"Looks like I need to take some measures," Kouki decided internally. "And while I'm at it, I can take this opportunity to try to sneak into Mount Myōboku and complete a daily sign-in."
Having made his decision, Kouki outwardly continued his duties, working and patrolling as if nothing was amiss.
However, he secretly dispatched a ninja raven to constantly circle the village, keeping a close watch on Jiraiya.
Despite Jiraiya's often unreliable demeanor, he was surprisingly focused when it came to serious matters.
He didn't linger in Konoha; after leaving the Hokage's office, he headed directly out of the village, without even stopping for a drink of water.
Kouki, in turn, wasted no time. He left a shadow clone in Konoha and quietly followed Jiraiya.
Since this mission wasn't urgent, Jiraiya didn't use Body Flicker Technique to travel. Instead, he seemed to be on a leisurely vacation.
He wandered, relaxed, and traveled at a leisurely pace, even taking time to soak in a hot spring.
During this time, gathering material was a given, a routine activity. Sometimes, he would spend several hours on his "research."
Alright, Kouki retracted his earlier assessment of Jiraiya's reliability.
"At this rate, it'll take days for Jiraiya to leave the Land of Fire…" Exasperated, Kouki decided to return to Konoha for the time being.
He left the ninja raven to continue monitoring Jiraiya's movements.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that Jiraiya finally left the Land of Fire, appearing in a remote, desolate area.
Whoosh!
The ninja raven circled the area once before flying away.
However, after the raven departed, a spatial vortex appeared in that location, and Kouki arrived instantly using Kamui.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
Poof!
After altering his appearance with the Transformation Jutsu, Kouki used Body Flicker Technique to pursue Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, who had been leisurely traveling, suddenly stopped.
Jiraiya was a skilled ninja, and Kouki hadn't deliberately concealed his presence. As a result, Jiraiya had detected him from a considerable distance.
Swish, swish, swish!
Kouki quickly closed the distance, stopping in front of Jiraiya and blocking his path.
"You shameless bastard, where do you think you're going? I'm here to settle the score!"
Kouki, now disguised as someone else, shouted at Jiraiya in an angry tone, as if he had been wronged by him.
Jiraiya looked utterly bewildered.
He stared intently at Kouki for a long moment, but didn't recognize him. "Sir, I don't believe I've met you before. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"
"Hmph, Jiraiya, you're the one I'm looking for! How could I mistake you? You dared to seduce my wife, I'm going to kill you today!"
Kouki yelled at Jiraiya.
"Uh… sir, you must be mistaken," Jiraiya said, sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm a gentleman; I would never do such a thing."
"Don't lie! I saw it with my own eyes! You secretly kissed my wife's face and touched her butt! How can a man endure that? I'm going to kill you!"
Kouki shouted with murderous intent.
Swish, swish, swish!
After his outburst, Kouki pulled out a giant shuriken and hurled it at Jiraiya.
The giant shuriken instantly multiplied into countless smaller shuriken, transforming into a rain of projectiles aimed at Jiraiya.
"This is…"
Jiraiya's expression changed slightly. He quickly performed hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Rumble!
A thick earth wall instantly rose from the ground in front of Jiraiya, shielding him from the attack.
All the shuriken struck the earth wall.
Jiraiya jumped out from behind the wall, his expression now serious.
He stared at Kouki, asking sternly, "That's a jutsu created by my teacher. How do you know it?"
"I have a nickname: Copy Master. Any jutsu I see, I can copy. I saw Hiruzen Sarutobi use this jutsu once and learned it."
Kouki fabricated the story.
"Lies! Tell me the truth! Who are you, and what's your purpose?" Jiraiya demanded.
"Beat me, and you'll find out," Kouki said provocatively.
His goals were twofold: to prevent Jiraiya from meeting Yahiko and the others and to force Jiraiya to summon a toad from Mount Myōboku.
Then, Kouki would secretly place a Flying Thunder God seal on the toad, allowing him to infiltrate Mount Myōboku.
Therefore, a fight with Jiraiya was essential.
And it couldn't be just any fight; Kouki needed to push Jiraiya to his limits, forcing him to summon a summoning animal for defense.
"You said it yourself. If I beat you, you'll have to tell me!" Jiraiya snorted, launching into a taijutsu stance and charging at Kouki.
Thump, thump, thump!
In an instant, Jiraiya was in front of Kouki.
"So fast!"
Kouki was slightly surprised. Jiraiya was a Sannin; his taijutsu skills were far superior to his own.
"Rasengan!"
In the blink of an eye, a swirling blue orb of energy appeared in Jiraiya's hand.
"Rasengan? Sorry, I can do that too!"
Kouki chuckled, a similar orb of energy materializing in his right hand.
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