A hand, glowing with a faint luster, lightly grasped the giant blue Rasengan.
"Zzzzzzz—"
A piercing shriek erupted instantly, like tens of thousands of violent hurricanes and tsunamis crashing against the seemingly fragile hand.
"He's actually trying to catch a Sage Art with his bare body! Is this kid crazy?" This scene left the spectating toads in utter shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Where did this kid come from? Why is he so reckless?"
"I don't know, but I heard he's Lord Jiraiya's disciple. And maybe even the legendary Child of Prophecy."
"Child of Prophecy? That's no excuse to be so foolish!" Mount Myōboku was the most hospitable and gentle of the three great sage regions. Humans who signed a contract with them were treated as comrades. If something really happened to him, their consciences wouldn't be clear.
Voom~!
The humming continued as a steady stream of senjutsu chakra poured from Jiraiya's body into his palm, condensing into the high-speed rotating sphere. On his shoulders, Fukasaku and Shima also had solemn expressions, their hands clasped together, helping Jiraiya focus the energy.
Hatake Kusuo remained expressionless, his heart calm as he held the Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan in one hand. The attack was certainly fierce.
"But unfortunately, it's not enough."
With a soft murmur, Kusuo squeezed his hand.
POOF!
The blue sphere of Rasengan was crushed into a sky full of starlight, erupting into pale blue sparks that blossomed against the horizon.
Whoosh~
The now uncontrolled surge of chakra created a violent gale that whipped across everyone's faces.
"This kid... is truly extraordinary!" Gamabunta's red coat flapped wildly in the gale. He extended a claw, drew the sword from his waist, and plunged it into the ground to anchor himself. The other toads, without weapons to steady themselves, could only huddle together, barely resisting the furious blast of air.
They were already too shocked to speak. If the mere shockwave from the jutsu's collapse was this difficult to handle, how powerful was the attack itself? And that human boy had crushed it with his bare hand!
Hatake Kusuo stood with one hand behind his back, the other still in a grasping motion, as he leisurely walked up to Jiraiya. His palm glowed with a deep, dark blue light. "Master Jiraiya, there's no need to test the rest of your moves. We wouldn't want to destroy this beautiful scenery."
The chakra swirling around his hand was now right in front of Jiraiya's face. The older man's eyes were wide, and he didn't move a muscle. He knew, of course, that Kusuo had no ill intentions. This was merely a demonstration of the gap between them. But... it was too terrifying! The chakra gathered in that one hand was comparable to his own entire reserve. And Kusuo could control it so freely in his hand without it going rampant. Such astonishing control and chakra volume... not even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, hailed as the God of Shinobi, could have matched this, right?
Swish.
It came as quickly as it went. With a wave of his right hand, the vast, star-like brilliance of the senjutsu chakra vanished. The air slowly began to settle. The natural energy that Kusuo had absorbed began to flow back in due to the pressure and density differential.
"I get it. You can't be judged by normal standards, you brat," Jiraiya said with a bitter smile. He nodded apologetically to the two sages on his shoulders and deactivated his Sage Mode.
Fukasaku and Shima both hopped to the ground, looking up at Kusuo with complicated expressions. They had been on Jiraiya's shoulders; how could they not have felt the power that had erupted from that hand? It was too astonishing! So much so that even after living for so long, they were left speechless.
"My constitution is special. I have a natural advantage when it comes to absorbing energy," Kusuo explained. The system-enhanced Breathing Style was truly a bit of a cheat. It not only absorbed conventional energy quickly but could also command natural energy, the source of all things, as if it were an extension of his own body.
"Human boy, we can see the vast essence and vitality contained within your body. Under senjutsu perception, we can even hear the flow of your blood and chakra like a great river. It seems to be quite different from our own sage bodies," Fukasaku said with a frown, carefully studying Kusuo.
At his words, many of the other toads gathered closer, staring at Kusuo from head to toe with their big eyes.
Kusuo understood Fukasaku's confusion but found it difficult to answer. The principles of the Breathing Style were different from this world's, but ultimately, they both led to an elevation of one's life force. "Maybe... I'm just exceptionally talented?" Kusuo could only offer with a shrug. How else could he explain it?
"Alright, alright, you learned so fast it's left me a bit dazed. Let's head back," Jiraiya said, slinging an arm over Kusuo's shoulder and grinning with his big white teeth.
"You're leaving so soon? You've only been here for half a day!" Shima exclaimed. She hadn't even had a chance to host her guest! Then... "My ingredients!" she cried, covering her old face in anguish as she looked at her fallen basket and the long-gone insects.
Kusuo instantly understood Jiraiya's intention. After expressing his thanks to the toads for their hospitality, he and Jiraiya used a reverse summoning to leave Mount Myōboku. No one wanted to eat the local cuisine. No matter how you cooked those writhing insects, not even a survival expert would touch them.
With a puff of white smoke, Jiraiya and Kusuo were back on the outskirts of Konoha.
"By the way, Master Jiraiya, please keep the matter of me learning senjutsu a secret," Kusuo said after a moment of thought.
"Mm, I know. These are trump cards, after all. The fewer people who know, the better," Jiraiya nodded, thinking he understood his disciple's reasoning.
"Right," Kusuo agreed, offering no further explanation. His main concern was preventing Obito and the others from finding out that he was gathering different types of chakra. Otherwise, the Tailed Beast collection plan might be moved up, and Jinchuriki like Naruto would be in danger. With his dual Kamui, if Obito wanted to abduct someone, there was currently no one in the ninja world who could stop him.
"Sigh." With a soft sigh, he started walking back home.
Jiraiya watched him go with a puzzled expression. He always felt the boy was weighed down by heavy thoughts but never shared them. Following Kusuo's departing figure, Jiraiya thought, 'I'll ask Tsunade about it when I get back. That kid Kusuo is becoming more and more mysterious.'
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (320 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (250 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (120 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (130 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (320 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (130 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (150 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(75 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (196 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (160 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (110 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (80 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (120 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (130 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (87 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (60 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (70 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (130 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (130 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (60 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (90 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (90 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (70 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (70 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (50 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (50 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.