Jiraiya froze for a split second, then slapped his forehead in sudden realization.
"Of course! How could I forget—you disappeared for a month to find Tsunade! You went to learn the Sage Arts of Shikkotsu Forest!"
He looked Tejima up and down, curiosity blazing in his eyes.
"So... you've already touched the Shikkotsu Forest legacy? How's Sage training treating you?"
Tejima Shinichi didn't answer directly; he simply said, "I've gained something."
His gaze returned to the fight about to begin, clearly unwilling to discuss Sage Arts further.
Jiraiya took the hint and dropped it, but his estimate of Shinichi quietly rose another notch.
At the same time, a long-standing question slipped out.
"The old man mentioned you volunteered to handle Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya's tone turned serious. "That snake may have gone astray, but his strength, cunning, and endless escape tricks make him the most troublesome of the Sannin. Even the old man and I can't claim a sure win."
He stared at Shinichi's profile.
"So—do you have the confidence? Or better, the certainty to beat him?"
At the question, the corners of Tejima Shinichi's usually blank face curved slightly.
It wasn't a smile; it was the natural disdain that surfaces when a question is too shallow to be interesting.
"Beat Orochimaru...?"
Shinichi echoed, the final syllable lifting as though the notion were absurd.
"Orochimaru."
He lifted a hand and casually brushed nonexistent dust from his shoulder, the gesture relaxed.
"He's just dust that's floated up after gathering too long in the house."
"And I—"
"—only need to wave my hand."
"Sweep it away."
Jiraiya's pupils shrank; his throat went dry as he stared at that calm profile.
He wanted to retort, to say Orochimaru was far more than "dust," but every word jammed in his throat.
Because Shinichi's gaze was so matter-of-fact it sent chills down his spine.
"After all,"
Shinichi added, sensing the doubt, "I know everything about him—his jutsu, his trump cards, his escape tricks, even every step he'll take next."
Jiraiya started, then understood.
'So that's it—he has intel that thorough.'
In a flash he grasped the source of this arrogant calm.
It wasn't blind conceit; it was confidence born of knowing the enemy down to the last detail.
Once a ninja's entire deck is exposed, so-called "tricky" and "elusive" lose all meaning.
If he himself were equipped with all the intel of Orochimaru, then facing him would be almost... effortless.
'After all, devising a personal counter-strategy is simple.'
"Hahaha! Good! So the old man and you set this up long ago!"
Jiraiya laughed, flashing a wild grin. "Then show me, Shinichi—show me how far the future the old man chose can go."
"Don't disappoint the geezer and me, future... Hokage candidate!"
With that, his figure flickered and vanished from the rooftop.
Tejima Shinichi glanced at the spot, a noncommittal snort escaping his nose.
Without lingering, he blurred and disappeared from the roof's edge.
In a few soundless leaps he merged into the shadows outside the arena, gaze piercing through crowds and buildings to lock on the seated "Kazekage" in the VIP box.
In the corner of his eye, at the arena's center....the fight raged.
Uchiha Sasuke's form became a blur of black, weaving at such speed that after-images fractured the air.
The sand shield before Gaara was shredded again and again, hastily reforming under his rattled control.
Behind the sand armor, bloodshot eyes flashed with shock, rage... and panic.
'Damn it, too fast!'
Gaara cursed inwardly.
Sasuke's speed far exceeded expectations, reviving bad memories from the second exam.
The hyper-activation of his Lightning Release chakra, combined with Sharingan tracking, almost completely outpaced the sand's reaction time.
Bang!
Another heavy fist smashed the barely formed sand wall, forcing Gaara to rock backward.
Sasuke didn't pause; he flickered sideways and struck from yet another tricky angle.
"Sand Shuriken!"
Gaara roared, sand condensing into countless razor spikes that fanned outward, hoping area suppression would cage his foe.
But Sasuke ghosted through the gaps, even faster, heading straight for Gaara's face.
'What?!' Gaara's pupils shrank; the sand couldn't re-form in time.
At that instant crimson flashed in Sasuke's eyes; his momentum shifted mid-air—
"Leaf Hurricane!"
A ferocious spinning kick slammed into the sand arm Gaara barely raised.
BOOM—!
The impact detonated like a mortar shell.
Gaara was flung backward, crashing into the reinforced wall at the field's edge, dust billowing everywhere.
"Whoa—!!!"
The stands erupted in a tidal roar.
"A-amazing, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura Haruno clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide with excitement and disbelief.
"Sasuke..." Ino Yamanaka gripped the railing, equally stunned. "That speed—its way faster than it was in the preliminaries! And that move just now—was that Rock Lee's taijutsu?!"
Across the stands—
"YEAH!!"
Might Guy slammed the railing with a fist, the crash making Kakashi flinch.
"Did you see that, Kakashi! Leaf Hurricane! Perfect copy and application! He's merged lightning speed with taijutsu explosiveness! That kick's power, angle, timing—flawless! This is the fruit of burning youth! Hahaha!"
Guy flashed a blinding grin at Kakashi, teeth sparkling. "Looks like your student's pretty outstanding too, Kakashi!"
Kakashi's visible eye—half-lidded—tracked Sasuke as the boy coolly straightened, then flicked toward an empty rooftop far away.
"Ah... thanks, but... that refined Lightning-Chakra Mode isn't something I taught him."
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