"Oh? Are you sure you want to challenge me?" Jiraiya didn't mean to look down on Aoshi, but the gap between their strength was undeniable.
Even though Aoshi already possessed Jonin-level combat strength, Jiraiya was firmly in the Kage-class tier. Put simply, even if Jiraiya went easy on him during the fight, Aoshi would still have little chance of victory.
That's the nature of a shinobi's power: the higher one climbs, the wider the gap becomes.
"I know full well that I'm no match for you right now, Jiraiya-sama. But I want to see for myself just how big the difference between us really is."
That, of course, was a lie. In truth, Aoshi simply wanted to see whether he could injure Jiraiya, even if the latter held back.
Yes, held back. Aoshi didn't believe Jiraiya would use his full strength in a spar against him.
And under those circumstances, if he could manage to injure Jiraiya and then heal him afterward, he would be rewarded with his first Rainbow Orb.
He had been looking forward to that for a long time.
Of course, despite his desire for the Rainbow Orb, Aoshi hadn't lost his rationality. Abilities like the Rinnegan, which must remain hidden, would never be exposed—no matter what.
Seeing the determined expression on Aoshi's face, Jiraiya no longer refused and gave his consent. "Alright then. I accept your challenge."
At first, Jiraiya had only taken Aoshi under his wing out of appreciation for the way he had looked after Minato.
But after spending the past few days together, he had developed a genuine fondness for Aoshi's combination of talent and humility.
"Thank you."
The two stepped into the training field and faced one another.
"Attack whenever you're ready."
At Jiraiya's signal, Aoshi silently drew his ninja blade and channeled Wind Release chakra into it. Immediately, a faint glow spread along the blade's edge, enhancing its sharpness even further.
This was a practical application of the chakra nature transformation.
Originally, Aoshi had been incapable of achieving this. But thanks to the Rinnegan's enhancements, his control over chakra nature had reached new heights.
Fully aware of Jiraiya's prowess, Aoshi had no intention of probing or holding back.
Seeing that, Jiraiya gave a slight nod to himself. That alone put Aoshi above many Jonin.
"Here I come." Before the words had even left his mouth, Aoshi activated the Body Flicker Jutsu and charged toward Jiraiya.
"What speed!" The same jutsu could yield vastly different results depending on who used it.
Yahiko was stunned. Nagato and Minato also looked on with serious expressions. Clearly, Aoshi was even faster than Minato had been during his match.
Putting himself in Jiraiya's shoes, Nagato realized that if it had been him instead, he wouldn't have been able to react in time. Unlike when he fought Minato, he wouldn't have been able to block—he'd have had to rely on Shinra Tensei.
Clang!
But Jiraiya, without a flicker of seriousness, parried Aoshi's strike with a kunai. He had also infused chakra into his weapon—otherwise, a regular kunai would've been cleaved in half by Aoshi's chakra-enhanced blade.
"As expected of Jiraiya-sama!" Aoshi wasn't surprised. He gave a brief word of praise and then continued his attack.
Though he had yet to master Uncle Kosuke's Konoha-Style: Willow, an A-rank kenjutsu, his swordsmanship had still reached the level of proficiency.
In terms of pure blade skills, he could now go toe-to-toe with a Special Jonin known for kenjutsu.
As a result, under his fierce onslaught, even Jiraiya found himself momentarily pushed back.
"Aoshi-nii is not only skilled in medical ninjutsu—he's this strong too! He's actually pushing Jiraiya-sensei back!" Yahiko's eyes were wide with disbelief.
In his mind, Hanzo the Salamander—the so-called "Demi-God"—was the strongest shinobi in the world. Anyone capable of fighting Hanzo, like Jiraiya, must be near the top.
So the fact that Jiraiya was being suppressed was a massive shock. Konan, on the other hand, was thrilled to see how powerful Aoshi was and couldn't help but cheer him on.
But what neither of them realized was this: while it looked like Aoshi was suppressing Jiraiya, that was only on the surface.
All of his strikes had been parried cleanly. None had landed. Not even once. Jiraiya's defense was flawless—airtight. There was no opening to exploit.
Realizing brute force wouldn't break through, Aoshi decided to change tactics.
He remembered—while Jiraiya excelled at both taijutsu and ninjutsu and even possessed Sage Mode for senjutsu, genjutsu was his one clear weakness.
He could only use genjutsu with the help of the two elder toads from Mount Myōboku.
With a plan in mind, Aoshi leapt back to gain distance.
"Impressive—your swordsmanship is excellent." Since this was just a spar, Jiraiya didn't pursue. Instead, he calmly offered praise.
Aoshi didn't respond. He simply formed hand seals and created three shadow clones, who immediately launched another assault.
One clone tossed more than a dozen shuriken before charging in with its blade.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
A series of crisp metallic clashes rang out as Jiraiya, using his own shuriken, accurately deflected every single one.
Facing the charging clone, Jiraiya didn't bother dragging the fight out—he ended it with a single, clean strike.
But by then, Aoshi's other two clones had already finished forming hand seals and were unleashing their ninjutsu.
Fire Style: Great Fireball!
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Wind feeds fire—and with Wind Release reinforcing it, the already formidable Great Fireball became even more devastating.
Raindrops falling from the sky vaporized before they could touch the blazing orb. The sheer intensity of the attack drew a collective gasp from the four spectators.
"Aoshi-nii's jutsu combo is terrifying!" Yahiko exclaimed, earning nods of agreement from the others.
"That's a solid combo—but it's useless!"
Before his voice even faded, Jiraiya had finished forming hand seals and unleashed his own Great Fireball Technique.
The flame he produced, backed by his immense skill and chakra, was just as powerful as Aoshi's wind-enhanced version.
The two massive fireballs collided, erupting in a scorching explosion that blew the rain away, creating a wide clearing devoid of droplets.
The resulting shockwave spread rapidly—so intense that it nearly knocked over Yahiko and Konan, the two weakest among them. That alone showed how devastating it had been.
As the explosion rang out, Aoshi's remaining clones dashed toward Jiraiya.
Meanwhile, the real Aoshi had already cast a genjutsu—successfully catching Jiraiya in its grip. Now under its effect, Jiraiya stood frozen in place.
The two charging clones noticed the opportunity and smiled.
They'd done it. With that thought, they launched their attack on the immobilized Jiraiya.