later. Reko had left a kunai dangling in the Shadow Clone's shoulder, shattering the chakra clock before he was kicked away.
"Eight tails? Are you sure about fighting this abomination, boy?"
Jiraiya asked Reko, looking concerned. The Seven-Tails was already so strong when controlled well. What would the eight tails be like?
And Reko was engaging in close combat only. No ninjutsu.
"I can get help and assist you with Sage Mode."
Jiraiya offered. He was aware that Reko was looking for opportunities to push his combat skills, Taijutsu only.
So, if he were to assist Reko then the boy would have less pressure and would be able to get out without some unexpected injuries.
"Do not worry! I have it under control."
Reko smiled, denying any help from Jiraiya.
It was true that the physical strength of seven tails was very strong, almost on par with his Sage Mode stats.
But that was it. Reko had still not used any ninjutsu in the battle. He had a lot of cards remaining to play.
"I was holding myself back all this time."
Reko removed the weights he had on himself, two on his wrists and two on his ankles before he quickly stored them away in a sealing scroll.
"I would suggest you develop your other skills first, your combat alone won't make you a great shinobi."
Jiraiya looked at the weights in Reko's hand but still suggested he develop varieties of fighting style.
If just pure strength were that important then beasts like Nine-Tails would not have been caught by shinobi.
A great shinobi needed to strategy, plenty of strategies.
"A shinobi?"
Reko chuckled, his lips curling up as he ignored Jiraiya. Instead, he released the intense chakra he was concealing inside his body.
…
30 chapters ahead on my Patreon: precious_soul
Support me on Patreon for more updates.